1975 Vertigo compilation. UK vinyl.
24-bit 96kHz FLAC
Exceller 8 is a 1975 Kraftwerk compilation LP. It features unique edited versions of several tracks from the band's first two albums, two cuts from their third record, Ralf And Florian, and the UK 7" single versions of Autobahn and Comet Melody 2. It's interesting to hear music from Kraftwerk's long-discarded first three albums placed alongside material from their Autobahn period. Exceller 8 has never been reissued on CD (in fact it's been out of print altogether since at least the early 1980s).
In the autumn of 1975 Kraftwerk were readying their new album, Radioactivity. In most countries it would be released on Capitol. Vertigo, the band's previous international label, was out of the picture - although for the time being the company still had Kraftwerk's back catalogue and understandably sought to continue promoting it. Vertigo released Exceller 8 in October 1975, billing it as a "best of" compilation for the band's early years and serving as a sampler for their first four studio albums (Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf And Florian and Autobahn).
A 7" single edit of the title track from Autobahn had peaked at no. 11 in the UK in June 1975 and had also been a hit in several other European countries, plus South Africa and New Zealand. In the US it had managed a respectable no. 25 placing on the Billboard 100 chart. A sticker on the cover of the UK edition of Exceller 8 alludes to this Worldwide chart success, while drawing attention in a very silly way to the music's Teutonic origins. "Autobahn vas ein Monster: here she is, mit 7 others" it declares. Vertigo also took care to include on the back of the textured sleeve catalogue numbers for the early Kraftwerk albums and illustations of their British version sleeve designs.
There's no explicit information on the sleeve or labels as to whether Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider had any role in preparing the edited tracks. The duo are credited as producers (with no mention of Conny Plank) although according to the rear sleeve credits the album was "compiled" by someone called Alan Cowderoy and "engineered" by a Steve Brown. In fact I would think it was almost certainly put together by the latter two at Vertigo with no direct involvement from the band. The effectiveness of the edits ranges from the inspired (the Autobahn single jettisons 82% of the album track yet manages to be a perfect distillation of it with all the distinctive elements intact) to the slightly baffling (Vom Himmel Hoch has its musical middle section taken out so that it's reduced to four minutes of sound effects). Nonetheless I think that over all Exceller 8 makes for a nicely sequenced promotional overview of Kraftwerk's career up to 1975, which is all it was intended to be.
In the autumn of 1975 Kraftwerk were readying their new album, Radioactivity. In most countries it would be released on Capitol. Vertigo, the band's previous international label, was out of the picture - although for the time being the company still had Kraftwerk's back catalogue and understandably sought to continue promoting it. Vertigo released Exceller 8 in October 1975, billing it as a "best of" compilation for the band's early years and serving as a sampler for their first four studio albums (Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf And Florian and Autobahn).
A 7" single edit of the title track from Autobahn had peaked at no. 11 in the UK in June 1975 and had also been a hit in several other European countries, plus South Africa and New Zealand. In the US it had managed a respectable no. 25 placing on the Billboard 100 chart. A sticker on the cover of the UK edition of Exceller 8 alludes to this Worldwide chart success, while drawing attention in a very silly way to the music's Teutonic origins. "Autobahn vas ein Monster: here she is, mit 7 others" it declares. Vertigo also took care to include on the back of the textured sleeve catalogue numbers for the early Kraftwerk albums and illustations of their British version sleeve designs.
There's no explicit information on the sleeve or labels as to whether Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider had any role in preparing the edited tracks. The duo are credited as producers (with no mention of Conny Plank) although according to the rear sleeve credits the album was "compiled" by someone called Alan Cowderoy and "engineered" by a Steve Brown. In fact I would think it was almost certainly put together by the latter two at Vertigo with no direct involvement from the band. The effectiveness of the edits ranges from the inspired (the Autobahn single jettisons 82% of the album track yet manages to be a perfect distillation of it with all the distinctive elements intact) to the slightly baffling (Vom Himmel Hoch has its musical middle section taken out so that it's reduced to four minutes of sound effects). Nonetheless I think that over all Exceller 8 makes for a nicely sequenced promotional overview of Kraftwerk's career up to 1975, which is all it was intended to be.
Track By Track
01 Ruckzuck - from Kraftwerk.
The 18 second echoey flute intro. found on the album version is edited out, although the false ending is left in. Misspelled as "Ruckzack" on both the sleeve and label.
02 Autobahn - UK 7" single version.
Dramatically edited down to a little over three minutes from the nearly 23 minute album version.
03 Tongebirge - from Ralf And Florian.
Complete original album version.
04 Kristallo - from Ralf And Florian.
Complete original album version.
05 Comet Melody 2 - UK 7" single version.
The middle section of the album version is edited out.
06 Klingklang - from Kraftwerk 2.
9:23 excerpt from the 17:25 album track.
07 Vom Himmel Hoch - from Kraftwerk.
A four minute edit comprising the opening and closing sections of the 10 minute album track. Misspelled as "Vom Himmell Hoch" on the label)
08 Stratovarius - from Kraftwerk.
Short excerpts from the 12:15 album version spliced into a brief 1:38 edit.
Thanks a lot Oreston! Good stuff!
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