Share: Kraftwerk "Musique Non Stop" USA 12" mixes

[Fred Taghon]

My re-creations of:

The Hall Of Mirrors (7" B-Side Edit) 4:40 WAV
https://www.sendspace.com/file/m9o6ce

Franz Schubert (7" B-Side Edit) 3:30 WAV
https://www.sendspace.com/file/zj2j64

Anyone have the 7" Edit of "Showroom Dummies" (1977, not the 1982 remix)? One of my favorite Kraftwerk songs and I've always wondered what the 7" version is like.

[Passing_Stranger]

A quick thank you, Fred! Will check them ASAP

That's what I have of "Showroom Dummies" - it's from a bootleg compilation, though. Hope it's the right one:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/guo4du

Also have the one labeled "05 - les mannequins - 1977 - french 7 inch edit".

By the way, do the video use a 1977 or 1982 version?

[Passing_Stranger]

Hello, Fred, I seem to have found a 7" edit of "Europe Endless" - here it is:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/lhcp7e

Please do something with it too

By the way, which sources for edits do you use? They sound great but it'd be interesting to know.

[Neil Kelly]

Including the cover i have 9 downloads here so far. Hope that's right. I'm guessing the Mediafire b side was the same as the later posted Sendspace link. Thanks to both of you for providing what the artist has failed to for us fans with the money awaiting ANY new release. It's been 11 years and counting (2004 DVD)

[Fred Taghon]

A quick thank you, Fred! Will check them ASAP

That's what I have of "Showroom Dummies" - it's from a bootleg compilation, though. Hope it's the right one:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/guo4du

Also have the one labeled "05 - les mannequins - 1977 - french 7 inch edit".

By the way, do the video use a 1977 or 1982 version?

Thank you for the file - it's actually the 1982 "remixed" 7" version though, as far as I can tell, but it's still a good one and it's never been released on CD. Using Youtube postings as my guide, it appears all the videos use this 1982 mix. Funny thing is, the 1982 7" has what is labeled as a "remix" of "Numbers" on the B-side. It is an edited album version sped up significantly - that appears to be the only difference.

[Fred Taghon]

Hello, Fred, I seem to have found a 7" edit of "Europe Endless" - here it is:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/lhcp7e

Please do something with it too

By the way, which sources for edits do you use? They sound great but it'd be interesting to know.

I am about to download it and will certainly do what I can! Thank you again for being such a helpful resource so I can make these as accurate as possible.

All of the edits I have shared are from the older CD's released in the 80's (except the "Tour De France" CD-Single from 1999 which sounds fantastic as is). I have the remasters but, in general I am very unhappy with them! The worst is "Computer World" which just sounds like utter crap - all the detail is lost; I assume due to noise reduction processing, trying to minimize tape hiss from the masters. I would much rather have a tiny bit of tape hiss and still hear the crispness of the music. The noise reduction used often seems to "round off" the percussive elements and reduces any of the original reverb. On the remaster of "Showroom Dummies", the noise reduction actually added a slight residual percussive effect throughout, which I simply cannot bare. As a result the track lost it's tight "punch". I have actually made my own personal "remaster" of "Computer World", adjusting the EQ to give it more weight and balance and I used NO noise reduction so you get all the high end and crisp percussion. I never listen to the official remaster.

The only remasters I am completely happy with are "Electric Cafe" ("Techno Pop") and "The Mix" which sound rich and gorgeous, but the original recordings were gorgeous to begin with so that helps. The older stuff like "Autobahn" and "Radioactivity" were fairly rough recordings anyway so those remasters are pretty good considering the quality of the originals. This is all just my opinion, but I am pretty particular about sound quality. Most probably could care less lol.

[Fred Taghon]

Including the cover i have 9 downloads here so far. Hope that's right. I'm guessing the Mediafire b side was the same as the later posted Sendspace link. Thanks to both of you for providing what the artist has failed to for us fans with the money awaiting ANY new release. It's been 11 years and counting (2004 DVD)

Sounds like you've collected everything we've been posting Neil. There will be more to come so keep watch. I agree, with so many artists and labels complaining about piracy and loss of money etc, why do they refuse to dig into the archives and cash in on the wealth of stuff yet to appear on CD? It can't be an issue of not wanting anyone to hear it because this is all stuff that was already released on vinyl long ago - so it's out there. Even with all my work re-creating these edits, I would buy an officially released CD of them in a heartbeat.

[Fred Taghon]

Hello, Fred, I seem to have found a 7" edit of "Europe Endless" - here it is:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/lhcp7e

Please do something with it too

I worked with the file you sent, but I am curious of it's origins. It is definitely not a vinyl transfer and the first edit 12secs in is pretty messily done. It's also sped up, while the pitch (key) seems unchanged which leads me to conclude that it may be a fairly recent fan-made edit, as back in 1977 if you sped up a track, there was no way to do it without also affecting the pitch. I can definitely reproduce it, but I just have a feeling it will not be an authentic 7" version.

I did some research on discogs.com and it appears "Europe Endless" was only released as a single in Argentina - and the time listed is 5:30. It was released again in 1979 with a different edit, but no time is given for that one.

[Passing_Stranger]

I worked with the file you sent, but I am curious of it's origins. It is definitely not a vinyl transfer and the first edit 12secs in is pretty messily done. It's also sped up, while the pitch (key) seems unchanged which leads me to conclude that it may be a fairly recent fan-made edit, as back in 1977 if you sped up a track, there was no way to do it without also affecting the pitch. I can definitely reproduce it, but I just have a feeling it will not be an authentic 7" version.

I did some research on discogs.com and it appears "Europe Endless" was only released as a single in Argentina - and the time listed is 5:30. It was released again in 1979 with a different edit, but no time is given for that one.

You see, I've posted it blindly, not hearing it previously - just saw it labeled as a 7" version with time roughly right and sent it away. But now, having heard it, I agree - it obviously doesn't sound like an official one. And the timing isn't that right, too - I use Jonas Warstad's discography (http://discog.info/kraftwerk-discog.html), and the original single version's timing is given as 3:37 (it was used as a B-side of the UK releases of both "Trans-Europe Express" and the original "Showroom Dummies" in 1977). While this one plays for 3:55. Actually that whole compilation I took it from, "Electric Atoms" seems to be fan made with so-called 7" versions differing wildly from the actual timings.

So I think you shouldn't bother with it.

P.S. It's actually a bit annoying now that I cannot find even a low bitrate version of this one! Makes me quite uneasy

What's even more annoying is that Kraftwerk (or whoever compiled their rather good "The Model" release in 1992) must've done all the work by themselves! If you do a singles compilation, why include the album versions which are on their corresponding albums anyway? That one included "Hall of Mirrors" and "Europe Endless" - but in the LP versions. Which are good for LPs in their full lengths, but really too long-winded for compilation. Not to mention so much more stuff they could've include... Why oh why I didn't get to work on that one!

[Passing_Stranger]

All of the edits I have shared are from the older CD's released in the 80's (except the "Tour De France" CD-Single from 1999 which sounds fantastic as is). I have the remasters but, in general I am very unhappy with them! The worst is "Computer World" which just sounds like utter crap - all the detail is lost; I assume due to noise reduction processing, trying to minimize tape hiss from the masters. I would much rather have a tiny bit of tape hiss and still hear the crispness of the music. The noise reduction used often seems to "round off" the percussive elements and reduces any of the original reverb. On the remaster of "Showroom Dummies", the noise reduction actually added a slight residual percussive effect throughout, which I simply cannot bare. As a result the track lost it's tight "punch". I have actually made my own personal "remaster" of "Computer World", adjusting the EQ to give it more weight and balance and I used NO noise reduction so you get all the high end and crisp percussion. I never listen to the official remaster.

The only remasters I am completely happy with are "Electric Cafe" ("Techno Pop") and "The Mix" which sound rich and gorgeous, but the original recordings were gorgeous to begin with so that helps. The older stuff like "Autobahn" and "Radioactivity" were fairly rough recordings anyway so those remasters are pretty good considering the quality of the originals. This is all just my opinion, but I am pretty particular about sound quality. Most probably could care less lol.

Thanks, fascinating reading and I hoped that you'd use the original CDs as they are the best-sounding digital sources out there. Those "official remasters" disappointed me enormously - I actually couldn't believe that work as crappy as "Compouter World" remaster was approved! And I felt that the "Radioactivity" one actually highlighted all the failings of the recording. "The Man Machine" sounded somewhat unpleasantly different too. Not to mention the new and generally unattractive cover art and new credits! Such a revisionism I just thought was tasteless and dishonest. I got rid of it as quickly as possible and for some time didn't think of the band at all - silly, I know, but I was at a more impressionable age then

I think that their various edits and remixes are so sparely represented on CD also because of that revisionism - trying to present the only canonical versions of their works. Which seems strangely conservative for such a forward-looking band. Or it is because they completely don't gave a toss about them, while their record companies simply don't bother, seeing the original catalogue still selling steadily. But for us fans it's WRONG - and yes, I'd buy a thorogh compilation of their single versions, remixes and edits straight away.

[Neil Kelly]

Think there was 10 not 9 downloads! Didn't Kraftwerk do all the remasters themselves? I thought they were good but must admit i'm no expert. Also the promo 2003 remasters were different to the official The catalogue versions i'm sure i heard. Of course 'The telephone' call was different on the remasters which was a cop-out because Karl sang them and Ralf isn't best of friends with Ralf, or Wolfgang from what i heard!

[Passing_Stranger]

Fred, I managed to download a 7" edit of "Las Mannequins" from 1977:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/3twma4

I'm under impression that musically it's the same as the orifinal 7" edit of "Showroom Dummies", only with French vocals. Maybe you can try to recreate a Dummies edit, using this as a guide?

EDIT: Finally! Here's the original 7"!

https://www.sendspace.com/file/b196w7

Please, Fred, if you try to recreate edits of both Showroom Dummies and Les Mannequins, that'd be very cool!

[Fred Taghon]

OK, I finished the "Showroom Dummies" 7" edit. I took the liberty to tweak a few of the original edits to smooth the transitions so they weren't so abrupt and choppy. This is especially noticeable on the actual 7" between the verses. Again, in 1977 it was much more difficult to do really clean edits - I'm sure if they had today's technology back then, this is how they would have preferred it to sound. If the purists out there want an exact duplicate, I can post that later - it's way past my bedtime!

Kraftwerk "Showroom Dummies (7" Edit)" 2:47 1977

AIFF:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/08ki2z

WAV:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/bkucjt

[Fred Taghon]

Fred, I managed to download a 7" edit of "Las Mannequins" from 1977:

https://www.sendspace.com/file/3twma4

I'm under impression that musically it's the same as the orifinal 7" edit of "Showroom Dummies", only with French vocals. Maybe you can try to recreate a Dummies edit, using this as a guide?

I will post this one soon - there are actually a couple tiny little differences in the edits on "Les Mannequins" compared to the "Showroom Dummies" 7" edit, so I'm glad you were able to find the English version as well.

[Passing_Stranger]

OK, I finished the "Showroom Dummies" 7" edit. I took the liberty to tweak a few of the original edits to smooth the transitions so they weren't so abrupt and choppy. This is especially noticeable on the actual 7" between the verses. Again, in 1977 it was much more difficult to do really clean edits - I'm sure if they had today's technology back then, this is how they would have preferred it to sound.

I'm quite happy with it, thank you very much, Fred!

Strange thing is that there was a longer edit of this track - on Spanish 7", which clocks at 4:33. I haven't heard it anywhere, though. But I've always wondered why they did such a short edit of Dummies - less than 3 minutes! The song sounded overcompressed as a result and way too short. Maybe that Spanish edit was a more even effort. It'd be good to hear that.

I've actually found out that the UK and non-German 7" releases of "The Robots" featured a 5:04 edit of "Spacelab" - whereas the German one had a 3:34 one. I tried to find that longer edit, but to no avail And I cannot buy the singles on Ebay - for some reason they are way too pricey right now...

Will be waiting for "Les Mannequins" - and may I be so bold as to ask you for further work? Various "Pocket Calculator" edits exist with only an LP version on CD. But I don't want to be too demanding, though, and take too much of your time. Though if you agree, I'll provide the sources, of course!