The Catalogue


The Catalogue is a box set consisting of the eight albums by German electronic music band Kraftwerk that were released from 1974 to 2003. All albums are digitally remastered, with most of the cover art redesigned, including rare photographs in the liner notes that were not part of each album's original release.

Contents and formats

The albums included in the boxed set are the following:
  1. Autobahn
  2. Radio-Activity
  3. Trans-Europe Express
  4. The Man-Machine
  5. Computer World
  6. Electric Café
  7. The Mix
  8. Tour de France Soundtracks
Due to licensing issues, three of these albums—Computer World, Electric Café and The Mix—are unavailable in the United States except as part of the boxed set. The Techno Pop album contains a slightly revised track listing from its predecessor Electric Café: the song "The Telephone Call" now appears in its much shorter single mix, and that single's B-side remix, "House Phone", has been added as a proper album track. As with previous Kraftwerk releases, the collection is distributed in two versions: English-language vocal tracks for international distribution and another with German-language vocal tracks. The boxed set contains eight CDs in mini-vinyl card wallet packaging, plus individual large-format booklets. On October 5, 2009, Kraftwerk released several remastered albums with redesigned artwork.

Release

The boxed set was initially planned for release in 2004 on compact disc and vinyl format and was distributed as a promotional boxed set on compact disc. Copies were often sold on eBay for high prices. An actual release date was not announced and the project remained unreleased for years, despite having a page on the Kraftwerk website during this time.
The individual remastered albums were eventually made available on compact disc in October 2009, while an 8-CD boxed set and heavyweight vinyl versions followed in November. Due to licensing restrictions imposed by Warner Music Group, the albums Computer World, Techno Pop and The Mix have only been made available in the US from Astralwerks Records as a part of the box set, or individually as imports. The collection may also be purchased in three different configurations from the group's Klingklang Shop; with a T-shirt, with a set of mouse pads or all three items together.

Proposed second boxed set

In 2006 Ralf Hütter suggested that a second Kraftwerk boxed set containing the band's first three albums would be released but there has been no official news regarding such a project or an amended release date since.

Reception

The box set received universal acclaim from critics.