In the nineties a chart CD would cost around £11.99. This may not seem a lot now, but it equates to roughly £33 at 2023 prices. So, when I handed over my precious birthday money to buy "The Mix" in July 1991, I was praying it turned out to be a keeper and not another disappointing selection I would have to take back to HMV and swap for something more palatable.
This was the first Kraftwerk album I bought around the time of release and I have subsequently acquired a second hand copy of the original UK vinyl along with the 2009 remastered version.
The album kicks off with a fantastic rework of "The Robots" which was also released as the lead single. As I remember these mixes attracted some criticism when they were released as they had quite a strong early nineties house sound, but this is actually why it sounds good to me.
We rattle through remixes of the bands best known songs with "Computer Love", "Pocket Calculator" and "Autobahn" following in quick succession. One of the more drastic remixes is of "Radioactivity" where the plodding original is sped up and draped in disco clothes to spectacular effect. The musical triptych of "Trans Europe Express / Abzug / Metal on Metal" have a new sheen but remain largely faithful to the original.
"Homecomputer" is a bit of a mishmash that incorporates elements of "It's More Fun To Compute" but it lacks a bit of the magic the original had. The version of "Music Non Stop" that finishes things off takes a similar approach to the single from 1986 by incorporating elements of "Boing Boom Tschak" and "Techno Pop" and adds a funky bassline for good measure.
As much as I like this album, I can't help but feel it falls between two schools of thought. On the one hand the band clearly wanted to polish their back catalogue by sampling into their new Synclavier and eliminating some of the grit of the old recordings. However, in recreating their "greatest hits" Ralf et al didn't stick faithfully to the formula and began to embellish the songs with more contemporary stylings. This isn't a remix album and it isn't a remaster: it's both. Personally I'd like to have heard more mixes like "Radioactivity" where the original is given a good shake and something new emerges, but I don't suppose there is a great deal you can do with tracks like "Music Non Stop". However, the fact that I still own the CD over thirty years later suggests I have always liked it. 4/5
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