Half a century ago, give or take a year, two of the most influential artists of the late 20th century released their respective breakthrough albums, each featuring a very long title track about driving down a specific regional highway. It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and Kraftwerk ’s “Autobahn” represent the great divergence point in Western popular music — with organic, heart-on-a-sleeve sincerity on one side, and ironic future-shock electronic experimentation on the other — but that case can certainly be made, and it’s hard to think of many modern acts that don’t have some of either of those albums or artists in their musical DNA. We’ll have to wait until 2025 to see what the Boss has planned for “Born to Run’s” golden anniversary.
Until then, Kraftwerk got the celebrations started in earnest on Tuesday, playing 1974’s “Autobahn” in its entirety for the first night of its nine-show residency at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall. Reprising a series the group first played at New York’s Museum of Modern Art more than a decade ago, Kraftwerk will be highlighting each of its landmark albums throughout the coming week — nights dedicated to “Radio-Activity,” “Trans Europe Express” “Computer World,” “Techno Pop,” “The Mix” and a closing retrospective are still to come — but revisiting the record that all but invented synth pop and electronic dance music felt particular.