12 Inches of Love: 'The Telephone Call'

Dialing up a real beauty from 1986 today. 'Electric Café' isn't Kraftwerk's best album, not by a long shot, but it still has a few fine moments, including the somewhat eerie 'The Telephone Call.' I use "eerie" because my first listen to this one was seeing the somewhat ominous three minute 50 second video on MTV, and it still pops in my head when I pull out the vinyl. You can check it out below. This was a huge hit in dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic, and even I have a recollection of hitting the floor when I heard the telephone operator say we were disconnected. This is a roughly eight minute 12 second remix from a three-song maxi single that includes a German version of the song and "House Phone." So, the remix is only about 10 seconds longer than the album version, but there are plenty of differences. Incidentally, that's Karl Bartos singing. It's the one time he has ever taken lead-vocal duties.

I apologize in advance for the little skip at the one minute 19 second mark. That doesn't come up on my regular turntable, but my USB one is a piece of junk.

Kraftwerk - The Telephone Call (Remix) (mp3)