Song of the Day - Kraftwerk / "Ruckzuck"

This particularly raunchy live version of the signature track from Kraftwerk's first album has so entranced me that I needed to rip the audio from the YouTube video in order to listen to it and appreciate it uniquely, separately from the clip. (Download below; I'm trying out coolfilehost, so be prepared to click twice on the "Get File" button—the first time a browser window pops up; on the second click you get your file.)

Kraftwerk / "Ruckzuck" Live WDR 1970

This track also seems to be an incredibly rare capture of a short-lived three-piece Kraftwerk featuring Ralf, Florian, and the late Klaus Dinger.

I've heard this song so many times, meditated on it, become one with it, even sampled it—and this raw, circuit-busting version lends yet another layer to my appreciation. In fact, I have another live version of "Ruckzuck" in my collection, another completely unique rendering from either the WDR version or the album version, so here's that one too—one presumes it's played by the familiar four-piece lineup of the band's most successful era:

Kraftwerk / "Ruckzuck" Live 1975

And here's yet another interpretation of "Ruckzuck," a video clip I posted a while back on WFMU's Beware of the Blog, this time by Ralf and Florian's pre-Kraftwerk band Organisation. (P.S. - the Krautrockteam links in that post are unfortunately inactive.)