The Man Machine

Music made by men pretending to be robots for people who are pretending not to be robots. Overall my favourite Kraftwerk album

The way they take bleeps and bloops and infuse them with warmth and emotion is something else. Neon Lights is one of the most beautiful pieces of music.

Welcome human! You request has been approved! Album review: "The Man Machine" by Kraftwerk PROCESSING... 10%... 60%... 100% REVIEW GENERATED! Algorithmic creativity, smoothly blending electronic beats with synthesised melodies to create a harmonious sonic experience. BEEP!

beep boop

Great album. Still sounds surprisingly fresh and modern, highlighting how far ahead of their time kraftwerk were at the time of release.

When this first appeared it must have sounded like the most mental thing ever. The meticulous technical effort seems normal now, but still feels exciting.

It must have been wild to discover this album in 1978 - a bunch of German weirdos singing in robot voices about space lasers. Still listenable today. Best track: The Model

A classic which basically started electronic music. It sounds so futuristic and so hard to believe it’s from 1978

Is it cool that this came out in the 70s - yes Did I enjoy listing to this - no

It hurts my head to imagine how alien this must have sounded in 1978. Like Arnie turning up naked and nicking a motorcycle, it must have been like the future had arrived.

OH YESSSS it's a wall to wall banger situation :) I love this album. It is so interesting, unusual, influential, beautiful, relaxing yet exciting, experimental, German, sexy, somehow still futuristic even though it's already very old! The model is a TUNE and it's one I often whip out on an open mic night with guitar cajon and vocals haha! I recently used The Robots in a school assembly (I'm a teacher) and can confirm the kids of today LOVE it, not a soul was sitting still. I love that it's not loads of songs! I just wonder what the price was when they released it in 1978 when people couldn't stream online, did they account for the short length by making it cheaper? I'm actually in love with Neon Lights. It's put me in a great mood despite a stressful day at work, that's a marker for 5 star perfection in my book.

I, for one, welcome our robotic overlords. Best Tracks: The Robots; Metropolis; The Model

Another album where I appreciate the historical value. A lot of the songs I appreciate, but the repetitive nature of it does get on my nerves after a little while. Little no variation in the lyrics (mostly the title of the song on repeat.) Perhaps it speaks more of my modern failing attention span, an ailment of the 21st century. It really struggles to hold my interest. Not something I would listen to on my own I don't think. It's nice to have given it a proper listen so I understand the historical context of electronic music a bit better.

Jaa, Kraftwerk. Die wahren Elektropioniere. Natürlich habe ich mir das bahnbrechende Album im deutschen Original angehört. Und daher gibt es auch einen deutschen Komentar. Großartig.

I can hear where Daft punk and a lot of other electronic artists were influenced by these dudes.

Amazing. I can hear all of New Wave and Techno in their trailblazing synthesisers.

Love. This one is genuinely life changing for music.

Thanks, I hate it.

An excellent album, which still sounds like the future, despite being released over 40 years ago. Standout track is Neon Lights - it’s almost-waltz like time signature somehow only serves to make it sound even more futuristic. Everyone should own this album.

More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-Machine -- in particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvre -- had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement.

Very unique. It blows my mind that such a refined and crisp electronic, synthy sound was possible in 1978.

Kraftwerk = les Daft punk du pauvre mais vous savez comme moi qu'il serait idiot de m'étaler sur cet album sans évoquer les événements récents. Comme vous le savez, la rivalité entre mon compagnon d'écoute elchavez et moi dépasse très largement le cadre de la musique. Celle-ci a connu un point de non-retour il y a quelques semaines. Vous savez probablement que je prends depuis plusieurs années un malin plaisir à sortir avec les conquêtes dudit elchavez. Le but poursuivi est le suivant : le mettre hors d'état de nuire. Alors que je rentrais justement d'un bar du centre-ville en compagnie de l'une de ses anciennes fréquentations, nous nous assîmes soudain sur les marches de la Poste Meriadeck. Cette dernière déclara d'une voix blafarde : "Robcremière, je dois t'avouer quelque chose : j'adore les Crusaders ainsi que Hugh Masekela." Pas besoin d'en rajouter, nos langues s'entremêlaient bientôt dans un tourbillon inarrêtable. Après une vingtaine de minutes, celle-ci m'annonça soudain : "Robcremière, tu embrasses beaucoup mieux qu'elchavez. De plus, ta connaissance de la musique lui est nettement supérieure." J'acquiesçai brièvement et nous nous galochâmes ensuite avec encore plus de vigueur. Dans le même temps, on pouvait entendre les encouragements de certains passants : "Bien fait pour elchavez !", "Il l'a bien mérité !", "À mort elchavez, l'homme qui ne donne jamais plus de 4 !", etc... Le lendemain, j'envoyai une lettre recommandée à ce dernier dans laquelle je lui exposais les faits dans leur intégralité. Une bataille de plus remportée par Robcremière.

Beep boop this music is made by computers. I am a human, therefore I do not understand it.

Um uhh stop beeping at me

Not it

Insane this is 1978

Flawless electronic music. Atmospheric and eons ahead of its time.

These Kraftwerk records feel liked they’re tapped from a private little universe that’s utterly personal, romantic, and difficult to imagine in any other form, a music expressed in gestures with the simplicity and honesty of a vivid dream. Swooningly perfect.

Love this. I have awarded the prestigious "best Kraftwerk album" award elsewhere, but this is damn close. Beautiful, precise tunes that sound so warm despite their robotic intent. "Spacelab" in particular reminds me of an old world where technological advances were sought for the improvement of humanity, not attained for the sole purpose of enabling malign, pale, weak-chinned autists to enrich themselves at humanity's expense. But I digress (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9dmoT9AfoI).. Bonus points if you listen to the German version, which is slightly different and not just in the vocals. "Die Roboter" is especially banging!

Superb sounds and melodies. I listened to the German version.

Ja! Das ist die Autobahn!

Another future classic from the 70s. Silky smooth electronica for the autopeople.

Still sounds like music from another world. My art teacher used to play this over & over at school. I was rubbish at art but it was great to hear this. The Model hasn’t aged, stunning. Neon Lights is something else, warm & emotional. Absolutely ridiculous this is over 40 years old. I’m reading Carl Cox’s autobiography and he dedicates a whole chapter to Kraftwerk. It’s wondrous, magical music. It makes you feel different to any other music, unique in that way.

Can't believe it took me this long to listen to Kraftwerk. Absolutely timeless. Their influence can be heard everywhere. Will probably add a few songs from this album to my running playlist.

Never realized how much of a foundation Kraftwerk laid for electronic music and robot pop.

a la Tron Legacy electro-techno

i like daft punk and i like this but god is it just so boring, three is the highest i can rate this without feeling bad about myself, i wish the whole thing was as funky as i know it has the power to be and was at times

Ugh

Super weird Euro music

"She's a model and she's looking good. I'd like to take her home it's understood". SMSLGIL2THHIU. That's the new password for this group. Memorize it.

Kind of boring.

Every song seems to be like "We can make synthesizers sound like robotic voices. Isn't that cool!" And it kinda is, for the first 30 seconds of a much longer song. Then the wait for something else to happen, which never does.

Was waiting for it to finish from the first track

Wonderful bleeps and bloops and, whilst biased because I can see what music it led to, felt fresh and exciting

Metropolis immediately bring Daft Punk and Tron Legacy to mind. It had to be an inspiration. It's nice to hear the original, it's even better than the Daft Punk version.

One of the essential electronic albums in my eyes and a lot of others as well. Solid 5 Stars.

Can’t believe this came in 1978. It still feels fresh and futuristic while also being accessible. 5/5

What is there left to say about this stunningly influential album?

This is a great album, perfect from front to back. I love all of Kraftwerk’s albums, but this one is to my mind a perfectly executed album, probably the best introduction to the band for a new listener. The songs flow beautifully into each other and tonally they all work well together. It’s such a smooth listen. Half these songs clock in over 6 minutes and you don't even feel it really. There isn’t a bad song here as far as I’m concerned. I also feel like over time this album has really aged well. Back then, it was highly futuristic. Now it’s simply a classic, a necessary touchpoint for anyone with an interest in electronic music. The compositions are tight, crisp, melodic and spare. The vocals are limited, either sung directly by Ralf Hütter, or vocalizations processed through machines. I know not everyone is a fan of the songs with vocals, but I happen to like them a lot and I think they’re central to the whole “Man Machine” concept in Kraftwerk’s music. When you hear a song like “The Model” or “Neon Lights,” it’s Hütter’s vocals that provide that surprising warmth and pathos. Without it, all you have is the machine. It’s an idea both in music and in life that’s still pretty timely when you think about it. Fave Songs: Neon Lights (it’s so very good, possibly their best song ever), The Robots, The Model. I mean really, all of them.

Connor: I loved this album! It's catchy, danceable, and yet certain songs - especially The Model - seem to have a dark, cold undercurrent that make me feel lonely

"Die Mensch-Maschine": a perfect distillation of the record. So much of the future is in these songs, especially the future of electronic music. Yet there's physicality, even humanity, in every beat. It's the soundtrack of a cyberpunk world we never got. That might be good, of course: The music is more challenging than the titular phrase, and that lost future has problems we moderns don't have to face. Practically, moving to these rhythms works, but feels less than freeing. For other electronic music, that might be a flaw. Here, though, it feels like The Point.

Some good bleeps and solid boops

das beep boop

beep boop blip feel like I’m on a spaceship

Never heard of this at all. I thought it might be some hard rock but upon further inspection, it's probably some KMFDM predecessor industrial German electronic band sort of thing, which is good because I really like the song Megalomaniac. Maybe I'll like this, too! Short and sweet, too, which I like. The Robots: "We are the robots" from a bunch of roboGerman guys is fun. It's a little narrative and interesting for that reason. Very simple, I guess, and I like that, too! I find it pretty productive to do work to since it's so simple and repetitive. Very vibey. A little dystopian but this is seeming to be the point. Spacelab: I think I get the gist of this album. Is it gonna be 40 minutes of repeating one word and one beat per song? I dunno. Thats not even necessarily a bad thing; I think that it's nice to do work to and it's also just nice to listen to. certainly not as hardcore industrial as I thought they'd be thus far. Metropolis: Yes, I'm getting the sense that I was right just now. It's fine. I don't think this one is super exciting. The Model: I guess I spoke too soon! this has real lyrics. Nice. It's enjoyable. Neon Lights: Of course, the vocalist is not beautiful to listen to, really, but I think this song is pretty endearing talking about how the city's made of lights. The Man Machine: Title track! Lowkey I think of Germans as man machines, not in an ubermensch aryan way but in a very timely buttoned up way, which is literally racist but it's okay. Looking at these lyrics, I'm feeling justified again in my earlier claim. Well, that was interesting. Maybe not a 5 and even a 4 might be stretching it, but I honestly did like it and as someone who needs to lock in right now, I found its ability to slip into the background very useful. Interesting fun music. Good job, Germans!

These tracks are pretty chill for what I was expecting, however it's pretty good! And I mean, the predecessor of a lot of cool stuff.

Damn talk about influential. Literally every motif that shows up in here reminds me of another electronic song or video game music or some kid uploading songs on SoundCloud. I just wish it was a little more vibrant? Exciting? Different? I dunno it’s lacking something.

Great nerd disco EDM. Made me feel like Sheldon Cooper. Would've loved to have been in them European discotech in the late 70s dancing to this high on acid or coke or whatever it is they were doing then

Daft Punk из 70х со звуками из советских фильмов, который звучит стильно и по сей день. Альбом The Man Machine выходил в том же 1978 году и на родном для группы немецком языке (Die Mensch-Maschine), но я все же выбрал для прослушивания издание на английском языке. Он состоит из 6 достаточно продолжительных песен в стиле электропоп, что делает альбом длинным (36 минут), несмотря на количество песен. Каждая из шести песен хорошо запоминается , на это влияет как репетативность мелодии и роботического/человеческого голоса в стиле более известной французской хаус группы 90х Daft Punk, так и качество и уникальность инструментала и атмосферы каждого трека. Заглавная песня The Robots своими строчками «We are the robots» напоминает «We are animals» из песни группы Nazareth - Animals. Своим мотивом она погружает в атмосферу и сеттинг альбома с первых звуков синтезатора, к тому же в песнях достаточно редко (тем более в припевах) встречается русская речь, здесь она играет достаточно важную роль для всего альбома. Песня The Model стала хитом группы, ее резвый ритм отличается от остального альбома, и слушатель в этот момент будто погружается в другую, одновременно отстраненную от остальных треков историю, но все же схожую по концепту. Великолепная Neon Lights показалась мне самой красивой среди всех песен, словно вчерашние роботы обрели живые чувства и выдали прекрасный шедевр, который как раз подходит под прогулку по ночному городу. В заключении хочется похвалить альбом за то, что такой хороший уровень музыки на нем я изначально не ожидал, этот альбом действительно надо послушать хоть раз в своей жизни, но рука не тянется поставить пять звезд. Уж больно много аналогов Kraftwerk за это время накопилось в мире, и тех же Daft Punk можно считать улучшенной версией немецкой группы, ведь они и по сей день слушаются круто. тВоЙ сЛуГа И рАбОтНиК ставит 4/5

🤖

For electronic music this is a surprisingly pleasant listen. But like everything in this genre, I find myself asking, "What's this the soundtrack for?"

After 3 Kraftwerk records I can confidently say this is a very important band that I don't enjoy listening to

It’s ok, a little outdated but I can tell that it was groundbreaking at the time Fav song: the man-machine

Exceptionally weird. Exceptionally cool.

Bso

Never was a fan of this type of electronica.

Les sonorités de cet album me sont apparues fort désagréables. Où sont passés la rigueur et le pragmatisme allemand au moment de concevoir ce navet de musique electronique? Je me souviens d'un temps où les studios allemands étaient un exemple d'organisation, les micros étant bien alignés, les tables de mix en ordre de marche, on ne décelait aucun bruit parasite, seule la voix de l'ingénieur son rythmant ce balais de production sonore. Ce temps semble désormais bien loin, il serait bon de redonner à l'Allemagne sa gloire d'antan.

Nah

just not my thing

"The Man-Machine"" is a stone-cold classic and a foundational document of modern electronic music. Sonically, it is defined by its superb production, it sounds incredibly clean and cold, which paradoxically underpins a set of wonderfully catchy melodies, reflecting a greater Pop aesthetic (e.g. "The Model" and "Neon Lights"). The electronic beats across the album are very danceable. The use of eerie, processed vocals reinforces the core concept of the human-machine fusion. Superbly produced, written, arranged, and performed, this album is highly influential on an enormous range of genres, from synth-pop and new wave to techno and hip-hop. A wonderful album that doesn't outstay its welcome, containing just six tracks across 36 minutes. Decades later, the album's sound remains remarkably fresh and futuristic, a testament to Kraftwerk's technical mastery and vision. For me, it's just perfect. 5/5. Side one 1 "The Robots" ("Die Roboter") (5/5) 2 "Spacelab" (5/5) 3 "Metropolis" (5/5) Side two 4 "The Model" ("Das Model") (5/5) 5 "Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht") (5/5) 6 "The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine") (5/5) Total - 30 Average - 5 169/1001 92/169 albums reviewed were new to me.

how is this album so old and yet so fun? I haven't experienced much with electronic music, likely because my only exposure to it has only been bad techno. so i'm giving this 5 stars because it feels like it has opened up a whole new genre to me. I don't know if there are more albums like this one, but I hope to find them. I can't stop DANCING.

10/10 no notes no skips

Lately, I've been thinking how perfect this is

Awsome

Super groovy. Have to give it a 5 because it sounds great and how influential it is

Amazing electronic music

Pretty nice instrumentation.

On est dans le train pour Berlin. J’adore Krafwerk. Quand j’avais 18-20 ans j’écoutais plus Einstürzende Neubauten mais depuis un bout Kraftwerk prend la première place. L’album Rampen de 2024 de Einstürzende est pas pire.

Excellent! Je me sentais comme un robot avec des émotions. Quelle magnifique sensation.

wirklich verdammt gut

Feels like these guys were just light years ahead of their time

It's beautiful and ridiculously ahead of it's time. I feel lucky to be alive in the same timeline as this album!

Classic album for good reason. Such a vibe, early techno and hypnotic to listen to. Very enjoyable and no bloat to be found.

We're all just living in Kraftwerk's future. Groundbreaking album!

Mega

Kraftwerk are supreme. Nothing can fuck with Kraftwerk. Fuckin' love this album. Listening on headphones is a treat with this one. Or of course listening on any legit system. Shit, I bug out to Kraftwerk playing on anything. KRAFTWERK ARE THE GODS. BOW DOWN.

Tudo nesse álbum é bom! Eu dancei, me arrepiei, sorri, me diverti, refleti... despertou tanta coisa. É incrível!

No skips, no notes, no nuffink. Its a perfect album, could listen again and again and again. It could be the most influential album of any one genre, like electronic music and dance music doesn't exist without this album. These German lads were about 200 years ahead of their time. Every song is perfect but i think Neon Lights is beyond anything else.

nice, but better in german

Genre classics.

Glorious. Complex and crisp and beautiful. Also Spacelab made our unborn child start kicking loads

I love Kraftwerk, and this album is their strongest IMO. I got my kids singing some of these songs when they were like 6-7.

Great album. I could hear many computer game soundtracks inspired by it.

Perfect chilled out afternoon record 5

Amazing to think they made this music 50 years ago. Hugely influential and just brilliant.

Another kraftwerk! Another banger. Wow I just love this band and had never heard of them before this list. I love they kept the album structure, 6 songs all long. Let's me really sink into the vibes of each song.

#139/1001. In the documentary film about Kraftwerk done music theorists claim that Kraftwerk has influenced contemporary music more than the Beatles. I totally buy that idea (although my predictive typing app doesn't agree): there were tens and hundreds of other guitar, bass, drums, singing combos, but only a tiny handful of electronic acts and perhaps Kraftwerk was the only one who could create pop tunes with this level of richness, detail, catching melodies, new sounds. Just look how much of the music today is based on electronic instruments and production. Go Techno! I hope there will be as many Kraftwerk albums on this list as Beatles albums, I own most of them (released after 1 and 2, that is) and all of them rule. Afrika Bambaata considered this to be the music of the future and space travel, and still this holds true.

This sounds so good. I don’t remember it sounding so damn crisp. Just the right length for the whole record too. Autobahn was a little too much for me with the 10 minute songs, but this is just banger after banger. I’d say it’s the most 10/10 bleep bloop music

Really very good, sounds a lot closer to modern day than music of its time

My favorite so far.