The Man Machine

OK, this is more like it. Second Kraftwerk album in a row for me, but THIS is what I was expecting to hear from the group. Electro pop that one can dance do, but also simply sit down and digest. Most of the album sounds soft and uplifting, which you didn't really hear much in this era of early electronic music. I think this is the Kraftwerk album that you can point to in terms of being the bridge to the synth-pop era of music that emerged in the early 80's.

Such a prescient album, it still sounds futuristic almost 50 years later.

Surprised me honestly, never thought Kraftwerk would be for me but i really enjoyed it, very warm and fuzzy music

2.4 - I know they are super influential, but honestly they really do not age well in my opinion. The song structure is soooooo repetitive and doesn't build into anything. Just not for me

Kraftwerk is brat. Fave tracks: The Robots, The Model, Neon Lights, The Man-Machine 5/5

They put on these electronica albums. I listen in the vain hope of getting something interesting. Nope.

2,5

Kinda mid but interesting

Will AI be the next motzart? No need to wonder just listen to this album

Early house music is cool but not that cool

Weep woop woop 🤖🤖🤖 Despite what hunter said i rly like Spacelab and metropolis but yeah the rest of it especially the vocal tracks just aint it for me

Required listening, essential listening whatever the fuck you wanna call it. This album is not that. I can accept that maybe this is good music, definitely not my cup of tea, but maybe it’s good to someone. But when you say essential I’m thinking that I’m missing out on soemthung if I don’t listen to it. I COULD GET THE SAME EXPERIENCE BY PLAYING GEOMETRY DASH FOR 30 MINUTES. Actually it’d probably be more enjoyable AND I SUCK AT GEOMETRY DASH. If this album was any longer I might’ve just stopped listening. Sure it’s some okay sounds but ESSENTIAL??? Fuck off

While initially a lot of the concepts for each songs start out fun and engaging, I find that they quickly become repetitive or annoying. While some tracks hold my attention and I can enjoy, others simply overstay their welcome. If the songs were shorter, and perhaps there were more of them, I would think much higher of this project. Despite these complaints, these songs sound like an acid trip and definitely have some soul behind them. Great music to study or work out too, due to its almost monotonous nature.

“Neon Lights“ Magnificent & Beautiful

Pretty damn innovative, undeniably groundbreaking, but nevertheless, a little sonically sparse

Fine background music. 2/5

The Model is a classic but the rest of the album is average

This entire album sounds like someone's first session with a new synth VST just playing around with all the presets.

Have heard it. Not relistening as I think it’s genuinely overrated and boring.

i love me some electronic music WE ARE THE ROBOTS i love it its so chill but groovy at the same time my favorite song: the robots

Seems pioneering given the release. Electronica is just not for me

I listened to the 2009 remastered, and it sounds fantastic. I can't imagine hearing this when it was released; it must have sounded so futuristic, and it certainly influenced electronic music for years to come. It's not the type of album I'd play regularly, but it was a fun listen. My least favorite track was The Model. It really took me out of the rest of the album for some reason. I genuinely really love Neon Lights. That will go into my playlist for sure.

Ja! Das ist die Autobahn!

Rätt otroligt ändå att det håller så pass bra som det gör

Probably cool back then but boring now

Please God enough with the Kraftwerk albums this is the third one and I definitely could’ve died without hearing each of them

A very high 4.

I know these guys only by reputation and came into this kind of expecting to hate it. It's still not my style, and I probably won't put it on again. But it's actually alright. It's nice as background music, and they actually do some interesting stuff. I liked the mostly instrumental pieces (e.g. "Spacelab" + "Metropolis") quite a bit better than the vocal-oriented pieces, which are a little cheesy. The do a nice job of developing themes, it's like very solid nuts-and-bolts composition. But just much too light and sparse for my taste. There's a reason why so much of pop music is focused on a talented solo instrumentalist, usually a singer.

Computer Love is the sample for Talk by Coldplay!

Album 485 of 1001 The Man Machine - Kraftwerk Rating : 1 / 5 This genre just isn’t for me at all — cold, electronic, and nothing I can really latch onto. I respect their influence on music history, but as a listening experience, it gave me nothing.

Not gonna lie, after about the first 30 seconds of the first track I thought I would dread this. However, after the 36-minute album was finished, I was actually pleasantly surprised. It's a little odd don't get me wrong, but it did make me feel like I was in an early 80s cyber-spy thriller. If you're here for the lyrics, this won't be for you, but the beats and the electronic hooks are catchy. This was a perfect listen for me to focus on work, and Kraftwerk will now be in my "lock in" rotation. Notable Tracks: - The Robots - Spacelab - The Man Machine 5/10

First time listening to a Kraftwerk album. Great futuristic sound from 1978

love it

A little too hard in spots, but so pivotal given the era

boring electronica that is worse than everything that came after it but I guess you don't get Name of the Game or Breathe without it so its important

What's there to say? It's EDM... from 1978... People were trying to be like John Travolta when this came out, in their white leasure suit, pointing fingers in the air, which makes it amazing. Also, anytime you can hear a thick German accent, it's worth a listen... Metropolis!

extremely 80s pretty cool sounding.

Not as strong as Autobahn, but good enough to return to.

Bem legal, inovador demais pra época. Ouviria fácil.

couldn't imagine how much my head would have exploded if i heard this in 1978

Dieses Album von Kraftwerk gehört zu eines der kommerziellen Werken. "Wir sind die Roboter", " Das Model" und "Neonlicht" sind Hits und in vieler Ohren leicht zugänglich. Mir persönlich gefällt das gesamte Album, da ist kein Lückenfüller, sondern die Songs und das Albumkonzept wurden sehr gut durchdacht gestaltet. Ein Meilenstein.

Bit cold for me

Already heard it, but why not. Kraftwerk is arguably the second most important band behind The Beatles. In fact, they are The Beatles of electronic music. I love Kraftwerk. One of my favorite bands of all time, and this album is pretty much perfect. All the songs are bangers. All of them! This album focuses on the contrast of humanity and machinery. A theme that was also used in the 1927 classic film, "Metropolis" (Incredible movie). In fact, this album has a track called "Metropolis". It has the singles: "The Robots", "Neon Lights", and of course, "The Model". "Spacelab" is epic "space disco"-like music. The production on this album is fucking amazing! It's so sharp! So clear! And reminder: This was in 1978! And it sounds like an album from another dimension from another year, like 2199. Even if I get sick of one of the songs of this album (hello "The Model"), that doesnt mean the song sucks. I still love the song, but I dont listen to the specific song, until it feels refresh. Yeah, this is perfect. Definitely their best album in my eyes, and if there is an album that is as close to perfection as Man Machine is, that is Computer World (which sadly didnt make the 1001 Albums book). Kraftwerk are so ahead of their time. Their influence on music is just mesmerizing to look at. Like, how these German guys from the Krautrock scene create some of the most mesmerizing electronic music (just like how Jim Morrison prophetized) and have a huge influence on genres like post-punk, synth-pop and hip hop is beyond me. Their concepts on albums like Autobahn, Radioactivity, Trans Europe Express, this one, Computer World, even Tour De France are very fucking creative and very well put. Love this album, love this band. I could praise it for hours. Rest In Peace, Florian Schneider! 🙏🏻🕊️ -favorite songs: all of them -least favorite song: N/A

R2D2's favourite

It was pretty good. Nothing particularly had a wow factor to it but the complete package was tight, short, and well composed.

Not 100% my thing, but surprisingly enjoyable.

Lemppari: Metropolis Vähiten lemppari: The Robots

German techno is so weird but the model is such a tune

Well! This was an interesting one! Upon beginning to listen, I immediately didn’t like it! The usual electronic synth nonsense people tried to pass as music, but is just garbage! But the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. Then song 4 hit and I realised that I’d heard this band before! Song 5 was also great and before I knew it I was listening to the album again! I shouldn’t be so judgemental!

I was surprised of the lack of electronica, and here we go with the grandfathers of electronic music. Great relisten!

I felt like this was kind of mid music to dissociate to. I probably won't come back to this.

Love to listen to this while tossing power pellets into my giant triangle mouth and escaping from ghosts.

A very different sound when it came out. 3*

I'm glad this appeals to some because its good that there is music that is different out there. Doesn't appeal to me though.

Interesting electronic album. The Model was really catchy.

Kind of interesting for 70’s electronica but not worth a revisit

On sitä mitä lupaa eli suoraviivaista konemusaa 70-luvulta. Vilpitöntä hieman kieronlaisella omalla tavallaan. Robots kyllä kantaa levyn, vaikka tulee heti alussa, hyvä loppua kohti kuulijansa helpommalla päästävä kokonaisuus on luotu.

Nerokas toteutus, ainutlaatuinen sinkku - mutta hetkinen, oliko tässä vain kolme biisiä? Voisin vannoa, että Eurooppa-levyllä oli neljä. Tunnelmakaan ei ole tällä kertaa yhtä pysäyttävä - vai onko kysymys vain siitä, kumman kuulin ensin?

weon beep bop

Dreadful. What in the world possessed them to make this album? How did it make the list? Do people really like this? Is more of this bullshot headed my way if I continue? So many questions. I'm not sure I can go on.. Tell my family I love them and tell Kraftwek they suck eggs.

Forefathers of everything from krautrock, daft punk and superhans one can imagine this bring played on a loop non stop at the Boston dynamics research centre just before skynet achieves sentience. I don’t doubt the amount of hard work, effort and innovation. That went into forging such an album but the Japanese had crammed it all into my sisters Casio a mere 3 years later. Document of its time but novelty value alone would not make me revisit. Must have been great in the day though.

If you have a band that, mainly, has a signature sound throughout their career then you should - if you are chooising one album to highlight - use the album that created that signature sound. Which, in the case of Kraftwerk would be 'Autobahn'. Instaed, the chosen album is the one with the massive hit-single. Which is great, but this album probably doesn't show the band at its creative heights. Jusdt its comercial heights. The Robots is annoyingly simplistic and Spacelab hasn;t done anything Georgio Moroda hadn't been doing for a decade beforehand. Metropolis is very Vangelis, soundtrack-esque. It appears they are wearing their influences on their sleeve rsather than influencing. Admittedly, The Model is something else. They say the sign of a perfect pop song is that you can play it on an acoustic guitar and it still sounds brilliant. This stands up to that test. The Am Em verse, C Bm G bridge is just classic less is more. No chorus. Just classic arpeggio influenced folk music all in all. Neon lights is great. {roper progressive electronic music with a classical twist. Great but not their best.

So simple, but so food

Good example of an album that was likely innovative at the time, but sounds very dated after 45 years.

I wonder if these guys would’ve exploded if they had better lights and there was more access to MDMA when this album dropped. Definitely pioneers of the sound in general and at times sounds like modern jamtronica bands.

Vibey - great album just to zone out and chill. Love the tension throughout, a testament to not needing the nauseating peak gluttony of modern EDM

When the moment’s right, Kraftwerk slaps. I don’t think I’ve listened to this one and it may be my favorite record of theirs that I’ve heard. It has such rich sounds that don’t sound overly late 70’s. It still sounds futuristic today. I only had time for one listen but I think it’s worth 5 stars.

It’s hard to believe this was released in 1978. It sounds so well layered with both technical mastery and keen artistry, paired perfectly with their overall aesthetic.

I finished my first listen thinking I love the music this group inspired more than these actual tracks. Daft Punk, Justice, The Midnight: all these groups (and so many more) are standing on the shoulders of these Kraftwerk giants. But this album is so blessedly short; I found myself coming back to it. No earworm, but in the moment, it's so catchy.

Hoy toca volver a esta icónica banda, que hace tiempo no escucho. El disco arranca con "Die Roboter", temazo de Kraftwerk, vanguardistas a más no poder con respecto a proyectos como Daft Punk o The Chemical Brothers. Los sonidos de éste disco me recuerdan en lo particular al Family Game (Famicom, si no me equivoco). Gran trabajo de canciones bailables y reflexivas, con ritmos mecánicos, repetitivos.

This was so much better than I was expecting-- some of their work has a little too much Kraft cheesiness for me. You sort of have to figure out that there will be one or more Kraftwerk albums buried in this list and it did not disappoint. All the weird robotic electronica you could want packed into a single old school album. I'm a fan.

Is this what music will sound like when the robots take over? The humans that survive will do so by becoming man-machines - cyborgs that try to adapt human culture to please our robot overlords. Bumping this by one star because the whole thing didn’t sound like the opener, “Robots.” If there had been any more of that, I would just give up and succumb to the robopocalypse.

Why do they ruin perfectly fine tracks like Spacelab with what sounds like a game of laser tag. They get an extra star because it was better than Autobahn.

I like that I can hear bits and pieces of bands influenced by this album throughout. Kudos for that, not stars. Much of the album sounds primitive. It feels like a space invader movie soundtrack from the time period. I like it better when there are no vocals. I like Metropolis as a song the most, but that’s about it.

unexpected 'I know this one' with Model. a vibe for playing in the background but I need more drugs if I'm going to really get into this haha. can definitely see how it's influential

Not for me

Interesting, a bit comical. I don’t know if I would listen again.

fun!

This shit rules and must have blown people's minds in '78.

Mids

Fun fun fun on the man machine

Some grooves, and made a big impact on electronic music. But like their descendants, Daft Punk, many of the songs just repeat a bit too much and don't go anywhere.

Reading about this before I listened, I fully expected to hate it. I'm not sure I'd listen to it again as it's definitely not my ideal genre, but I enjoyed it way more than expected. I'd give it 3.5 if possible, but I'll round down to three simply because I can't imagine myself listening to it again

Not for me at all.

This reminds me of when Ross on Friends played his music.

favorites - The Robots, Neon Lights

I think these guys might be the robots… Good, influential, idk if I’d come back to it a ton but it’s good

The Man Machine is the seventh Kraftwerk album, and it may be their most accessible album. This collection of tracks is not "as minimalist" as their earlier work; the songs have more of a melodic sense and incorporate more danceable rhythms. Kraftwerk's minimalism - their "music made by automatons" - pioneered electronic music, and this album is a midpoint between the band's first few albums and 80's synth-pop. The Man Machine opens with "the Robots," which was part of the band's presentation of themselves as automatons.

Kraftwerk is amazing

electronica. Sounds like the soundtrack to a science fiction SNES game. To be honest, I kinda liked it. My only real complaint was that I felt that the songs were a little bit too long, which wouldn’t be a problem if they weren’t so repetitive.

I feel like I'm stuck in an old video game. Not for me. DNF.

Fun and very interesting. Borderline 3 or 4. I'll round up.

It was ok.

++: Das Model, Neonlicht +: Die Roboter, Metropolis, Die Mensch-Maschine +-: Spacelab 7,6/10

Großartig!

Moderately interesting techno

Kraftwerk son el grupo esencial de la música electrónica (más allá de Tangerine Dream u otros) y The Robots es una de las canciones fundamentales de la música electrónica. Spacelab, Metropolis y Neon lights anticipan el Tecno, Tecno Pop, o lo que fuera que vino después. The model es, sin duda, el tema de mayor éxito del disco. The man machine presenta un ritmo repetitivo y voces robotizadas en una oda a la industrialización de la sociedad. La portada es otro clásico. Otros discos editados en 1978: debuts de Kate Bush, Pere Ubu, Magazine, , Public Image Ltd., Dire Straits, Police, The Only Ones, Devo, The Cars y Siouxsie and the banshees, (también Chris Rea y Midnight Oil), así como discos esenciales: C´est CHic, Plastic letters y Paralell Lines, Some Girls, This year´s model, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Incantations, Équinoxe, Ambient 1: Music for Airports, All mod cons, Some girls, One Nation Under A Groove, Outlandos d´amour los directos de Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, Bob Marley, AC-DC y The last waltz, e incluso Grease.

Didn't mind this. Better than the other one.

Hm. Hard to review electronic music from the 70s when they probably only had a moog and basic synthesiser. But without Kraftwerk… would Joy Division, New Order, Ultravox, Depeche Mode etc etc have had the same foundation… hmmmmm

One of the best ever and my favourite from Kraftwerk. The first album I ever bought as well. Not a single weak point of the whole thing just perfection the whole time. 10/10.

I liked this as background music, but it's not captivating enough to make me want to hear any of these songs on the reg

Liked it more than I expected. It's wild this sound came out of the 70s

I understand this, I appreciate why it's important, but I don't really like the minimalist songs, I don't find them listenable. I prefer the smoother, more harmonious sound that this led to with later Krautrock.

An amazing album. 5 stars for The Model, alone! Sounds brilliant still. I love all of this - a jewel of an album. 🤖

Love it! Brilliant from start to finish. Is this the best electronic album ever?

I enjoyed Air and Daft Punk a lot, and considering that: I should have anticipated how much I would like this! I have always been aware of Kraftwerk (there were many tributes to them in Berlin when I visited) but have never listened. Despite being surpassed technologically by many that have come since, something about the minimalist soundscapes here is totally unmatched. The simplicity makes this one all the more effective. The long tracks and short runtime suits it perfectly, and I couldn’t have asked for more. Strongly approved by Lucy too.. WE ARE THE ROBOTS 🤖 Favourite tracks: The Robots, The Model

Big fan of this album since Mum helped me identify The Model after the melody popped into my head one day about 10 years ago. I was looking forward to Kraftwerk coming up on this list. Wayyyy ahead of its time, still sounds like the future now. They basically created the electronic & techno genres. Brilliant the whole way through. I listened to this on my flight home from Croatia. Had this incredible moment when Neon Lights was playing as the plane was lifting in the night air, lights flashing on the plane and the runway, then seeing the lights of Split from above. The plane lights even seemed to be in time with the music. Hell of a song/moment combo. Very cool album, have enjoyed before and will enjoy again!

The beeps and boops are great! I could do without the singing.

Don't hate it ..but have to be in the mood

Not my type of music, but they are talented

Not a fan

I know this well, it's a gem

A tough listen. Appreciate their pioneering spirit though

One of my Fav kraftewerk album. Probably their most listenable

2.5 stars. We kind of liked, but would not be able to listen for too long. The Model definitely favourite from the album

Didn't expect to but loved this!

Pro: only six songs Con: with one exception, all the songs are over 5 minutes long Pro: being robots is cool (https://youtu.be/2IPAOxrH7Ro?si=Ac80pCdLK4rwtkoI) Con: these aren't really robots but just weird German dudes making boring bleep boop music in the 70's Congrats on being historically important or whatever, but this isn't music for people to listen to. At least, not this person.

Straight ass.

Brilliant synth-pop.

8/10 I love Kraftwerk, and this is a great album. I don't have to justify myself to you!!! 6-17-2024

Interesting album for sure. 1970's electronic is certainly interesting.

alien music

mag das deutschsprachige Album lieber

Erste Hälfte klingt als hätte der Songwriter von "Tequila" den Soundtrack, zum Menschheit ausrotten, für die Terminatoren geschrieben. Zweite Hälfte solide

Respekt for indflydelsen på musikhistorie, må have lydt crazy i 1978. Bliver lidt for repetitivt til min smag og lyder også ret outdated i 2024

Det er vel meget fint for hvad det er. Synes det er lidt meget af det samme hihi - 3/5

Robotic electronic music, with occasional robotic german singing. Stand-out: Das Model

Wir laden unsere Batterie - jetzt sind wir voller Energie

3.8/5 - listened 4x and really like it but prefer the other Kraftwerk (TransEurope) as an overall album

Lots of the same and not overly exciting. I give it 2 stars.

I've never listened to Kraftwerk before, but knew about them and immediately clocked their influence on a lot of music I like. Beautiful electronic jams, dancey rhythms, funny lyrics. I knew I would be into this because of the legacy but I was even more delighted than I expected, I thought this would be moodier but I was surprised by its lightness. I really enjoyed my pre-dawn drive into work to "Neon Lights"

LOVED this. I’d been meaning to listen to some kraftwerk for a while now and they did not disappoint. The model was a highlight

As the oft quoted Bob Dylan statement on the Man Machine said, “without Man machine there could never have been a Kajagoogoo.” I didn’t own this in 1978 only coming to Kraftwerk when “the model” made it in 1982. The precursor of so many future trends in music. A solid 4.5 out of 5 (5 is reserved for albums I still listen to frequently). I can definitely hear some Moroder here on The Robots.

Had a previous Kraftwerk album that didn't impress, but this is most likely their best one. 'The Robots' and 'The Models' are great songs that do sound old, but still hold up very well today. 'Neon Lights' is also a pretty nice song. In general I'd say it's overall a quite tight album. All songs are decent, and keeping it fairly short ensures that no other garbage gets in there. If there's one Kraftwerk album you should hear, it's probably this one.

I think this is the third Kraftwerk album we have on this list and it's the best by far. A few really good tracks "The Model" and "The robots", and the rest while not great do not overstay their welcome. It's a very unique sound. Weak 4 maybe?

Phenomenal work.

No more Kraftwerk, please. Really, please.

Die Mensch-Maschine I love this album, a bit more pop perhaps than Trans Europe Express, but more focused than Autobahn, but still meticulously constructed. The technical skill is amazing really when you consider the technologies they were woking with. On some tracks they are a pop band and then on others they sound more like modern classical composers The Robots is a great bit of catchy synth pop. Almost feels like they were parodying their own image. Spacelab is a favourite of mine, I love the cadence of synth melody against the pulsing percussion and rhythms. Metropolis - 1950s Berlin, a private eye is watching a man through the rain, the shop signs dimly illuminating the side of his face. Cigarette smoke rises warily from the discarded cigarette on the ground. The man starts to walk toward Potsdamer Platz and the private eye slips out of the comforting doorway and follows the man into the solitude of the night. The Model is a just a great pop song, excellent catchy vocal and synth melodies, the synth warm and soft against the matter of factness of the lyric. Neon Lights is just a beautiful bit of music, one of their best songs. I love the contrast of the repeating and catchy hook with the ominousness of the ‘vocals’ and atmosphere. Each song stands on its own, but as an album of 6 pieces of music this is great. I often think Kraftwerk are more like modernist classical composers than songwriters, in how they manage to evoke moods and atmospheres across multiple tracks. I love the theme of man and technology driving Robots, Spacelab and The Man Machine and the fascination with the man made environment in Metropolis and Neon Lights. And looking at a woman with The Model. It’s a five for me, a step up from Autobahn and on a par with Trans Europe Express. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ég er ekki mikið fyrir raftónlist en þegar ég er fyrir raftónlist þá er það nokkuð líklegt að ég setji Kraftwerk á og þarna eru slagarar sem ég þekki vel til og raula með vélmennarödd við. Ég mun samt ekki setja þetta á fóninn held ég en þetta er ekki rusl. Meðalplata kannski en væri örugglega frábær plata fyrir meiri raftónlistaraðdáendur

Overall it is not really my thing. It did grow on me a bit after the first listen. Nothing that really caught my attention on it, but I could see it being a good almost to listen to at work.

I'm sure very influential but this is museum music. In other words, music that you'd want to see immortalized in a museum for electronic music but not music you'd actually listen to in the real world. Still good

It was weird, but in an enjoyable way

I'm going to guess that this album was significantly ahead of its time...but I also couldn't care less

It was fun, quite weird

The range is amazing for the limited number of sounds available. You could spend months putting this together … or maybe just hours. It’s impossible to tell. And that is the genius of it.

STANDOUTS: n/a OVERALL: 2.5/5; just lots of horny, sinister, German, robot, Stranger Things synth noises. Which, I'm into, I fear.

Like this, and definitely a grower. Every few years or so I give it another go and always thought ‘aye its canny but I dont get the hype’. But each listen it gets better and having listened to it 3 times today already I can confirm its a grower for me. It’s quite simple in some ways, especially compared to todays electronic standard. But that simplicity helps it stand out. Becomes more accessible almost. Also, LCD Soundsystem have borrowed a loooot from this record, which is always a good thing in my books. 4.5

Thought this was loads better than autobahn, felt like autobahn was just experimenting with synthesisers while this had actual songs. For that reason I assume the man machine isn't for the purists, probably their 'sellout' album. I recognised the model but generally thought it was all very listenable. I do think most of these songs would be better with a wider range of instruments but I guess that's not the point. Not sure id listen to it again but if it came on unexpectedly I'd be happy enough. 3.5.

Been a while since we've had Kraftwerk. I think this is really on par with Autobahn. The experimentalism is a big more focussed on Man Machine, but still retains a lot of the silliness. Solid 4 stars, would be happy to listen again. Flew by.

Listened to this before and I know it's pretty high regarded....I quite like it, but I think it falls into the category of "really innovative even it was released, but not so interesting 40 years later". Reminds me of flight of the conchords too (I assume they were parodying this). Good, but not quite my thing. Think it it was the year it was released I would be much more impressed. 3.5

kraftwerk have always sounded very cool to me but they dont manage to grow past being a novelty. i prefer the silver apples over kraftwerk generally. 7/10

Man Kraftwerk rules so hard. This is what I said while listening to this album. The Robots was my introduction to Kraftwerk years ago. I stumbled on a YouTube video of them playing it live and couldn’t help but think are these guys actually robots!? I’m still not sure. Their mastery of electronic music and monotone singing voices makes me question their humanity to this day. If this is what AI music had turned out to be, instead of just wonky covers of other artists, I’d be ready to assimilate. The Robots also sparked my love for vocoders. It’s easily my favorite song on the album, possibly mgmt favorite Kraftwerk song. Although, Europe, Endless is up there too. The rest of the album is also amazing. Spacelab is sparse but beautiful. Metropolis is the darkest sounding song on the album, and The Model is also eerie but less so. The Model is the low point for me, the vocals/lyrics on it kind of ruin it for me. But right after that is the beautiful Neon Lights, followed by the closer which is techs and robotic like the opener. There’s not a bad song on here! I am knocking off one star because when these guys aren’t using vocoders they are not great singers. The singing can be a bit monotonous and annoying for some. But the music is so good it doesn’t ruin the songs.

Luke said it was mid

I have pretty much nothing to say except meh

meh. there were some good instrumentals, especially for ‘78, but lowkey singer needs to stfu

De übet Krautrock record! What a classic. The fact this came out in 1977 and bands still try to rip this sound today is testament to how cool this record is. It’s fairly short at just over half an hour but if your calculator had a favorable record, it would be this one. The first track We Are The Robots sounds a little silly but it’s a great starter. It’s cute to hear a robot German voice! The second track Spacelab is what I’d imagine hold music for the Martian consulate would sound like. Or one of those old Epcot center ride train music would be. Metropolis sounds like it would fit well on Autobahn, which is my favorite Kraftwerk record. Fun and funky little number. The Model is probably the best known track since it’s so dancey. Another fun little number. Neon Lights and The Man Machine close it all out with some highly pleasant soundscapes. Kraftwerk has always sounded intentionally sparse to me but this album is legit a relaxing and fun listen.

This was one of those where I can recognize all the craft (heh) going into it, but it's just not for me.

This is a band who I have heard described as legendary, countless times. They are mentioned as influences in interviews by nearly every band I've ever loved. I love the experimental nature of what they are doing. I can only assume this was pretty "out there" when released in '78, and it's undeniable that it influenced music across many genres as well as defining some of its own. With all that being said... I just don't enjoy listening to it. It's cold. It's lifeless. It's mechanical. It sounds like a mathematical property because sentient and "wrote" a few songs. Great dance music if that's your thing, but it's not mine. Not bad for background music, or if you want to score a nostalgia-dripping, 1980's themed, children's horror/sci-fi television show.

Engrossing grooves, definitely on the frontier of electronic acoustics. A few catchy songs that make it a great listen

The best record by one of the most influential bands ever.

I won't listen to this every day, but it is great

No a bad album, probably would be great as background music for studying or working at a computer. I’m not a huge electronic music fan so it doesn’t move the dial much for me, but I wouldn’t be opposed to someone playing this album.

Really enjoyed this one - I’ll be listening to more kraftwerk for sure.

This was pretty good, a little sparse as you would expect. Overall a good album to have on in the background as I work..

Gefällt mir besser den je. Kristallklarer Sound.

Expertly crafted both in terms of music and sound, and as has been pointed out countless times a real trailblazer for much of the music we have today. I'll be cranking the resonance and tweaking the cut off to make some layered melodies after revisiting this. Of course it's much more than the sum of its parts to those of us who love it, and the aesthetic of the artwork (not the one used on this site) and the inserts in the original vinyl elevate that further.

wall to wall bangers

Surprised that I didn’t hate it, don’t think I’ll listen again

Seminal but not quite there for a 5 I guess

3.3 Perfect if you want to feel a sense of intergalactic doom while doing work. Fave songs: the model

exactly what I needed to round out my sexy time playlist

“Machine machine machine machine” doesn’t really do it for me lyric-wise

WE ARE THE ROBOTS ok and?

Fackn great

Pretty catchy. I don't really have much to say about this album. 6/10 Would I listen again? It would be pretty good background music.

Really good. Great influence to other things but also good in its own right

Very cool

This album must have seemed so completely out there in 1978. In retrospect it’s difficult to overstate how influential it is to future generations of electronic music. It’s incredible how little it has aged in almost 50 years.

Some songs can be a little repetitive but overall the album was nice to listen to.

Not for me

You know, robot music

The Robots - 3 Spacelab - 3 Metropolis - 3 The Model - 3 Neon Lights - 2.5 The Man Machine - 2.5 Wish 2.5 was an option. The music is fine. Not painful, but not enjoyable.

06/11/24 S Tier—————————5 The Model A Tier—————————4 The Robots Spacelab Neon Lights B Tier—————————3 Metropolis The Man Machine C Tier—————————2 D Tier—————————1

The Machine Man by Kraftwerk Tuesday 6/11/2024 10:51 S Tier————————— Spacelab The Robots A Tier————————— Metropolis B Tier————————— Neon Lights The Man Machine The Model

I'm sure this was cool and novel once, but now it feels like a subpar electronica album.

I didn’t like this as much as Autobahn. I guess this was more concept-y comparatively.

Meep morp

pretty but repetitive

I was pretty bored with the repetitive nature of this, but I do recognize the significance and influence to everything from later electronica bands in general and the use of synth mixed in smaller doses in the 80’s new wave and beyond.

The level of influence this band and album have/had on so many artists downstream earns it a high rating. From bands already experienced on this 1001 list like Underworld and Soft Cell, to so many others like Depeche Mode, New Order and especially the more recent Daft Punk. The scarcity of lyrics mixed with more simple sounds only supports the intended theme here of humans and their relationship to technology. And the fact that these German robot dudes also built many of the instruments and units used to create the sounds is pretty amazing. Life imitates art.

Look, I get it. This is one of those bands that you’re supposed to put on a pedestal. I can appreciate their innovation but don’t personally find it all that listenable. And you just know these guys inspired some of the shittiest bands you’ve ever heard.

It’s like electronic Rammstein. Cool. My neighbor across the street is from Düsseldorf so gonna see if he knows these guys. Was def interesting but not something I’m dying to listen to. 2.75

I'm not a huge fan of beeps and boops music, but this one feels more influential than others we've had thus far. Literally the first track I was like, "this sounds like Get Innocuous! by LCD Soundsystem." Not sure if Kraftwek were actually credited on that track, but c'mon man, it was directly lifted by LCD. I assume the dudes of Daft Punk are huge fans, which also kinda explains the whole robot thing. Some tracks kind of remind me of the Blade Runner score and of course Tron. Haven't seen either in forever, but that's the vibe/feel I'm getting. This is also a great album to get soon after that Heaven 17 mess... one sounds dated, crappy, and irrelevant. Yes, you can tell this is of another time, but it also somehow still works today and you can hear influences everywhere. Despite all that, to my ears this doesn't rise to the level of a great album. Good for what it is, but not incredible. 3.25/5

não me pega

A breath of fresh air for it's time. I enjoyed the simplicity and sound.

I'm afraid 1 finger synths don't do anything for me. An extra point for the couple of tracks that registered in my memory.

This might be my favorite Kraftwerk album. It's certainly the darkest and most dystopian. Unfortunately, I can only play this when my wife isn't home since she calls it that "beep boop bullshit". Well you married a guy who loves this beep boop bullshit, okay? Who's worse?

One of the greatest of all time in the electronic space. Sounds pedestrian today, but that is because nearly everybody in many different genres were subtly influenced by Kraftwerk with their modern compositions that include synths and effects. This album was more sophisticated in scope and production that their 1977 album TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS. Ironically I think that "The Model", perhaps the most well known song from this album, is actually one of the weaker from this album. I added all of them to my collection and to my rotation. My favorites were "The Robots", "Spacelab", "Metropolis", "Neon Lights", "The Man-Machine". Their production on this album makes this kind of recording look easier than it was in 1978 to record electronic music. This album would prove pivotal to the development of artists like Gary Human, which then helped kick off the entire New Romantic/New Wave era in Great Britain and elsewhere. Most of what is great about 1980s music was inspired by earlier Kraftwerk, whether they knew it or not at the time.

She's Glen Hoddle and she's looooking good. 3rd Kraftwerk album already, this list has a lot of albums from the same artists. OK this is Kraftwerk goes pop. Catchy and still sounding like nothing else but influencing everyone. Sehr gut.

Noel Fielding's and Matt Lucas's portrayal of Kraftwerk in a Great British Bake Off cold open had me fully prepared for this. 3.5/5.0: Very Good

Cool, though redundant.

hey i already listened to this album it was very good its very good now or is it not now but later sooner or later the time would prescribe me a saint or a patron with letters or papers denied for vacants

It was definitely some interesting stuff going on here, felt symphonic at times. Warrants another listen

Fun listen, but most songs became repetitive quickly. Definitely ahead of its time though. Sounds really crisp, and likely influenced generations after.

For 1978 it's boundary pushing music. For 2024 it's like a child's toy keyboard.

Just.

Funky technotronic...it was ok, not really my style

Ground breaking, these guys started synchro-tech.

One of the first introductions into electronic music. My first introduction to electronic music. It’s just as weird and oddly satisfying as the first time I listened to it as a kid. 8/10

Seminal bangers

Synth / electronic. Good melody's but shows age in the genre. long and at times repetitive. 6.8/10

6.5/10

This one started off a bit cheesy but it got really good as it went on. I enjoyed this, 3.5.

I have given electronic music a lot of shit during this journey. Because I don't like it. But I always give it a fair chance when it comes up, I want people to know that. I'm not just maliciously assigning 1 star without ever trying to understand what might be worthy first. I guess most of the electronic music that comes up really is bonafide crap though. And I can see that clearly now that I've got this album to use as a gold standard going forward, because I am actually quite surprised by how much I've enjoyed this one. I think the main difference I perceive is that this feels like art. Legitimate, musical talent that has produced art. It feels like it has been thoughtfully created with a specific point of view and intentional musicianship versus all of the other acts that apparently just noodle aimlessly with dissonant tones and slap an "art" label on it at the end of the session. I can finally see the light, and I can finally hear the brilliance.

could i write poetry to this? n

Ahead of its time in 1978, this sounds very dated today. Again, Electronic Music is limited by the technology of the time. Kraftwerk was stretching the abilities of their machines to produce this, and their talent was quite evident. In 2024, however, any kid with Garageband on their phone could easily replicate this album. I'm surprised that this album was chosen from the Kraftwerk catalog. I would have expected the groundbreaking "Autobahn" or the often-sampled "Trans-Europe Express" instead. Two and one-half stars. Gaining a half-star because "Spacelab" was clearly the inspiration for the Police song "Invisible Sun", which I really enjoy.

Krautrock at its finest. 3.5 stars

Bonus for being ahead of their time. Bonus for some interesting sounds and artwork. The problem is that I would never purposely listen to Kraftwerk, and I don't really care for the repetitive electronic music they influenced.

We are indeed the robots. 4/5

You're alright in my book, Kraftwerk. A sort of adorableness to their earnestness

Just not my cup of tea.

Not my favorite thank you.

What should I say, music history.

I am not a man-machine, nor do I have any desire to be

This might be the beginning of techno music, but it’s not standing the test of time.

This is right up my alley.

Prima poco significativa. La seconda più carina Le altre meh. Album bruttino , particolare ma insignificante

Super ahead of its time, and still sounds great to this day

Only 36mins

Æi ... ég myndi sjaldan setja þetta í til að hlusta á af einhverri alvöru. Klassísk plata samt, kunnugleg, The Robots, The model

Really enjoyed this. Crazy how well this holds up.

DOITSU NO KAGAKU WA SEKAI ICHI

weird

A whole album full of hold music - WOW what a listen.

Los abuelos de la electrónica en estado puro

01001001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101101 01101111 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01101100 01101001 01110011 01101000 01100101 01100100 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 01111001 00100000 01001011 01110010 01100001 01100110 01110100 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101011 00100000 01100001 01101100 01100010 01110101 01101101 01110011 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00101110 3/5

As someone who played video games in the 1980’s, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Another classic of electronic music.

Didn’t like it

So cool, so synthy, really just unbelievable that this came out in 1978 because it still sounds so modern. Some songs are a little silly sounding (eg. Neon Lights), but most of it is just really great. Very listenable and melds into the background while also giving the listener a really cool feeling. Recorded so well. Five stars.

Not for me

It's easy to hear the significant influence that this album has had on subsequent generations of artists. However, it probably suffers the same fate as other great works that have been copied to the point of cliche: without considering the influence, the album doesn't have much individual staying power. Perhaps it's the consistent obscurity that Kraftwerk has had beyond name recognition (read: I don't know of any individual Kraftwerk songs that are certified bangers), but this album is more criterion than icon.

Very enjoyable beeps and boops and doesn't outstay it's welcome. Medium 3.

Seminal band, always wanted to try them. It's fine. Obviously foundational to later bands (electronic like Daft Punk, and not like Teleman) as well as contemporaries (Sparks), but too minimalist to hold up.

Awesome.

Like an 80s video game soundtrack

It doesn’t take long to hear their influence on the industrial music scene and bands like Nine Inch Nails. I am giving this a 5 star. I do wish that the vocals were a little louder and that there was a song I could add to my “driving in the city” playlist. It’s a 5 star because it was just an easy to listen to album that never once made me want to skip to the next song. That matters. Choice Cut: The Model

(off track comment:I knew I had missed a Kraftwerk album on this 1001 journey, and was driving so I couldn't recall which album. This will be my second from them, and the first was pretty robotic--which I get is by design,but I mean industrial/factory robots. I accidentally guessed it was Computer World, which I started and it had a lot more life in it.... hopefully this one is closer to that than The TransEurope Express) So this album is probably in the middle between the two mentioned above. Coincidentally that follows release order, so apparently they get better as they go on. This album also stood out for having the silly german dorky stereotype, which is a good thing. Kind of a shorter album, but pretty good. Favorite track "The Model" 3/5

I was in a bit of a daze all day and this didn't get me out of it. I barely know what to review this as. If it blended so well due to the design of it all, this is really impressive, but I have no idea how much of that vibe came from my listening state.

I was expecting this to sound more outdated and corny. I'm not sure that I've heard anything as timeless as this. If someone made me guess I doubt that I'd say the 1970s. Obviously influential. Anyway it sounds great. I almost wanted to go for a 5 but at the end of it, most of it was missing a spark for me. I liked the tittle track the most.

It's not really "listen to for fun" music, though there is something in it that draws you to it. Better for a sweaty dance floor at 1 am than for a living room couch at 1 pm. I like The Model but overall the songs go on way too long.

I imagine how amazing Kraftwerk must have sounded when these sorts of effects weren’t a proper music genre, and the idea of humans making music as robots is an interesting one. Still, it’s not quite for me, but I liked The Model and Neon Lights.

Oh, shit, we’re vibin’! I can see this is influential on all the dark synth-based musicians out there, and I get that.

Vinilo por The Model.

Im deutschen Original definitiv ein super Album. In der englischen Version funktioniert es für mich nicht gleich gut.

I did not expect to like this. Not only did I like it, I ended up listening to their other albums throughout the day. I had heard of Kraftwerk before, but knew nothing of their history. I enjoy this style of music in the background as I work.

Great to listen to. Great as backdrop when doing work... Beep Beep Bop...

Pretty all right not great not bad

Wow wild to have this type of music in the 70s. Didn't even know there were groups like this. No particular favorite song. Added to my Spotify library.

super cool!

Not bad. I can tell it's very influential. But I just didn't really enjoy most of it.

I had mixed feelings about this album. On the one hand, I appreciate the ground-breaking work they did for the electronica genre, but on the other hand I think that because they were basically the father of the genre it almost feels like a parody of itself at this point because it's so influential and is indirectly referenced through so much of modern content. I really enjoyed the instrumental/musical side of this album, but where it lost me was the lyrics because they felt really dated. With themes like "metropolis" "neon" and "robots" that were probably really futuristic at the time, now they are just commonplace and what we view as people from the 60's and 70's as thinking the future would be like.

I imagine not for everyone but more accessible than some of their other work.

01000011 01001111 01001111 01001100

Way ahead of its time. Favorite track: Neon Lights

I feel like it’s the same with these electronica albums. There are some good moments, but I really can’t wait for them to end. 2 stars

Incredible sounds, so futuristic (even now) and the template for so many artists to follow.

This was kind of an interesting one. No doubt I have heard of Kraftwerk but never actually sat down and listened to one of their albums. Some of these sounds seem almost cartoonishly cliché at this point, but they would have been new and exciting when this album came out. Then the album keeps going and it actually is pretty interesting once you get past the initial impression.

Strong 4

Don't know how people enjoy this sh###t

Not for me. Sounds like robot music.

Precioso!!! Espectacular

It's insane that this was made in the 70's. It's groundbreaking and highly influential to all sorts of music, right up to now. It sounds timeless and also nostalgic. I can't help but picture 80's video games when listening. With all that said I can't give this 5 stars as I found it a tad repetitive and annoying, and I wouldn't listen to it again. I am glad that I listened to it though.

Better than I expected

Superb example of Kraut electronic pop. Pioneering album

Sometimes music can just be something to listen to, not worry too much about, enjoy the sound, the rhythms, the little melodies, the chord changes. Just listening with no effort expected on the listener's part. Light entertainment for your amusement.

Officially 3, but adding a 0.5 in my heart for being short.

We Are The Robots was cool, I've never heard anything like this before. The repetitiveness of it is trance-like, and it feels like the bedrock of every electronic song I've heard before, but still really catchy and earwormish, despite it's sparseness. I enjoy the way the songs build up with droning tones into the main song. I'm not normally into synth sounds, but this album is great. It reminds me of playing old video games.

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!

My favorite electronic album. I can't wrap my head around how innovative it was in the 70s. Nowadays it seems so simple, almost too simple.

For early electronic music this is pretty good!

Must have sounded like it came from the future, but is now so old that it sounds a little dated. A record that has been so influential it sounds like a bunch of other stuff, but it came before pretty much all of it! Not my favourite genre, I prefer analogue instruments and especially value physical drums, but enjoyable and innovative

Good stuff! More accessible/radio friendly compared to Autobahn, which I listened to a few weeks ago.

Better than Autobahn. I can respect it.

Bad 80's background synth.

After a long break from all the really weird albums, we return to your scheduled broadcast of them with The Man Machine. And in all honesty, this album sounds very ahead of its time considering that it sounds like something that would be from the 80s or 90s yet its from 1978. The general electronic sounds used in the songs worked rather well too even if they could get repetitive but that is what you would expect with electronica albums. It is a bizarre album but that doesn't mean i didn't enjoy it. Best Song: The Man Machine Worst Song: Metropolis

Techno pop.

Not my normal rotation but a solid album

So techno! Honestly for the genre and the time period it's pretty good. Techno tends to fade into the background for me so I did have to listen a couple of times to really "hear" it.

Props for pioneering.

I listened to The Man Machine on iTunes and found it exceptionally dorky. Bleep bloops and silly repetitive lyrics. Then I had a thought… they’re a German band, why are all their songs in English? Autobahn is in German and it sounds way cooler than the English version “Drive drive drive on the highway” So I looked up the German version, Die Mensch Machine. It’s still bleep bloops but their native language sounds so much better! So I give the English version a 3 and the German version a 4. I also think it shoulda counted as my Duolingo for the day.

The model only good track

I try to be positive on here. So I’ll keep this short. Not my favorite.

1978...still sounds modern

Brilliant

Much more melodic than I expected

swing~

Solid Kraftwerk album, had some nice memorable melodies and decent vocal hooks. These aren’t always the most exciting LPs, but this band was pivotal in bringing electronica to the forefront and it’s fascinating to hear that sea change take shape here.

I seem to really love Kraftwerk!

Wel lekker relaxed maar spotify speelde A Forest van the Cure toen het album was afgelopen en toen dacht ik ja weet je ik kan ook naar dit soort dingen luisteren