The Man Machine

I give it a 2 because I hear the influence in a lot of songs I like. Can't imagine going to a Kraftwerk show.

Das hat mir sehr gut gefallen. schöne Techno-Hintergrundmusik. frühen Industrial, bevor es richtig heavy wurde. dies ist eine 3,5 und wird aufgerundet.

Honestly? Better than the last Kraftwerk album and much better than expected. Reminded me a lot of modern video game music, specifically Risk of Rain (which has an AMAZING soundtrack you should definitely look up). At less than 40 minutes, it does not overstay its welcome. 4 stars!

Wasn't a big fan of this when I first heard it (I still think they peaked on the previous album) but I appreciate it more these days. Although, having heard it in German this time, I think it probably works better in English.

3.5

I imagine this album would have been groundbreaking at the time with its use if synthesisers and drum machines. The music itself is pretty good too, you can hear the influences on the likes of Daft Punk

Альбом, который повлиял на десятилетия вперед

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YCOT5LasKc That fucking skit is all I can think about while I was listening to this one. I liked it though.

A nice one! Better than I expected. This kind of genre is one that I appreciate but often have difficulty enjoying. However, the melodies here really worked for my ears.

Man, I don't even have an opinion. OK, aside from having a desire to quote Marvin from Pulp Fiction, I'll take Gary Neumann, the Human League, and Thomas Dolby over these fellas.

Pretty weird. Decent to have on in the background while working though.

Interesting. I can see how unique and groundbreaking it was in its time, and its influence on modern electronic music.

Ne znan zašto san uopće poslušala budući da mi se prvi album nije svidia. Ni ovaj mi se ne sviđa, al vidin poboljšanje u odnosu na prvi album pa evo 2/5

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

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

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 enjoyed it, got me going and lots of different sounds and that

I'm so sorry but I still don't get Kraftwerk, it doesn't speak to me. I understand why others do but I am utterly unmoved and ambivalent by their music. Soz

I'm not a massive Kraftwerk fan but this is undoubtedly a vibe and as I think we've said before on here they were clearly very influential on a lot of music, I guess I just wouldn't ever choose to listen to them

Was fun to listen to, gets a bit repetitive though

Had to switch to the german version during The Model, just because it's too weird to hear it in english; but a classic album either way, far ahead of its time.

An interesting electronic album. No recognized songs

Fun- i could see what they were creating

Electronic music is definitively not my cup of tea...However, after listening to it over and over again on this list, I kinda see what makes this type of song important for the music history and concepts at all. At least, this album is not completely annoying

2.5/5 Not really my type of music, but I can see why people like this. It’s not bad, just not my style. Favourite song: - Neon lights

Boring

gud

It still sounds like the future! I have no idea how they made this in 1978. It must have been incredible to have heard it at the same time as punk…

Splinky Splonky noises. Felt like I was in a video game.

Música de fliperama

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.

This was weird, and I loved it. This music is very different from most things I have heard, and I really like it.

Too electronic for me

kind of like a daft punk precursor?

Great electronic album.

Computer noises and robotic voices. Neat...

4.0

I didn't like.

There's nothing else to say but *chef's kiss*.

So these guys didn't do Tron? Because it sounds like they should have. Daft Punk back in the day. Not a bad listen!

Original sparse synthwave. Maybe a little sparse but still hold up well against modern followers.

Stan Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk RULES. I could hear and FEEL the neon lights in "Neonlicht". Ultra beautiful, slick, and futuristic, even 43 years later!!!

After listening to their last album, they try to keep the same course. They also added 2 catchy songs. (6/10) FT: The Model, Neon Light

very cool och ball och allt det där men man orkar ju inte med så mkt sånt här i streck tycker jag

Stabil, Obevekligt banbrytande har dock åldrats sisådär.

Lite tråkigt väl? Händer nästan ingenting och låtarna är jättelånga. Fick Human League-vibbar, några killar som precis upptäckt synten. Rimligt 1978, inte superspännande 2022. Kände dock igen slingan från The Model så himla väl, hade ingen aning om att det var Kraftwerk.

Ett banbrytande album. som the wall utan alla tråkiga gitarrer och bögig sång

I expected ... I don't know? More? I've previously reviewed their album, "Autobahn" and quite enjoyed it's layered symphony. This album, however, seemed... amateur. Kinda boring, really. Shame.

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.

I've never actually listened to this album in full from start to finish. It felt a little like a history lesson, rather than a pleasant experience. I know that I'm suppose to adore Kraftwerk. I can't even pronounce their name properly. But I find it all a little... soulless. Sorry.

Aucun défaut

MUSKAT NUSS HERR MULLER Prefs: TOUT Moins pref: NADA

Average, early pioneering electronica. Groundbreaking for the ‘70’s but hasn’t weathered so well over time

Pretty funky.

Boing boom tschak mais ça suffit pas à passer 1 étoile

unexpected gem. Slightly dated, but still enjoy the sound.

Futuristic electronic music by one of the first acts in that genre, besides the massive influence i think this record must have had in the electronic genre i don't think it has aged that well, but even with that it was a fun listen and i will probably try it again, mostly the tracks i enjoyed. Fav Tracks: Neon Lights, The Man Machine

Meh, I’d rather listen to Donna Summer - or even Robbie Williams actually.

This album sounds like it was exclusively used to score B movies from the 80s even though it came out in 1978. It also sounds like a sort of progenitor to daft punk because it’s much more simplistic but still well produced.

Not only groundbreaking sound, at the time, but also music that's still very good today.

3.5, takie o, ale brkthrgh.

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.

some of the trecks are great

Kraftwerk has got some great beats. Awesome ride.

Drugi kraftwerkowy material na liscie, tym razem najbardziej popularny albumik, wiec the man machine z 78, bedacy siodmym studyjnym nagraniem w dorobku bandy, jak to w przypadku elektroniki tworzonej przy pomocy poteznych synthow czlowiek nie wie jakie dzwieki go atakauja, tak w tym wypadku atak byl tak minimalistyczny, ze wrecz nieodczuwalny, nie jest to brzmienie krautowe jak w poprzednim autobahnie, a cos bardziej konwencjonalnego w normach synthowego popu, bo jest to material popowy, co wlasnie kupilo mnie o wiele bardziej niz eksperymentalna autostrada, popowe brzmienie elektro polaczone z luznym konceptem, ktory jednym slowem mozna podsumowac jako futuryzm, tworzy dobre kombo, material niby z lat 70, a sluchajac mam wrazenie, ze znam te brzmienia z vaporowowych trakow, wiec juz wiadomo czym tworcy tego renesansowego zrywu artystycznego sie mogli inspirowac, kolejna sprawa sa wykorzystane wokale, w wiekszej czesci sa one mocno przepuszczone przez modulatory w celu uzyskania brzmienia pokroju mister robato arigato, ale na najbardziej popowym utworze plyty, otwierajacego druga strone the model, utrzymanej w sarkastycznym tonie historii pieknej kobiety i jej roli we wspolczesnym spoleczenstwie, nie mozna sie przyczepic do jakosci anglinskich wojsow, a przeciez banda niemiecka i sa nawet wersje dojczowe, ktorych nie sprawdzalem, bo angielskie brzmia na tyle dobrze, ze nie widze sensu szukac czegos lepszego, jak zazwyczaj ciezko mi sie slucha elektronicznych pickow, tak the man machine skatowalem juz chyba z piec razy, bo samo nagranie ma 36 minut i zawiera 6 dosc rowno podzielonych czasowo trakow, na plejke rokowa leci the model, ktory ma w sobie cos co kojarzy mi sie z tworczoscia residentow, a na guti szitowa otwierajacy the robots, ale rowno dobrze moglby to byc kazdy inny utwor, bo plyta jest rowna i ciezko znalezc momenty nudne badz niepotrzebne, calosc wiec laduje w biblioteczce spotifajowej zasluzonych krazkow

Великий альбом

So influential, sounds like a score for a science fiction picture.

Big fan of the sound of this one. Atmospheric and slightly dystopian. Bring on more Kraftwerk!

Good electronic music.

WE ARE THE ROBOTS. This album is all angles and geometry. Metropolis sounds way ahead of its time. Goddamn that specific song has been copy pasted to a wide variety of success about a billion times. The album as a whole is a great showcase of this sound and style. The influence it has on electronic music is hard to overstate.

Musical pioneers! For todays standards it's a tad minimalistic and bare bones electronic music but for the time it released it's insane. Still a fantastic album. Fav tracks: The Robots, Spacelab, Neon Lights

Lots of respect for this extraordinary sounds and recordings. They opened up a door for a whole new musical genre. It was fun to listen to but rather felt like a musical history class than something I would listen to in my everyday life.

niche. interesting at times. overall i felt bored

Fun

This one is a real jam. And trailblazer

big electronic fan, so hearing earlier stuff is fun, it's certainly more primitive but there's something kind of fun about that.

interesting samples

hehe funny robot beepy noises

Ja das is gut

I enjoyed this one a lot - unique and true to itself. I can imagine how amazing it would have been when it was released in 1978, and still sounds fresh

Way, way better than Trans-Europe Express, which came out only a year earlier. Some of these tracks were one pounding baseline away from a Deadmou5 hit.

Not really for me but can see how they became so influential in the dance/elctro music scene

Interesting. But, gets monotonous.

This was better than I expected. I really like the synthy instruments.

First Listen. I'm sure this was better in 1978. It isn't too bad today too. Enjoyable. Standouts: The Model 2/5 for now.

Yllättävän hyvää kamaa ollakseen näinkin pioneerikamaa. Kestänyt aikaa, vaikkakin kuulostaa kyllä retromenolta. Neon Lights oli vähän pitkäveteinen, mutta muuten vangitseva levy. Ekaa biisiä kuunnellessa meni hetken aikaa ihmetellessä, että mistä tää sävel on niin tuttu, että onko jossain myöhemmin samplattu vai muuten vain lainattu. Pähkäilyn jälkeen vastaus löytyi: We are the Robots -> Minä olen poro!

Levy lähti räväkästi liikkeelle coverilla Eläkeläisesten Humppaavasta Porosta. Myöhemmin levyllä tuli vastaan vielä Cardigans-coverikin. Kaikkea ne saksalaiset keksiikin. Onhan tämä kyllä todella klassisen tyylikästä menoa, jossa ehdottomasti less is more. Kraftwerk-tuntemukseni on aiemmin perustunut yksittäisiin biiseihin (joista toki merkittävä osa löytyi tältä levyltä), mutta hyvinhän tämä potkii myös albumimuodossa. Neljän tähden arvoinen iloinen jälleennäkeminen.

I love zeez goddamn krazy Germans and zere krafty trailblazing of genrez various. Amazingly accessible avant garde krauty goodness, totally futuristic, forward thinking, look into the krystal ball, pioneering goodness. YA

Didn't age that well, it was OK. The vocals did not work for me it was distracting and unnecessary. Overall: 6/10 I like Mort Garson - Plantasia much better in the same ish genre.

не ну это ш крафтверк, чо тут можно ваще говорить, давно уже всё сказано

Very cool. They made a splash with their electronics in the late 70s! Many are influenced by Kraftwerk and don't even know it! Definitely a cool listen. I may revisit a few tracks for some of my electronic playlists. Rating 5 for importance to modern Electronica!

Like it just because it's from 1978.

While I recognize this band as one of the best of their genre, this style of music doesn't grab me at all. It is a short album that could easily be played in the background at a bar or restaurant, but I could not get into it using my full attention.

Probably ahead of it’s time. Kind of boring and repetitive, but pretty interesting. Lacking vocal content. 5/10.

It's alright?

It flew by, and I don't remember a thing about it. So it can't have been actively bad. But also not good

I couldn't name the title of any track by Kraftwerk, but I do like their music. This is my second Kraftwerk album to review on this list. The sounds that they were able to produce is interesting. I think that I can recognize when others are following Kraftwerk's style. "The Model" was my least favorite track, because of the vocals / spoken word. "Space Lab" and "Metropolis" were my favorite tracks. I'd probably listen to this album again (rounding up to 4 stars)

Kraftwerk's seventh album released in 1978 to poor commercial success at first, until four years later when the album took off and was certified gold. This electronic / synth-pop album can be attributed as the beginning of the new wave electro-pop genre that would only grow in the decades following this album. The simple sci-fi rhythms and sparse lyrics made this a great album to dance to, and was also a factor in helping grow the popularity of electronic dance music. This album may very well be the grandfather to all of the edm albums of today, and I believe the simple synth-pop beats still hold up to this day.

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

“Only a curmudgeon could reject a group that synthesizes the innovations of Environments and David Seville & the Chipmunks.”

bland as fuck in majority of the album. the model is very funky and nostalgic though

This album really surprised me. It's short, and I thought that Kraftwerk was a completely different type of music. I find this to be like a very downtempo Daft Punk sound.

We are the Robots!

Classique. L'un des meilleurs albums d'électro

Listen I get that it's pioneering and all that but I don't really care for it. At least it was over quick. 5/10.

Bangerzzz

Considering the year it was released, these tunes have a modern accessibility. Very enjoyable, repetitions and all

Vibey

2/5 not my cup of tea at all

too robotic for my liking

gutted i didn't have to get on a train today as this is train music.

Now this is an album that I think would really pique the interest of both Jude and Iris Law. 🍤 Pretty revolutionary, wasn't it? The past masters of the future. Haunting and echoing, the album glides effortlessly into the future that has now long since arrived. Yeah Again, Thomas Tuchel would be tops off on the u bahn with a traffic cone up his ass. Speaking of The Man Machine... and cones up the ass, I wonder when SHACK will ever do a review again.

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.

Unique, but a bit boring

I quite enjoyed this, but I'm not sure that I'll really listen to it a lot again. No bad songs, but it didn't really grab me. Probably around a 3.5 for me, but in the end I go by how likely I am to put it on again.

Sounds like it was recorded last year. Awesome.

As expected, quite spare. Accessible, but it's no a Autobahn, sadly. 3.5 out of 5

Awesome club music. Heavy on the industrial beats.

The music is naive, and future is nothing like what they imagined, but still nice

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.

All time classic love it

Whack. Sounds like a kid on garage band trying to make alien movie music.

Устарело

We now know who Daft Punk learnt it off!

It was fine. Pretty cool from a historical standpoint. I feel like this might have been some of the first widely accepted forms of electronic music.

These guys are where it’s at. Pioneers of electronic music.

The title track is the best Kraftwerk song hands down. Classic/10

It's a wonderful album start to finish

Already listened to.

Sounds silly, but it's almost not dystopian enough. The relentless pounding rhythm of Autobahn say. Its obviously hugely influential, but is missing................. *something*

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.

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.

admittedly my first contact with Kraftwerk was when they opened for Radiohead back in 2009 here in México, prior than that I had zero idea who they were... the first thing that really struck me was that they did not seem to be the usual opener act, they were older and there was people who wanted to see Kraftwerk only and had paid full tickets for it even if they were going to be onstage only going to be for like 40 minutes. They did ok considering that everyone wanted Radiohead but the show to me was quite dull and those robots quite cringe (I really liked "das model" tho). After that I got curious about them, I went and downloaded their music and read about their influence, I downloaded some songs and read about their influence, I really wanted to like them and I even saw them once more in a festival for which they gave away 3D glasses. That concert was more fun (I was also quite drunk lol) but I never be like “oh let’s put on some Kraftwerk”. I guess I just had to be there 40 years ago to really enjoy them. Of course I hear the massive influence and I can see why all that reverence but to me they sound quite dated but more than that they sound very, very dorky.

Probably pretty revolutionary for electronic music, but wasn’t for me.

Brilliant but wouldn’t listen to anything other than The Model again.

I'm sure it sounded ground breaking when it came out but hearing it for the first time 40 years on its pretty simplistic and largely boring.

Groundbreaking at the time but has aged a bit

I can get why this was innovative at the time - hasn’t aged well at all though

Werks for me

I can hear how influential they were to 80s music hence the 2

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

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.

Very good

Крафтверк есть крафтверк, не моё это.

Really loved this synth pop pre new wave album. Got me moving with a driving rhythm and great electronic beats.

Weirdly enjoyable in an otherworldly sense. To me this is a case of great taste, terrible execution. I don't enjoy listening to it very much, but the sounds remind me so much of some of my favorite artist Perturbator and Carpenter Brut, and I guess the whole retro wave genre took some sort of inspiratiokn from these cybernetic sounds. Definitely belongs on this list. I'll bump it up a score for that. Plus; the albumcover looks awesome.

A little trippy but chill to listen to while working.

Classic.

from the first second you can hear the typical kraftwerk sound for me its timeless

Discazo! Una obra maestra

Great album. I really liked it.

Half the tracks here would be decent background music for a Cyberpunk game. The other half don't really go anywhere and don't have much going for them.

1978. 6 songs, most over 5 minutes. It's a very even and smooth album. Obviously a bit groundbreaking and influential for the time. The Model has lyrics. I consider this to be an essential album, but not sure how often I would put this on.

Really ahead of its time. You can see how contemporary artists were influenced by Kraftwerk just by listening.

Innovative and paved the way for electronic music.

Great. Can see it's influence everywhere.

Can definitely see the influence on a lot of modern music. Crazy it came out in 78. Not always a huge fan of the vocals though.

Very 80's video game

Had forgotten about this album, haven't heard it for decades! Interesting, totally different to everything else that was appearing at that time. I remember The Robots and The Model being hits at the time. A sound that was ahead of it's time and influenced later music. Not my favorite but creative and groundbreaking.

Delightful synth with the origins of dance music felt. Even though a little repetitive, never felt to be irritating.

para ser del 78 es una pasada los mejores the model y neon lights y the man machine melodias chulas sonido chulo minimalista no se hace repetitivo la segunda mitad del disco mola mas uso del vocoder

Raro denarices pero groovie

- Cohesive album, a little slow to dance to. - synths are so clean they could have been made yesterday. Timeless. - Will listen to again but needs a specific mood.

64. Dusseldorf are meine. Faltava-me estes esta gente maravilhosa, o meu grupo preferido. As lágrimas correm-me ppppela cara abaixo. Depois dos canos ao Mundusweit, do Faust, adorar este kraftrock. Hoje vi estes homens fabulosos. Isto é isto isto é uma lição ali para os DJs parolos de todo o mundo. Estes homens hoje TOCARAM. Hoje houve falhas. Ali o Ralph fantástico a cantar as canções. Estou enternecido. Le Tour de France... tiri tiriri eu embalei o meu filho, o António, ao som do Trans-Europa Express tiri tiriri tiriri. Isto é fantástico, isto é o futuro. E o chique deste Cascais nunca mais, nunca mais haverá sangue em Cascais mas haverá sim esta eletrónica. É uma noite perfeita, eu hoje... hoje só me falta dar-lhe um beijo de cada lado. Du mach bin ich bin ich bin eine Dusseldorfer. Isto era uma das minhas bandas preferidas desde sempre, desde miúdo. NUNCA hoje era hoje era nós uns e os outros, les uns et les autres, antes de morrer ver o Kraftwerk e eles são perfeitos na estética tá fantastica não é tá lindíssimo e realmente dá 10-0 à parolice dos DJs internacionais os homens TOCAM MESMO LÁ HOUVE FALHAS eu vi as válvulas tchiqchoot chucachoochoo é eletrónica e é humano e é fantástico eles são... Tinham uma coisa que era um bocadinho esquisita que era "Mais vale energia atómica que nenhuma energia", não mas hoje puseram ali um Chernobyl a dizer que a nossa energia é esta e é a SIC tão mais umas beijocas e COVINHAS MotA: Spacelab "We're charging our battery and now we're full of energy"

This is a fun album. Another ive never heard off. Easy listening beats. Kinda silly now but I’m sure it was cutting edge when it came out. It’s a little repetitive but I’m glad I listened to it.

Pretty funky

Awful.

Not bad

the first track sounds like stereotypical 80s music, which is impressive considering the album is from 1978 track 2 sounds like a movie soundtrack track 3's harmonic synth transition into a dance beat feels straight off the stranger things soundtrack the alternation between German and English vocals on tracks 4 and 5 especially the last track is chill. this album was ahead of its time in my ears.

Was probably seen as a seminal dance album - I could see their impact on Daft Punk et al. but seems rather tame by today's standards

Faithful to one concept, but not much differentiation between tracks.

Idk skimmed through

Pretty cool

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

Funky new wave

Not usually my style, as very repetitive music can get annoying to me, but there were parts in this album that I somehow enjoyed to a surprising extent. I would say this is more the type of music that you really want to make some time and space to listen to and flow with it. Also works pretty well for sex.

Very spacey with a ton of synths. Heavy robotic and machine themes. Overall very linear, there isn’t much development through the album. It all feels like one long song, albeit a good song.

Kraftwerk walked so Daft Punk could fly. This album is really good. Lack of singles is a lack of 5 stars, but regardless I love this.

On the first tone I thought of disco but I think the lyrics are weird

One of my all time favorites.

3.5 - A fun listen! The production is incredible, especially for the late 70s. Great use of layering sounds, moving left right back and forth without seeming too busy or competing with each other. Each song was unique enough to paint it's own mental picture. Songs with lyrics in the second half left something to be desired. Would have preferred an instrumental. Very immersive as a whole album experience, but at the same time there are no songs that I'd pick out to go back to individually.

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.

wish I could give it a 4.5; the only thing that knocks it down to 4 is the repetitiveness *which* I know is kind of Kraftwerk's thing. I do like Computer World a bit better too.

I like this more than the other electronic stuff we’ve had so far. It because it’s so simple and melodic.

I do not like electronic music, but I can hear how this helped influence the music that was to follow with sequencing and all that jazz.

Not my fave. But I can see other people digging it's grooves.

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.

This album reminds me of driving through the Oxfordshire countryside. Class.

No es mi vibra pero está ok

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

Bueno... A ver, ok. Mola mucho ver cómo muchos de sus recursos y señas identitarias viven en algunos de mis artistas de electrónica favorito. Pero es un disco que apenas disfruto, seguramente por la ausencia de dinámica relevante en las canciones y un tempo bajo. Meh.

techno pop upbeat and fun. Didn't make it all the way through but that's to do with my stress levels.

Na didn't like

beautiful robot music

I really just can't deal with this. "We are the robots"?? Come on.

Def weird but maybe this was ahead of it time for 1978

80s serial killer music. A great listen

Super bad.

100011011010101100010111001101001110100100111

Probably wouldn't ever listen to it again

Music for a serial killer. But a couple beats were tolerable for the first min

This is album provides glimpse into the trial and error period that got us to the bodacious 80's. An error nonetheless.

Cheesy space movie but I like that. They are pioneers of electronic music. Someone had to make these silly noises.

Du du du du

TITÁNICO, GIGANTE, TRASCENDETAL, FUTURISTA.

amazing that 40 years later, you could recreate this album in Garage Band for your indie game soundtrack.

Bastante volado, se nota que son los comienzos de la electrónica.

didn't like the first song, had to skip it before the first half, In general I didn't enjoy the sounds, 2/5

Apesar de que medio comprendo la importancia de Kraftwerk en la música electrónica, no me he logrado convencer de mi apreciación por su música. En simples palabras, me aburre. Aun así las primeras canciones son agradables y disfruté The model porque Ramastein hizo un covee de ella en alemán, así que la identifiqué de inmediato. Mood: robotina goes viral

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

Awesome minimalist electronic pop record. 2/3 years ahead of its time.

Highlights: Spacelab, The Motion Simplistic rhythms, early sci-fi synths, sequencers before sequencers existed. This is early electronic, meticulously and judiciously executed. Obviously, Kraftwerk laid the groundwork for acts such as Daft Punk and Devo to follow, but also served as inspiration for the 80's computer demo-scene composers such as Skaven and Purple Motion (and later Future Crew). The problem with reviewing electronic music is that what was state-of-the-art then sounds primitive and dated by today's standards. Does it hold up? I dunno...You could probably put a caveman's wheel on your modern car, but it might not get you as far.

“The Man Machine” by Kraftwerk (1978) Love that cover art—Oh, wait. The American version doesn’t have German band members dressed in uniform shirts and ties standing in formation facing to the right (which is their left) in militarized synchronization, close-coiffed hair, mock feminine makeup, and grim expression, all but shouting “S.A., S.A., S.A., . . . !” Wonder why. I love German music. I played Kraftwerk’s earlier “Autobahn” over and over in 1974, driving my roommate crazy. Synth pop, the early days. “The Man Machine” represents a slight evolution, but the mechanistic composition/technical flair, so impressive in 1978 doesn’t stand the test of time. This is one of the main reasons why albums that rely on tech for their appeal don’t have the enduring quality as music. They are easily and quickly surpassed. Unlyrics that have only an ambivalent tinge of the political (“Я твой слуга; Я твой работник”) become passé in ten short years. Minimoog riffs become passé in ten short months, and the overall listening experience becomes passé in ten short minutes. Pretty well fatal for a 36-minute album. Anyway, plowing through it, one finds occasional delights: the comic (to English ears) German tongue roll on the word “robots” (“The Robots”); sensitivity to tonal range in composition; accelerating scales and arpeggios evolving into complex chords (at the beginning of “Spacelab” and “Metropolis”); careful attention to phasing between instruments (no easy feat, especially in 1978). But the vocals are poor—and they should stick to German instead of attempting English (“but the Marketing Dept. says, . . . “ or “Aber die Marketing-Abteilung sagt, . . . “). No, boys, “Autobahn” worked precisely because the minimal lyrics were in German (I’m still singing „Wir fahren, fahren, auf der Autobahn“ in mein kopf.). This is background music for assembly line work. Feeling-crushing monotony. Cool. 2/5

"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.

beep boop

Sin afán de poner en ridículo a pioneros tan reconocidos como Kraftwerk, quisiera decir que "The Robots" ahora suena un tanto risible, no estoy seguro de si en su momento también provocaba risa, y me parece que dentro del conjunto de las 6 canciones, desentona en una cierta forma que no puedo explicar del todo. En fin, que por lo demás, me suena muy bien, pero sobre todo porque amo los sintetizadores. Me gustó más de la 4 a la 6 que de la 1 a la 3. Todo es muy sampleable, yo digo y de repente se siente vibra darketona (?). Está padre. 8/10

Ekstremt sterk 4/5 her. Eneste som trekker ned er jo at det kan bli litt i overkant minimalistisk til tider. Tysk-versjon bedre enn engelsk, imo.

You get pretty much what the title of the album says, although I liked Autobahn way more

Cool and fun electronic dance music, very minimalistic

Entiendo que fueron novedosos, pero es un tostón repetitivo. Envejece mal

crazy this album was released in 1979. this is basically what Daft Punk is built on. i give it a 4/5 for sound and historical significance

Really quite liked this, should listen to more Kraftwerk

No sé, cómo que me gusta más de lo que quisiera que me gustara.

Semibängeri Helt jännä electro/techno/whatever

Forut for sin tid der altså...

particolare, super elettronico

Really unique and cool use of synthesizers for it's age

OK

A surprising amount of high pitched tinny electronic music. The Model is cool, but nothing here really excites me or makes me want to explore this style of electronic music.

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

Love. This one is genuinely life changing for music.

not such a fan

Few lyrics, industrial, mechanical sounding. Reminds me of old school techno/ synth wave vibes, could be a soundtrack to a old video game.

innovative stuff

Exceptionally weird. Exceptionally cool.

Les falta barrio.

amazing

A webo, parecía que no pero me termino gustando. Para trabajar a gusto.

Timeless classic

I am grateful to them for giving us Daft Punk via their influence but I find this music SO BORING!!!

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.

Good stuff. Fun to listen to it and think about how influential this was in modern electronic music in a lot of ways. Vocoder FTW.

Kind of cool sounds, but pretty boring overall.

I liked it and I can see why Kraftwerk are considered The Godfather’s of this type of sound.

I really enjoyed this.

no thank you.

Would be better on drugs

It may be historically influential but it has not aged well and just sounds hokey now. The tracks that have aged the best IMO are not the bigger hits (e.g., The Robots, The Model) but Spacelab and Metropolis, which have a clear influence on later (and superior) acts.

3.8

We are the robots- bloop, beep bop beep

Had a lot of hope for this album at the beginning of the first song but then it got repetitive and boring. Seems like this inspired a lot of electronic music in the 80s. But over all pretty average.

Not a bad album. Does it need to be on this list?

very cool, I had never heard of this artist but I like it a lot

For me this is definitely an acquired taste thing, and boy have I not acquired that taste yet. Perhaps someday, but as of now, I can give credit where credit is due. This guys probably pioneered the early elctro-music scene or whatever, but this was a struggle to get through.

never again

Surprisingly good. I’m a new fan!

Classic electronic album that you can feel the echoes of throughout modern music.

Welcome to Night City, 1977

these guys have put out some good work but you would have to be on some good acid to listen to this full album in one sittin

1.5, pretty bad...

Forgot to save my notes. Spongebob chrome episode. Very robotic and old school futuristic. Kinda grew on me but was the first one that I wanted to skip

Sounds like what Daft Punk heard and wanted to make more exciting. Also some LCD Soundsystem vibes.

Awesome.

Great background album. Would be amazing on Vinyl. Counter - there are no hits to go track seeking on.

Kind of boring.

Ok but not my type so it's hard to tell..

4.5

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

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

Classic album that flows seamlessly. Robots love it!

Okay, but not my cup of tea.

"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.

Beautiful bass lows and soothing synths. Some songs went on a little too long. Favorite songs: The Robots, Spacelab

Key songs: Das Model, The Robots

Best Kreftwerk album

a la Tron Legacy electro-techno