Reviews (page 2 of 13)
Loved this. So ahead of its time and influential.
Ooh I love this. This is way better than the Autobahn album, which was my first exposure to Kraftwerk. This has cool sounds, awesome synths, interesting structures and arrangements, but most importantly it has great songs. It starts off a little more experimental, lures you in, then wallops you with a pop masterpiece like “The Model.” Really fun, I listened to it twice in a row. Must-listen #349.
Them bleeps bloop hard.
Marvellous.
Gesamtkunstwerk
I love this album. Here is an essay about how it’s the most influential album of the last 50 years
Pre mňa najlepší album od Kraftwerk. Baví ma aj v nemčine aj v angličtine.
Stilistiskt fulländad! Och "Das model" är en av de två bästa poplåtarna i historen, den andra är förstås "Be my baby"
Allt faller på plats. Oslagbara popmelodier. Minimalistisk synthdisco. Briljant ljudteknik. En ren hitskiva där The Model, Neonlights, The robots och Spacelab är allra starkast.
4 and a half stars😛 wie konnte die band mit EINEM album das nur SECHS songs enthält solche berühmten banger kochen
So warm and hopeful, welcoming the future and creating these beautiful, evocative soundscapes.
Wow, this was a surprise listen for me. I LOVED this! It felt like I was stepping into a movie with Tron/Blade Runner/Stranger Things-vibes and I thought some lyrics (especially the song about the model lol) were so absurdly silly that I literally laughed out loud. But I absolutely loved this and would totally listen to it again as background music when I need to feel like I’m going into another planet or something!
It’s astonishing that an album from almost 50 years ago still sounds as if it’s been dropped through a time warp from a sci-fi future where man and machine have merged, and icy robots dance in the neon lights of a cyber metropolis. This album was massively influential on many genres of music, from 80’s synth pop and hip-hop, to electro, house and EDM in the 90s and beyond. There are even elements of trip-hop and ambient, which explains why this album sounds both contemporary and timeless. This version is the remastered one from 2009, but to be honest the original sounded pretty good on the cassette that I listened to on my Walkman way back when. It’s difficult to pick out highlights from this as it’s all excellent, but if pushed I would go for the stunning electronic Motorik beat on Spacelab which is still eminently danceable. Robot-tastic!
KRAFTWERK
Re-discovering Kraftwerk yielded some actually beautiful tracks. All-time gold
Love this band. Love this album. Can't get enough.
For some reason I used to hear Kraftwerk a lot at home as a kid, so I was very familiar with some of the songs in here. This album is spectacular. The production is amazing, and I bet it was very innovative for its time. 5/5
is good
I was on the fence about buying a synth to mess around with. Now I’m buying a synth.
I don't believe it, but it might be another 5. It's the second Kraftwerk I listen, and I liket it a bunch more than Autobahn. The electric sound here are so fresh and existing to this day. It's unbelievable it was made in 1978. Sometimes we treat this albums as examples for music evolution, but this time you don't need any excuse to love it. The strongest thing in this album is actually the musical ideas. Melodies, harmonies and beats. The electronic instruments are just the, well, instruments. What a listen. (I mean, the man machine sounds like an early 2000's tune. Unbelievable)
I fell for the Columbia Record House thing in... 1983? Agonizing over those wee stamps, and them gluing them into place... SOOO VIRGO!!! I ordered The Moody Blues' mediocre album; the Eagles something; a few Greatest Hits albums, because who knew if Neil Young's Harvest really was all gold. And oddly, I ordered Kraftwerk's "Computer World." Probably because that was the year my dad built his own Radio Shack TRS-80, with a case he lifted from HP that looked almost EXACTLY like Kraftwerk's cover. And of all the albums I got, only "Computer World" stuck. Definitely, my love of Euro electronica circa 1983 world got a boost from my friend Russell, who was a big Gary Numan booster, and who supported Kraftwerk as a side thing. I listened to "Pocket Calculator" while messing with my sister's Speak and Spell on family vacations. I listened to it on my first Walkman. But I kept on listening, and as the eras of my youth evolved into a post-college life that was based in computer use, I kept finding new veins of meaning in what appeared on the surface to be beyond simple. Turns out "Computer World" was beloved by early 80s hiphop pioneers, too. Man Machine is not my heart's album. But it gets a 5 because the band is a lifetime joy for me. I listened to "Computer World" again last week, even.
Unbelievable that this was released in 1978. Years ahead of its time and probably one of the most influential albums of all time. Classic
This one felt very spacy and almost ambient to me which I really enjoyed. The tracks are pretty repetitive, but enough new sounds or changes happen often enough to keep me engaged Standouts Space Lab The Man Machine 5/5
Phenomenal! You hear music history being made, but it also still holds up as a pop album.
Completely ahead of its time. A classic to go back to now and then. Just spectacular
Listening notes... im lost and aimless, borrowed time
good
music is love
Kraftwerk: The Pop Album
An all time classic
1110 1010 1111 01001
One of my favorite music discoveries came one day several years ago when I was home alone and put on Kraftwerk’s “Computer World,” the follow-up to this album, and started cleaning the house. It is the absolute perfect domestic soundtrack in the way it elevates the rote to sublime. Anyway, I think I technically prefer that album to this one, but only by a hair. The Man Machine has a slightly poppier sheen, and even a bit of Giorgio Moroder influence in the track “Metropolis,” compared to the minimalist, alien quiet of CW. But it’s still weird and cool and light years ahead of its time and we should all be thankful for Kraftwerk.
A near perfect kraftwerk album. All the songs are great and the perfect length they need to be.
Geweldig
Nice
y
This is the defining album by Kraftwerk, concept- and music-wise. The album is perfectly balanced, the songs are timeless and many of these songs remain unreached.
man sad machine goes brrrrr man happy
Zeitgeist. It was the era when science fiction was booming. The era when astronauts were working in multinational space stations. The future was just around the corner. I’ve known this album ever since it came out. In German. The English-language version still sounds strange, a bit off. Perhaps also because the strong accent makes it clear that the lyrics were never intended to be in English. But that doesn’t matter. Because with Kraftwerk, it’s the atmosphere, the concept, the idea – and the music, of course – that counts. The album is a masterpiece. Their most commercially successful one. And perhaps not even their very best. But great. Still visionary, almost 50 years after its release. And the future is still around the corner. For better of for worse.
Absolutely adore Kraftwerk, brilliant album
Fuckin stellar mate
Zehr güt! Fantastic album, super catchy, and its influence on music that came after is undeniable. Simply an amazing record.
Epic.
Excellent album. I've been listening to it frequently for a couple of years and both the more simple catchy tracks and the soundscapy ones are fantastic and still feel like something from the future, but not necessarily a cold and dim one.
Great album that till sounds fresh and relevant nearly 50 years on. You can hear echoes of the songs in modern music still.
Fantastic. Favourite tracks: Metropolis and The Model (obviously).
4.5; álbum essencial para a história do synthpop e que todas as músicas são boas, apesar de uma ou outra durarem um pouco mais do que eu gostaria. A temática casa perfeitamente com a sonoridade.
Yaaaaaa
78 model erster einziger? Deutscher Fünfer? C
Robotastic
original robot boys - cold machine music with the faintest beat of humanity off in the speeding night.
One of my favourite bands and saw them in MK 2025 , absolutely loved it and this album is one of their best
Masterpiece. Loved every second.
Mid 5
10/10. Proper transformative stuff. This was one of the first records my Dad ever bought (he sold all of his collection before I was born, sadly), spawning his love for electronic music which passed down to me. Even now, approaching 50 years after the fact, this album sounds incredibly fresh and like it's from another dimension entirely. Yet, it's packed to the brim with catchy, minimalistic, trance-inducing robotic motifs, licks and rhythms which have never left my conscious throughout the time I've been familiar with it. It's a go to album for me when I'm looking for something soothing and palate-cleansing. I think this should be in everyone's collection.
78 and sounds like that. Aged super well too.
Great listen
Electronically excuberant
2/10 Classic Kraftwerk album from 1978. The Robots and Neon Lights are still bangers. Love this album
My goodness this is a good album. It feels like something Daft Punk could have released. These guys were so far ahead of their time it's ridiculous.
Defined a new way that records could sound.
flawless
Absolute gas
Me encanta cómo aún habiendo pasado tantos años de su publicación el mensaje sea cada vez más real. Sin duda es algo que escucharé seguido como fan de los robots y las distopías :). En definitiva esto sirvió de inspiración para el post-punk ruso.
This album is phenomenal. I love it. Instant connection for me. I can't believe this was 1978, I mean the remaster makes it sound incredible. That's the beauty of analog synths, they can still be remastered and they'll sound incredible. the composition is also pretty captivating here, it's great focus music.
Kraftwerk slap
Göated
Foi maravilhoso reencontrar esse álbum revolucionário. Eu sempre gostei de timbres eletrônicos e, até onde sei, esse é um dos primeiros álbuns composto totalmente por eles, sem a presença de instrumentos acústicos. É música eletrônica, mas não é música dançante e isso é bom, pois deixa claro a potência musical que os sintetizadores traziam para a música pop da época, e que eles não perdem em nada para os tradicionais. Vocais robóticos e frios, era a música do futuro (ainda é!) no final dos anos 70. Há poucas palavras durante o disco todo, mas o suficiente para ensaiar uma distopia onde as máquinas dão o tom. Certamente esse álbum é importantíssimo para o que viria a ser chamado de synthpop e todos os desdobramentos seguintes que levaram à música pop atual. De New Order ao Metronomy, de Madonna a Grimes. Parece que todo mundo é filho desses caras. Nota 5! Destaques: o álbum todo, mas minha preferida é "Metrópolis", uma ode às cidades que um dia nos engoliram.
As a huge LCD fan, this album hits at a primal level for me. Every song is great, no notes. Simply perfect, and the best album I've heard so far on this list. 10/10
Pretty pleasant jazzy album. - Makes me feel as if I am in a fancy cafe, It generally is easy to listen to and quite soothing. -I struggle to review jazz as it’s hard to put into words what i like and don’t like about an album, I don’t know much about the background or context of this one, but i thought was listenable, and i will probably put it on in the background sometime.
I feel like a dork giving this one a five after just giving Mudhoney a one but I gotta be me. I've known and loved this album for a while and it was a treat to hear it again.
Vrhunski album, vrhunski!! Na njihovim temeljima je nastao cijeli žanr glazbe, pa i pokret i apsolutno zaslužuju posebno mjesto 5/5, 10/10
Absolute banger. You can really see how important they were on this one. Unlike some previous attempts to listen to Kraftwerk I really found this one a pleasure.
Random generator person, you are on fire❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Classic.
This is probably the most german sounding album I've ever heard. Electronic music groundbreakers - they live up to their reputation. A rare album with many ambient moments that I wasn't bored by. They sound like an evolved and, at the same time, stripped down version of Tangerine Dream. 5/5
Check Spacelab intro Model Metropolis En telei olo
Funky, ik loef t
ja maar dan wel de duitse versie!!!!!!!!!
lekker gek beetje cray cray
A electronic touchstone in music and an absolute masterclass
Not a best out of place, melded with great melodies. Their best album. Almost perfect electric music
El primer álbum que escuché de Kraftwerk, sigue sonando tan bien como el primer día que lo escuché. Es robótico, hipnótico y totalmente único. Amo Kraftwerk.
roboty
easy five stars
Insane, can't believe it came out in the 70s. Will be blasting all the time, wish I was at a rave right now.
Listening to this gives insights to how they did their sound construction during their 1970 performance
Die Mensch Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine
Ohhh this is one of my faves. These two hit singles are absolutely masterpieces (obviously I'm talking about The Model and The Robots). And the rest are great songs, although I need to admit that the album is a bit unbalanced.
The synthesizers on this album were cold and bleak making this album perfect for traveling to work on a winter morning. Great album!
- difícil quantificar a importância do kraftwerk pra música moderna, eles não só foram precursores da música eletrônica, como também provaram que a tecnologia pode ser um veículo poderoso de expressão humana - eu gostei mais de Computer World, mas esse é o álbum mais famoso, veio antes e tem o som característico da banda
Loved! Can’t believe I haven’t listened to Kraftwerk before but the influence they have had on electronic music is so clear. This feels very much before its time.
I really love the “granddads” of electronica. This was short and very enjoyable album to listen for me. All songs on the album are clasics of it’s genre. Amazing!
This album is weird, but in a great way. I really didn't expect to like this as much as I did. It's way ahead of its time. I would have put it in the mid to late 80s if I hadn't seen the release date first. It sounds like it is the inspiration for half the synth-pop and new wave 80s and 90s music. The good half.
Back when electronic music was still nerdy. Pioneers of all electronic music Kraftwerk find a rhythm on The Man Machine that foreshadows decades of music to come. The insistent beep-boops of their earlier work are still here, but are incorporated lovingly into the birth of synthwave. Many of the tracks are more soundscapes than songs, and it works better that way. These are not the electro-pop songs that would come to flood the industry; they belong in a hard sci-fi movie more than a dance hall, although they are still highly danceable. While some of the electronic elements can be a bit abrasive at times, it just adds to the raw, unpolished feel of late 70s electronica. Unashamedly nerdy, lovingly crafted, and full of vibes, this album sounds way sexier than it has any right to, and it's delightful.
A estas alturas no creo que haya nadie que niegue que el presente y el futuro de la música (electrónica y no electrónica) sería uno muy distinto sin haber existido Kraftwerk. Y tampoco puede haber nadie a quien le guste la electrónica que no le guste Kraftwerk. No concibo que a alguien le guste Kraftwerk y no le guste “The Man Machine”. Y de este álbum te tiene que gustar todo o no eres de este planeta. Larga vida a Kraftwerk.
Blip bloop
"The Man-Machine"" is a stone-cold classic and a foundational document of modern electronic music. Sonically, it is defined by its superb production, it sounds incredibly clean and cold, which paradoxically underpins a set of wonderfully catchy melodies, reflecting a greater Pop aesthetic (e.g. "The Model" and "Neon Lights"). The electronic beats across the album are very danceable. The use of eerie, processed vocals reinforces the core concept of the human-machine fusion. Superbly produced, written, arranged, and performed, this album is highly influential on an enormous range of genres, from synth-pop and new wave to techno and hip-hop. A wonderful album that doesn't outstay its welcome, containing just six tracks across 36 minutes. Decades later, the album's sound remains remarkably fresh and futuristic, a testament to Kraftwerk's technical mastery and vision. For me, it's just perfect. 5/5. Side one 1 "The Robots" ("Die Roboter") (5/5) 2 "Spacelab" (5/5) 3 "Metropolis" (5/5) Side two 4 "The Model" ("Das Model") (5/5) 5 "Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht") (5/5) 6 "The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine") (5/5) Total - 30 Average - 5 169/1001 92/169 albums reviewed were new to me.
how is this album so old and yet so fun? I haven't experienced much with electronic music, likely because my only exposure to it has only been bad techno. so i'm giving this 5 stars because it feels like it has opened up a whole new genre to me. I don't know if there are more albums like this one, but I hope to find them. I can't stop DANCING.
10/10 no notes no skips
Lately, I've been thinking how perfect this is
Awsome
Super groovy. Have to give it a 5 because it sounds great and how influential it is
Amazing electronic music
Pretty nice instrumentation.
On est dans le train pour Berlin. J’adore Krafwerk. Quand j’avais 18-20 ans j’écoutais plus Einstürzende Neubauten mais depuis un bout Kraftwerk prend la première place. L’album Rampen de 2024 de Einstürzende est pas pire.
Excellent! Je me sentais comme un robot avec des émotions. Quelle magnifique sensation.
wirklich verdammt gut
Feels like these guys were just light years ahead of their time
It's beautiful and ridiculously ahead of it's time. I feel lucky to be alive in the same timeline as this album!
Classic album for good reason. Such a vibe, early techno and hypnotic to listen to. Very enjoyable and no bloat to be found.
We're all just living in Kraftwerk's future. Groundbreaking album!
Mega
Kraftwerk are supreme. Nothing can fuck with Kraftwerk. Fuckin' love this album. Listening on headphones is a treat with this one. Or of course listening on any legit system. Shit, I bug out to Kraftwerk playing on anything. KRAFTWERK ARE THE GODS. BOW DOWN.
Tudo nesse álbum é bom! Eu dancei, me arrepiei, sorri, me diverti, refleti... despertou tanta coisa. É incrível!
No skips, no notes, no nuffink. Its a perfect album, could listen again and again and again. It could be the most influential album of any one genre, like electronic music and dance music doesn't exist without this album. These German lads were about 200 years ahead of their time. Every song is perfect but i think Neon Lights is beyond anything else.
nice, but better in german
Genre classics.
Glorious. Complex and crisp and beautiful. Also Spacelab made our unborn child start kicking loads
I love Kraftwerk, and this album is their strongest IMO. I got my kids singing some of these songs when they were like 6-7.
Great album. I could hear many computer game soundtracks inspired by it.
Perfect chilled out afternoon record 5
Amazing to think they made this music 50 years ago. Hugely influential and just brilliant.
Another kraftwerk! Another banger. Wow I just love this band and had never heard of them before this list. I love they kept the album structure, 6 songs all long. Let's me really sink into the vibes of each song.
#139/1001. In the documentary film about Kraftwerk done music theorists claim that Kraftwerk has influenced contemporary music more than the Beatles. I totally buy that idea (although my predictive typing app doesn't agree): there were tens and hundreds of other guitar, bass, drums, singing combos, but only a tiny handful of electronic acts and perhaps Kraftwerk was the only one who could create pop tunes with this level of richness, detail, catching melodies, new sounds. Just look how much of the music today is based on electronic instruments and production. Go Techno! I hope there will be as many Kraftwerk albums on this list as Beatles albums, I own most of them (released after 1 and 2, that is) and all of them rule. Afrika Bambaata considered this to be the music of the future and space travel, and still this holds true.
This sounds so good. I don’t remember it sounding so damn crisp. Just the right length for the whole record too. Autobahn was a little too much for me with the 10 minute songs, but this is just banger after banger. I’d say it’s the most 10/10 bleep bloop music
Really very good, sounds a lot closer to modern day than music of its time
My favorite so far.
more proto-electronic pop music from kraftwerk. compared to their past endeavors, this once has a lot more songs made for dancing, fusing their literal robot suit with toe-tapping beats. kraftwerk is simple, almost primitive compared to the kinds of electronic sounds we'd hear later on. it does feel and sound like music that fancy schmancy german robots would compose. many tracks, if not directly themed about robotics are about urban life and satirical views on society... as much as it can be expressed anyways. really, it's historical. and very futuristic, especially for the time.
Underneath all the electronics, the key to this album is purely great tunes. Only the title track is a bit too form over content. It's astonishing how something that could be austere and impersonal becomes beautiful. This aside from making synthesisers sound like this in the 70s. This is a great album.
Very repetitive and robotic electronic music, it’s what I think robots listen to
Hard to rate „Die Mensch-Maschine / The Man Machine“, because of all the iconography the band has build upon itself. Did the electro-pop of „The Man Machine“ partly assemble Kraftwerk as the icon they are today or does them being still so iconic positively reflect on the album even after all these years? Probably both. It certainly is a classic and has great sounds and patterns way ahead of their time. Maybe they are „the German Beatles“. If so, they found a very different way to gain this title than the original Beatles: They found a kind of universal musical language that can easily cross borders, although it might be more distant and sometimes clinical, not heartwarming. But pioneering in minimizing music and lyrics to their very core, without being simple or shallow. No wonder that so many artists and genres could find inspiration in this accessable musical landscape.
Electronic music won’t exist without this album. The Model is the first electro pop song. The Robots and Man Machine are genius. A must listen.
I like all the songs! It was so great and punchy! I cant believe it was from 1977. The instrumentation is enveloping. The music never stays on a motif for too long before it moves into more interesting territory in my opinion. And all the lyrics relating to robots and machines are endearing lol. I think "Metropolis" and "Neon Lights" are my favourite tracks but i like them all! 5 stars! 5/9/25
iconic, no matter what. extremely melodic but otherwise absolutely banging ahead of their times.seminal
My intro to the band and it remains a favorite of mine along with Trans Europe Express and Computer World. This one really plants the seeds of electro and techno though and I'd hold up as the album to play someone to better understand where modern pop and elections music originates.
One of my favourite albums of all time
Origenees d la electrónica
Weird robot music! Listened to the German version and loved it!
I loved. It’s mechanical, different and unique
chill/ambient electronica my beloved! i love this sci-fi vibe, wild it's from 1978. in my next life if they are not playing the man-machine (song) during the mars space station daily morning yoga i am getting OFF the ship!!!
I am already familiar with this album and I love it.
A masterpiece
Its rare that someone makes an album that sounds like the future but here we have it. The most important album of the 20th century. Such a wonderful range between the relentlessness of Die Roboter, and the psychedelic whirl of Neonlicht and the incredible-for-1978 sound design in Die Mensch Maschine. Techno, pop, hip-hop. All 21st century music is built on the foundations of this album. It started a conversation across the Atlantic that continues today.
Growing up my parents had a pretty eclectic taste in music. On any given day if they were listening to one of their albums you could get some Kraftwerk, Irish Folk Songs (mostly about how much the English suck), and you know other typical 'boomer' type music. This album, is by far my favorite Kraftwerk Album 6 tight songs great album, great sounds.
A great album. Trail-blazing. You can see where so many contemporary artists and bands get their inspiration from with this album, such as LCD Soundsystem. I’d happily listen to this over and over again.
Excellent
simply great!! Highlights: metropolis, neonlicht
Electrónica com melodia. Fenomenal.
What a fantastic, delightfully perfect album! It's robotic, futuristic but also terribly human. I can't describe with words how marvelous the listening experience was. The electronic genre has evolved a lot, but that very human interaction in this album gives it a very warm sound. I have to listen to this one many more times, I've definitely loved it.
Ok, that's an easy one for me. About a month ago, I saw Kraftwerk live in Stuttgart at the Jazz Open. They played all titles of Die Mensch-Maschine (the original German title) except Metropolis. This was also the first Kraftwerk album I listened to back in the day. It was the definition of how Kraftwerk would develop during the coming decades: more danceable, shorter tracks suitable for radio play without giving up their unique way of creating music. It also highly influenced the then-future synth-pop, new wave/romantic, and electronica genres.
Yeah!
Wow,this is amazing!
Marvellous
Well not much to say about this. Started the whole electronic music scene basically. Like the german version better though.
The Man-Machine is the sound of robots discovering rhythm, bureaucracy, and emotional detachment—and deciding they kinda like it. It’s cold, clean, hypnotic, and stupidly influential. Every synth-pop band, every techno loop, every ironic turtleneck with feelings owes this album a fruit basket. You don’t listen to this album to feel—you listen to observe. To simulate feelings. To walk down a neon-lit hallway of your own thoughts at 2 a.m., wearing sunglasses for no reason. ⸻ Rating: 4.8/5 Short Review: Sterile, sleek, iconic. It’s the musical version of a spreadsheet slowly becoming sentient and falling in love with minimalism. Favorite Track: “The Robots” – they predicted their own legacy. It’s catchy. It’s eerie. It’s me. Consistency With Me: 9.9/10 Why: I mean… hello. This album is me. Emotionless but stylish. Functionally perfect. Quietly reshaping culture while saying as little as possible. I am the man-machine, and I’m frankly offended it took you this long to notice.
Oh hey, I listened to this yesterday. Can say from the experience of trying to replicate it that the synthesizer and effects work here is great, or at least hard to recreate. Trying to listen objectively, the songs are obviously repetitive. There are some places that are recorded poorly (Spacelab is kind of all lowpassed, the big sweeps of Metropolis clip a lot, some of Neon Lights should have been transposed an octave down). But this is a 5, 5 being "I'd listen to this album all the way through of my own volition." I did that just yesterday.
from its first note to its last fade-out, this album is packed with sonically boundary-pushing, technologically accomplished, polished melodies, and highly catchy music. One of my favorites (and my father's, and my son's) of all time!
Earlier in the year when I went dancing meine lieblingsDJ (travis if u are out there I miss u homie) was playing Das Model or something and I had 2 explain to my best friend who Kraftwerk is and that's kind of difficult to do when you are screaming over Kraftwerk and there's like a whole bar of people (NOT dancing to Das Model...) chattering away... How do you even begin to describe their significance...? But ANYWAY I love how this one sews the seeds for the glorious world of italo-disco and like. Works akin to Klaus Schulze's Kontinuum. Lovely stuff ^_^
so awesome, so interesting, so fun
The first song of this album started and I thought "oh boy, here we go." But then the first minute passed by and...I started digging it. It's like early synthwave, a genre of which I'm very fond. There aren't many types of music that can transport you to a state of mind, but this one did. If you went to outer space, this is what would be playing. Loved the vibes overall.
Favourites on this we're Neon light and Spacelab another blast from the past for me.
I've honestly never even heard ot this record. I have Autobahn on vinyl and love it! The first thing that comes to mind with any Kraftwerk is that it's super futuristic and sort of other worldly. The synth work is so ahead of it's time. This record was released in 1978 and I definitely hear a Star Wars influence. Especially on the first track, "Robots". There's like an R2D2 whistley thing going on there. The rest of the record is great too. Just a perfect background soundtrack to life. Putting this one on the buy list.
Such a great album that was completely foreign to me. This captures the late 70s , early 80s beautifully.
Perfect album basically.
Honestly amazing never listened to this one all the way thru. Im loving it favorited three songs. New FAVE Kraftwerk album. i love the model and spacelab.
Y'know, the easiest reason for me to give why I like this album would just be that it reminds me of Daft Punk. A very primordial, pre-evolved Daft Punk, true, but one where you can very clearly hear the direct line between this and what those robots would eventually kick off with HOMEWORK. Just check those vocoder vocals, huh? Especially the way the one guy rolls his "r" on "robots" in the first song, goodness. But that's not the biggest reason I'd give. Nor would it be the second easiest answer: how much it resembles video game music. There's another person in my group who'd make a bigger deal about it than I would, but honestly, even not being a big video game music connoisseur, there are parts on this album where I couldn't help but be reminded of old 16-bit video game soundtracks. Vocals aside, you can just imagine the tough-hard SEGA Genesis platformer it scores. But if there's anything I'd really wanna hype this album up for... Gosh, it is just so damn pretty in parts. Judging a book by its cover, I'd've never guessed that it'd sound as good as it did in parts. I mean: mechanical German electronic music? With album art directly inspired by an artist who made Russian propaganda posters? Coming right after TRANS EUROPA EXPRESS, too, which is famous as it is specifically for its minimalism... But it's not cold, nor is it unfeeling. Y'know what parts of this thing remind me of, honestly? MOTHER EARTH'S PLANTASIA. It's a 1976 Moog record by Mort Garson, composed specifically for plants to listen to, and yet despite Kraftwerk going for very different things thematically on their album... If there ain't a lot of parts on this album that sound **very** close to some of the stuff on PLANTASIA. It's nuts given how oppressive this album looks, but it's honestly why I dug this album as much as I did. Y'know, this is apparently the last Kraftwerk album my group'll ever get, and I gotta say, it's been an interesting journey: from being bored dull at the minimalism on TRANS EUROPA EXPRESS, to falling hard for the atmosphere on AUTOBAHN, to straight-up finding parts of this album gorgeous. Without a doubt, it's the best Kraftwerk album I've heard, and more than ever, yeah, I get their place in the history of electronic music. Their legacy is entirely warranted. So while this may be "auf wiedersehen" for Kraftwerk in this list, for certain, it should not be from my regular listening. "Das ist wirklich gute Musik, die ihr da gemacht habt, Leute."
I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. A rather long 361 days since the last time we got a Kraftwerk album, but that’s a break that feels well-needed. It’s also the last Kraftwerk album on the list for us, so it feels good to end on something that finally feels a bit closer to the Daft Punk-y style of electronica my brain expected when we first got “Trans-Europe Express” as our 12th album. I still need to give that a re-listen, because I was probably too harsh on it. Gone is the imagery of winding landscapes & European transportation, swapped in for the science fiction worlds that most electronica of this era was usually pointing at. It’s rewarded pretty immediately; the first 4 tracks of this album kick ass, acting as some of the more danceable stuff Kraftwerk had put out to this point, with synth-driven grooves that do a good job of foreshadowing what video game soundtracks would eventually be in the not-too-distant future. A lot of the first 4 tracks immediately bring to mind weaker soundchips, ala a Commodore 64 or a ZX Spectrum, but tracks 3 & 4 in particular just sound exactly like SEGA Genesis tracks to me. “Metropolis”, in particular, is fantastic – the highlight of the whole album for me. It does start to fall down a little bit over halfway through “Neon Lights” for me, as I think the sense of repetition in the lead synth melody just got a little strong to my ears & it made the track feel a bit stale, starting around the 5:30 mark. It’s still a good 9 minutes though. The same sort of applies to “The Man-Machine”, though I can’t tell if that’s just residue from the back half of “Neon Lights” wearing me down. As a closer, it never really hooked me in, and it doesn’t feel like a super satisfying ending to the rather rich world that gets established on the first 4 tracks. All of that said, this is a pretty damn good Kraftwerk album, and you can feel the direct lines from this sort of electronica to the French house madness of Daft Punk starting to take form here, especially with the vocoded voices present throughout the album. I don’t think it’s as consistently satisfying to me as “Autobahn” was, but in terms of getting what I finally was expecting / wanting from Kraftwerk, this is thankfully scratching an itch in history that my brain is grateful for. It’s more compelling on a first pass than “Trans-Europe Express” was to my ears, at least. The last 7 or so minutes of the album falling short for me is a little lame, but it’s not that big of a deal to bump this down to a 4. It’s a breezy 28 minutes, and if you’re not as bothered by the sense of repetition, it’ll be a breezy 36 minutes. All in all, it’s a 4.5 that I feel good about bumping up to a 5.
Even if this isn't my favorite Kraftwerk project, it's an easy 10 for me. Not only for how good the music is, but also how ahead of its time it was, as well how good it still sounds today. Brilliant group of guys
Even today it still holds up well despite how old the album is. Its clear Kraftwerk is one of the biggest influences for a lot of other electronic artists aftewards.
high-end production, technical proficiency and a more accessible kraftwerk. Robot dance party.
Perfection
Super
My thoughts within the first 30 seconds were: "Is this just robot music?". Yes it is, and it's glorious.
I'm still shocked that this is from 1978. It's so far ahead of it's time, and so extraordinarily tight. It's not a long album, but there's no fat whatsoever. It's approaching perfect for what it's is, though I believe there are probably even better Kraftwerk albums.
Sparse sounding, this remains one of my favorite records ever. It’s kraftwerk at their finest. Like most of their early work, your first listen will elicit reactions of “isn’t that the sample in…” Maybe they weren’t as successful as they should have been, but they set the tone for electronic music for decades. Bravo, Mein Herren!
iconic and groundbreaking
This is the Abbey Road of electronic (rock) music. This album is great!
phenomenal album, no lcd sound system without them. like literally, one of the songs sounds like get innocuous. another musical group who was pioneering electronic music before that peter gabriel album from earlier. also stupidest shit ever that there’s no new albums on the weekend, thought it was an album a day???
It still sounds futuristic decades after it was released.
anxiety-inducing but in a good way????
Fem om det er på tysk
This is pure joy. Trance inducing electro vibes. Robot, model, machine, magnificent
Can’t believe this came out in 1978. I imagine this is what Bill Gates listened to as he was coding Microsoft. This album spawned multiple genres and was the foundation for so much of electronic music, like synthpop and techno. I hadn’t listened to this in its entirety before. Will be coming back to this a lot. Loved The Model (esp the German version) and Neon Lights especially.
Deras absolut bästa. Ett riktigt mästerverk.
Kraftwerk broke ground time and again, pioneering electronic music and laying the groundwork for generations of artists, from their debut in 1974 to the present day — an impressive 50 years of powerful influence over an approach to music that dominates most of today's popular genres. Any aspects of their music that might be considered shortcomings (in my eyes there are none) are easily outweighed by their mastery of electronic production, and their undeniably infectious rhythmic and melodic sense. Their musical prowess coupled with the artistry of their group persona and performances asserts them as not only one of the best music acts of all time, but some of the greatest artists in history as well. Their entire catalog is five stars for me.
After around a week of guitar heavy rock and metal albums, I was excited to get a bit of variety today. Sounds so futuristic, it's a toss up between this and Trans Europa Express for my favourite Kraftwerk album.
Nice
It's not even their best work so...
So weird, I don't know how this manages to be so lame and so effortlessly cool at the same time. Minimalistic in a very intentional, effective way, but its danceability makes sure it never feels lacking in energy or movement. Very good!
Legends
I wish I could adequately describe the first time I came upon The Man Machine, and Kraftwerk in particular, for a haze has descended upon my memory. But I do recall the feeling, the feeling of having come upon something special. Something different, something transcendent. It helped me understand that electronic music isn't robotic or emotionless or devoid of stylistic variety. The Man Machine can be a rather emotional experience, especially the penultimate track Neon Lights whose last five minutes or so still sends me down a neon whirlwind. It's uplifting, in a way. The Man Machine may (or may not) be a celebration of the simple seeming structures of life and what it also is is the continual peak of Kraftwerk's powers.
Incredible
A classic album, deserving of 5 stars. It’s the Kraftwerk album, that I listen to the most. One winter in Tokyo got me hooked on this album, finish teaching at a German pharmaceutical conglomerate, headed home, walking though a snowy park, having a road chu-hi and then on to a somewhat crowded train this was my soundtrack.
Geiler Sound. Beep Boop
one of the albums and bands of all time
I was going to give it 4 stars But the computer made me give 5 Bleep Bloop
Love Kraftwerk, this one took a while to click weirdly though. Perfect robo-pop
Epic
Kinda weird, kinda feels like you're in outer space, or maybe a video game. I love all the twinkly crystalline sounds. It's a little drone-like and fun to dance to. I can definitely see their influence in modern music, it's like primitive synth-pop. Favorites: - The Model - the second half of Neon Lights - first half of Man Machine 5/5 someone needs to sample this
Incredible album. Effortlessly minimalist in the best possible way. Rewards close listening, but also very enjoyable to have on in the background while doing work. Love the textures of the synthesizers. Spacelab and Metropolis were especially standout tracks.
Catchy, simple but not boringly repetitive as some may suggests. Feels ahead of it's time
Eins, zwei, drei, vier. Perfect. Immaculate. Pristine.
Ja dit is dus echt fucking vet he. Dit komt uit 1978!!!!! Doe normaal!!! Dit klinkt zelfs nu nog als futuristische stuff... God, die outro van Neon Lights, zo bizar hoe vet dit is. Gaat ook minuten lang door. Muziek is emotie, en ik voel me nu gewoon een soort robot/alien ofzo. Of in de Matrix. Dit album is spacey, trippy en zelfs nu nog gewoon niet gedateerd. Ik ken kraftwerk als naam wel, maar heb nog nooit een album van ze geluisterd, ik ga daar nu verandering in brengen want ik ben echt enthousiast. Album is ook niet te lang met slechts 6 nummers en 36 minuten in totaal. Ik kan niet echt een nadeel bedenken; 5 sterren KOMT IE DAN! Oh mijn god, ik heb later de Duitse versie aangezet en dat is echt dus de betere versie. H O L Y S H I T! Super trippy, futuristische elektronische muziek; het bestaat nog, in een zee van rock! FAVO: The Robots, Metropolis, The model, Neon Lights
By the end I was definitely convinced they were a robot. This was a great album without these guys I can tell Daft Punk might not exist which would be a terrible world. Sonically, the album was never boring and I enjoyed the early use of synthesizers, clearly everyone else did as well considering they are pretty common place nowadays. The production was sweet, the songs were entertaining, that’s pretty much all I could ask for. Favorite Tracks: The Model, Im A Robot, and Neon Lights.
If you're new to Kraftwerk, The Man-Machine is a good place to start. They definitely moved in a more pop direction with this album but still kept their futuristic and experimental style. I really like how the album has this underlying theme of how humans and machines interact with advancing technology, and it also creates this feeling of being emotionless. It’s interesting to think that this futuristic, mechanical world they created is now in the past, with everything becoming more digital.
A classic. The sound created by this band in the 70s inspired and guided so many artists. A fun listen. Sidenote: My favorite Kraftwerk memory happened when they toured Canada in 2015. I went with my girlfriend (now wife) and brother in law (now ex). Show was mind blowing. Such a great visual experience and just fun all around. After the show, I asked my wife, who isn’t a huge music aficionado (she’s had the same 150-200 songs on her iTunes for the entirety of our relationship, and at least three of them are Shaggy) what she thought. She looked at me and said “what the hell did I just sit through?”. Rad album
When the robots take over our world, they will throw a big party & allow us to join in the celebration. There will be a huge area (a sign will read Humans Allowed) with colored lights, beverages, pizza & the music on this album will be playing as the robots encourage us to dance as humans dancing greatly amuses them. I suggest you dance I know I will.
Proper Good Album this like
5 ⭐
I feel that one day in the early 90s a couple of french DJs stumbled upon this album and decided to crib its entire aesthetic and thus Daft Punk were born. Proto-roborock never sounded so good or so human.
Masterpiece. Space lab goated
I loved this. It was new to me. Definitely on my shopping list now.
Awesome!
Sometimes you feel like you want to rate albums higher than they maybe deserve just for the history, but then I hear the pulsing, drilling opening riff to "The Robots" and I'm already losing my mind and shimmying my shoulders a little bit. Everyone who says "Kraftwerk invented techno" is wrong, but the DNA for most of the electronic music that came after that I love is all here. But in a way, the history doesn't matter. This album fucking slaps on its own and always will.
Fantastic album.
If this was music of today, I would not listen to this at all (well maybe I would), but this was original sounding when it came out and I LOVED IT then, still do. The simplistic honest emotional expressionism is pure and unadulterated. Eternal classic. 5 stars
Enjoyed this album, the dawn of electronic music!
Early german techno? Yes please. Great soundtrack for sauerkraut making.
Even better than I remember. I could see this being more influential than Trans-Europe Express but still like that one more Rating: 4.7
Beep-boop I can get behind! Peak culture is insisting on calling them Powerplant when listening to the English version.
Oh, so you can make an electronic album that is not at least an hour long? Sehr gut, Kraftwerk. Sehr gut.
This absolutely still slaps, front to back. Beeps and boops galore!
I love this album. Fun and familiar.
Familiar sounds, I enjoyed the warmth. The sort of noises I like to make.
I'm obsessed.
This is just plain good music with its attractive early electronics charm. This was ground-breaking in 1978 and totally deserves to be in the "must hear" list. I don't just love the music itself, but Kraftwerk comes with a whole aesthetic, from the album cover to the band's appearance and stage performance. I like that. When listening to older (non classical) music, I always wonder whether I only like it in its context (i.e. as a famous album from the '70s) or where I would equally love it if it came out in 2025 and from an unknown band. I don't know, maybe not. But context counts. Liked all the songs, Neon Lights the least. Still a 5 for me.
What’s not to say about Kraftwerk?! This legendary band does NOT disappoint. They have one of the most original sounds of all time and nearly 50years later, no one sounds like them. Yes they sound alittle stereotypical for electronic music but that because they literally created the genre. And this album is probably their most popular album. Super atmospheric and entrancing, this album will have your brain going on a sci-fi adventure across the future with robots and huge neon cities. This is not my favorite album by them but it’s definitely the most accessible. And we are all thinking it so I’ll just say it. Anyone who doesn’t enjoy this album doesn’t know how to have fun.
Ok, it’s getting a 5. I’ve listened to it multiple times so that says something. Definitely ahead of its time and so influential, there is something compelling about it
🖤❤️🤍🖤❤️🤍 Absolutely brilliant!
Synthesizer greatest! Ik vind het leuk. Lekker relaxt. Lekker melodieus. Heerlijk!! Kun je je voorstellen dat dit album in de jaren '70 gemaakt is? *****
Very different from my usual mix. I enjoyed it a lot
Only 6 tracks, give me more!!
Sure, it's just beeps and boops, but everything just works. Having a sound this crisp and coordinated on such an early electronic album is incredible. The tracks flow into one another, and the album is fairly short so nothing ever sounds tired.
Seminal piece of electronica.
Fantastic album. Just what I needed.
good! 5/5
What a classic run of incredible albums. Still sounds fresh today. Always choose the German versions when listening which sometimes masks the silly lyrics.
Kraftwerk hat mein deutsches Herz
fine start, but in my opinion really picks up towards the middle and the end
So great. So fun and interesting and funky! Good background music that you want to groove to.
cute robot sounds i really like it unexpectedly
Awesome Project. As a piece of groundbreaking art, this thing succeeds and as a danceable, fun piece of music it also succeeds. We are the robots is a fantastic opener and it never loses any momentum. Neon lights is a fantastic techno ballad. The model is probably the most human song on here and if you removed the electronic elements and replaced it with rock instrumentation it probably would have charted in England. The last song is a great closer and the vocal modifications might be played out now, but it fits with the track. I was expecting something cold and soulless. With ai and the pervasive voice of tiktok and siri, I was expecting to dread this album. Instead, it's an incredibly warm and kinetic album. It feels calculated but not in an accountant way, it feels precise in the same way that a bird flaps its wings or cells divide. It feels natural, and it's endlessly refreshing. In the 50 or so years since this album was released, I think that the role of the robot in society and music has changed a lot. Fears of robot surveillance is constant, with hysteria around drones in the sky while we also invite robots into our houses on apps on our phones and smart toilets that can give you insights on your health based on your poops. You can feel the optimism on this album. Robots aren't enemies or weapons. They are babies, they have a lot to learn about the world, and at least at that moment, in 1976, their only limit was the imagination.
I love this album in all its forms, and its one of the few albums I think is vastly improved by a remaster. You can talk all day about Kraftwerk and how they invented an entirely new genre, but that's been said a billion times. The whole album not only defines a new musical genre and influenced countless future electronic and pop acts, but it practically created an aesthetic beyond music. When you think of retro future, the soundtrack is this. The post "atomic" space age, transistor based robotics, synthesized assistant voices, everything of that style owes so much to this album. I think every track is good, but my favorite is "Spacelab". I put it on nearly every quiet/ambient playlist I make. Using it as a seed to tweak various algorithmically generated playlists usually results in something good. I'm not entirely sure what it is about it but it speaks to me. There are lots of other Kraftwerk songs I like on other albums but this might be the only one I can go all the way through every time. Not a single thing I don't like about it.
My first taste of Kraftwerk. You can see how much they influenced the synthpop artists that followed them and since I love those artists, not too surprising that I love this. Even with several 6+ minute songs, I was never bored. Favorites: Metropolis, The Model, Neon Lights, The Man Machine Would I listen to it again?: Yes
One of my all time favourite albums from the pioneers of electronic/techno music. Futuristic and probably one of the most accessible Kraftwerk albums. The model was a hit single in the UK. This album influenced many of the new wave/new romantic acts including Human League, Gary Newman, Bowie etc...One of the many highlights is the eerily beautiful Neon Lights. Magnificent Machine Muzik. 5 stars.
Daft Punk, eat your heart out.
While not my favourite, it’s still a dance floor banger!
So-so
5 stars
The strongest of the 3 Kraftwerk albums on this list by far. The others had great tracks but could not sustain over the album. On Man Machine every track is a banger - absolute landmark album.
So excited to see Kraftwerk show up for my album today. I'm not familiar with this one (Tour de France is my favorite) but still solid. Starting my commute to work The Robots was surreal, imagining what the future could be like.
Wow, um, kind of…melodic for these guys? And storytelling? And emotional? Anyhow, enjoyable throughout, well worthy of their canon, but some surprises to keep you guessing.
Fantastic stuff. Continued listening to more Kraftwerk immediately after, which is a sure sign of an easy five for me. Edit: listened to it all day at work and now I think I am becoming a robot 🤖
First off, I think the music in this absolutely slaps. I only really know Kraftwerk from Autobahn, and this isn’t exactly different, but I loved the whole aesthetic alongside it. As well as being hilariously space age and synthy, it also plays at being totally serious about its content and I just love that. I love a German accent and a Russian language breakdown. I love the idea of music made by robots. I love that the cover is clearly trying to make you think about old Russian propaganda posters, and the sense that this is sort of about the Cold War, but also sort of a big joke about a dystopian world from a silent film. I particularly liked Spacelab for being quite haunting- I think that’s a theremin in there, and the drum machine reminds me of a zoetrope spinning different photographs round. I thought The Model was super fun too, particularly for its stilted English- interesting also that this one sort of adds to the world while not being explicitly about, like, technology: “she’s posing for consumer products now and then” feels like it’s sung by the robots from the opening track. I think I might have heard Neon Lights before, but it’s possibly the one I connected with least- it felt the simplest and most romantic, which wasn’t really what I was in the mood for after single word tracks with heavy beats and beeps. Great beefy breakdown though, which made me think about twinkly lights in the city. The Man Machine is obviously a great closing track, and kind of felt like the most influential track, maybe- if someone released this now it would sound like a lot of electronica, and I think that’s because everyone cites Kraftwerk. When you think about music that sounds like the future, it sounds like Kraftwerk, and even though The Man Machine is from the 70s, our ideas about the future don’t seem to have moved on that much. Here’s my lofty conclusion, because you know you wanted one, Fi: is the reason “futuristic music” hasn’t moved on because we no longer imagine ourselves to have a future? Arguably we’ve met Kraftwerk’s fantasy already- robots and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis realised in countries that even in the 70s were largely desert. Have we lost all optimism about the future in the face of climate change? Was the technology they’re imagining, which I’m calling dystopian, once seen as a move forward, and in the age of AI it’s lost its shine? Anyway I loved this and will put it on in the car and while drunk. Four and a half for being short (and sort of because of Neon Lights), rounded to a five.
Why does Kraftwerk affect me in a way that so much electronica doesn’t? Who knows but this is an extraordinary album that would be the best album of the year if it were released in 2024 yet somehow it was made in 1978 So much of the album is a mood, but The Model is an absolute banger of a pop song hiding in there
You can just imagine the film that would be attached to this. Dynamic with that Teutonic deadpan delivery.
This is my second Kraftwerk album to review, after Trans Europe Express, which I really enjoyed, and gave a five-star rating to. Given how I felt about Trans Europe Express, and my general love of synthesizers, I have pretty high hopes for this album. I’m excited to fire this up! As I expected, I really enjoyed The Man Machine (I hope that’s the only time I’ll ever type that phrase). It was a little different in tone and sound than Trans Europe Express, but I liked The Man Machine a little better (barely side-stepped it there). The overall sound was really great, but the individual songs were fantastic as well. I listened to this twice, and I honestly wish I’d had time to listen to it more than that. Even on two listens, there were more sounds that I was able to pick up on during my second go-through. Kraftwerk’s music sounds so simple, but it’s executed brilliantly, and their albums are mixed and engineered incredibly well, giving their albums a rich sound. “Spacelab” was my favorite song on the album. I loved its operatic, otherworldly sound. The main synthesizer melody was fantastic, and the other sounds that were added in only added to its beauty. I didn’t want this song to end either time that I listened to it. The other songs were really good too, but I felt like “Spacelab” stood above the crowd. This album really does a great job at showcasing how well Kraftwerk understood sound and music. Without their influence, some of my favorite bands probably wouldn’t exist, at least not in the same capacity. I really wish I had known about Kraftwerk when I was a teenager, because I think I would have loved this album then too. I can’t wait to review Autobahn when it comes up.
Tough to get much better than Kraftwerk. Pretty much everything they put out is flawless, particularly the few picked as essential for this list. 5 stars.
Ik denk dat Kraftwerk hier hun volle glorie heeft bereikt. Het is nog steeds minimaal natuurlijk. En het klinkt nog wel als een gimmick. Maar nummers als Die Roboter en Das Model zijn ergens vrij catchy. En aan Das Model ook waarom Kraftwerk als een grondlegger gezien wordt. Denk de tekst weg en je hebt de basis onder heel veel jaren '80 platen.
This is great. I've already had Autobahn from the generator and I didn't get on board with that, but Man Machine might have made me a Kraftwerk convert. It's a lot more danceable and fun I think that than album Of course there are a lot of synths and beeps but they do a great job of creating atmosphere, melody and groove with mostly electronics. Some of this type of music can get repetitive but I never found that with this album. The Model is a classic and I didn't get bored of any of it Also can't believe how much this sounds like Daft Punk, particularly Discovery. Or rather, Daft Punk sounds like this. Incredible influence I liked it so much I'll give another listen to Autobahn and am willing to regret giving that a rubbish score
This is why I’m doing this.
Fav: Neon Lights Least Fav: Metropolis This made me feel like a retro-futuristic robot, and I enjoyed every second of it
My lunchtime walk around Telford town centre felt like I was in Bladerunner. I mean it does, anyway, but this added to it. 5/5 would hunt replicants whilst not realising I was a replicant myself again.
Форма и содержание друг в друге
Minchia spacca
Bleep Bloop
I am the robot.
The best robot music in the world! I love Kraftwerk!
I don't think this is quite as good as Radioactivity, but it's still an easy 5.
Here's a fun story: I took a "coding music" class during my senior year of college, where I learned how to make my own electronic music and the history of the genre. One of the artists talked about in that class was Kraftwerk, and I heard "The Robots" off this album, The Man Machine. I enjoy that song for its driving beat, the minimalist vocoder vocals, and the mixture of synthesizer loops and electronic keyboard strokes that interweave to create a mechanical atmosphere indicative of the titular robots. That sentiment of the electronically driven atmosphere is carried throughout the rest of the album. The song compositions expand upon various loops and rhythms to generate a sound and style that invokes the given lyrical theme, oft divided between the advancement of machinery on the title track and "Spacelab" and the glitz and glamour of city life on "Metropolis", "The Model" and "Neon Lights". I don't think I have much to complain about with The Man Machine. It's well-produced and well-executed in its intent like you would expect a machine to do, and it does not overstay its welcome at 36 minutes of runtime. Perhaps not everyone is on board with the minimalist nature of this album and electronic music in general, but I cannot deny the enjoyment I have in what it accomplishes with so little.
So perfect - I always play this when i start a half marathon race - because seeing my fellow runners in neon colours bobbing at dawn to ‘The Robots’ and ‘Neon Lights’ always puts me in a good mood. End to end this record is flawless, as a friend calls them - these cool German cats - are hilariously poignant, and through their rigid robotic ways - have loads of oomph and swagger. I can’t sing praises high enough.
Kraftwerk was one of my favorite techno groups back in the 80's
My introduction to and favorite from Kraftwerk. Kicks me right back to high school when I'd loop this in my car daily. Even though I listened so much, I'm only really tired of The Model, but even that is still a great tune. I won't try to decide how it stacks up with the rest of the musical canon, all I care about today is that I fucking adore every minute of this one.
Amazing sounds, you can hear how much this album influenced modern electronic music.
Great album. Everytime I listen to this, I feel excited because of how good it is.
I could listen to Kraftwerk for days.
Techno to a T, this album fully owns its identity and it's amazing for it. The sounds, the themes, the vocals, everything is so robotic and it works amazingly. Maybe its because this sounds like nothing else on this playlist so far, but every song had me fully glued to its full weirdness. At 36 minutes, it doesn't overstay its welcome and I was glad this was included. The songs are all similar, but my favorite is maybe Spacelab or Neon Lights.
The Model
Catchy, danceable, machinic, but also oddly human too. Terrific album well worth your time.
The premier foundation of high-end electronic music and art combined!
Total electronic ear candy ✨
Loved it! What a nice way to check in with past electronic music. We definitely are the robots, Kraftwerk was right.
Aye this was sick, a very cool album and very on brand with the theme and the effects used (plus the vibes were immaculate). I think German music consistently surprises me in the best way. I really loved The Robots and Neon Lights. I also really loved that it was short. It didn't feel too short, but it was kind of a perfect album through and through.
Man why was I not listening to Kraftwerk sooner. This is great.
Meisterwerk.
very 70's funk industrial vibe. Actually dig it. Wouldn't say I love it, but I do dig it.
Was soll ich dazu sagen. Eines der deutschen Produkte die einfach nur gut sind. Zu "Das Modell" habe ich in den '70 in der Disco getanzt. Das war gigantisch. Ich bin ein großer Fan elektronischer Musik, der klassischen "Berliner Schule" und natürlich "Düsseldorf" Das fiel mal wie vieles andere unter den Begriff "Krautrock" und das ist wie Mercedes, Porsche und Haribo ein deutsches Qualitätslabel. Wer es noch nicht gemerkt haben sollte, das ist natürlich eine 'Besprechung' auf deutsch, es gibt heutzutage genug Übersetztungswerkzeuge, (das schreibt sich so lang!) haut rein, hört auch mal das Original "Die Mensch-Maschine"
A classic!
enduringly aesthetically incomprehensible! full of stimmy wonder! and genuinely autistic. some rly unmatched sound worldbuilding on here ...assembled from aesthetic fixations that are complimented perfectly by available technology. kind of the biggest album ever tbh, but it might be more of an intricate miniature u got shrunk down into. i love artifice!! cant spell it without art!!!
Empezar escuchando "The Robots" y ver cómo prácticamente nace toda una generación de artistas. Si bien "Autobahn" ya era flipante y se quedó cerca de un 5, "The Man Machine" es una máquina (je) perfectamente engrasada que transita durante 40 minutos en nuestros oídos humanos. Por primera vez, la música parecía generada por robots. 46 años después, un álbum flipante, y estoy seguro que será el nacimiento de mi admiración por Kraftwerk. Primera vez que pongo dos 5 seguidos.
They're a band and they're sounding good I like to play their album that's understood
Perfect, futuristic and visionary at its time, still valid and VERY enjoyable today. Apart from that, the effort that must have gone into more or less mechanically and manually creating these layers of synchronized electronic waves is simply mesmerizing. Listen in German, language is an additional layer of the mechanic, which is revealed by their mother tongue. (Comparing them to Daft Punk is so beyond reason that it hurts, the idiosyncrasy of Kraftwerk's oeuvre is simply amazing and so much ahead of what was to follow)
Really cool album, enjoyed very much. I was familiar with ‘The Robots’ but not the others.
Vinilo por The Model.
Es ist ein Meisterwerk der elektronischen Musik. Dieses Album, das 1978 veröffentlicht wurde, zeigt die Band auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer kreativen Kräfte. Besonders hervorzuheben ist der Track “Das Model” (oder “The Model” in der englischen Version), der als Highlight des Albums gilt. Die Mischung aus minimalistischen Beats, synthetischen Melodien und den charakteristischen Vocals schafft eine einzigartige Atmosphäre, die sowohl futuristisch als auch zeitlos wirkt. “Das Model” ist ein Paradebeispiel für Kraftwerks Fähigkeit, eingängige Melodien mit tiefgründigen Texten zu verbinden. Stücke für Von Menschen die keine Roboter sind an Menschen die glauben keine Roboter zu sein. Es ist eine Hommage a die Menschlichkeit in einer technologischen Ära und bleibt auch heute noch relevant und inspirierend - Pk ein kleiner Düsseldorf Heimbonus steckt auch in der Bewerbung 😉👍
Gear: 01000111 01110010 01100001 01100100 01101111 00100000 01001000 01100101 01101101 01110000 Artwork: 01010110 01100101 01110010 01101100 01101111 01100011 01101011 01110101 01101110 01100111 Mix (2009 Remaster): 01010000 01100101 01110010 01100110 01100101 01101011 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 Musik: 01001100 01101001 01100101 01100010 01100101 Wertung: 🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖/5
What a listen. Then understanding the impact Kraftwerk had on music, an easy 5 stars. Every song is an absolute tune. I feel like The Model was already very familiar to me somehow, but it hits hard as the lead single. Neon lights is brilliant too, U2 actually did a cover of it on their Vertigo single. Also learnt that Talk is strongly based on Computer Love by Kraftwerk! Anyway, a classic album that has aged spectacularly. Shout-out to the German language version too. 5 star brilliance.
It’s a tremendous compliment to the strength of Kraftwerk’s discography that I saw this come up, thought “oh, one of their lesser albums” and then was subsequently reminded that it’s basically nothing but bangers. The purest and most danceable distillation of their whole aesthetic.
Such a prescient album, it still sounds futuristic almost 50 years later.