Reviews (page 5 of 15)
It’s definitely not an album for everybody. I was unsure how to feel initially but it grew on me during my second listen. From my knowledge, it seems that electronic music as a genre was in its infancy during this time and makes an album like this innovative. There’s little to go off lyrically but the primary theme consists of robots and machines, from the delivery of the lyrics (The Robots) to the effects. Sonically, Neon Lights was the most interesting and differed from the other tracks. I won’t lie, some of the melodies are pretty catchy. Listen again?: Maybe
This one surprised me!
Robot music isn't something I go back to but I can appreciate the originality and influence that the band had. It's very creative
Kraftwerk! I didn't listen to this when it came out. 1978 seems early for "electro-pop". It's got the repetition and inoffensiveness of pop, but I did not perceive the zing and zip I associate with electro (thinking Street Sounds compilation albums). Is there something bad about this album? No. But will I play it again? No. It's OKAY. 5/10.
Flows well, a great classic.
I’m sorry but I don’t get this type of music. Maybe I am to narrow in my music. Buuuut some beats where nice.
Fun listen, but nothing remarkable to me.
The rolling ‘r’ in ‘robots’ on the first track was almost enough to make me press stop and hurl it out of the window but once that track was out of the way, I could relax and enjoy the rest of the album. Growing up in the 80s, I’ve always had a soft spot for electronic music, especially the synth pop of the early 80s. Kraftwerk’s influence is extraordinary and they still sound incredibly fresh today. This isn’t music I will sit down and listen to intently, but, without wishing to label it as ‘background music’, it’s good company.
On the one hand this sounds so dated and yet I know it was well ahead of it's time. Do I like it? Well... it has a certain feel about it which is hard to ignore, The Model is a slightly odd but rather good pop song (though I actually love Big Black's version). Overall it's perhaps a more ambient album than I was expecting and I quite like that. Would I want to listen to it a lot? Probably not.
Really cool parks Standout songs: Metropolis Neon Lights
Hmmm linia melodică e prea liniștită și monotonă, didn’t like it
Modern music is just all bloop bloop bleep bleep
It’s hard to believe this came out in 1978. So much of this feels like a precursor to the 80’s New Wave sound. I guess that’s because it was. SpaceLab immediately shoots up to be one of my favorite tracks. It doesn’t all work but most of it does. 4 out of 5.
Ураа, что-то кроме рока, так ещё и электроника. Передается все отмосфера. ДА ЛАДНО ЕЩЕ И ЕЛЕКТРОННЫЙ ГОЛОС. Тревожное ощущение, мировой калабс, антиутопия. Ужасает, но мне это нравится, хорошая музыка 4 из 5 не прям вааау, но очень добротно. Однозначно ознакомлюсь с другими альбомами группы
Oh no. Not another Kraftwerk.
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
I liked this more than I expected.
I listened to the remastered version, so not sure if this is relevant to the original, but I love the sounds in the album, everything is very crisp, in its place, not overloaded with layers. It was for me, as someone familiar with how symths work, purse sonic enjoyment. What didn't fully land for me is the musicality: Most songs were kind of banal and basic from a musical perspective, with a few outliers (the robot, the model, the man machine). I also thought the vocals (in the English version at least) were kind of too on the nose and not well mixed with the rest of the instrumentation. Overall, I enjoyed my first Kraftwerk experience, but it's not music I'd be putting on regularly: It's more of a sound experience than a music experience.
Techno, catchy, fun
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.
Not sure what I just listened to. Definitely noty favorite. Reminds me of friends when Ross plays his music in front of the gang. That kid of vibe.
Eh, expected more from the godfathers of electronic. Then again, likely mindblowing at the time it came out, so that has to be respected.
Siis elektronisen musiikin pioneereja. En tiiä millon tätä kuuntelisin, mutta yksikin kuuntelu oli todella jees.
сначала не зашел альбом, да и вообще стиль музыки этой группы, потом вслушался - и нашел в этом что-то уникальное; в отличие от хип-хопа, ритм песен здесь постепенно развивается, не самые лучшие, но порой интересные тексты
not my kind of music weird techno.
Bliepjes is niet mijn ding
They made music like robots, now the robots have caught up.
This was neat.
This album made me feel like a god damn robot. I guess thats why they call it Man Machine. Makes you want to do the robot. In fact it had me doing the robot while making lunch. Impressive for the year of release, this was uncharted territory of Electronic music, mad props. Kraftwerk crawled so groups like Justice and and Daft Punk could run (Is that the saying?) With all that being said, this lacked polish and the vocals & drums sounded dated. Favorites were The Robots, and Metropolis. 6.5/10
Very cool dance album, not my favorite. Kind of repetitive
Very important album in the history of electronic music. This one still has the krautrock feel but a bit more pop, seems they were trying to be more commercial with this effort. It still has some experimental moments but much more accessible than the last Kraftwerk album I reviewed.
I had no idea what to expect when throwing this album on. But the second the beat kicks in I thought oh i like this. Then the lyrics came in and i thought wtf this is silly, but i enjoyed the first song anyway. The problem I had was as the album went on it started to lose my interest and started feeling like background music. I thought it was a fine album. There are some songs i would seek out and add to a playlist and others that i wouldn’t think twice about
YEEEEEEESSSSS
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
Skal høres på tysk, natürlich. Enestående.
I can tell that this must have been revolutionary in its day but electronic music and the technology behind it have come so far that I just don't think this holds up as well anymore. At the same time, it is still very cold, distant, and metallic, and it conveys its message very well. I wish I was around to hear this album when it came out.
Experimental Dance from when synths were shit
I see why LCD was excited about Kaftwerk. This was a fun album
I appreciate Kraftwerk but its not something I really want to listen to
It feels like I'm going insane at a dentists office.
If Autobahn was Kraftwerk finding their sound and Trans-Europe Express was them perfecting it, then The Man-Machine is them synthesising (no pun intended) it down into a manageable pop format. This album probably features Kraftwerk’s most recognisable and catchy songs, The Model and The Robots, which both remain as fantastic and pioneering as ever. Much of the rest of the album, like Spacelab and Metropolis, focuses more on texture than melody and the more rhythmic focus of previous albums like TEE. An essential album from Kraftwerk and also in understanding the evolution of electronic music.
An instantly recognisable, unique sound. Some lovely textures, especially in the vocal sounds and swelling scapes. Not necessarily an every day listen but one can definitely appreciate the influence it had on modern electro music and pop, and how ground-breaking it must have been in the '70s. 'The Model' is a classic track, for good reason, but 'Neon Lights' is my favourite.
It's just not my bag. I can appreciate the production and the technical achievement, but it leaves me cold (and I know that's basically the point, they are German after all.)
Great album, found a few influences of different bands I really like!
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.
Unlistenable
would love to see this used in a movie. The Model was my favorite on the album.
Beep beep boop bop beep
Felt just as repetitive as the others. I'd actually say I enjoy electronic in general, but something about this group just doesn't do it for me.
Far and away the best of the 3 Kraftwerk albums fed to us. I wonder if I would have given it a 5 had it not been for the negative expectations from the lackluster prior 2?
Cool, experimental, and so weird it's fun. New-wave before new-wave. Reminds me of 70's sci-fi movies. Fun album, only 6 songs total. "Neon Lights" is a really beautiful listen.
I enjoyed it. The vocals are often corny, but some fantastic synth riffs and melodies. Interesting to hear some similarities to the work of Giorgio Moroder.
Random generator person, you are on fire❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
listened to this album on the way home from stafford springs! i got some beautiful wintery views of the trees all snowcapped while listening to some futuristic techno tunes. felt like i was in snowspace world. super charming but i took the highway and things got a little scary cos my tires r bald and there was construction.
This is a low 4. I like the songs that are more normal a lot but the more experimental stuff is a bit annoying at times
Bubble bobble music, liked this a lot better than the previous stuff I've heard from them. Reminds me of the future.
что-то на машинном, много разных непонятных звуков, чистое начало электро и синтезированных звуков, прелесть даже голос обработан под синтезированный "я твой слуга, я твой работник" dvd игры, приставки, уносит в транс neon lights
I don't know why I bothered asking "How much meh electronica really needs to be on this list?"
I felt like I was in a late 70s/early 80s technothriller/sci-fi movie, but in a good way.
Enjoyed a lot than I expected.
Purt deec driving music
I know the band, respect their legacy and the path they carved along with their influence but not sure we needed a 2nd album from them on the T1001. Listener counts are solid with "The Robots" clocking in at over 18M and "The Model" at over 75M. It obviously has a following. I feel like they created the soundscape from which other bands, like Devo or Depeche Mode, polished and made more listener friendly and radio ready. Their groundbreaking use of layered keyboards is so influential. "Robots" is a bit corny for me, but "Spacelab" is a really pretty song (minus the unnecessary robot chorus). "The Model" must have been a blueprint for a ton of songs that followed (early INXS, Human League, Planet P, The Fixx, etc). "Neon Lights" is just so familiar, like I've known it for years. The influence they have can be heard for decades after the release of this album. I can't knock a single song, they're all enjoyable and quality tracks. After listening to it in its entirety I understand why it's on this list. 4 stars, mostly for the influence I hear, rounding up from 3.5.
Classic.
I didn’t think I’d like this as much as I did. In fact, I liked the plain beep-boop songs even more than the songs with lyrics. Okayyyy.
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
Ja ja ja, mach schnell mit der art things, huh?
Check Spacelab intro Model Metropolis En telei olo
yeah… not my kappati
Funky, ik loef t
Pretty good background music
ja maar dan wel de duitse versie!!!!!!!!!
lekker gek beetje cray cray
A little weird but definitely experimental.
For me, this is where Kraftwerk were coming down from the peak they had reached with Trans Europe Express. It's still very, very good, but the extra use of vocals and pop sensibilities prevent me from judging it as a five star album. Model is a love/ hate thing for me. I vaguely remember this being a thing (I was under ten when this was a hit), but I also remember detesting it at the time. Even now it grates a little, although I feel I've grown to appreciate it more than I did at the time. There's still plenty of angular, robotic, atmospheric electronic music, preceding Gary Numan and other artists who took the baton and ran with it into full synth-pop music. Four stars.
BRO WHAT IS THIS YOINKY SHPLOINKY SOUND HELL YEAHHHHH
Despite not being the biggest fan of electronic music, especially as of late, I find The Man-Machine, as well as a handful of other Kraftwerk albums very enjoyable. Kraftwerk's classic 70's synth-y sound definitely may not be for all, but I greatly enjoy it and its simplicity. The one aspect that really just doesn't click with me is the robot theming of "The Robots". While I find it fascinating that they went all-out in going with the whole robot theme, I just don't really care for this track, despite it being decently popular. However, I really enjoy "Neon Lights" and its relaxing, optimistic sound akin to some of their tracks off of their previous album, Trans-Europe Express. Favorite Song: "Neon Lights"
Els papis de Daft Punk. Contenta perquè no sabia per on començar amb ells. Muak
Influential, and certainly innovative. What could now be done in seconds by actual machines probably was quite complex and mind blowing for men to create robotic sounds in the 70s. Which means it’s likely lost some of its wow factor in 2026. There are more than decent tunes and melody behind the bleeps and such. And don’t think it would work so well without the German accent, and didn’t loose anything from the native language version. But it isn’t just a historical novelty, think it holds up and though came into this expecting to give damning praise I actually enjoyed a lot more than expected. Das model is an excellent electronica pop song, neon lights is exquisite. 4 Star
4.5/10
Not my style. listened to while getting ready and in geometry. my favorite was The Model.
This feels so ahead of its time.
Excellent, lays the groundwork for everything that follows in electronic music
At least it was a short album. I felt like it was more tolerable because of that alone. Still don’t know why this is on this list.
It’s just the same as all of their other albums
Totally underwhelming like every other Kraftwerk album we've had. They just repeat the same word for the entire song and it's supposed to be profound? Like what? Yes there was that one song that had a story but that was only one song. None of the other songs did anything.
sounds like all the other Kraftwerk albums-men pretending to sound like robots & weird sounds
This album is a bag of mixed emotions for me. I absolutely dislike when artists use a vocoder and make themselves sound like robots… it fits Kraftwerk as they are an electronic band but they have songs on this record with actually human sounding vocals that are just so much better. The music is really cool. I am a Trent Reznor fan, so that’s probably why I enjoyed the music. Overall this album isn’t my cup of tea. The first three songs are 0/5 for me but it does slightly pick up after that. Not really a fan. I think the only song by Kraftwerk that I really enjoy is Computer Love…. But that’s not even on this album. I remember hearing Computer Love for the first time and I remember thinking “I have heard this melody before!!!” And I was puzzled for a long time. It was so familiar. Then after going over it in my head a million times I figured out where I heard it. Coldplay had sampled the riff for their song Talk but transcribed it to guitar. And honestly, they made it their own. I had heard Coldplays version before and thought “this is such a great melody.” It’s pretty cool that they were inspired by Kraftwerk and made a song revolved around that melody. Chris Martin even hand wrote a letter to the members of Kraftwerk to ask permission to use that riff. And they surprisingly gave the ok to use it. They’re notoriously protective of their music and don’t often let people sample it. So that’s neat. And that bit of trivia has nothing to do with this record.
i hate to admit this but unfortunately it's a great album to code to.
og daft punk
This had to be so unique in 1978
It's super different to anything I've heard before, but I'm slowly liking it. fave song - neon lights Super impressive album 3/5
I am utterly shocked that people rate this as well as they do. In what world are these sounds emotionally charged and beautiful? Listen, it's cool from a historic, achievement-in-electronica view. But I'm not gonna sit here and say that ze Deutschland Kraftwerk jungen were making panty-dropping gold here. It was experimental synth work loosely tied to some robot story. It's listenable. I think that's about all there is to say. Fave track: - Neon Lights
Pozytywnie się zaskoczyłem. Ładne syntezatory, jest Vibe, ale nie wiem czy elementy wokalu były potrzebne. 8,5/10
Really cool instrumental songs,some cheeseball vocal songs. Need to listen again, album gets indistinct but is surely hugely influential. Dudes discovering genuinely new sounds and making music with them.
My second time hearing this album fully through. It’s decent and I can understand the genius that goes into putting warmth into synthesizers. They gave them a feel. It wasn’t as robotic as it came off. Kraftwerk would be instrumental in early hip hop especially for Plant Rock. Afrika Bambaata found their music sampled and created an anthem that would be a staple in the electro genre. But on this album as I got to the Man-Machine. I was sitting racking my brain because I knew another hip hop group had used it in a very early song and turns out it was Rockin’ It from the Fearless Four. Kraftwerk are an important group. This album though was decent. I did not find it mind-blowing. But Kraftwerk and hip hop go hand in hand.
Didn't like this one unfortunately.
Very ingeniously constructed. Kraftwerk built an universe and a vision of a future automated, indifferent yet dazzling. Technology amazes us as it makes us less human and more robotic. Some hear a melody, others hear whips. In reality, it's the whips form a melody, the melody of the urban. It both dooms and enchants us.
Not my vibe weird
Not for me. Electronic music makes me feel anious. I can absolutely appreciate the skill required to create this but not something I'd choose to listen to. 2 stars
Somewhat Devo derivative, some SpongeBob robot episode? Liked The Model song. 2.5?
I really enjoyed this, I know of Kraftwerk but hadn't sat and listened to an album. Fun fact - I didn't know 'The Model' was a Kraftwerk song, I only knew the Big Black version.
We've come a long way since this. obviously the german version of the album is better
A electronic touchstone in music and an absolute masterclass
interesting... scary at first, then got used to it
Best album I've listened to so far from this experiment. Very impressed with the engineering and production of the album from 1978. Incredible sound. I felt like I was a machine floating in space the entire time. Good stuff. Big big fan of synths.
Obviously inspired lots of bands, but didn't get much from listening to it beyond noticing that
Niiiiiiiiice Kraftwerk. I’ve listened to Autobahn and Trans Europe Express, but not this. This album uses a lot of ascending and descending melodies—a little too blatant at times in terms of sort of seeing the scaffolding behind the songs, but the melodies never become stale, and it really does work perfectly with their synth-pop sound. That scaffolding is also something I see in just about every book I read and movie I watch, so it’s probably a personal thing. I really enjoy the synths here. Even fifty years later, they sound futuristic and one-of-a-kind. The aesthetic of this band still feels incredibly unique and relevant as well. While this is much better than Autobahn, I will say that I enjoyed Trans-Europe Express more—thematically and musically. The cultural context of TEE, with the conflicts and hopes of Europe that are incorporated into it, are incredibly compelling, and its running symbolism of a train is very well-done. Overall, TEE just comes off as more cohesive and culturally in-tune. And being culturally in-tune is something essential to Kraftwerk’s concepts and aesthetics. At times, Man Machine can seem a bit like it’s just re-using many of TEE’s components in a lesser way, but it still holds up quite well and is a fantastic album. It leans into even more of a pop sound, which was incredibly new at the time and ended up being highly influential. It also has songs like The Model that offer a lyrical narrative unlike anything I’ve heard from Kraftwerk. The songwriting is also excellent, and there are tons of layers here. I feel as if I’ll need several more listens to truly notice everything going on.
Not a best out of place, melded with great melodies. Their best album. Almost perfect electric music
fun to listen to while working; definitely can see the influence on artists such as daft punk, pharrell, etc.
3.5
good but can't listen twice in a row
Очень странно , не советовал бы
Don't care for electronic music.
I'm in the middle about it. I get it. It's not my thing. But I can appreciate it. It's video-gamey. Kinda fun.
A fun, easy to listen to electronic soundscape
I only added one song (the model)only because I heard it before but other than that this album is not doing it for me.I mean it has its quirks and I guess I see this perhaps playing in a video game but I would not listen to this in my spare time,it low key has uncanny vibes eg if i heard robots in a horror game with that grainy ass quality I would kms on the spot because I would know the worst is coming my way.
Very cyber very intergalactic like robot in the future be making ts ill leave this album for the ai to listen to not me
What possessed you to make this 1st song - I have no words 2nd - not that bad ig but more movie sound track and not for me 3rd - again movie sound track not for me but better than the other 2 4th - spooky vibes I like this one 5th - video game music put this in Mario or Tetris asap but not for me 6th - sounds like he’s casting a spell on me the robots are taking over machine machine machine 1/6 ( the model )
EDM and me just don't really get along. Listen to a couple of songs but was so completely bored! Just not my cup of tea.
I really didn't expect to enjoy it so much. The first song really threw me off. Otherwise, great album.
Nothing crazy interesting about this electronic music, however, impressive for the mid-70s. Still overall great vibe and fun background/party music. Mostly wish songs were less repetitive and shorter.
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.
Ej, kul prvi komad ("The Robots"). Elektronika, ki dejansko zveni prijetno. Kak komad je bolj minimalističen z besedili, kak jih ima malo več, vsi pa so prijetni za uho. "Neon Lights" ti res z zvokom pričara luči. Ni to nekaj, k čemer se bom ful vračala, ni bla pa grozna izkušnja, sploh.
1/5, it's something to someone, I'm sure, and it isn't hard on the ears at all times. I imagine it must have been groundbreaking for 1978. I imagine some electronica aficionados prize this album. But Holy Christ, was it boring to listen to. I will probably never play a single song on this album ever again. Weird yet inoffensive. Strange yet uninteresting. It's genuinely discouraging to think people bought this album after hearing it instead of something more melodically, harmonically, poetically accomplished, simply because of the novelty.
Now over 100 albums into this journey it’s interesting to see some familiar artists I was only exposed to via this process (Trans-Europe Express). I remember finding the other album a bit repetitive, and can’t say I got much more out of this one, but did note The Model as their top track on Spotify and one I had explored during my initial review of the band.
I'm not a huge of fan of electronic music, but I enjoyed this album. I would never guess this is from 1978. There is a timeless quality to this album. My favorite track was The Model, and I'm pretty sure I've heard this song before.
roboty
Album 6 Top 3 favorites off the album: Metropolis, Neon Lights, The Robots Kraftwerk has been recommended to me by friends before this, and I did give them a listen before now. I liked the song recommendation from then, and thoroughly enjoyed listening all the way through this album. It's excellent for late night public transportation vibes. This isn't something I'd normally seek out for myself. As far as electronic music goes, I'm gonna say this is my favorite type I've encountered! Maybe that will change! For now, I like how... bouncy the album is. That sounds like a juvenile description, but deal with it. It's bouncy. And smooth. It's all of the above. It's like contemporary art. There are doohickeys and whatchamacallits and gloopy sounds and growls, and it's all very exciting for me. Thank you. I particularly enjoyed Metropolis for the siren quality of some of the synths. Some of Neon Lights reminded me of Bob Hund. Does it make sense? Not even a little. Can I tell you what song or why? Maybe. Something off Omslag: Martin Kann. Possibly "Reinkarnerad exakt som förut." Might be owing to the tempo and pronunciation of "lights" and the like. Other than that, no similarity. But here we are. I liked this one a lot! I've been saying that a lot! I'll keep doing it!
Funky and techno. Kinda cool.
couldn’t finish it 😭 just wasn’t for me
easy five stars
I see the vision but all the beeps and boops don't quite make an album
Ok so I expected to hate this after the first track repeated its lame self for the 100th time but this ended up being way good. Maybe a 4? Not sure 🤷♂️
I liked this. Could be a 4 someday.
Very futuristic sound -> ahead of their time in the 70s with this sound. Standouts are the Model and the Robots. It feels very much like a soundtrack to a movie set in the future where the main protagonist is from the present and so is experiencing this wild robotic world through our eyes.
Very electronic, synth heavy mixes.
Insane, can't believe it came out in the 70s. Will be blasting all the time, wish I was at a rave right now.
Repetitive and boring. Neon lights was the only song I didn’t hate. This kind of music does not stand the test of time for me.
Never heard of it before.
DNF, listened to about 1/2
Some really beautiful sounds. That bass sound is so good - I think later electronic music just overcomplicated things and made it worse. Some of the more trance moments are really beautiful. I can't see myself returning often to listen through though - some parts kind of grate on me
Its somewhat good, repetitive, wouldn't listen to it on my own but it's nice to find this.
What if German robots made music and were highly influential?
no.
Not my thing, but interesting
Pleasant enough
not my style but completely respect it
This made me feel like I was in an episode of Stranger Things
This was fine for what it was but I didn’t really find it that interesting. This was probably a lot more exciting when it came out than today
Electronic isn’t really my thing
The songs on this album definitely get across the sound the band was trying to create - robotic, machine-like, mechanical vibe. I think the album has good flow and it's clearly meant to be listened to as an album and not individual songs, which I like.
Old school
a little too out there for my liking
pas mal du tout j'ai kiffé l'electro
This really is the sound of future nostalgia for me. You can hear the 80s midi synth sound coming into focus. Its full of rich full electronic sounds and could quite easily have been any number of late 80s or early 90s video game sound tracks.
I don't quite know how to describe how I feel about Kraftwerk. They were a hugely influential band that basically single-handedly pioneered electronic music, with Die Mensch-Maschine often being considered the starting point of Synthpop's popularity. Personally, I have never been able to get into the mechanical sound that they are going for (and achieving very well). It's a game of tug of war between the respect I have for the band as innovators and my inability to get into the art that they're producing. The concept of the album purposely leaning into the robotic themes of electronica is brilliant and everything about this album is executed to perfectly portray that theme. The use of synths to create these landscapes of sound is fascinating, especially considering the primitive technology they were working with. I just can't stop myself from thinking "I would so much rather be listening to an Eno record right now." The cold, mechanical side of electronica has never really appealed to me, and although Die Mensch-Maschine is probably their most pop-oriented record, I still struggle getting interested in it. Maybe someday I'll be enlightened and be able to appreciate everything about Kraftwerk's genius, but for now I appreciate them as pioneers but don't really see the appeal of this in a modern world where electronic music has evolved so much.
Chilly, sleek electronica/disco from these German masters of precision. The first half felt rather soulless but the second half actually sounds like it was made by human beings with songs like "The Model" and "Neon Lights." This is the sound of a cold, clinical, engineered world devoid of much humanity.
A made-for-headphones, protoelectronic gem by masters of the genre. Still sounds like the future to me
What do we say about ourselves when we talk about what it means to be a robot? What values or characteristics are we saying are the most intrinsically human; once lost, irredeemable? What about ourselves must we sacrifice in order to make space for the excess of whatever it is that makes a robot a robot? Choice. It’s always been choice, I think. Decisions are agency (and it’s a privilege, I suppose, to have questions posed to us). Here, and as a species generally, we’re never far from the question of free will versus pre-determinism. Music might seem a strange place to be asking these questions, but since music is an original and creative human pursuit that must abide by myriad rules both internal (scales, keys, time signatures…) and external (authenticity, performance, culture…) it’s sort of perfect for taking on the higher order existential stuff. Nowhere does man and machine more mellifluously interface than within music. The Man Machine is an approach to that interface – a joyful, wildly innovative and ultimately comically scholarly one (only the nation that produced Heidegger could seriously undertake so rigorous an act of philosophising as on this record). Its many gifts would later empower an incalculable number of musicians – from synth pop to experimental noise. And it would thrill me, here on the threshold of the next leap in the great enmeshment of man and machine, inviting me back into the cave to wonder what about being human most matters. There’s no machine that can tell us that; I guess, at a certain point, it all comes down to choice.
Techno EDM yummy. We are the robots. We are the robots. Futuristic fun. Germany. That's it. Kinda boring.
I don’t get it
7.0/10 Liked this a lot more than I expected!
not my vibe at all, i really need lyrics. metropolis was enjoyable tho, and i like the model (not shocking, was the only one with lyrics)
Very chill/cozy. Sometimes you can hear the german pronounciation pretty well. Overall i liked listening to this.
Sehr weirdes Album aber irgendwie catchy. Leider nicht mein Geschmack. Das Model natürlich trotzdem ein Klassiker. Habe die deutsche Version gehört.
I listened to the German version. I loved it! Favorites: Metropolis and Neonlicht.
So ahead of it's time, especially now that people are literally using AI to make music.
Music for fans of space mountain
Repetitive. Track without vocals was the best. Works best as low volume background music while working/gaming.
estranho mas vibes mister roboto
2/5
Very interesting sound to this album. The opening is a standout for me, as the synths used consistently through the song are very pronounced yet work very well and are very groovy. The album follows a similar sound and rhythm in all it's songs. However, the songs do drag for me, just dead space being filled at the end of the song with the same repetitive melody that was played through the song. Not necessarily an issue but for me I want to experience a new sound and a new single and that's what is struggle with on this. Overall though it it very good
Cutting edge and exploratory for its time, but it is a little repetitive
jakuzi gibi
6/10
Coming back to this one after initially feeling indifferent. This record has definitely grown on me. I have grown to love the barebones techno of it and the dystopian theme it presents. It can come off as slightly goofy with the repeated phrases and stereotypical electronic sounds, but this is the genesis of that sound. Kraftwerk cultivated a sound that is iconic and deserves respect. The album isn’t perfect, it could be longer and more fleshed out. Regardless, it’s an enjoyable piece of electronic music history with great ideas.
2.5
Fun but monotone
Cool synth sounds. I can't say I would put it on to just listen to. I don't really know much about them, but was given some vinyl and in it was a copy of what apparently is their 3rd album titled "Ralph and Florian" - it sounds very different than this, less kitschy, more experimental. I think it's really cool and worth checking out.
Ethereal and airy, but a bit repetitive. I appreciate Kraftwerk's ground breaking influence that has yielded the electronic music we have today.
This is certainly an important album with respect to the development of electronica, EDM, etc. It was interesting in that respect. It is fun to think about the musicians messing with new tech in interesting ways. That said, it didn't hold up very well for me, although it did lead to some interesting conversations with my son about EDM, so that was a bonus. I can see why it made the list, but not something I'm likely to revisit in the future.
I love how this is both unapologetically nerdy AND has a song about sleeping with models. Kraftwerk were doing something right.
Boring
5/10 12/21/25
nice
YGBFKMWTS! 1
3/5
Listening to this gives insights to how they did their sound construction during their 1970 performance
Interesting because of its original context— captures how I imagine 1970s West Germany felt, while also feeling relevant in our AI age. Songs are all impressively constructed. My favourite song is The Model and I also liked Neon Lights— will listen to these two again.
Die Mensch Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine Maschine
Not the biggest fan. Cool sounds, but kind of lackluster. Favorite song was Neon Lights.
Never really a huge fan of techno, electric music but this album is really fun. The grooves and melodies are really catchy. Though there are some parts on the album that overstay their welcome, this is still a really fun, enjoyable album.
Great album- loved this one! I’m definitely going to revisit this one- if had me dancing, but it was also mellow enough to just have in the background.
So much robot synth, so very German. We are the rrrrrobots. It was ok overall, can really hear how this turned into 90s industrial , NiN etc.
This was ok and some of the songs had a good groove, I can't imagine listening to more than 30+ mins of this though. I gladly switched it up post album completion. I did find myself bouncing to the Robot opening song!
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.
They didn't have me in the first half, but the last half banged. So would probably re-listen to certain songs out of the album.
Still sounds modern which is wild. Metropolis specifically sounds like the Fringe soundtrack to me (positive). It's the progenitor of a genre but still sounds like the genre itself.
First listen Saved 1/6 Top track: Neon Lights
That is a fun album that I will probably not listen to again.
i dont really know how to classify it since its so different to everything else, however theres nothing in particular jumping out at me making especially good (or bad)
weird. don’t know what I think really
no thanks
Sounds like 16 bit games. This is overrated. Not very exciting at all.
Over het algemeen vind ik dat al die herhaling en die electronische elementen de boodschap van dit album erg duidelijk maken en versterken. Ik vind het album hierdoor wel minder prettig om te luisteren. Waarschijnlijk is dit album niet voor herhaling vatbaar, maar ik ben wel blij dat ik het geluisterd heb.
The synthesizers on this album were cold and bleak making this album perfect for traveling to work on a winter morning. Great album!
The Model
the robots: i like the techno noises…very funky. intro a biiit too long for me
- 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
Give credit where credit is due. I had no business loving this but I did.
i would give 1, what a crap, but the model song puts it higher
Beep boop, this stuff actually slaps. It’s catchy, rhythmic, and weirdly danceable. This is robot music with a soul. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - The Robots - Spacelab - The Model - Neon Lights
I wasn't ascending to heaven with this one but man, perfect timing for this album as I just got soundcore headphones. Pretty cool mixing and fun songs that I'll come back to in the future, even if they didn't do a ton for me right now
I resisted listening to this album because I thought it would be it would be hard-to-listen-to experimental electronic music, and the first minute of the first track (The Robots) only confirmed my suspicions. But by the time we’d got to the instantly recognisable The Model I was in synth-heaven. You can hear the future influences in the music - Vangelis’s Balderunner in Metropolis, Gary Newman’s synth, the 80s techno-pop. Some of the tracks didn’t grab me (Spacelab felt like a retro-futuristic disco hit, and Neon Lights was a bit too simplistic), but overall I loved it.
Nice tech atmosphere.
Cyberpunk Elevator Music
Art deco electro from the 70s very repetative
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.
Some of the beats were good but it's just really not for me. "The Robots" - Funky. Literally went OH when they started speaking. I hear the robot. Beat was good, but just kept repeating "we are the robots." "Spacelab" - I guess the beat was interesting but I did not like it. "Metropolis" - I really don't like this. "The Model" - I just really don't like the sound. "Neon Lights" - No. "The Man Machine" - No.
"The Robots" - nice and funky beat but why is a robot actually singing to me "Spacelab" - still the beat was funky but not my thing at all "Metropolis" - i really hate this one my ears hurt but i tolerated the singing "The Model" - this one might be better "Neon Lights" - can this end "The Man Machine" - i absolutely hated that
плінкі плонкі весело але не так шоб сильно.
перша пісня одразу трохи вибісила, коли почула там російську, але враховуючи, в які часи цей альбом було створено, ще й у Німеччині, це не дивує. можу уявити цей альбом саундтреком різних тогочасних сайфай фільмів, і на цьому все. не моє взагалі, хоча їхній вплив на розвиток електронної музики дуже значний
This is firmly Not For Me but I understand why other people vibe with it.
4* top
Kennst du daft punk?
I didn't really like it, but it was kinda catchy. 2/5
Not meu estilo, um eletrónico até bem tass, mas nada de mais
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!
Immaculate synth vibes. Can hear its influences throughout so much music. All in all perhaps a touch pedestrian
Good listen!
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.
Love the melodies. Love the synths. Love the German accent, even. Ahead of its time but still as good as ever. Faves: The Robots, Spacelab, The Model
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.
meh
Wtf….
I like beens and boops sorry
Too Heldercore for me 🥹🥹 fica repetitivo e canso me logo mas.. it's cool ig Ok wait to a gostar do inicio da última música Pronto mas nunca mais muda de beat Like ok i get it machine machine machine machine machine machine machine machine machine Back at it again with the machine They were cooking mas o frango ta meio cru
Entã, eu acho fixe que isto tenha sido feito nos anos 70 mas eu não acho que seja para mim. Não que seja mau, I just don’t get it (e parece algo que tocaria nuna aula de GA if ykwim)
Amazing how fresh this still sounds. I can hear so much influence on the electronic music styles I've listened to for decades now. Weirdly enough, the title track is the only one that didn't do much for me. A little too repetitive without much variation. Otherwise, great album.
Pioneers.
Kind of fun
This may have been a groundbreaking electronic album when it came out 47 years ago, but it didn't age well. Sounds silly and juvenile. Probably a must listen if you're really into electronica but there's so much better stuff out there.
Great music, crap lyrics. Vor allem geil.
I'll give it 2 stars. High 2 stars. I didn't really like it but i didn't really hate it either.
Moooooogie love it, early Daft Punk vibes.
Very excited for this one. I am familiar with Kraftwerk, of course, but have never done a deep dive. It's easy to hear how Kraftwerk basically invented one of the most important building blocks for bands in the 80's and beyond. The textures, tones and rhythms are undeniable and hypnotic. The songwriting is obviously not paramount here (even if there's a certain charm to the stilted 'robot in love' vocals on the poppier songs), and though perhaps I would enjoy this album more were it to be augmented by additional, more organic or varied, instrumentation, I respect the laser focus of this obviously trailblazing work. Favorite song: the extended outro of 'Neon Lights'
Brilliant, trend setting album.
Great
bought The Model as a single when I was a kid - great tune. Some other good tunes on this, but they were never really my cup of tea. A bit light in sound.
Enjoyed!
Futuristic space sounds Spacelab kinda alright with slower space vibes
Already listened
Probably really innovative at the time. Overall I liked it.
it feels weird to critique the album? kind of like reviewing classical music, there's this historic sheen on it that separates it from just any other techno record. it's interesting, and kind of funny, and i guess there's *something* cool about it, but judging it on the same metrics as every album i dont know that it's the most routinely listenable. The Model sounds impressively modern, that's probably my favorite. but yeah daft punk (original 1978 theatrical run colorized) like 2.4/5
Rating: 9/10 I really like synthy progressive electronic music and as the prototype this is still really fun and holds up against the modern stuff it influenced. I think the the concept and themes behind “The Man-Machine” with its artificial futurism sound is really cool. Basically the Blade Runner of music if that makes sense
1. Why is every single one of these songs nostalgically familiar 2. I went in ready to hate but I'm getting why these are kinda """influential""" 3. The Model best on the album 4. Not THAT bad 4.3/10
Ah yes, a classic album for the classic music listener. Both ahead of it's time and left in the past at the same time. 5 Time Before Timelands out of 10 Lizard Wizards
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again; it might have been the new sounds that made their name but it's the strength of the melodies that have given LPs like this their enduring quality. Kraftwerk may have pushed the boundaries of technology in music and smashed through any concepts of what electronic music could actually be, but the smartest thing they did was remember to write truly superb songs. Strong 4
Classic for a reason - oddly familiar given that I never listened to them when I was younger.
133/1089 seeing that this came out in 1978 is kinda wild, it sounds very ahead of it’s time and it has some moments i really like and if it was fine-tuned a bit more to be like those moments it’d be an easy 4 stars. it really sounds like it could have been the soundtrack to a metroid or similar game. However, it plods a little too much for me, often the songs don’t seem to have a clear progression or intention and end up being the same string of beeps and boops repeated for too long. I do wish that the link on the album page of this generator would take you to the original German version because I’d have listened to that one if it had occurred to me that the link might not prioritise the original language faves: Metropolis, The Model 65/100
Much better than the previous album, “Trans Europe Express.” More variety, more depth and much more attention to melodies.
Blip bloop
This was much more chill than I expected from the one Kraftwerk song I thought I knew. I like it!
Enjoyable and really modern sounding for the 70s
Slightly flabbergasted I never heard this before. How the hell did I miss this gem?!? I knew The Model, but admittedly via Snakefinger. The rest is somehow new to me and it's amazing. It's just as good as you could hope the album between Trans Europe Express and Computer World would be. Also, instantly recognized the title track because it was sampled by The Fearless Four back in the day: https://youtu.be/XOHvOhADAic?si=ETUV8YlVhCBtPUwj
Interesting that this is album #686 for me yet is only the first (for me, not chronologically) of three Kraftwerk albums in this collection. Regardless, it's nice to get the OG electronica band, and this seems like a great sample of their style. Funny too how similar their music was to industrial, just skewed towards the electronic noise end rather than found-object noise. And interesting that this is considered their most club/dance-friendly album; I suspect the other two albums may be even more industrial/art-noise adjacent. Somewhat unexpectedly, I enjoyed the entire album much more than I expected to, and found it strangely soothing or maybe just hypnotic); my favorites are "The robots", "Metropolis" and the title track, but there really isn't a bad track on this compact album. And kudos to them for laying the groundwork for literally generations of bands in the decades since.
Got better as the album progressed--just suffer through We Are the Robots. Still, not their best.
"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.
Pretty good, especially the last two.
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.
I cant listen to Kraftwerk anymore with thinking of the syntheziser scene with Ross performing his sound "poems" on Friends Groundbreaking at the time for sure, but in 2025, it just doesn't hit the same
Charming European electronic that lets instruments just breathe and have fun; honestly, a very enjoyable listen!
Mad this was released in the 70s
Sounds like soundtrack to 80s movie
Easy, po jų koncerto viską buvau perklausius.
Not for me sorry
7/10 Favourite: Die Roboter Least Favourite: Die Mensch-Machine
3
2/5
It was alright, there was some nice little melodies dotted around. Obviously the singing is a bit of an issue but I guess that's Kraftwerk for you. I would say bands inspired by Kraftwek are much more enjoyable to listen to than the band themselves.
With the recent influx of ai music this missed the mark.
It had some intriguing sounds, and was overall a nice album. "The Model" was definitely my favorite song. It was good to listen to once, but it felt like it took a lot of effort and I don't see myself reaching for it again.
Totally Daft Punk's ancestor. Songs are a too drawn out for my tastes (2.5)
Definitely before their time and revolutionary for edm. Not my type of music though
So Models was a hit in the UK. This is music for clubbers of disco. Not for me.
10/10 no notes no skips
Best thing to come out of Germany since [redacted]
only love for my komputer guys
I get it but i don't want it if you get me
This seems ahead of its time, and I can hear the influence it had in bands like LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk.
I dont like electronic music in general and surprisingly i didn’t like this. It does however have ‘the model’ on it which is undeniably catchy
In a lot of ways, Kraftwerk are everything I’m not a fan of, with their too-long songs, which can be repetitive and instrumentally heavy. However, I’ve always liked “The Robots” and “The Model”, and the rest I didn’t really mind listening to. It helps that they kept the album to six songs - any more would have been like overkill, given the length of the tracks. While this sort of music generally is not my thing, it is clear that Kraftwerk are the masters of the genre.
Another band my Dad liked and which got played a lot in the house when I was a kid... and which I don't understand the appeal of. The Model is alright (and short!) but otherwise this isn't for me. I did enjoy that the German accent made "Metropolis" sound like "call the police" every time they sang it. Bleepy bloopy background music. 2/5
Lately, I've been thinking how perfect this is