The Man Machine

- Excited to see a recommended Kraftwerk album because I’d never gotten into them despite liking melodic electronic music. All that to say, I am not a robot. - Appreciate that they paved the way for the genre. - While there are interesting melodic ideas, almost all the songs are too long and the extra length doesn’t really evolve/add new ideas. A lot of it feels like dudes playing with their synths, but I admit, it grew on me. - The Model is a banger. Neon Lights is also good, just wish it was half as long. Also liking Metropolis - the call back to “the Robots" is a nice touch, but that song was so long, I enjoyed it more here. I like that the album is thematic and definitely a reference to the movie. - Enjoy the German version more than the English one.

ufo music ass album

Good.

Great.

robotic!

Awsome

The godfathers of electronic music. The German version is better imo. 9/10 Favourite track: Das Model or Neonlicht

This album is heaps of fun for the sound and era. It’s got a whimsical optimistic sound to it, like an awkward teenager dancing. I rate it, good vibe.

Not to be daft but these German punks are pretty good at electronic music

Cool

It's getting 3 stars purely because I love Numan, Ultravox, Visage etc. etc. but I am glad this is a short album. The Model hits every time though, and I can really appreciate how mad this album must've sounded in 1978

Vibes

Way before its time. Funky bleep bloop pre techno!

Landmark electronic album. My inner synth geek and keyboard lover found this album phenomenal. I was familiar with Kraftwerk before (I'm the operator with my pocket calculator.......beep boop bop), and this album has made me respect the group even more. With that said, I don't think it's quite a 5/5 record, I do think there are improvements to be made and don't know if it quite matches up with other timeless indisputable greatest albums of all-time, but it's quite close to a 5/5.

These ARE the droids you’re looking for.

More bad stuff on the list that is s'pose to be music.

Enjoyable, easy listening.

I can see how this was influential, but I don't like it very much.

Resulta refescante un poco de electrónica de , sorpresa!!, 1978. Se escucha con agrado.

3.0 - Ok

Classic

I liked this but i could never see myself putting it on again. So that’s my metro for the 3 stars.

watafaku

OK! I was never really exposed to Kraftwerk other than incidentally. This album is freaking cool! So very ahead of its time. I can see how this influenced a great deal of the new-wave that came after. I like what one review stated, "surprisingly fresh and modern". 4-star for sure. And for an album I've only just heard today, this could potentially go higher when I spend some time with this!

Cool sounds and I’m sure pioneering for it’s time. The songs don’t do much for me on a single listen.

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

When they hit, they hit.

I like the old style synth and the early techno.

I mean u gotta love kraftwerk. This album is poppier than TEE in a weird way? Love love love it regardless

Not quite as good as TRANS EIROPE EXPEESS. But still good! TBH I wouldn’t like listen to this outside of some very specific circumstances so it’s feeling more 3.5 to me. But this is me being overly harsh cuz I’ve been handing out 4s like crazy.

Would’ve loved this with crazier drums

Amazing electronic music

So cool, so ahead of it's time. When I saw today's album was by Kraftwerk, knowing they were a German electro-group, I sighed. However, I enjoyed this album a lot more than I was expecting to. Easy to listen to, very futuristic-sounding, which is impressive considering it's 1978 release. I look forward to hearing more from these guys. A solid 3.5/5

Computer game music. What else could this be good for? Do people really listen to this?

Banging electronica

Pretty nice instrumentation.

Enjoyable

Great, one of their best

Bliss, I'd say their best

My favourite album by them. Some melodies.

I'm just not a Kraftwerk fan I'm sorry Cathal

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.

Vraiment pas mal pour du techno. J'ai bien aimé Robots, et the Model, qui sont apparemment les singles. Par contre, ça peut pas être 5 étoiles parce que je comprends que c'est là que l'enfer du techno a commencé... En changeant les pneus hier, ça faisait bien, je me sentais moi-même comme une man-machine.

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

I liked it, the repetition IS the point. The Model is kinda creepy. I kinda like fewer words in their songs.

If you are reading this review to find some new insight on this album, unlucky lad. Basically is great, a classic, wonderful, inspirational, influential

Despite the pretty dated sound palette, a lot of Kraftwerk's music from the '70s has something kind of timeless about it. I think some of their earlier stuff has managed to age well in particular. The Man Machine does wear its age a *little*, but it has an excuse. This was sort of a break-out for Kraftwerk, and has proven to be *very* influential. The Man Machine adapts their earlier experiments with electronic music and synthesizer melodies into a collection of pop songs, ready for the dancefloor, or even the radio. It's the sound of a band growing comfortable within their sound, and pushing admirably into a new frontier. And I'll say, in its own weird, robotic way, this thing grooves. I don't know what this even means really, but the music here makes me want to dance like a funky little puppet. On side one, The Robots, Spacelab, and Metropolis are all true blue dance music. And we kick off side two with The Model, which is a *real* pop song, it is everything great about Kraftwerk, jammed into a digestible 3-ish minutes. We have like two or three *infectious* synth-lines across this song. It manages to perfectly convey both the glamour of the song's protagonist, and the satirical bitterness with which she is presented (check out Big Black's fascinating cover of this song too, it *really* works).After this, Neon Lights is not necessarily a favorite of mine, but it's undeniably impressive. And we close with the title track, which *is* a favorite of mine. Something weird I noticed while listening is how much the synth tones remind me of (specifically) Sega Genesis music. I'd say this is a good thing, generally; besides, this predates that by like 15 years, so this was still unquestionably ahead of its time. I maybe appreciate this more than I enjoy listening to it, but this *is* a good album, with some timeless tracks, and synth tones that still manage to conjure up a certain image of the future.

wirklich verdammt gut

I can totally see in 1978 when this album was released, that people could imagine that this is what the future sounded like. Also if you’re a hip hop head you’ll definitely notice a few choice samples.

i can appreciate the fact that this came out in the late 70s and the impact it may have had on music going forward, but in a vacuum, this was a rough one for me to get through. sonically, sure, it sounds cool. it sounds futuristic (for its time), and the process of actually creating it was probably pretty interesting, but god damn is it boring. i'd probably never go back to this one.

Amazing album! Loved every track. The "robotic" atmosphere was cool but the album included some popular music vibes too and was easy to listen to. Best album I have listened so far. No mistakes.

Sounded cool 2

Not their best album as far I'm concerned, but it contains their iconic tracks "The Robots" and "The Model".

In addition to the electronic innovations and boundary-pushing sound, it’s remarkably well-paced for its era.

I've never heard of this album or artist, released the year I was born. The first track repeats, "we are the robots," when only now (47 years later) I'm being served digital ads for in-home robots that will wash my dishes. To say Kraftwerk was ahead of its time, is an understatement. Pleased to learn this is primarily where the contemporary electronic, low-fi type jams I enjoy today, originated with these German artists. Not sure I could listen to this again, though.

Not bad, don’t need to listen to again.

Really groundbreaking synth work for the time, lyrically, not the most expansive. Who knows where we would be now without Kraftwerk!

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

Day 6: Best tracks: Metropolis, The Robots, Neon Lights, The Model No hard skips. But definitely prefer a few over others. Metropolis might be one of the first "synthwave / out run" tracks, and I love it. I was introduced to Trans-Europe Express and Computer World well before this album, but this is the one that I listen to more often now, 20 years later. 9/10.

Ass

Nie wiem, co się ze mną dzieje, że podoba mi się taka muzyka. Ale ma w sobie coś niezwykłego. Jak nie z tego świata. Ścieżka dźwiękowa do filmu sci-fi. I ja to kupuję. 7/10 a to u mnie, jak na elektronikę, dużo.

For a 1978, I found astonishing how good and futuristic it sounds. The work put on the synths is top notch, even for today's standards, I'll dare to say. Apart from the clear definition of the sounds, I loved how this album was able to mentally transport me to cyberpunk type of scenes. While listening to this, I was constantly thinking of the aesthetic and moments of certain cyberpunk animes such as 'Akira' or 'Neo Tokyo', with cities composed by super tall skyscrapers and artificial lights. I think the tracks that accomplished this feeling the best are 'Spacelab', 'Metropolis' and 'The Model'. The rest of the tracks, while still being quite good, I think they don't reach the same highs as the mentioned ones, specially 'The Man-Machine', which I think is the weakest one. The synth melodies are not as memorable and it has the most repetitive vocals. Nevertheless, a very unique experience. Really liked this one.

Sûrement très sympa pour l'époque mais on se fait chier quand même hein

Chelou les allemands

Ptn c'est trop ma came y'a une vibe synthwave cyberpunk j'ai tellement écouté ça en bossant. 1978 par contre ils sont tellement en avance !?!?

Beeps and boops. Sounds so dated, just not a fan at all.

Great! Catchy melodies, funky electronic sounds. You can definitely hear their influence on acts like Daft Punk. Standouts: Metropolis The Model (a classic!) The Robots WE ARE THE ROBOTS.

Moins pire que l'autre mais affreux quand même

crazy style

extremely influential work in the realm of electronic music and synth-pop. Great listen, will return to this in the future.

Very interesting album. Lots of cool sounds and certainly different from what I usually listen to. Didn’t love everything, but would recommend it overall.

This album isn't to my personal taste, but the artistry and place in pop history are easy to see. The threads that became synth-pop and new wave are all here, and you can hear everything from Depeche Mode to Taylor Swift to Daft Punk all over this record.

It was cool considering the time period it came out, however would not listen to again

beautiful and sweet and incredibly innovative

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.

Groundbreaking, but not great.

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

Not for me. Some of it is pleasant enough in the background, but ughh. And the robot voice was dumb and bad. Rolled over into "Computer Love," which is not on this album, but which I did like.

Some good bleeps and solid boops

Mega

Repetitive and not very interesting

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.

Surprisingly enjoyable since I don’t listen to much electronic music. Very good album.

Robot 'music' good for elevators and grocery stores

Not great, electronic music is hard to make interesting. That is the case with this one.

No sé muy bien qué pensar de este álbum. Por un lado aprecio la calidad sonora, el álbum está muy bien grabado y producido. Además tiene una buena selección de sonidos electrónicos y un trabajo interesante sobre la voz "robótica" que seguramente ha de haber sido sorprendente para su época. Pero por otro lado el minimalismo y la repetición de la música roza con la monotonía aburrida. Además de que no termino por descifrar cual es la energía que prentede movilizar con la música. No es lo suficientemente enérgico como para invitarme al baile, tampoco lo demasiado ambiental como para relajarme, ni psicodélico como para viajar mentalmente en la escucha. Siento que termina siendo más una apreciación y curiosidad histórica y de producción musical que una experiencia musical en sí misma que aprecie.

Not for me. I liked the last one we had (Trans-Europe Express) much more. Favorite Song: Metropolis

This album was a choice.

Sleek synthy and minimalist electronic album. Hadn’t listened to these much before. Enjoyed quite a lot

Tough to dislike 70’s electronica that starts with a track heralding the areival of the future - we are the robots. Love the line we are programed to do anything you want us to foloowes by a minor chord sounding ‘we are the robots’. Quite menacing. This fills me with nostalgia for early video games, lasers, time travel, everything we thought the future could be both good and bad. But without the (oftwn endless and therefore meaningless) build up and drop beat type texture of later electronic music and remixes i do winder of this one will be a difficult listen all the way to the end. Track 2 and i think not. Synth and beat pointing the way for alt-symth pop bands of the 80’s like New Order. Stripped back, subtle, not ovwr layered. Theres a lot to like here. Considering this was late 70’s and third album i think its ahead of its time and harks back to early elwctronica that if you were amartwr than me could probably trace back through Jean Jaques Perrey, to Clara Rockmore and her theremin. I think i’d prefer a YMO album to this but then it probably depends on whether i am in a happy modd (YMO) or fewling a bit dystopian (KW). Some great writing here - shes a model and shes looking good, i want to take her home thats understood. Hilarious. Drags a bit at the second to end track but there are worse albums than this. Prefer their previous album Trans-Europe Express.

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

Track by track- 1. We are the robots! Apparently. Cool. 2. Spacelab- about a young spacelab and his attempts to fit in with the other spacelabs and earn their spacelab approval. 3. Metropolis- about a young metropolis sent to live with her adoring grandparents in their haunted castle, only to discover a scary metropolis secret. 4. The model- in which a model is looking good and stuff. 5. Neon-lights- this city’s made of light! 6. The Man-Machine- a tale as old as time; a man who is also a machine, and the lady machines who love him. FOUR STARS

Not into it

I wish I could’ve heard this for the first time when it came out and changed the game. A great album and the sort of music you can put on near any time. 4.6/5.0 Best Song: The Model

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.

I bet there was a salary raise in the orthodontic industry in the late 70’s because of the tremendous amount of jaws dropping to the floor following the release of this. still goes hard today, though, both in the club and over homework. don’t even get me started on influence. so many artists — from british twinks with slickbacks of the 80’s to black fascists of today — owe their existence and popularity to kraftwerk, it’s insane. hell yeah

30.10.25 #26 Favourite: The robots rate: 8/10

nice, but better in german

Tyfusoud bliep en bloepwerk met overmatig vocoder gebruik. In 1978 moet dit enorm dik zijn geweest, nu is pijnlijk oud, maar daardoor vind ik het als hipster ook wel weer vet juist. Ik ben blij dat ik hem een dagje heb uitgesteld want gister had ik hier geen zin in en vandaag glijdt het prima naar binnen. Het is een stuk makkelijker weg te luisteren dan dat Autobahn album, tegelijkertijd is dit mede daardoor misschien ook wel iets meer vergeetbaar. Ondanks dat het oud klinkt is het album nog steeds wel bezwerend en dat gaat er tijdens het werk altijd heel goed in. Ik nam hier op geen enkel moment aanstoot aan en voor ik het wist was het voorbij. Ik heb voor m'n gevoel weer een mooi stukje muziekhistorie meegepakt. Ik neigde eigenlijk naar 3 sterren, maar deze krijgt een bonuspuntje omdat het toch flink meeviel. En omdat ie net wat hoger moet scoren dan Autobahn.

Boooooooorrrrrriiiiiing

“We are the robots” - Interesting music, my first time hearing this band. Unique in a good way. A lot of synths that have a bit of a chilling vibe to them. Can be very catchy too. Distorted and robotic voices everywhere. This is strictly electronic music. I can see how some may be turned off by this while others are addicted. I’m somewhere in the middle.

Better than I thought it was going to be. I knew a few of the songs and I knew a few songs from the D&B demo's I've seen over the years.

Un disco que suena como un perfecto soundtrack para una película con mucho cuero negro. Me pinta la imagen de una noche en un club underground, Alemania aun dividida, encontrar un sótano oscuro con luces blancas que iluminan las caras cada cierto tiempo haciendo que se desfiguren y pierdan sentido. Un disco que predomina lo oscuro, moderno, gotico, synth donde Metropolis funciona como puente para The Model esa canción famosa que sobrevivió de este disco y se posiciono en el mundo moderno, muy buena para bailar. Un disco verdaderamente cautivante

Pretty nice, early synth music

Daft Punk did it better years later

I understand how cool it is that this album sounds the way it does when it came out back in the 70's, but I can't honestly say that made my listen any more enjoyable. Just the title of the song in a robotic voice over a synth beat. Over and over and over again for more than half the album. Sometimes they change it up but not enough to make it matter. I'll be nice and give a point for the pleasantness of the beats, but that is all I can give.

2/4

I've tried to listen to Kraftwerk before and they never really hit with me. Too german, too new age, too.... synth (?). I found the first half to be good, for background music when doing something else. Model was a good track, and the title song, Man Machine was decent. 2/5.

Genre classics.

Felt like redundant video game music, these guys love robots. 🤖

I read the title of the first song and cringed a bit. The Robots? Really? Bryan Johnson probably patented headphones that play this album to his adult son Talmage’s penis while he sleeps. I’m out.

Definitely better than Trans Europe Express (glad we listened to that one first). Obviously the lyrics aren't much to dive in to, but it's a fair deal more melodic and there are actual hooks. Would make great music for an alien invasion.

I know they’re influential but I didn’t care for this much at all.

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

just old electric noise, not bad just not for me

Solid beats The echo makes it sound really full even though there's only usually 2 or 3 things happening at once. Simple but good Mostly same repeating rhythms

Very electronic. Big on vibes.

Transformers music

While I appreciate the influence Kraftwerk has had on many artists I enjoy, I have never been able to get into them. However, of the three albums of theirs I have gotten on this list thus far, I disliked this one the least. The hyper-redundancy just wears me out after not too long. But the question remains, who are the robots? Why won’t they tell us?

My anticipation for this one was mixed. I've been loving almost everything from the late 70s, but my last "kraut rock" albums was horrible. Still, Kraftwerk is a household name, so I was excited to finally give them a lesson. A few songs in and this is definitely weird, not in a bad way, but weirder than I expected. There are some interesting and cool grooves going and they're definitely a vibe. The lyrics are about as basic as they come and that was probably my biggest turn-off about this album. I get it, German dudes singing in English with a limited vocabulary but it made for a lot of repetition. Speaking of being repetitive, pretty much all the songs went on with the same rhythm or melody for too long and I'd lose interest and be ready for the next song. The whole thing went by in a breeze, though, and I didn't really tire of the whole kraut rock vibe. By the way, I never expected kraut rock to basically be early electronic music, but after two "quintessential" albums in the genre, it's clear that's what it is. I don't know why but I always assumed it was actual rock music, you know, with guitars and drums. Maybe it's just the name.

Interesting, not bad. Some songs are quite catchy. But most of them are too monotonous. I wouldn't go back to this album voluntarily. 2,5/5.

Man, I know that Kraftwerk were super avant garde and cutting-edge for their time. and I know that they helped springboard a couple different musical genres. I know they're well respected for their work. For what it is, its recording is pristine and reflects a systematic and intentional approach to music creation. But man, I just don't care about "soundscapes" or EDM (which this maybe really isn't, but seems like a predecessor for), or synth music. This was a hard listen for me, though I respect the talent. It's just so mind-numbing for me. 2/5

Important in the development of electronic music, but dated

This album sounds EXACTLY like I would expect an album by a band called Kraftwerk to sound. It was the perfect accompaniment while I was setting up my classroom this morning. I am also struck by how modern it sounds. You could have told me this came out this year and I'd believe you. It also grew on me with subsequent listens.

Still insanely fresh, great synth album!

It sounds like you'd expect a Kraftwerk album to sound. I think I liked this one better than the other one I listened to, but I can't really say I liked it. Less unpleasant than I'd feared, ultimately!

Oh God. No. Too much synth.

Always enjoy Kraftwerk, although this isn’t as innovative or as interesting as Autobahn. Solid though and easy to listen to.

This was cool

I'm not a robot ✅️

Stylistically, Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine reminds me of the minimalist synth-heavy film scores of the late 1970s and 1980s by John Carpenter (Escape from New York, Christine) and Tangerine Dream (Sorcerer, Thief). What sets it apart is the group’s distinctive use of their eccentric Very-German-Accent vocals—singing or chanting the track titles. Beyond that, the album turned out to be far more enjoyable than I expected.

What you expect from Kraftwerk. Nothing new or exciting here.

Cover 4 I can only think of Ross Geller playing his. Innovative music at Central Park with the dog barking and car crash sounds. I don't hate this but despite them being innovators of the genre, I prefer the people they influenced rather than them themselves.

'We are the robots' sounds like something a fifth-grader could've made, no offense but the repetition is just hm. 'Metropolis' has a nice beat which I could see myself playing in the background fx while reading, as it is simultaneously soothing and tense. 'model' is also good, except for the one long shrilling note at the end

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.

Just more annoying european electronic music. Stupid robot voices and weird bleeps and bloops. I hate this kind of “music” if you can even call it that. It’s just sounds.

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

Perfect chilled out afternoon record 5

Kraftwerk are at their most timeless when ambient with minimal lyrics. For that reason I slightly prefer Trans Europe Express. This is still strong though, and Neon Lights is a particular highlight. Crazy ahead of its time. 4/5

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

People will often point to how ahead of its time and cutting edge Kraftwerk are but it’s important not to pull focus from how robust and confident the songwriting across this record is. The Model and Neon Lights are my highlights because of the former’s punchy melodies and the latter’s gorgeous repeating hooks. At points it sounds like an embryonic form of one of my favourite albums - The Human League’s Dare! which came just three years later.

I’m surprised to not enjoy Kraftwerk more than I have, it’s my first of theirs - very cool sound and undoubtedly new, unique and progressive at the time. But to me the songs largely don’t go anywhere and do very little to move me. The mid section gets closest but the first two tracks didn’t engender me to the mood well enough at all. A solid but surprised 3/5 for me 🤖

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.

Interesting early electronic music. Suprised this came out in 1978, it's very different from the typical music of the Era. This was likely a very influential album for all the synth based new wave music of the 80s, and later electronic music.

01) The Robots - 10,0 02) Spacelab - 8,0 03) Metropolis - 7,5 04) The Model - 10,0 05) Neon Lights - 8,0 06) The Man-Machine - 8,0 TOTAL: 8,58 (86/100) Current ranking: 109/691

The Model is a banger, but besides that not really my type of music. Honestly fascinating that they did this in the 70s, but overall very repetitive. Gotta love the German accents in the vocals though!

nah

It's great and surprisingly interesting considering it's a 1978 album

#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.

very bloopy. very bloppy. a fun enough album but nothing here super enthuses me. i did like the retro synth sound and the production, but the songs here don't do a whole lot for me. it was still an enjoyable listen, but not something i think i would regularly come back to.

this is how you do beep boop music

I grew up playing video games so I love this shit

Bof, trop électronique 2 étoiles

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

7 Kommen sie bitte und listen to kraftwerk

Weird, but in a slightly good way. Curious what people thought of this when it first came out as it feels ahead of it's time. Can't bring myself to give it more than a 2 though as I can't see myself listening to a lot of this.

It's German Techno.

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

A couple OK tracks, but I was glad it was over quickly.

Thought I’d like this a lot more!

pretty neato from a historical perspective, glad we figured out to make the bass way better though

My favorite so far.

não gostei muito, muito conceitual eletrônico pra mim.

I like the band but not this album

This what Mr. Krabs was listening into his office going “beep boop boo boo bop”

Classic that stands the test of time , might age nicely in my work mellow edm vibes . Can def see it’s influences

Listened to this while on a coach driving very slowly out of Heathrow airport and you know, it kind of worked. This is a 3.5 for me.

Not bad, but functions more as background music or a soundtrack.

I like it but I like other KW better

Just... boring nonsensical electronica. I'm glad that there's representation for this genre on the list, but that's where my glee stops

I get that it was ahead of its time and dead influential or whatever, but that was absolute fucking wank

Otroligt inflytelserikt, och håller än idag!

Nämen asså det är en vibe ändå, svårt att bedöma så här långt senare men jävligt töntcoolt på nå vis.

WE ARE THE ROBOTS

Häftigt sound!

WE ARE THE ROBOTS BLIPP BLIPP

das beep boop

Droning sounds and dancing synths make this record sound like it's from the 80s synth pop movement - instead, this record is a precursor and an inspiration to the genre. It's catchy yet alien, and somehow kraftwerk finds a way to put it together in a pleasing way!

82% Best: Spacelab; Neon Lights; The Man Machine Must-Hear? Sure

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.

Okay literally no false pretences on this album. Not trying to hide away- the album screams we are the future get behind it or fuck off. Bringing electro beats to the 70s, possibly becoming the muse to a generation of 80s music (and most likely inspiring 2 albums from pet street boys which I’ve been forced to listen to on this 1001 roster) but also can hear modern techno music being influenced by this album. But I will say there is a difference to being influential and one that I enjoy listening to. There is a reason there is little singing on the album. The Model shows you why… Couple of songs were fun - but can’t imagine I’m adding this to my regular playlist selection

I'm not gonna listen to kraftwerk sorry

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.

Surprisingly better than I remember. I think the key is not giving myself permission to turn it off. Its obviously a key album to the digital my music I like, but I think it took more talent and I think there was more cultural relevance at least in America through switched on bach and the BBC composers that did the Dr who theme for mainlining digital music to the masses. This seems a bit dull and more by the books sequencing then actual music.

Ihan groovi ja svengi mutta aika avaruusleffaviba

Way ahead of it's time, this album is very good.

Strongest 4 - this has so much personality and it is a really incredible piece of art. Must have sounded so forward-thinking at the time and so much followed from this in the 1980s. Would have preferred it finished slightly stronger but can't really complain.

Very repetitive and robotic electronic music, it’s what I think robots listen to

A bit dated. Kids hated it!

Amazing album. Kraftwerk were on a major role! 6 tracks, all bangers. 4.5 rounded down Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes 15/1001, 15/57 (26%) Will I get? Already have

When “The Man Machine” was released in 1978, it must have been straight-off avant-garde. Moreover, the album is extremely clear and tastefully produced for its time. Unfortunately, despite all its professionalism and quality, the “songs” remain nothing more than ringtones to me - perfect as the soundtrack to a retro computer game. As standalone music, however, I don't think they have aged too well.

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.

Love the bleeps and bloops - it's fully electronic but still maintains an organic sound.

Not my genre, picked a few songs I liked but just can’t get into techno

Started slow but absolutely finished strong in the second half. Title track is an instant classic and has been sampled in some classic hip-hop tracks

The track “The Man-Machine” is a jam. A little torn on the vocals throughout the album, however.

we are the rrrobots

Deathly boring, so sorry for those who enjoy

Super!

I have not heard much Kraftwerk - the only song of theirs I would say I'm familiar with was "Tour de France" because it was featured in a great scene in Breakin'. The first song here ("Robots") sounds almost like a prequel to that song. I don't hate this but couldn't imagine listening to it a lot. It sounds like the soundtrack for an old arcade game. The lyrics are unintentionally hilarious but I'll give them a pass on that because English isn't their first language. "The Model" reminds me of the "Space Pants" SNL skit with Peter Dinklage and Gwen Stefani.

Good Songs: The Robots, Spacelab, Metropolis, The Model, Neon Lights Mid Songs: The Man-Machine Bad Songs:

Robotic to a fault, get that it was groundbreaking at the time but don't think it's as enjoyable to listen to now as it was back in the 70s.

Bleep bloop

Kiutty: Melodia boa, porem cansativo. Moov: Chato pra um caralho, nós dropamos o album na penultima música de tão cansativo que era.

1970s daft punk, how the fuck they get ahead of soundscape

Perhaps it is valid in the context of its time and contemporaries - sure, I read the wiki page. But elegaic, best electronic album of all time? Aw hell no - this music sucks. To me it just captures the naive, modernist obsession with "robot as personal slave", a kind of ham fisted reaching for the world, grabbing at progress absent mindedly. Now we all have 4 hours of screen time a day and job loss for AI. 2 stars for novelty but otherwise corny, unenjoyable almost muzak

Interessante d+ esse estilo de música eletrônica. CVJ Aria.

Cold, atmospheric, futuristic sound. Would be interesting to watch something like Metropolis with this album as a soundtrack

Another in a series of bands my favourites are indebted to or love but I just...have never found a way into. Und ich kann Deutsch! A lot of Kraftwerk plays like the factory settings, waiting for someone with actual inspiration or emotion to come along and do something with it. And sure enough, look at all the samples folks turned Kraftwerk into!

2.5

82/100. Classic synthpop album, might be my favorite Kraftwerk record. Very good and innovative.

This is what, the third Kraftwerk album on this list? I don’t think they warrant that large a space here. It’s impressive to do this in the 70s and not aggressively unpleasant though, so it’s saved from a 1 star rating

Varieert van vervelend tot Gedateerd schattig

I appreciate Kraftwerk's music because of how ahead of its time it was, but man I wish I liked listening to it more.

Wildly unpleasant to listen to, as it's just noise for 40 minutes. But some of those sounds are interesting from an audio generation perspective for how old this album is.

had no clue what to expect but i dug this. especially the first song

This album was definitely ahead of its time... by about 6 years because every song sounded like a 1984 Commodore 64 game's soundtrack. In the best possible way.

Not enough flangers. I love the experimentation, thank you for progressing electronic music forward towards what we have now. Enjoyment on this as listener is a pretty solid 3 and historically this is probably a 4.

Wait this is what Kraftwerk sounds like? I liked this and don't know why I was scared, maybe I was worried it would be too mechanical and not have any emotion. I see exactly how we get to Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys in about a decade. Really cool melodies and sounds on this, the electronic drums didn't even suck! 4/5

They had a 3 until they started singing.... way better as just ambient music

Follaron una placa base con un mullet en los end 70s

2.5. Too much instrumentals for my taste. Became a bit boring 😔

wild

Obviously the origins of a genre

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

Horrible

This was groundbreaking at the time but quite tortuous to listen too for me!

Robotunes, liked it.

meh

Again - another time in which I wish I had the ability to give half stars. I’d give this one a 3.5 without hesitation if possible. Solid album. Easy listen. Don’t think I’d really go back to it however.

iconic, no matter what. extremely melodic but otherwise absolutely banging ahead of their times.seminal

The Model

Influential, German, trance-like, repetitive, atmospheric, ahead of it's time cyborg music. Not something I would listen to every day but I think it deserves a 4. Can't imagine what this would have sounded like in the 70s. Been listening to a lot of Joy Division and New Order lately, the influence is evident!

I enjoyed this one more than their album, Trans Europe Express, that I previously had. I still don’t love their style, but this was way more interesting.

Not as esoteric as Varese, but Kraftwerk is a pop group. They are pretty esoteric given their genre. This is a great album of a bunch of nerds tinkering with synths like the the Mjnimoog and ARP odyssey. Tonality in most of the pieces helps make it more accessible.

Not really my thing but gets bonus points for being insanely influential and ahead of its time. 2.5

I just can't with Kraftwerk.... never have been able to. Sounds like a video game machine taken over by aliens

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.

first album i've wanted to turn off. 1/5

Man it’s crazy this came out in 1979. Wonder what the reaction was to something like this back then. That being said I couldn’t even get halfway thru it lol.

Me ha encantado, además de The Model que ya la tenía guardada he añadido Spacelab y Neon lights.

Pretty awesome, must’ve been cutting edge and influential at the time

Not my thing

I like this project. Early electronica was super cool and certainly revolutionary for the time. I will have to deep dive more of these albums. 6/10

Fine if not enjoyable

A pretty good album, definitely better than Audubon was. Three out of five, it’s catchy enough.

Unfortunately this came just a day after a Prodigy album, and boy has the technology changed. I understand they were hugely influential to this style of music, but I've never been able to get into them really.

Not really into Electronic Music.

One of my favourite albums of all time

Better than the last one

This band is still playing shows?? Their first album was 1974 🤯that's wild. I would have had my mind blown listening to them in the 70s before electronic music was a thing. But it's 2025. Still dancable thou! Paging all therobots in particular. Spacelab I've heard in movies before.. iconic now

Fun, enjoyable, easy listening

I like electronic music, 80s New Wave, and synth pop. Thank you, Kraftwerk, for inspiring musicians to make music I love. You're not so bad yourself either! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Enjoyable electronica

.. - .----. ... / -. --- - / .- ... / -... .- -.. / .- ... / ... --- -- . / --- ..-. / - .... . / -... . . .--. / .- -. -.. / -... --- --- .--. / -- ..- ... .. -.-. / --- -. / .... . .-. . --..-- / -... ..- - / .. / ... - .. .-.. .-.. / .--- ..- ... - / -.-. .- -. .----. - .-.-.-

great

Origenees d la electrónica

A pioneer album for much of the 80s sound. The Man Manchine is an enjoyable experience for those who enjoy electronic and synth pop music and want to know where its origins lie.

Nice album to be play while play minecraft

naaaaaaah

Not for me

Not my favorite of theirs but a good album nonetheless, favorites were The Robots and The Man Machine

beep boop blip feel like I’m on a spaceship

On today's 1001 albums to hear before I die, I rolled a band I have always struggled to get into and appreciate due to how dated their sound is. That band is of course Kraftwerk in all their weird synthy glory. I was intially quite turned off of this project by the first song here, Die Roboter (The Robots) but after that misfire of an opener I found this project to be quite compelling as a Synthpop and Electronic album. For the time this came out it was quite ahead of everything else except for maybe a few Ambient artists at the time utilizing electronics in a very early time before they were everywhere, and surprisingly finding Kraftwerk was using these machines to their fullest potential given the technology. I can totally see why Kraftwerk are such influential and important figures as their music truly helped shift the world of music as we know it even if not nearly enough people know this band's name. Die Mensch - Maschine is not only an essential album to hear, but also a time capsule showing a very direct view at the point in which the world of music started to change as a whole. I can really respect the band continuing to push a boundary no one else had gone to and defining every decade of music since then with their discoveries, and while I may not be the biggest fan of their music and how it has aged in 2025, I can confidently say I am so thankful Kraftwerk exists.

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

I can see the influence on artists like daft punk but too repetitive for me. Second half is better than the first

3.5. Дуже люблю попередній, а цей мені так само вже не подобається. Він набагато більш сучасний порівняно з попереднім і відголоски цієї музики вже можна знайти в сучасній чи принаймні більш сучасній електронній музиці. Той самий вокодер який тут нормально так заюзали. Чогось ця траекторія мені менше подобається у порівнянні з більш абстрактним та авнгардним Trans-Europe Express

this is my worst nightmare genuinely does not get worse than this abomination towards music

Kraftwerk is still not for me. Stupid repetitive shit

rubbish

Like crap stems of daft punk. Yeah yeah they were before their time

Cool old school synths. Good listen, nice melodic tunes that takes you back in time.

Varierte mellom ganske gøy og ganske enerveranes, tidvis i samme sang, så æ sett nok mer pris på ka Kraftwerk har gjort for musikk æ like som kommer nu heller enn det dem sjøl holdt på med.

I've made jokes about past electronica albums as "Music for robots to fuck to" but this takes the crown. This is way outside anything I like yet captivated me from start to finish, there was a bit of a dip when it got a little too dragged out, but I definitely got 70's sci fi vibes. I think it helped because I was working a mundane task and the music hit a sweet spot. Dont know if I'll seek this out again but what a fun ride.

Weird robot music! Listened to the German version and loved it!

I loved. It’s mechanical, different and unique

Oh my god, this is like a Giorgio Moroder score with robot voices singing silly lyrics. And in Russian too. These German cats were interested in making music that bridged the sides of the Cold War. Warsaw Pact or NATO, you can listen to this crappy electronic music. This is far from the worst album I've heard though which I think tells you everything you need to know about this project. It wears on you though. I guess I have to give them a pass for the lyrics since their primary language is German, but the repetitive electronic music is mind numbing. The Man Machine feels more like something someone made so that 80s rappers would sample it rather than an actual song anyone wanted to listen to.

I did Not Like this. Repetitive, boring and nothing Special.

Tynt med tekst ja. Teller hele 6 ord på de 3 første låtene. Albumet hadde gjort seg bedre i halv lengde.

meio doido ne

This was very interesting. I’ve never listened to techno from this fallback. Really enjoyed it, and the album wasn’t too long and repetitive.

It wasn't bad, wasn't my fave

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!!!

This must have sounded so alien to listeners in 1978! I knew a little about the history of Kraftwerk going into this album (it’s hard to manage a radio show that plays 80s music and NOT know Kraftwerk), but this was my first listening experience—and a pretty good one overall! Yes, it’s a little repetitive, but given that this was a brand new medium for music-making, I’m not too surprised. Definitely a fun listen!

I kinda liked this. It's a bit more "fun" than I'm used to for the krautrock genre.

Fun

I get that for its time this was revolutionary and the “groundwerk” for a lot of modern music methodologies, but halfway through listening to this album I felt like I was at work watching the clock at 4pm on a Friday before a long weekend.

I am already familiar with this album and I love it.

Whilst this was a good album and likely more revolutionary at the time of release it felt somewhat basic in the context of more modern music

Electronica has it's place, and there are a few influential electronica artists that put together a few hits and can be called influential. A precious few, and this album ain't one of them. That said, there's nothing objectionable here, it's just one of several dozen electronica albums that the editor has included. The only reason I can imagine for the inclusion is that the editor likes electronica. Well, I don't, and this album is not "must listen before you die."

For some reason, like seeing 8 songs, 35 minutes. Tidy. Not too familiar with Kraftwerk songs although know the name well. Pretty much what I was expecting with ‘Robots’ a fitting intro to the band/album Feels pretty innovative and original for 70/80s. Felt a touch repetitive once you get the gist/sound but a welcome familiarity in ‘The Model’. Felt quintessentially German - efficient in what it does and delivers what it says. Nice enough. Nothing special. (3.5)

A masterpiece

Interesting. Can see how this likely influenced electronic music.

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

Tremendous influence aside, it’s glitchy and cool, but doesn’t feel like much more than background music.

I suppose this is a pioneering album in a genre I don't like. It's fine for a club but does nothing when you just listen to it.

Just don’t know what to say. Didn’t care for it.