The Man Machine

fine

Good at the time? Sure. Good now? Not so much. Maybe The Model i could listen to for fun and i would say is a semi decent song, the rest is too bare for me to enjoy. Thanks for the invention of the synth though.

good

Interesting album. 3stars for being interesting

7/10 Decent album, enjoyed it

Very sterile

Fun album to listen to - this is the kind of stuff I like for focus sessions at work.

The more I do this, the more I wonder what the actual qualifications were to make the list for 1001 Albums. And I'm not questioning whether there's an audience for this, I know there is, but you'd think any album on this list would have more of an impact. That said, I do enjoy it. It's retrowave before retrowave was a thing. And for its time, I'm sure it was groundbreaking. Unfortunately, this entire album only hits the bar of "I wouldn't object if it was already being played, but I'm not gonna pull it to listen to myself."

This was a fun listen. I think I was expecting this to bring a little more of a Devo vibe, and while that was present here and there, The Man Machine felt more of a frontrunner to the electronic/techno music that came to be in the 80s and especially 90s. Lots of drawn-out songs with little elements slowly being added and building on top of each other, yet still oddly minimalist. I liked this, but truth be told, I think I would have liked it more had it gone over a little more to the Devo side.

Lots of beeps and - you're not gonna believe this - boops. All vibes. A nice listen, and very cool for its time, though the individual songs didn't really stick with me.

We only have 1001 artists and not many of those deserve more than one album. Kraftwerk is borderline. 2.5 rounded up till I work it out.

Great for it's historical value. Don't wish to listen to again

I can only hear Flight of the Conchords singing “the humans are dead” on the opening track. Sorry, it’s locked in. After that it’s cool mechanized smoothness that sounds great as a kind of white noise. I don’t dislike this music, it just has no meaning to it.

sounds like kraftwerk. didn't move me

Never been big into electronic music but I do love some Ladytron and can see the ancestry here. The songs feel simple musically, and aren’t atmospheric enough to really lose yourself in them. It seems more like they’re reveling in the technological marvel of it all. I did find “Neon Lights” beautiful though.

The godfathers of twiddling. As a historical landmark of a record and for the song the model its worth listening to. More than once though?

I liked this way more than I thought I would as I disliked their Train album. I very much would love to see the movie that could accompany this music. That sounds like it is from 80s but it's from 70s? It sounds like what people think music will sound like NOW back THEN. Their lyrics are far too on the nose for my liking, which comes off as comical at times due to the stereotype of Germans being literal & more serious. You can just tell they are German. They should stick to the robot voices. 3

I don't know why, but I always thought they were a 90s/early 2000s band. Just makes all of this that much more impressive. Damn.

soundtrack to the ai takeover

Solid 3*, some tracks saved it, this is best enjoyed not listening too closely or you’ll find it boring.

Kraftwerk. Opening track starts and this album just sounds simple and mundane. From ‘the robots’ to ‘metropolis’ just sounds the same with a different words. ‘The model’ gives us a bit more variety and more of a vocal. Then ‘neon lights’ kicks in and the sound just seems to have been upped a level, the track really hitting new boundaries it seems, a beautiful piece of music that flows and evokes emotions and is a real pleasure to listen too. Before ‘the man machine’ drops back down to a mundane level. All that been said if I was in 1978 and heard this album for the first time it would just be wild to comprehend what I was listening to. Untrabox, dead or alive, human league etc etc obviously took notes from Kraftwerk as young ones though! Best track- ‘neon lights’ a 10/10 track. Worst track- ‘the man machine’ 7.5/10 but really difficult to work out how to score!

très rigolo en vrai. le côté historique est fou mais je sais pas si j’apprécie dans une écoute daily pour autant.

Loved the robo-electro grooves. Late 70s disco hidden inside a gleaming cold metallic automaton.

Pretty cool futuristic stuff for the late 70s. I would love to hear “The Model” make a comeback.

I listened with my spouse who doesn't tolerate strange like I do. At the end I said "there is 30 minutes you'll never get back" to which she replied "I don't want it back." Harsh. I kinda liked it, can't believe they were bringing it like this in the 70s. Hat tip to Nick and his laser noises while playing hockey.

I don't know how to feel about this. I don't really like this kind of music, but it's got a groove for sure. The first song reminded me so much of Flight of the Conchords they had to have been heavily inspired by this. I went back and forth between a 1 and like 3.5 but I'm gonna settle on a 3.

Decent album of cool retro futuristic space electronica I enjoyed. saved 1, shelved 2 of 6.

Short and snappy!!

I liked it and can see the great influence they had on all my favorite New Wave groups.

Repetitive but groovy at points. Daft punk like but with less variety

Neon Lights

Might be the most German thing I’ve ever heard. Clearly an influence on Daft Punk, I get it.

Always inventive, creative and experimental these fellas are. Love the discovery process for them, creating such unique sounds using electronic equipment that now fits in the palm of our hands. Their compositions and sequencing is always an adventure and I love listening to what they create. Kraftwerk are always interesting.

Había escuchado el nombre pero no conocía la música. Una vaina rarísima. Pronto historia de la electrónica

knew this one not in the mod for a relisten

Honestly, enjoyed it, but its not something I see myself wanting to listen to again. Appreciate the influence though and some really interesting sounds

Great background music!

I walked back into my room after smoking a bowl and thought I left a video game playing. This is dope! And for 1978? Man Machine is straight up a beat, and also a really niche Juicy J sample (among others I’m sure). Shabazz Palaces bit the melody for Quazarz Born On a Gangster Star from The Model lol. Big fan of this song and how it has lyrics about things besides being robots and machines… although maybe you could find a connection between a model (THE model…) and a machine. Metropolis is great. You kind of have to look past everything bordering on sounding like NES music. Wikipedia tells me that there’s an element of satire to the album, which I like hearing. I think if it was 4 dead serious German dudes accidentally laying the groundwork for techno then it would be too silly to take seriously… ironically enough. I watched a live performance of The Robots and these guys are just ridiculous. Neon Lights is a nice little song; feels more like a normal ass song than a robot experiment. I like the guitar-esque plucks from the synth, although the chords are a little silly. The synth breakdown in the middle started fun but 2 minutes in it gets a little grating; very loud… Update it’s been 3 minutes and I’m over it, way too repetitive and the vox synth that comes in doesn’t make it any more interesting. Outro isn’t bad Man Machine is awesome, the breakdown and its funky sounds is so fun (oooh the arp), the drums groove hard as fuck, and the synth isn't obnoxious! Probably my favorite. Metropolis is like... a foray into 90's VGM - thi is the track I thought was a video game. Sounds like System Shock 2, the swelling synths after the hook sound superb. I wrote more but it got deleted. Spacelab is ok but gets old. Favorite: The Man Machine Lest Favorite: Neon Lights Shoutout: The Model 7 very torn between 3 and 4 stars but i'm gonna lean to 3 because i just don't see myself going back to them a lot, playing it in the car, etc.

What are the odd of getting two Kraftwerk albums back to back - doesn’t seem very random! This one wasn’t as good as the other album - it was find but the whole robot, space theme grew old quickly.

The first ‘experimental’ piece I’ve heard so far and I don’t completely hate it! I mildly dislike it and I probably wouldn’t listen again, but I see what they were trying to do here and I respect the vision!! I read somewhere that these are performance pieces, so I might appreciate it more if I watched the music videos. That being said, I can definitely see some songs being part of movie soundtracks, I just don’t see the album as a standalone cohesive piece if that makes sense. It sounds like what would happen if you stuck the oompaloompas in a recording studio, and I adore the oompaloompas, so as I keep mentioning, this wasn’t a total blow, just not something I wouldn’t listen to again.

“Metropolis” was an interesting listen, I can see where people got the inspiration behind most 80s synth pop songs.

Nobody does weird like the Germans. I have to imagine this is on here because it invented these weird synths and electronic sounds. It’s really hard for me to gauge how unique it is, because much of this sound can be made in modern DAWs, but in the 70s I’m sure it was crazy to hear this. I’m going 3/5. I don’t really enjoy it, but it was interesting and weird.

Enjoyed this one, though it's probably good that it's short.

Nice to hear that they had much more to offer than the singles. It’s great to get drawn into an album full of their sound. Yeah, enjoyed this one

Это мой третий альбом на этом сайте. Я абсолютно не фанат этого жанра и слушать это было тяжело. Сама музыка хороша, но не по мне. Кажется я уже где-то слышал песню The Robots.

Beep boop...good old school electro-music noise

I think Kraftwerk are kind of an acquired taste--and one that I have not really acquired--but I found this OK to listen to, actually.

By no means is this a “bad album” at all. I understand the importance of it and the technicality of it all. Heck, I feel like modern-day synths are a whole complex language to learn, imagine analog synths back in the 70s? It is crazy, and really cool, that Kraftwerk managed to get all these sounds out of ‘em. The vocoder works great too, it gives everything a much more “sci-fi” feel and makes you go “wow, technology is so crazy!” even when this is considered outdated by today’s standards. My only reason for the relatively low rating is that I simply don’t really like this sort of music. I do like electronic music, and I did enjoy some tracks on here quite a bit, but The Man Machine just isn’t something I’d willingly listen to again. It’s not my cup of tea, but it does taste good. As a bonus, the album did give me some ideas for my own tracks, so, thanks, Kraftwerk!

Hard to hear now how innovative it was because it was so influential that it sounds became normal

Fine background noise to a sci fi based automation sim.

Not something I’d normally listen to, but it was fun.

Amazing what they did before the technology was really developed. The beginnings of the techno and 80s sound.

I did not mind this. Maybe the only electronic music so far.

Amazing this came out in the 70s but feel like its been surpassed now. Glad to have heard it as an artefact but not sure when I'd choose to listen to this otherwise

Déjà écouté avant. Qui aurait prédit que quatre mystérieux ermites fascinés par la technologie inventeraient presque à eux seuls le son de la synthpop des années 1980 dans un studio à Düsseldorf ? Minimaliste musicalement mais maximaliste dans son approche froide et calculatoire, effaçant toute imperfection humaine, et donc toute forme d'émotion, sous un masque de sonorités synthétiques et de textures futuristes. Conséquence logique, The Man-Machine finit par être très répétitif et, il faut bien le dire, carrément daté. Ca n'enlève rien à sa dimension révolutionnaire, mais en 2026, l'écoute n'est pas passionnante, en dehors de quelques morceaux. Top : The Model Flop : The Man Machine

Half of this album feels less like music and more like futuristic noises but I’m not saying I hate it

I liked it more than Autobahn but still not style of music.

The Germans have done so many amazing things, and electronic music is definitely something they have had a huge hand in developing. But, I just can't get into this. A bunch of awkward German guys acting like robots doesn't do it for me. Extra points for great production value though.

Verbal meme It’s the guy pushing the small domino leading to the really big domino. Small domino, some silly Germans in the 70s making some klang noises in Düsseldorf Big domino, hundreds of thousands of people having to suffer through an entire decade of shitty techno music based on this in the 90s. I’m at least happy I found the source of this bullshit. Some props for being the first to do it I guess.

Very listenable

I am machine

Kinda goofy, a great basis for further synth music, but I don't know if it's aware it's goofy. Just kinda aight.

If you’re into experimental electronic music, this is the album for you. It feels quintessentially 70s with its use of early synths and electronic sounds, and equally quintessentially German lol. It’s definitely a trail blazer, but not my favourite

I can’t really get into Kraftwerk. At least this album is better than Autobahn.

Not bad but probably won't listen to again.

Pioneers of techno music style.

You can definitely hear the influences, and cool to hear something like this from the 70s. Quirky and interesting. Rating: 6/10 Favorite Song: The Robots

Decent listen, quite similar to Autobahn. Can appreciate the early synth/electronic sound.

I get how influential Kraftwerk were. New wave, dark wave, industrial metal, any genre that features synth is standing on the shoulders of Kraftwerk. However, their music just sounds dated at this point.

Sometimes I worry that I just don't get electronic music - and I think that is okay! I enjoyed this one and and can hear a lot of influences, but will probably never listen to this one again? I don't know! It sounds both ahead of it's time given the year it came out and incredibly dated in a way that I cannot separate.

Das ist beep boop musik

beep boop

Can appreciate it for its pioneering and groundbreaking place in rock history. But not something I’m going to listen to on the regular.

No. 202 I didn't mind this, surprisingly I listened to the whole album. Liked Neon lights.

Bastante bien, al menos para mí que no hay chance que escuche este tipo de música.

Beep boop Fave track: The Model

Beep boop. 3/5

I am shocked by how much I liked this album. It's more melodic and groovy than I anticipated. Good stuff

Electronic

Lo-fi synth-pop

Pioneers of electronic music?

Cool electro

cool sounds ! !

Iconic, influential, interesting. Not all to my taste, but some fantastic songs on here. Can't knock how massive this album really is. Overall a good listen, but some songs grated a little.

very futuristic and i like the idea of humans pretending to be robots

Good background music. The model is well known. The rest of it was fine but forgettable

Got me feeling like Mr Krabs listening to this. Boop bop? BEEP BOOP?

really sick and I think it would have blown my mind in 1978 but listening for the first time in 2026 it's definitely suffering from its own success - kept reminding me how badass it was the first time i heard daft punk. That being said, i feel like this might actually be killer on future listens.

En kalla krigets dystopi. Snyggt och stilbildande. Utan tvekan en oerhört viktig inspirationskälla för många band. Samtidigt blir det snabbt långtråkigt. KW är nog i större grad viktiga än bra. Musikaliskt en tvåa, men satt i sin kontext når de trean.

Inte alls lika bra som Trans Europe Express. I jämförelse är det simplare och barnsligare melodier. Låtarna pågår men saknar kraft och framåtrörelse. Det är först i slutet av Neonlicht som det verkligen tar fart. Tuffar i den tyska versionen.

It’d be more interesting if each song didn’t carry on for quite so long. Nonetheless, it’s a fine listen. Liked Neon Lights and Man Machine.

I didn't mind this, surprisingly I listened to the whole album. Though I prefer the synthesized electronics of Yes, the Who, and ELP. 3 stars

I'm not really in to electric music but I still got a decent bit out of this album

classic kraftwerk. it's got a mood to it, very life-under-machines, can hear vaporwave coming out of here for sure 💥the robots it's a vibe, 3

3/5

The robots did come for us all. Math rock for cool boys. I know it is important but it is still silly

no tengo idea que fue eso jjajjaja

piola para tipear familia

I’ve some old friends who have a Kraftwerk cover band. Noteworthy, I think. This was a good listen on a nice spring morning. I was robot-ing all around.

Interesting

Another on the "I bet it sounded incredible at the time" pile.

Grand Daddy Daft Punk

okayish did not find english version in yt music

Interesting more like robotic instrumentals

By all rights I should hate this. Strangely I mostly don’t. I certainly wouldn’t choose to listen to it, and it has inspired a lot of music that I do hate but this was fine. I prefer the second half. I like Model, it has lyrics and everything! First few tracks tend towards the repetitive and the whole thing is just way to electronic for my tastes but it is definitely good. 6/10

I enjoyed my $1 used copy of Autobahn I purchased in the late 80s. So silly (fahn fahn fahn auf der autobahn ... whoosh ... beep beep ... ). Like robotic beach boys. I never went very deep into Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, etc. This album kind of represents why. It's ok. It's not clear -- are we doing soundscapes? Song? What's the plan? I have a certain fondness for this band, but I can't take this seriously. Metropolis sounds like Mr X by Ultravox, and one could think of Vienna -- a very solid album -- as what would happen if you took this approach and then actually tried to write some songs. Went ahead and listened to Autobahn again ... that is still a fun song.

I like the first couple of songs and enjoyed reading about their immersive art concept. I had only heard one or two of the songs before. Seems like they were very much ahead of their time

Sounds like music that would play in the background of a factory building game

Kraft week are an odd one. So influential but I find them very dated. They have some good tracks, but ultimately I think this is a 3 for me.

It feels like heresy but Kraftwerk don't really do it for me. I've can't put my finger on why not. Everything thing I think about singling out is something that I like in other electronic acts. I don't dislike them but so many artists I love cite them as a huge influence that I feel like I should like them more 🙂 There are some great tracks on here though - the last one especially.

It sounds like an older video game soundtrack, with some occasional light German vocals. It is pretty cool and good, but it doesn't strike me as fantastic, I guess.

Enjoyed this quirky Teutonic robo adventure. Probably another album that sounds a little small by virtue of how much it influenced those that followed...

I can see why when this came out in 1978 people thought it was future music. Alotta beeps and boops, but suprisingly easy to listen to. Its aight to this day.

Robot communism. Really enjoyed listening to my overlords

Un poil trop lent mais pas mauvais… pas mon style

C'est assez original, mais pas trop ma came

Let’s try something new - pre- and post-listening notes. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Kraftwerk album. One of my favorite artists of all time, Steven Wilson, holds them up as favorites of his, so I’m hopeful I’ll be intrigued by this… Love the opening of the record. Fewer vocals, please. “The Model”, for example, is a little ridiculous. “Neon Lights” isn’t helping things either. I think I was expecting more driving, repeated rhythms and less shimmering keyboards. Darker. The final track, “Man Machine” brought it back around to a moodier tone, one that I prefer. Overall, a little dated, but it does have me interested in exploring more of their catalog, unless the first track of the next one I listen to sounds like “The Model”.

A more accessible Kraftwerk.

Enjoyable and different. And it gave me an excuse to listen to Tour de France.

Look, I know this is a masterpiece, probably one of the most important electronic albums ever made, etc., but the fact remains that each of these tracks is 6+ minutes long and during all of them I’m (figuratively) checking my watch repeatedly after 3 minutes. Excellent pop songs extended far beyond what they can handle. Best track: “The Robots”

favs: spacelab neon lights rating 2.7/5

This may be the first German entry on the list. Kraftwerk made the scene with their 1974 hit “Autobahn”, but they seemed to fade into obscurity after that, at least where I was. This album is more of the same synth-pop music. It’s pleasant enough to hear; it makes for good background music.

Me estoy quedando sin cosas para dexir

Oddly good!

Not the worst I guess

I almost had to do a double-take when I saw the date of this recording. I imagine discovering this in the 70s felt like a glimpse into the future. That being said, the tracks in here are mostly just fine. Maybe it's an indicator of it's pioneering of a genre, allowing other synth-pop bands to fully bloom later in the 80s. That being said, when they do bust out their lyrical moments and songs I didn't mind them one bit. Something about their German accents fits the vibe of this genre so much, and is worth a listen at least to a couple songs. Highlight: The Model Lowlight: The Robots Highlight #2: Neon Lights

Listened while playing some battlefield. Not really my thing but i got like a 3kd so

We are the robots 🕺🤖

I now want to go to Tomorrowland at Epcot and listen to this all day.

So fun, I really enjoyed this one

Definitely a relc of it's time. However, while it is long and dense, it is also creative and atmospheric. You can easily see why this group has such an impact. Not really my thing, but I respect the work.

It was.... "historically intereseting" 😂 and actually an okay listen. But overall too repetitive and the clean voice was annoying (robot voice yessss)

Honestly enjoyed this a lot more than I thought

잘 못 들엇내요.. 흠 와닿진 않음

Not bad, but kinda feels like it needs more time to cook which makes sense.

It's solid. Hugely influential. 3 1/2 really. A pleasant groove.

Insane. I feel like I am inside a film.

Too much synthesizers make it so stereotypical. I can feel it is trying something new and fun, and it’s really sounds fun. I want it can give me more feelings, like some imagination for future or fear or excitement or confusion… anything. Maybe I’ll try more electronic music. 3/5

Some of the tracks on the album were catchy, but it gets outweighed by the repetitiveness that unfortunately makes it stale quick. After only listening to the first song, we know how the rest of the album will sound. 3/5

Interesting listen, but did get a little monotonous. Metropolis and The Model were favourite tracks.

Important and ahead of its time, but not something I'm gonna listen to twice.

Not my first time with Kraftwerk, though I think getting this right after The United States of America is mean haha. The Model is such a classic. Beep boop 🤖

This was a very interesting album. Nice for working.

Not a fan per se but they did revolutionize the genre...

I like Kraftwerk and everything but I’m just not that into them. That’s my lukewarm take

I really want to love this but I just can’t get into it really. Maybe I’m just not in the right mood because it feels like I should like it more. Metropolis works for me. But this just feels like a worse version of R.A.M, which isn’t a good comparison for a lot of reasons, but oh well

Strange and very European. Feels ahead of its time. Not bad.

No meaningful opinion here. Honestly more of a fun inclusion than anything. Certainly not going to line up for tickets to a live show, but kind of fun to see an early iteration of bands like Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails

This was nice but not as good as the Trans-Europe Express

German robots and Pac-Man because why the hell not

Interesting for its time, but too basic nowadays for my tastes

at least its not AI! i love das model!

Great song. Oh, that was the whole album? Oops. I guess I liked the sound and the vibe and "The Model" was really good, but the rest was just fun, but not in a way that would make me want to listen to this again.

It's like listening to Flight of the Conchords but for real. It was a lot of fun to revisit this old "new" music from the 80s.

I've never really listened to Kraftwerk, but this album was surprisingly good. It has this certain electronic vibe, but still has cool lyrics. Also, this came out in 1978, what?! But for me it might not quite be a 4-star-album, 'cause im always to critical. But it's close to being one.

The original computer-generated music! Today it's commonplace, but Kraftwerk broke ground before it was a thing, and it was really cool!

Better than I expected, but still electronic music like this doesn't really impress me. Listenable though. Strange, but I enjoyed songs with robotic voice more than with real voice.

if you fear the robot, give him a smooch

Oh, to have the optimism now of Kraftwerk in the middle of the Cold War. To be able to look on humanity and to look at the future and see the Spacelab and neon lights. Anthems in celebration of mankind's slender successes. Songs in English, German, and Russian - an internationalist fantasy that seems very silly at the moment. And all in the vocabulary of 18th and 19th Century European music. It all speaks to Englightenment. It becomes obvious, when, on The Robots, the robots sing: "We are programmed just to do/Anything you want us to." Difficult not to put this in stark contrast to the women of the ACDC record we listened to a week or so back. They would do anything Bon Scott wanted or so he says. Regardless, it is all in service to domination, to one will subjugated to another. Whereas Kraftwerk's robots offer up their service to humanity, a fully-automated communist utopia. Kraftwerk reach their Utopia via Autobahn, whereas ACDC and their rockmates take the highway elsewhere. Angus Young's clear, narrow riffs sound a lot more automated than Kraftwerk's synthetic transposition of melodic hooks. There may be sequencers and drum machines at play, but it all sounds oddly human: the hesitations, the mortal mistakes, the warmth of analogue. Even if they are robots or man-machines, even if the harmonic movement is programmatic, their music is more humane than the anti-human, anti-social indulgence of ACDC. Of course, Kraftwerk throws it to the wind with The Model, a song as objectifying as anything on Highway to Hell. It happens to lack much of the warmth and gentleness of the rest of the record. Its beat martial. No gloop vocoder on the vocal. Naturally it is Kraftwerk's biggest hit. We are not deserving of Kraftwerk or their utopian aspirations. 3 Omg they actually sound like robots! or something like that; I gather that’s how we are expected to receive and celebrate this seminal work of electronic music. I was struck on this listen though, that the alienating quality that The Man-Machine undeniably possesses might have less to do with Kraftwerk’s success in successfully knitting technology and artistic concept than is traditionally supposed. It doesn’t sound to me like an alien future so much as an alien past. The preponderance of minor keys, stately (or is it merely stiff?) musical themes, the neat, rather simple decoration and development, and the mechanical repetition - which can as well allude to pre- as post-‘expression’ in musical terms - made me think of baroque overtures and dances. If you take Handel’s Sarabande from the Suite in D or even the overture to Messiah and played slow and stiff on just synths - I could drive down the motorway at night listening to that and feel like I was on my way to Blade Runner’s L.A. (2019) just as well as I can listening to Metropolis. Were Kraftwerk visionaries or merely just German? If you feed a child enough Telemann perhaps they too will intuit the alien 18th Century and mistake it for visions of robots in the 21st. Additionally - Germans say English words slightly funny and Ralf is not a good singer. Could this lot really do much less than sound like robots? 3/5

Like their sound just wish the beat had more of a variety across each song.

Ok

bzzzzz beep boop robot

I previously heard Kraftwerk's Autobahn and I felt that effort was a perfect introduction to the ensemble. I've grown to love that effort, it's gotten some repeated plays, and I've recommended it because it does fit a particular vibe. That vibe is easier to get into than the one on this project. This effort is nice, if not a little undercooked. It works better accompanied. Like, I could see myself rummaging through a thrift shop with this stuff on in the background, or ordering a cocktail at a bar with neon lights, or on the credits for a retro spy sitcom. But listening to it just because of its sound makes it slow, and the emptiness in between the notes can grind on the nerves if you're sensitive to music in that way. I find it tolerable and I can understand its importance, the foundation of the sound it's laying is solid, and electronica benefits deeply for it. I found it sounded better on my ear buds, I think sound quality is important to appreciate this one. Be wary of cheap ineffective sound systems when listening to this record. Historically, I'd take this up to a 4/5 album, something I might recommend a true music nerd. This isn't getting many replays, though. 3.2/5

The first song is so fire

Well ahead of its time. Good album. Particularly liked The Model and Neon Lights.

Not my type of music, but this group with it's pop themes hit the button. Quite enjoyed it. Liked The Model.

Kinda good for work. Weird. All futuristic rave.

An intriguing album. Clearly a precursor to a lot of music that came after both electronic and otherwise. I think it suffers a bit from the fact that so much good stuff has come after it that has sort of canabalized it but still good to listen to.

I respect Kraftwerk as pioneers of electronic music, but I still don’t love their output. It’s all a bit twee and awkward, particularly whenever vocals are involved. I don’t actively dislike their stuff though. This is just a middle of the road album for me.

leukkk, heel experimenteel met de synths

Not a massive fan of their full discography but I like this album as it seems to be the one where they decided to be a bit tuneful and groovy, as much as Kraftwerk can be such things. I think you can hear the influence of Georgio Moroder / Donna Summer I feel Love which was released the year prior in this album and it’s all the better for it. 3.4

what the fuckkkkk

Really impressive that this came out in the 70s. Clearly very influential and parts sound like the soundtrack to an 80s sci-fi movie. A few tracks are a bit weaker than others, particularly some of the ones with vocals, but overall I enjoyed listening to this and I’m glad to have come across it.

Cool concept but not music that I would seek out myself

Ok it was quite weird and I have no compulsion to relisten, but I was also kinda feeling it

Certainly Influential and different at the time, but I don’t like it much.

Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine (1978) On Day 76, I returned to the world of Kraftwerk, and unlike my experience with Autobahn, this one actually had a vibe to it. It’s much more refined and rhythmic, moving away from the "snooze fest" territory and into something that feels like it has a purpose. While it’s still very mechanical, the melodies are cleaner and the shorter runtime makes it much easier to digest. It shows the evolution from their earlier, more "ass" experiments into a body of work that actually has some atmosphere. It’s not a masterpiece for me, but it earns a solid 3/5 for actually keeping me engaged.

I’ll go 3.4…. Early electronic sounds that are fun for a moment, but no sticking power FOR ME (I capitalized “for me,” so don’t “at” me). I really want it to be cooler…

Got a little monotonous - Overall good

Best Song: The Robots. Wouldn't it be nice if the inevitable robot invasion was announced by them simply repeating "We are the robots"? Worst Song: Neon Lights. Too upper register, not enough bassy sounds. Overall: An album that is both so futuristic and so old. It feels like retrofuturism because of how dated its presentation of "the future" feels. That said, it's relatively fun, short, and inoffensive.

I was excited to get a Kraftwerk album, I’ve been looking forward to it for while because so many bands I love count Kraftwerk as a major influence. This album didn’t click with me unfortunately. Maybe not enough pop sensibility for me? Notable tracks include Spacelab and Neon Lights.

I am giving this a 3 based on it being groundbreaking for its time, it's extremely rough and not really all that enjoyable to me.

It's good and very enjoyable. I think it may be a 4 it the vocals weren't so shocking.

Very atmospheric music; specifically science fiction. Such a vibe and I appreciate what it provides. Metropolis is my favourite.

I still don’t get kraftwerk

There are some proper earworms in here but the repetition does get to be too much. This was probably quite an interesting proposition in the late 70s and I enjoy the headspace the high energy sounds can put you in for a while, but the endless repeats get to you eventually. Nice but not quite.

this one was fucking awesome. i love electronic music. i loved the robots, the model and neon lights. the rest of it kinda dragged unfortunately. i wanted to give it higher but it was honestly perfectly split between really really good tracks and stuff i wasn’t really into.

7/10

It’s sounds really weird but it’s cool

cuando era chica pensaba en el futuro sonaba asi. pienso en el futuro ahora y no lo puedo musicalizar, no lo pienso mucho la verdad. gran álbum, me haria la Interesante recomendandolo

It aint Daft Punk, (these are their fathers lowkey) but its alright. 3/5 Favs: The Model, Neon Lights

Gotta appreciate their inventiveness and dedication to style even if it gets old after a while

I’ve always enjoyed The Model and this is the right length for a Kraftwerk album

I appreciate the innovation but don’t enjoy the music 2.5

You know the contrast between the original NES game Legend of Zelda and the more modern game Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? This is basically the 8-bit version of modern EDM. I enjoy the minimalist soundscape that it transports you to. Simple hopes about technology. Too bad it didn’t turn out quite like this. 3.2/5.0

3.5

This was a funky lil album and I enjoyed giving it a shot!

Funky instrumentals

High 3. I really liked it, but I couldn't find myself saving songs or wanting to really revisit it much. Ended up listening to it a few times through and just kind of got lost in the sauce a bit.

It's cool. Probably would play again by accident.

Pretty good overall, I quite liked it.

Legalzinho, não é muito meu estilo de ouvir, mas a música se encaixa muito no contexto do álbum.

A pleasant way to spend 36 minutes, with The Model as the standout track.

The Man Machine is one of the albums that makes my vinyl collecting so worth it. Such an atmospheric, punchy, moody masterpiece from beginning to end. Sadly, no space in my regular rotation, but a high 3 rating

Music made to be mixed Model = most getmanic track of all time Nice sounds, ultimately boring. Probs will revisit 1 TA: The Model

Techno is not my jam. But I have to acknowledge that these guys are extremely influential to bands from Depeche Mode to Daft Punk. Unbelievable that this came out in 1978! Very crisp sound some catchy melodies. Great background music for me, but no one song really stood out.

Enjoyed the most popular track- the model- and recognize it’s role in music history but not a huge fan of industrial or electronic music.

I think the first track off this album really did it a disservice. Maybe they were the first ones to do it, I don't know, but singing the lyrics "we are robots" with a robot voice effect over electronic music has to be one of the corniest tropes in modern music. That opening track made me expect to find the rest of the album just as cheesy, but I do think it found its groove eventually. I still didn't really come around to liking this, but at times I felt like I understood why so many people talk about Kraftwerk.

3.5 Ya know, I think this crew has come around on me a bit over the course of this list. I once referred to their music as “cold”, “industrial”, and “emotionally devoid”, and yet, I’ve found myself returning to tracks like Trans-Europe Express and Autobahn more often than I ever thought I would upon initial listen. The fact of the matter is, these guys were really on to something, and I feel like it’s especially noticeable here - like, this is borderline a Daft Punk album, and it predates the group by 15 years. It’s a little less industrial than before and a little more danceable, and yet it still does some cool, catchy stuff without being too in your face about it. I can’t really say that I had a favorite or least favorite track, but overall, I just thought this was a nice, proto-electronic six-pack of songs that didn’t outstay its welcome. There was something about Spacelab that made me think of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas every time I heard it for some reason (“as in olden days/happy golden days”), but I can’t say that it detracted from the song in any meaningful way - hell, how could thoughts of Judy Garland and home have that effect? I digress, I found this to be pretty good as someone who normally considers electronic music out of their wheelhouse - though my recent developing fandom of LCD Soundsystem has likely done a lot to expand my interest. It took a live show to fully sell me on that group, so maybe the same can be said about Kraftwerk as well. I’ll keep my eyes open for any shows happening around me in the near future, though, considering our shitty public transit system, I certainly ain’t taking any kind of Trans-Los Angeles Express to get there anytime soon. Finally, given that this may very well be our last time seeing the group on this list - I’m not a fan of the updated album covers found on streaming. I get it’s modernly minimalist or whatever, but give me the originals - I want to see my guys looking like the final bosses of The Church of Latter-day Saints. Also, if you haven’t seen it, the Always Sunny crew did a neat homage to the cover of this album in particular for a promotional still.

Rv

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

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.

Fun listen, but nothing remarkable to me.

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

Techno, catchy, fun

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 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

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.

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.

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.

I don't know why I bothered asking "How much meh electronica really needs to be on this list?"

Enjoyed a lot than I expected.

Purt deec driving music

Pretty good background music

A little weird but definitely experimental.

This feels so ahead of its time.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Funky and techno. Kinda cool.

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.

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

Pleasant enough

pas mal du tout j'ai kiffé l'electro

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.

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)

Music for fans of space mountain

estranho mas vibes mister roboto

Cutting edge and exploratory for its time, but it is a little repetitive

jakuzi gibi

6/10

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.

5/10 12/21/25

3/5

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.

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!

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)

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 Model

the robots: i like the techno noises…very funky. intro a biiit too long for me

Cyberpunk Elevator Music

This is firmly Not For Me but I understand why other people vibe with it.

Immaculate synth vibes. Can hear its influences throughout so much music. All in all perhaps a touch pedestrian

Good listen!

meh

I like beens and boops sorry

Kind of fun

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'

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.

Futuristic space sounds Spacelab kinda alright with slower space vibes

Already listened

Probably really innovative at the time. Overall I liked it.

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

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.

Enjoyable and really modern sounding for the 70s

Got better as the album progressed--just suffer through We Are the Robots. Still, not their best.

Pretty good, especially the last two.

7/10 Favourite: Die Roboter Least Favourite: Die Mensch-Machine

3

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.

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.

Definitely before their time and revolutionary for edm. Not my type of music though

I get it but i don't want it if you get me

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.

- 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.

Good.

robotic!