The Man Machine

Music made by men pretending to be robots for people who are pretending not to be robots. Overall my favourite Kraftwerk album

The way they take bleeps and bloops and infuse them with warmth and emotion is something else. Neon Lights is one of the most beautiful pieces of music.

Welcome human! You request has been approved! Album review: "The Man Machine" by Kraftwerk PROCESSING... 10%... 60%... 100% REVIEW GENERATED! Algorithmic creativity, smoothly blending electronic beats with synthesised melodies to create a harmonious sonic experience. BEEP!

beep boop

Is it cool that this came out in the 70s - yes Did I enjoy listing to this - no

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

When this first appeared it must have sounded like the most mental thing ever. The meticulous technical effort seems normal now, but still feels exciting.

Another album where I appreciate the historical value. A lot of the songs I appreciate, but the repetitive nature of it does get on my nerves after a little while. Little no variation in the lyrics (mostly the title of the song on repeat.) Perhaps it speaks more of my modern failing attention span, an ailment of the 21st century. It really struggles to hold my interest. Not something I would listen to on my own I don't think. It's nice to have given it a proper listen so I understand the historical context of electronic music a bit better.

It must have been wild to discover this album in 1978 - a bunch of German weirdos singing in robot voices about space lasers. Still listenable today. Best track: The Model

A classic which basically started electronic music. It sounds so futuristic and so hard to believe it’s from 1978

It hurts my head to imagine how alien this must have sounded in 1978. Like Arnie turning up naked and nicking a motorcycle, it must have been like the future had arrived.

Thanks, I hate it.

OH YESSSS it's a wall to wall banger situation :) I love this album. It is so interesting, unusual, influential, beautiful, relaxing yet exciting, experimental, German, sexy, somehow still futuristic even though it's already very old! The model is a TUNE and it's one I often whip out on an open mic night with guitar cajon and vocals haha! I recently used The Robots in a school assembly (I'm a teacher) and can confirm the kids of today LOVE it, not a soul was sitting still. I love that it's not loads of songs! I just wonder what the price was when they released it in 1978 when people couldn't stream online, did they account for the short length by making it cheaper? I'm actually in love with Neon Lights. It's put me in a great mood despite a stressful day at work, that's a marker for 5 star perfection in my book.

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

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

Um uhh stop beeping at me

Love. This one is genuinely life changing for music.

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

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

Jaa, Kraftwerk. Die wahren Elektropioniere. Natürlich habe ich mir das bahnbrechende Album im deutschen Original angehört. Und daher gibt es auch einen deutschen Komentar. Großartig.

An excellent album, which still sounds like the future, despite being released over 40 years ago. Standout track is Neon Lights - it’s almost-waltz like time signature somehow only serves to make it sound even more futuristic. Everyone should own this album.

In the early 90s I was in a short-lived band called 'Stuttgart Factory'. We had intended to play in the Sydney Uni band competition but never made it out of the rehearsal room. We had some old keyboards and a crappy drum machine and produced a few songs somewhere between homage and parody of The Man Machine-era Kraftwerk. The only songs I remember were 'Gimme Gimme Valium' and 'Deutsche Auto'. The lyrics were something like: "Ist das ein Deutsche Auto? Nein, das is ein Amerikanishe Auto. Ist _das_ ein Deutsche Auto? Nein, das ist ein Japanische Auto. Deutsche Auto (breathy whisper voice) Deutsch-aaahh." Heady stuff. I wish I had a tape somewhere... All synthpop is, in some way, a response to Kraftwerk; either embracing the cold "we are all robots" vibe (Gary Numan, for example) or reacting against with hyper-emotionalism (eg. Soft Cell or Depeche Mode). Kratfwerk's move from the ambient, musique concrete approach typical of synth bands of the 70s (Tangerine Dream, et al.) towards an embrace of pop forms was unexpected but genius. There are catchy tunes and jaunty beats and plenty of hooks here. You certainly couldn't accuse Tangerine Dream of those features. The influence was surprisingly widespread and deep. I mean, who would have predicted Kraftwerk would be so central to early 80s hip hop? You can find elements of Kraftwerk in almost all popular music these days. The Man Machine and Computer World are Kraftwerk at the height of their pop powers. Electric Cafe (an album I secretly quite like) "flopped", and they have basically rested on their well-deserved laurels ever since. But this is absolutely seminal, and a great listen.

More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-Machine -- in particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvre -- had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement.

Kraftwerk = les Daft punk du pauvre mais vous savez comme moi qu'il serait idiot de m'étaler sur cet album sans évoquer les événements récents. Comme vous le savez, la rivalité entre mon compagnon d'écoute elchavez et moi dépasse très largement le cadre de la musique. Celle-ci a connu un point de non-retour il y a quelques semaines. Vous savez probablement que je prends depuis plusieurs années un malin plaisir à sortir avec les conquêtes dudit elchavez. Le but poursuivi est le suivant : le mettre hors d'état de nuire. Alors que je rentrais justement d'un bar du centre-ville en compagnie de l'une de ses anciennes fréquentations, nous nous assîmes soudain sur les marches de la Poste Meriadeck. Cette dernière déclara d'une voix blafarde : "Robcremière, je dois t'avouer quelque chose : j'adore les Crusaders ainsi que Hugh Masekela." Pas besoin d'en rajouter, nos langues s'entremêlaient bientôt dans un tourbillon inarrêtable. Après une vingtaine de minutes, celle-ci m'annonça soudain : "Robcremière, tu embrasses beaucoup mieux qu'elchavez. De plus, ta connaissance de la musique lui est nettement supérieure." J'acquiesçai brièvement et nous nous galochâmes ensuite avec encore plus de vigueur. Dans le même temps, on pouvait entendre les encouragements de certains passants : "Bien fait pour elchavez !", "Il l'a bien mérité !", "À mort elchavez, l'homme qui ne donne jamais plus de 4 !", etc... Le lendemain, j'envoyai une lettre recommandée à ce dernier dans laquelle je lui exposais les faits dans leur intégralité. Une bataille de plus remportée par Robcremière.

Beep boop this music is made by computers. I am a human, therefore I do not understand it.

Ugh

Ja! Das ist die Autobahn!

a la Tron Legacy electro-techno

Some good bleeps and solid boops

Every song seems to be like "We can make synthesizers sound like robotic voices. Isn't that cool!" And it kinda is, for the first 30 seconds of a much longer song. Then the wait for something else to happen, which never does.

Was waiting for it to finish from the first track

Not it

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.

Insane this is 1978

Flawless electronic music. Atmospheric and eons ahead of its time.

These Kraftwerk records feel liked they’re tapped from a private little universe that’s utterly personal, romantic, and difficult to imagine in any other form, a music expressed in gestures with the simplicity and honesty of a vivid dream. Swooningly perfect.

Love this. I have awarded the prestigious "best Kraftwerk album" award elsewhere, but this is damn close. Beautiful, precise tunes that sound so warm despite their robotic intent. "Spacelab" in particular reminds me of an old world where technological advances were sought for the improvement of humanity, not attained for the sole purpose of enabling malign, pale, weak-chinned autists to enrich themselves at humanity's expense. But I digress (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9dmoT9AfoI).. Bonus points if you listen to the German version, which is slightly different and not just in the vocals. "Die Roboter" is especially banging!

Superb sounds and melodies. I listened to the German version.

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

Still sounds like music from another world. My art teacher used to play this over & over at school. I was rubbish at art but it was great to hear this. The Model hasn’t aged, stunning. Neon Lights is something else, warm & emotional. Absolutely ridiculous this is over 40 years old. I’m reading Carl Cox’s autobiography and he dedicates a whole chapter to Kraftwerk. It’s wondrous, magical music. It makes you feel different to any other music, unique in that way.

Can't believe it took me this long to listen to Kraftwerk. Absolutely timeless. Their influence can be heard everywhere. Will probably add a few songs from this album to my running playlist.

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

After 3 Kraftwerk records I can confidently say this is a very important band that I don't enjoy listening to

i like daft punk and i like this but god is it just so boring, three is the highest i can rate this without feeling bad about myself, i wish the whole thing was as funky as i know it has the power to be and was at times

Super weird Euro music

"She's a model and she's looking good. I'd like to take her home it's understood". SMSLGIL2THHIU. That's the new password for this group. Memorize it.

Kind of boring.

So stylish, so cool, I feel like this is the electronic music of the future I used to imagine! It’s decadent, wistful, it sounds like some warm Midi dungeon synth at times, other times like dance music at a liminal disco. Love how The Model is so bleak and cold, despite being lyrically the most human-centric, and then how it's immediately followed by a warm, beautiful song about neon lights. Those two are probably my favorite songs but I don’t feel like there’s really a weak point.

One of my favourite albums of all time to listen to. Maybe a perfect record. No skips. Every track is a treat. Extremely tuneful, knows what it is doing.. just a joy to experience. It isn't krautrock anymore (was it ever?) but it is evolved, it is the future, it is..

Slightly flabbergasted I never heard this before. How the hell did I miss this gem?!? I knew The Model, but admittedly via Snakefinger. The rest is somehow new to me and it's amazing. It's just as good as you could hope the album between Trans Europe Express and Computer World would be. Also, instantly recognized the title track because it was sampled by The Fearless Four back in the day: https://youtu.be/XOHvOhADAic?si=ETUV8YlVhCBtPUwj

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

One of the essential electronic albums in my eyes and a lot of others as well. Solid 5 Stars.

Can’t believe this came in 1978. It still feels fresh and futuristic while also being accessible. 5/5

I wanna be these guys

yes please

This was a wonderful album. Don't take it seriously, though. It's all a joke. It's fun, and it's supposed to be.

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

This is a great album, perfect from front to back. I love all of Kraftwerk’s albums, but this one is to my mind a perfectly executed album, probably the best introduction to the band for a new listener. The songs flow beautifully into each other and tonally they all work well together. It’s such a smooth listen. Half these songs clock in over 6 minutes and you don't even feel it really. There isn’t a bad song here as far as I’m concerned. I also feel like over time this album has really aged well. Back then, it was highly futuristic. Now it’s simply a classic, a necessary touchpoint for anyone with an interest in electronic music. The compositions are tight, crisp, melodic and spare. The vocals are limited, either sung directly by Ralf Hütter, or vocalizations processed through machines. I know not everyone is a fan of the songs with vocals, but I happen to like them a lot and I think they’re central to the whole “Man Machine” concept in Kraftwerk’s music. When you hear a song like “The Model” or “Neon Lights,” it’s Hütter’s vocals that provide that surprising warmth and pathos. Without it, all you have is the machine. It’s an idea both in music and in life that’s still pretty timely when you think about it. Fave Songs: Neon Lights (it’s so very good, possibly their best song ever), The Robots, The Model. I mean really, all of them.

Connor: I loved this album! It's catchy, danceable, and yet certain songs - especially The Model - seem to have a dark, cold undercurrent that make me feel lonely

"Die Mensch-Maschine": a perfect distillation of the record. So much of the future is in these songs, especially the future of electronic music. Yet there's physicality, even humanity, in every beat. It's the soundtrack of a cyberpunk world we never got. That might be good, of course: The music is more challenging than the titular phrase, and that lost future has problems we moderns don't have to face. Practically, moving to these rhythms works, but feels less than freeing. For other electronic music, that might be a flaw. Here, though, it feels like The Point.

Early electronica that still holds up incredibly well today. Such a forward thinking group for their time not just in sound, but the record concept as we get further into technology's development cycle. You can definitely hear where popular acts in the genre took inspiration throughout. Very catch instrumentation that never lingers so long in one sound to get boring and is extremely danceable at times. The Robots and The Model are both classic tracks from their catalogue at this point, but the rest of the album is very much putting up solid competition as the best songs on here. The entire album is a banger, not a single bad song here.

some killer sound design here, which makes the fairly sparse and slow-moving arrangements primarily hypnotic rather than primarily boring.

Well, this is an interesting roll I am on with sampled or elec "tron" ic effects style of music.  This is nothing like the recently reviewed DJ shadow as this is more an experimentation of electronic made sound rather than a sample but it's a happy divergence from my norm and a different musical bubble they exist in. I oddly resonate with this music and enjoy letting myself get immersed.  It's actually to my ear quite a paired down "simple" sound.  It's not without its complexity, but it's not a complex layer of sounds; it's a simple tone that changes in a very slow but deliberate way.  Its clever though as its shifts allow scope for energy and theatre.  Its a wide stage that gives it impact and feeling. Yes its a bit odd and whacky but that adds to its appeal and you can just enjoy it for what it is, an early experiment of sound and one I find very enjoyable.

Nice tech atmosphere.

das beep boop

beep boop blip feel like I’m on a spaceship

Never heard of this at all. I thought it might be some hard rock but upon further inspection, it's probably some KMFDM predecessor industrial German electronic band sort of thing, which is good because I really like the song Megalomaniac. Maybe I'll like this, too! Short and sweet, too, which I like. The Robots: "We are the robots" from a bunch of roboGerman guys is fun. It's a little narrative and interesting for that reason. Very simple, I guess, and I like that, too! I find it pretty productive to do work to since it's so simple and repetitive. Very vibey. A little dystopian but this is seeming to be the point. Spacelab: I think I get the gist of this album. Is it gonna be 40 minutes of repeating one word and one beat per song? I dunno. Thats not even necessarily a bad thing; I think that it's nice to do work to and it's also just nice to listen to. certainly not as hardcore industrial as I thought they'd be thus far. Metropolis: Yes, I'm getting the sense that I was right just now. It's fine. I don't think this one is super exciting. The Model: I guess I spoke too soon! this has real lyrics. Nice. It's enjoyable. Neon Lights: Of course, the vocalist is not beautiful to listen to, really, but I think this song is pretty endearing talking about how the city's made of lights. The Man Machine: Title track! Lowkey I think of Germans as man machines, not in an ubermensch aryan way but in a very timely buttoned up way, which is literally racist but it's okay. Looking at these lyrics, I'm feeling justified again in my earlier claim. Well, that was interesting. Maybe not a 5 and even a 4 might be stretching it, but I honestly did like it and as someone who needs to lock in right now, I found its ability to slip into the background very useful. Interesting fun music. Good job, Germans!

These tracks are pretty chill for what I was expecting, however it's pretty good! And I mean, the predecessor of a lot of cool stuff.

Damn talk about influential. Literally every motif that shows up in here reminds me of another electronic song or video game music or some kid uploading songs on SoundCloud. I just wish it was a little more vibrant? Exciting? Different? I dunno it’s lacking something.

Great nerd disco EDM. Made me feel like Sheldon Cooper. Would've loved to have been in them European discotech in the late 70s dancing to this high on acid or coke or whatever it is they were doing then

Daft Punk из 70х со звуками из советских фильмов, который звучит стильно и по сей день. Альбом The Man Machine выходил в том же 1978 году и на родном для группы немецком языке (Die Mensch-Maschine), но я все же выбрал для прослушивания издание на английском языке. Он состоит из 6 достаточно продолжительных песен в стиле электропоп, что делает альбом длинным (36 минут), несмотря на количество песен. Каждая из шести песен хорошо запоминается , на это влияет как репетативность мелодии и роботического/человеческого голоса в стиле более известной французской хаус группы 90х Daft Punk, так и качество и уникальность инструментала и атмосферы каждого трека. Заглавная песня The Robots своими строчками «We are the robots» напоминает «We are animals» из песни группы Nazareth - Animals. Своим мотивом она погружает в атмосферу и сеттинг альбома с первых звуков синтезатора, к тому же в песнях достаточно редко (тем более в припевах) встречается русская речь, здесь она играет достаточно важную роль для всего альбома. Песня The Model стала хитом группы, ее резвый ритм отличается от остального альбома, и слушатель в этот момент будто погружается в другую, одновременно отстраненную от остальных треков историю, но все же схожую по концепту. Великолепная Neon Lights показалась мне самой красивой среди всех песен, словно вчерашние роботы обрели живые чувства и выдали прекрасный шедевр, который как раз подходит под прогулку по ночному городу. В заключении хочется похвалить альбом за то, что такой хороший уровень музыки на нем я изначально не ожидал, этот альбом действительно надо послушать хоть раз в своей жизни, но рука не тянется поставить пять звезд. Уж больно много аналогов Kraftwerk за это время накопилось в мире, и тех же Daft Punk можно считать улучшенной версией немецкой группы, ведь они и по сей день слушаются круто. тВоЙ сЛуГа И рАбОтНиК ставит 4/5

🤖

[mention devo] [mention rock it by herbie hancock] [express surprise that this was released in 1978] [wonder if the robot inspired the dance] [state that this is good background music for concentrating] [admit only consciously knowing about band through poster for computer world] [declare intention to listen to more from the band and probably play it in the background while working]

not my style but completely respect it

For electronic music this is a surprisingly pleasant listen. But like everything in this genre, I find myself asking, "What's this the soundtrack for?"

It’s ok, a little outdated but I can tell that it was groundbreaking at the time Fav song: the man-machine

Exceptionally weird. Exceptionally cool.

Bso

Never was a fan of this type of electronica.

Les sonorités de cet album me sont apparues fort désagréables. Où sont passés la rigueur et le pragmatisme allemand au moment de concevoir ce navet de musique electronique? Je me souviens d'un temps où les studios allemands étaient un exemple d'organisation, les micros étant bien alignés, les tables de mix en ordre de marche, on ne décelait aucun bruit parasite, seule la voix de l'ingénieur son rythmant ce balais de production sonore. Ce temps semble désormais bien loin, il serait bon de redonner à l'Allemagne sa gloire d'antan.

unpleasant, really weird, heavy drugs required to enjoy 2/10

Nah

just not my thing

i love this album so much lol. kraftwerk are some of the greatest pioneers of electronic music Would I listen again: all the time Deserves to be on this list: easily 4.8

cool

It’s albums like this one, 800+ into the project that give me a true appreciation of how impactful it has been as far as broadening my appreciation for music. Looking back early in the project, I scored Trans-Europe quite low at 2 stars. Recently I got served up Autobahn and really enjoyed it, I also enjoyed this one, possibly even more than Autobahn. So I’ll have to revisit Trans-Europe to compare. This release was a lot of fun, they’re fantastic at creating a true space atmosphere, it’s robotic music created by humans, at least I think they’re humans. Neon Lights stood out for me and had me thinking that Kraftwerk was a heavy influence on James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. I ran thru this release 3 times and enjoyed it more and more each listen so I’m gonna go ahead and get hight and listen again. 5 stars

R TB0N CЛУГА Я ТВ0И РАБ0ТНNK Мне всегда дико нравилась эстетика Kraftwerk, построенная вокруг этих образов в одинаковых костюмах, обложках намекающих на холодное "машинное" звучание, низкополигональные модели участников на одной из обложек, от эстетики группы всегда веяло каким-то модернистским функционализмом и баухаусом. Что, в общем-то, даже довольно неплохо мэтчиться, вспоминая о том, из какой страны эта группа. Это, в общем-то, пожалуй самая известная работа группы с двумя хитами Die Roboter и Das Model, которые я слышал неоднократно, поэтому мне было интересно как звучит остальной альбом - и мне понравилось. Это были приятные композиции, все отвечало единой художественной концепции альбома и все звучит удивительно живо, несмотря на эстетику группы, которая, казалось бы, намекает на противоположное.

Me encantó. SOniditos, letras divertidas, alemanes que no parecen eneazetais

Germans joke with a straight face, which always makes me smile. ("trockener Humor" (dry humor), delivered "mit ernstem Gesicht" (with a serious face) And this is is insanely serious fun. So, do yourself a favour and listen to it in the original German version entitled: "Die Mensch-Maschine" for the extra earnest vibes and coolness. Always so warm and new sounding. Hard to imagine its their 7th album and this was 1978. I had to play it loud on the big speakers. Great focus music if you've just had 3hrs sleep and need to pump out the work gleefully. The 3 main albums are all essential. They all have the full power to light up my "KopfKino", and anyone who disagrees a "Backpfeifengesicht".

This album was the future it was ahead of its time. Great sound!!!

Very good album. Essential listening that goes beyond its status as a fundamental reference for electronic music.

My dad would play this on cd in his broken porsche while id be stuck in the back seats

Love this album

I’m lovin’ these robots!

Classic electronic soundscapes making the most of the limitations at the time to create something otherworldly that still sounds unlike anything else.

I seem to have been born with a predisposition to love synths and electronic pop, particularly when played in a minor key, because I've always really responded to the sound. My clearest early memories of enjoying it are (a) liking the theme tune to a BBC children's drama called Out of Bounds (which turned out to be a Kraftwerk song), (b) being mesmerised by Tubeway Army Are 'Friends' Electric on Top of the Pops, and (c) loving the outro to Ashes to Ashes. So, naturally, I do enjoy an album by the godfathers of all that sort of thing. Loved it. Keep going, Kraftwerk.

Perfect!

Looks like that weird 70s techno band is done with making music about vehicles and have now decided to create baby-making music for gen x daft punk fans that think pineapple belongs on pizza

Kraftwerk - Man Machine Yet again these German Rascals make a soundtrack for a movie in my head. Just like Transglobal Express and Autobahn. Every track creates it's own visuals of futuristic skylines, urban landscapes and the starlit night sky. I love every second of this album. To me it is perfection in how every note, every beat is perfectly placed. And I will never tire of listening to it. Best Track - Metropolis Worst Track - There isn't one so l will say Man Machine as it is the closer 😂 10/10

The original beats that flow so well, you didn't know the influence.