Track Listing

1. Robots
2. Spacelab
3. Metropolis
4. Model
5. Neon Lights
6. Man Machine

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65735 in Music
• Released on: 2003-01-17
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
THE MAN-MACHINE and its predecessor, 1977's TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS, deserve their exalted position in the pantheon of modern music, if only for their importance in shaping the future development of hip-hop and dance music. The concept behindThe Man-Machine took Kraftwerk's mechanistic vision of humanity to its logical extreme, but the music within captured the group at their most engagingly melodic. Instantly memorable, "The Model" reached number 1 in the UK singles chart three years later, and proved to be a direct inspiration for the wave of gloomy electronic bands that quickly followed. However, none of them ever came close to grasping the subtle human touch that lay behind Kraftwerk's faceless exterior.

Customer Reviews

The Start of the Eighties Two Years Early!
Man Machine is one of those albums that must have sounded so alien in 1978 it's difficult to imagine it's impact 25 years on. Whereas Trans-Europe Express still gave a few concessions to 70's ethics, Man Machine is full on cold, hard synthesiser heaven with no room for those still hoping for a return to the sound-scapes of Autobahn. The next people to walk down this road would be John Foxx and Gary Numan but without this huge road-map to the new territory, I suspect their careers would have been delayed a few years more!

The full impact of the foresight of Kraftwerk is that 'The Model' wasn't a hit until being flipped onto a single released from the following album 'Computer World' a full 3 years later!

The cover of 'Man Machine' shows the members of the band looking East towards the Eastern Bloc. The record is a full on salute to the march of mechanisation, industrialisation and inter-action between man and machine(obviously!). It's one of the few masterpieces of electronic rock/pop with more melodies than an Abba record and more attitude and influence than Bowie at his best. It would take until after 'Computer World' was released (another superb record) for the rest of the music world to catch up.

A top recommendation!

A Lasting Influence
Two years after presenting the review below and I'm playing this disc again. I cannot believe how much this band has influenced modern pop and "electro funk" music. Also, the fact that Kraftwerk's material from this era still wipes the floor with modern releases so obviously descended from this era.....

Kraftwerk's previous album - Trans Europe Express - was the turning point for this band I feel and the link between the dreamy (and bland?) early works and this, the first of three albums which shaped how modern "pop" music was to be in the future.

The absolute precision in the rhythms, the short tracks and the generally "clipped" delivery was, by now, poles apart from the other german "synth" artists such as Tangerine Dream, Ashra and Klaus Schulze. Yet there is real "humanity" here, suggesting much thought and care in the composition and production of the tracks. This is music to "dance" to. Indeed, once this and the follow-up, Computer World is in your collecttion I very much doubt you'll be able to sit still impassively while playing them.

Recommended without hesitation!

One of the best
The first Kraftwerk album I listened to was Autobahn, which, while being very smooth and trancy, disapointed me slightly with its lack of beats. The next album I listened to was Trans Europe Express, which I thought used beats to the detriment of melody.

I'm very pleased to say that The Man Machine has more than enough of both to satisfy both the hardcore fan and the casual listener. In my opinion, one of the two best albums in Kraftwerk's ouvre, this gem contains classic tracks such as 'The Robots' and 'The Model.' The fact that 'The Model' was a hit in Britain three years after it was first released says something about the prophetic nature of Kraftwerk's music.

Only very rarely does a band make music so ahead of its time. Pink Floyd, in my opinion, is one such band. Radiohead is another. Kraftwerk is the grandaddy of them all.

Music for ears, like they say.