The Man-Machine (German: Die Mensch-Maschine) is the seventh studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in May 1978. It includes the singles "The Model" and "The Robots".
Upon its release, the NME stated, "The Man Machine stands as one of the pinnacles of 70's rock music."[1] Although the album was initially unsuccessful on the UK Albums Chart, it reached a new peak position of number nine in February 1982,[2] becoming the band's second highest-peaking album in the United Kingdom after Autobahn (1974).[3] The Man Machine was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 15 February 1982, denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[4]
Contents[]
[hide] *1 Background and release
Background and release[edit][]
The Man-Machine is the first Kraftwerk album to have Karl Bartos co-credited as a composer along with Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Emil Schult co-wrote the lyrics for "The Model".
In October 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released on CD and digital download by Mute Records in Europe and by Astralwerks in the United States,[5][6] with heavyweight vinyl editions released in November 2009.[7]
Critical reception[edit][]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [8] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[9] |
| Drowned in Sound | 10/10[10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| Uncut | [12] |
The NME wrote a glowing review and said: "Kraftwerk manage to convey the entire 'melange of elements' by musical means alone: the sparsity of the lyrics leaves the emphasis squarely on those robot rhythms; chilling tones and exquisite melodies." Critic Andy Gill also praised the "complexity of construction", saying "there's a lot more than electronic percussion in there".[1]
Track listing[edit][]
| Side A | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Robots" ("Die Roboter") | Ralf Hütter | Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos | 6:11 | ||||||
| 2. | "Spacelab" | Hütter | Hütter, Bartos | 5:51 | ||||||
| 3. | "Metropolis" | Hütter | Hütter, Schneider, Bartos | 5:59 | ||||||
| Side B | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length | ||||||
| 4. | "The Model" ("Das Model") | Hütter, Emil Schult | Hütter, Bartos | 3:38 | ||||||
| 5. | "Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht") | Hütter | Hütter, Schneider, Bartos | 9:03 | ||||||
| 6. | "The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine") | Hütter | Hütter, Bartos | 5:28 | ||||||
Personnel[edit][]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Man-Machine.[13]
- Kraftwerk
- Ralf Hütter – album concept, artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster), cover, electronics, keyboards, Orchestron, production, Synthanorma Sequenzer, synthesiser, vocoder, voice
- Florian Schneider – album concept, electronics, production, synthesiser, vocoder, Votrax
- Karl Bartos – electronic drums
- Wolfgang Flür – electronic drums
- Additional personnel
- Günther Fröhling – photography
- Leanard Jackson – engineering
- Karl Klefisch – lettering
- Joschko Rudas – engineering
- Henning Schmitz – assistant engineering
- Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)
Charts[edit][]
| Chart (1978) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart[14] | 15 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[15] | 29 |
| German Albums Chart[16] | 12 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[17] | 24 |
| US Top LPs & Tape[18] | 130 |
| Chart (1982) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[2] | 9 |