Kraftwerk: The Man Machine CD Track Listing

A list by checkmate

Kraftwerk The Man Machine (1978)
Originally Released 1978\nCD Edition Released September 26, 1995\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: The Man-Machine is closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-pop -- less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms. Like its predecessor, Trans-Europe Express, there is the feel of a divided concept album, with some songs devoted to science fiction-esque links between humans and technology, often with electronically processed vocals ("The Robots," "Spacelab," and the title track); others take the glamour of urbanization as their subject ("Neon Lights" and "Metropolis"). Plus, there's "The Model," a character sketch that falls under the latter category but takes a more cynical view of the title character's glamorous lifestyle. 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. -- Steve Huey\n\nAmazon.com essential recording\nThe album on which Kraftwerk got serious about their legacy of fusing human flesh and the technology it has inspired into an indistinguishable whole, Man-Machine also ironically embodies some of the band's most endearing contradictions. The case is stated up front with the techno classic "The Robots." The journey continues to worlds both utopian ("Spacelab") and dystopian ("Metropolis"). Then it segues into a bona fide, hook-laden dance track ("The Model," perhaps inspired by the club success that Kraftwerk's previous album, Trans-Europe Express, experienced at the hands of enterprising early mixmaster DJs). There's also a downright sentimental cityscape, "Neon Lights." But lest anyone think that Schneider, Hutter, and company are too human, they wrap up the proceedings with the robotic dance-groove of the title track, inspiring dizzy listeners to ponder: Kraftwerk--men or machines? --Jerry McCulley \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nHumans Vs Technology, November 9, 2006\nReviewer: Josephll "Feeling The Groove" (CET)\nIf it wasn't enough with the imense impact previous Kraftwerk albums already had on modern music, "The Man Machine" from 1978 would continue to be a landmark for latter music. It's cold and minimalistic electro-pop sound would infleunce synth-pop artists like Devo and Gary Numan and it would also infleunce New-Romantic artists like Duran Duran, Adam Ant and ABC. The album itself is another concept album but a little divided between two categories. Humans vs Technology and the expanding and highly modern global cities. They now try to imitate the sounds of robots more then ever, with the music and with appearance, the music is structured and minimalistic and forms a somewhat robotic sound, the songs are also shorther and more direct, better suited for single-releases. On liveshows they even acted like robots to not break the bubble. The "Man-Machine" is cold and robotic yet fascinating and extremly modern for it's time. For the reviewer that said this is dated, well it's 28 years old, what do you expect?. Based on the influence it had for others, it's certainly got something in it's sound that is still interesting. \n\nOpener "The Robots" actually got 2 versions, album and single version. I like the single version better that is even more catchy. The song is minimalistic synth pop with dancable rhythm and beats. It also feautures robotic voices, on the video for the song that all appear as robots. This song would also have huge influences for Hip Hop. "Spacelab" deals with new technology and the never ending fascintaion for space flight. It's a dreamy and meliodic electro-pop song, once again with robotic voices. The song sounds a little like OMD's 80's songs. "Metropolis" deals with urbanization and highly modern global cities. In the late 70's we would see many cities in West Germany building sky scrapers and becoming global high-tech cities. This song is also very meliodic with few lyrics and dreamy sound. \n\n"The Model" is the most commercial song ever released by Kraftwerk. It got well penned lyrics in several verses and deals with the endless glamour and luxury of a spoiled Model with very cynical lyrics. Not only it was a prety big hit, it would also be the influence for several synth-pop bands in the early 80's like Human League, Talk Talk and Howard Jones. "Neon-Light" is a wonderful dreamy song once again about global cities. This is the longest song, close to 9 minutes. Closer, is the title track that once again deals with human and robots. It got a hypnotic beat that later was sampled by quite a few hip hop artists. Robotic voices appear but I have no idea what they say. One of their best nonetheless. \n\nOverall, Another fantastic album that would be just as influentual as their previous album "Trans-Europe Express". Kraftwerk sound is polished once again and it becomes more simular to the sound that their upcoming albums would sound like. Minimalistic synth-pop with robotic feautures yet catchy and easily accessable. If you are new to them start with "Europe" and then this one, they are good and easy to get into.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"We are programmed just to do anything you want us too.", June 4, 2005\nReviewer: The Spastic Fantastic Mighty House Cat "Frosty5" (Waltham, Massachusetts, United States, Planet Earth)\nKraftwerk's 1978 album, "The Man Machine" is art. The German electronic quartet of Ralf Hutter, Wolfgang Flur, Karl Bartos, and Florian Schneider have impressed me with this six-song piece of pleasure. It's material like theirs that get me to buy more of their music. All six tracks are sweet. Track one is "The Robots." This song includes a singing robot. Just for having robotic vocals (which I can't get enough of) this automatically becomes an enjoyable tune of mine. I also like the electric percussion in the song. "Spacelab" is track two on the album. It's very mysterious sounding. I feel as if I'm in a space station, all alone, lightyears from everything else in the galaxy. Next, there's track three, "Metropolis." It starts out slow with percussion that sounds like drops of water and long notes. The bass comes in and the percussion changes after that. The vocalists sing out "Meeeeetroooooopoliiiiiis" in the song. "The Model, track four, is my favorite song on the CD. It's also the shortest of all the six tunes found on this disc at 3:42. The song's about a supermodel woman whose beauty and charm led her to fame and popularity. Track five, "Neon Lights" is nine minutes long. It's the longest track in the album. The lyrics for the song are "Neon lights, shimmering neon lights, and at the fall of night, the city's made of light." They're only heard in the first half of the song. The second half contains psychadelic sounding synthesizers. The final track is "The Man Machine." This track includes singing robots, different from "The Robots." This is a very nice tune, a good song to finish off the album. All six tracks are great. This CD has "genius" written all over. I could listen to it the whole way through whenever I'm in the mood, and I get into that mood quite often. I'm glad there's a music group like this.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nOne of Kraftwerk's best, indeed!, December 6, 2002\nReviewer: Israel Casanovas (PPCC)\nDie Mensch-Maschine is a great conept album based around the interaction of men with machines. It presents us the technology in 'Die Roboter', then it continues with two alternate futures, or perhaps two sides of the same future... or present: the men taking over in 'Spacelab' and the machines being the rulers in 'Metropolis'. After that, they go on with 'Das Modell', one of the few Kraftwerk songs with lyrics longer than three or four lines, which narrates a quite clever critic on aesthetical consumerism, and the sentimental 'Neonlicht', which, to my ears, talks nostalgically about a neon-lit cityscape. 'Die Mensch-Maschine' closes with it's title track, quite similar to the opening track, which can be interpreted in many ways: from the mechanicalization of human life to the limited feelings of a robot. Highly recommended, I could dock a star for the lenght, which doesn't matter much anyway since the music is truely awesome and short albums are oft less tiresome, and because it sounds dated, although not in the barely-listenable eighties sense. In fact, much of this album's charm is due to its dated sounds.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nElectronic Puberty, January 5, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nOn Man Machine, Kraftwerk evolved, which is sad, necessary, and in a way, exhilirating. They became self-aware (compare this disc with the purist dweeb charm of Radioactivity), but they seemed to handle it allright. MM has punch in its' bottom and ranges from quite chunky to almost chill. Never too much, never too little. Very Satisfying.\n\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nAlthough not drastically different to the existing versions, these Australian exclusive tour editions are a lot more attractive. The artwork has been updated to include more photographs and images., 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 behind The 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.\n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nLess than three minutes into The Man Machine, an album that faithfully extends Kraftwerk's unmistakable brand of exquisite torture, this group has successfully drained the blood from the listener's body and pumped in the liquid Lysol. With its efficient modern-world toys--synthesizers, speech synthesizers, synthesized percussion--Kraftwerk strikingly creates a sound so antiseptic that germs would die there. What's more, the band has never been this conceptually stubborn--even the dreaminess of "Neon Lights" is kept under close surveillance by the insistent percussion--but, happily and ironically, the music gains in power and force because of it.\n\nListening to The Man Machine is like listening to a telegraph: spare melodies, along with countermelodies, are repeated endlessly. As are the curiously trivial lyrics, usually delivered with the sternness of those voices you hear coming from Dictaphone units. It's no understatement to say that "The Robots" and "Metropolis" are polar opposites of the German drinking song. Yet, for all its chilling restraint and relentless sameness, the compositions here are often strangely pleasant in an otherworldly way. Probably because of Kraftwerk's sheer audacity, the overall effect is simultaneously frightening and funny.\n\nAs with Trans-Europe Express, the new record has a built-in ambiguity that pretty much accounts for the group's charm. Though Kraftwerk would seem to worship machines--totally unlike Brian Eno, who, on his brilliant Before and after Science, explores their possibilities--the band might actually be committed humanists, documenting how emotionless the future will be if we continue to cheer such "innovations" as the Chemical Bank Cash Machine. Maybe. Whatever its stance, Kraftwerk still parodies us dumb mortals. Last album's screamingly funny assessment of the disco masses, "Showroom Dummies," has given way to "The Model": "You can hear them say/She's looking good/For beauty we will pay."\n\nWhat kind of boredom is this? It feels so good when it starts, and it feels so good when it stops. (RS 265 - May 18, 1978) -- MITCHELL SCHNEIDER
This rock cd contains 6 tracks and runs 36min 19sec.
Freedb: 3e088106
Buy: from Amazon.com

Categories

Latest lists

Kraftwerk: The Man Machine CD Track Listing

Category

Tags

cyList

Legal