The Man-Machine

The Man-Machine
Studio album by Kraftwerk
Released 19 May 1978
Recorded 1977–78
Studio (see Studios)
Genre
Length 36:10
Label
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
Trans-Europe Express
(1977)Trans-Europe Express1977		 The Man-Machine
(1978)		 Computer World
(1981)Computer World1981
Singles from The Man-Machine
  1. "Die Roboter"
    Released: May 1978 (Germany)
  2. "Das Model"
    Released: September 1978 (Germany)
  3. "Neon Lights"
    Released: December 1978
  4. "The Robots"
    Released: 1978 (UK)
  5. "The Model"
    Released: November 1981 (UK)

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". The first German pressing was on red vinyl.

Upon its release, the NME stated: "The Man-Machine stands as one of the pinnacles of 1970s 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]

Background and release

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
The Guardian[10]
The Irish Times[11]
Mojo[12]
Q[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Select5/5[15]
Uncut[16]
The Village VoiceB+[17]

The NME gave the album 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

All lyrics written by Ralf Hütter except "The Model", lyrics by Hütter and Emil Schult.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Robots" ("Die Roboter")
6:11
2."Spacelab"
  • Hütter
  • Bartos
5:51
3."Metropolis"
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
5:59
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."The Model" ("Das Model")
  • Hütter
  • Bartos
3:38
5."Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht")
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
9:03
6."The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine")
  • Hütter
  • Bartos
5:28
Total length:36:10

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Personnel

Kraftwerk

Production

Visual art

Studios

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 56
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 15
French Albums (SNEP)[21] 14
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22] 29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 24
US Billboard 200[25] 130
Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 9
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 94

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 100,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Gill, Andy (29 April 1978). "Mind Machine Music". NME.
  2. ↑ "1982 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK Archive". Official Charts Company. 20 February 1982. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Kraftwerk" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. 15 February 1982. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "The Man Machine [Original recording remastered]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Man Machine (Remastered) by Kraftwerk". iTunes Store UK. Apple. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "The Man Machine [VINYL] [Limited Edition, Original recording remastered]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Huey, Steve. "The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  9. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  10. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (14 April 1995). "CDs of the week: Kraftwerk reissues". The Guardian. London.
  11. ↑ Clayton-Lea, Tony (30 October 2009). "Kraftwerk: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978) (Mute/EMI)". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  12. ↑ Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo. London (192): 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
  13. ↑ "Kraftwerk: The Man-Machine". Q. London: 116. 2009. As evidenced by the mesmeric groove of 'Spacelab,' their influence on the more electronic end of disco was feeding back into their own art ...
  14. ↑ Coleman, Mark; Randall, Mac (2004). "Kraftwerk". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 468–69. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. ↑ Harrison, Andrew (June 1995). "Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix". Select. London (60).
  16. ↑ Cavanagh, David (16 October 2009). "Uncut Reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues". Uncut. London. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 4, 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  18. ↑ Die Mensch·Maschine (liner notes). Kraftwerk. Kling Klang. 2009. 50999 6 99589 1 5. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 170. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Kraftwerk – Computerwelt" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  21. ↑ http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_Artiste_Choisi.php
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Kraftwerk – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Kraftwerk. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Kraftwerk – Die Mensch-Maschine". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  28. ↑ "British album certifications – Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Man-Machine in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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