The Man-Machine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Man-Machine
The Man-Machine cover
Studio album by Kraftwerk
Released May 1978
Recorded 1977-1978
Genre Electronic music, Krautrock
Length 36:18
Label Kling Klang
EMI
Capitol
Producer(s) Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider
Professional reviews
Kraftwerk chronology
Trans-Europe Express
(1977)		 The Man-Machine
(1978)		 Computer World
(1981)


The Man-Machine is a 1978 album by Kraftwerk. It was released in German as Die Mensch-Maschine. It contains the song "The Model" which was a #1 single in the UK in 1982 and has been covered by bands such as Carter USM, Electric Six, Rammstein, Snakefinger, Yat-Kha, Spanish pioneers Aviador Dro, and the influential noise rock band Big Black.

This was the first Kraftwerk album to see Karl Bartos co-credited with song-writing along with Hütter & Schneider. Emil Schult co-wrote the lyrics for "The Model".

Musically, it builds on the already impressive Trans-Europe Express, further refining Kraftwerk's by then unique sound – the tracks are more concise, the melodies even stronger and the electronic percussion & sequencing even tighter. The initial recording had been made at Kraftwerk's own Klingklang studio, but further work was done at nearby Studio Rudas, where Detroit sound engineer Leanard Jackson of Whitfield Records, who had worked on Rose Royce's second album the previous year, was hired to work on the final sound-mix.

The album was voted #96 by Q magazine in February 2006's List of 100 Greatest Albums.

Contents

This album, and Karl Klefish's cover design in particular (which featured photography by Günther Fröhling), led some critics to accuse the band of experimenting with fascist or totalitarian imagery. The use of red and various Russian phrases, with a design based on the work of Soviet artist El Lissitzky, actually suggests an attempt to reference a broader spectrum of pre-war Socialist and Futurist art. Nonetheless, Kraftwerk's choice certainly struck some sour chords in cold-war Europe.

Communist imagery of the inter-war period of the twentieth century used limited production techniques (hampered by limited supply of inks and primitive printing processes) and so they ended up with a distinct, orange/red, black and white colour scheme with sharp lines and blocky shapes. This technique gave a cold, brash and brassy look to the work. Combined with the agitprop messages of socialistic eastern bloc countries, the imagery had power to it. Accordingly, some viewed Kraftwerk's choice of art as incendiary; but to a German writing music it evoked exactly the cold/hard/machine-like monotony that their very music conjurs. In this regard, there was nothing totalitarian in it to Kraftwerk – it was merely a post-modern reference to imagery that supported the music's modernist aesthetic.

  1. "The Robots" – 6:11
  2. "Spacelab" – 5:51
  3. "Metropolis" – 5:59
  4. "The Model" – 3:38
  5. "Neon Lights" – 9:03
  6. "The Man-Machine" – 5:28
First pressings of the French edition (the English recording) were on red vinyl.
First pressings of the French edition (the English recording) were on red vinyl.

  1. "Die Roboter" – 6:11
  2. "Spacelab" – 5:51
  3. "Metropolis" – 5:59
  4. "Das Modell" – 3:38
  5. "Neonlicht" – 9:03
  6. "Die Mensch-Maschine" – 5:28
A more limited quantity of the German edition were also pressed on red vinyl.
A more limited quantity of the German edition were also pressed on red vinyl.

  • Ralf Hütter – electronics, voice.
  • Florian Schneider – electronics, voice.
  • Karl Bartos – electronic percussion.
  • Wolfgang Flür – electronic percussion.
  • Leanard Jackson – sound engineer.
  • Joschko Rudas – sound engineer.
  • Karl Klefisch – graphic design.
  • Günther Fröhling – photography.
The front cover of the German vinyl album.
The front cover of the German vinyl album.
The back cover design, incorporating Lissitzky's imagery.[1]
The back cover design, incorporating Lissitzky's imagery.[1]
The inner sleeve of the German vinyl album: Kraftwerk photographed at Klingklang Studio.
The inner sleeve of the German vinyl album: Kraftwerk photographed at Klingklang Studio.

The originally released formats, including the first CD reissues are shown below. These may differ from currently available versions.

Country Date Label Format Catalog Lyrics
Germany May 1978 EMI-Electrola Vinyl 1C 058-32843 German Initially released pressed on red vinyl
May 1978 EMI-Electrola Cassette 1C 258-32843 German
March 1986 EMI-Electrola CD CDP 564 7 461312 German
France May 1978 Capitol Records Vinyl 2S 068-85444 English Initially released pressed on red vinyl
May 1978 Capitol Records Cassette 2S 266-85444 English
March 1988 Capitol Records CD 746 039-2 English
United Kingdom May 1978 Capitol Records Vinyl E-ST 11728 English
May 1978 Capitol Records Cassette TC-E-ST 11728 English
1987 Capitol Records CD CDP 7 46039 2 English
Argentina 1978 Capitol Records Vinyl 108030 English
1978 Capitol Records Cassette  ??? English


Kraftwerk
Ralf Hütter | Florian Schneider
Karl Bartos | Wolfgang Flür | Fritz Hilpert | Henning Schmitz | Emil Schult
Discography
Albums: Tone Float (as Organisation) | Kraftwerk | Kraftwerk 2 | Ralf und Florian | Autobahn | Radio-Activity | Trans-Europe Express | The Man-Machine | Computer World | Electric Café | Tour de France Soundtracks
Live and Compilations albums Exceller 8 | The Mix | Klang Box | Minimum – Maximum | The Catalogue
Non-album singles: Kohoutek-Kometenmelodie | Tour de France | Expo 2000
Videography
Minimum – Maximum (DVD)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/h/e/The_Man-Machine_cf42.html"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.