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The Man-Machine

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Untitled

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 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]
Drowned in Sound10/10[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
Mojo[11]
Q[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Select5/5[14]
Sputnikmusic4/5[15]
Uncut[16]
The Village VoiceB+[17]

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

Side A
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."The Robots" ("Die Roboter")HütterHütter, Schneider, Bartos6:11
2."Spacelab"HütterHütter, Bartos5:51
3."Metropolis"HütterHütter, Schneider, Bartos5:59
Side B
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
4."The Model" ("Das Model")Hütter, SchultHütter, Bartos3:38
5."Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht")HütterHütter, Schneider, Bartos9:03
6."The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine")HütterHütter, Bartos5:28

Credits

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

Personnel

Kraftwerk

Production

  • Ralf Hütter – production, album concept
  • Florian Schneider – production, album concept
  • Joschko Rudas – engineering
  • Leanard Jackson – engineering

Visual art

  • Ralf Hütter – cover, artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)
  • Günther Fröhling – photography
  • Karl Klefisch – lettering
  • Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)

Studios

Charts

Date Chart Peak
position
1978 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[19] 56
1978 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 15
1978 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 29
1978 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 12
2011 Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] 94
1978 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 24
1982 UK Albums (OCC)[2] 9
1978 US Billboard 200[25] 130

Certifications

Region Certification
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold

References

  1. ^ a b Gill, Andy (29 April 1978). "Mind Machine Music". NME.
  2. ^ a b "Kraftwerk | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  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. ^ Power, Chris (13 October 2009). "Album Review: Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine: Remastered". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  11. ^ Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo (192). London: 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
  12. ^ "Kraftwerk – Man-Machine CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  13. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 468–69. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  14. ^ Harrison, Andrew (June 1995). "Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix". Select (60). London.
  15. ^ Med57 (3 June 2005). "Kraftwerk – Computer World". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 9 January 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  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. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  18. ^ Die Mensch·Maschine (liner notes). Kraftwerk. Kling Klang. 2009. 50999 6 99589 1 5. Retrieved 20 May 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  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 – Die Mensch-Maschine" (in German). Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Kraftwerk - The Man·Machine - dutchcharts.nl".
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kraftwerk – Die Mensch-Maschine" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  23. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Kraftwerk – Die Mensch-Maschine". Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "swedishcharts.com - Kraftwerk - The Man·Machine".
  25. ^ "Kraftwerk Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "British album certifications – Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Man-Machine in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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