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Track Listings
| 1. The Robots |
| 2. Spacelab |
| 3. Metropolis |
| 4. The Model |
| 5. Neon Lights |
| 6. The Man Machine |
Product Description
Review
Opening track The Robots is a remarkably confident statement which sounds contemporary more than 30 years later. It's difficult to imagine a world before the synthetic sounds essayed here became so influential. The words themselves are a manifesto: “we're full of energy / we're dancing mechanic". Kraftwerk embrace the repetition inherent in dance music and equate it with the automation of industry.
Spacelab and Metropolis are instrumentals full of pathos and wonder. Their references to science fiction made fact and Fritz Lang’s vision of a future dystopia highlight cultural references that provide extra context for the album’s themes. The Model became a UK number one on its reissue in 1981 and as a result is probably the group’s best-known song. It identifies an object of desire, a female counterpart for the man machine.
Neon Lights may be Kraftwerk’s most beautiful composition. It’s a hymn to the unintended beauty of modern life whose synthesizer melodies evoke the neon glow of the city. Once again the music is utterly consistent with the lyrical subject. The album ends with its title track echoing and haunted, gliding effortlessly into a future that is now well on its way to arriving.
The Man Machine is remarkable for its consistency, elegance and absolute deliberation. It’s made all the more powerful by the marriage of Karl Klefisch’s El Lissitzky-quoting design and the group’s appearance as minor variations on a single theme. The remastering and inclusion of previously unavailable photography make this reissue the definitive edition. --Colin Buttimer
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Customer Reviews
It's certainly the most influential electronic music album ever, I don't think that is open to question.
There's just no way any of us are going to resist buying/downloading this one. We know it, they know it. It's just inevitable. Aaargh!!!!
So far I'd say there is definitely more depth to the sound with these remasters. They still sound perfectly old skool but there's more power in this re-issue. Specifically the bass goes lower in "the robots", and the "snap" sound in Metropolis is... snappier!
It's not like the original CD issue was that bad or anything, but this is such a classic that even a small improvement in sound quality is nice to have.
The full impact of the foresight of Kraftwerk is that 'The Model' wasn't a hit until being flipped onto a single released from the following album 'Computer World' a full 3 years later!
The cover of 'Man Machine' shows the members of the band looking East towards the Eastern Bloc. The record is a full on salute to the march of mechanisation, industrialisation and inter-action between man and machine(obviously!). It's one of the few masterpieces of electronic rock/pop with more melodies than an Abba record and more attitude and influence than Bowie at his best. It would take until after 'Computer World' was released (another superb record) for the rest of the music world to catch up.
A top recommendation!
THE RE-ISSUE: The campness of the original Man Machine cover (which IS retained for this edition) is toned down by a plainer outer cardboard slipcase (as pictured in the Amazon product info). There's a proper booklet with lots of previously unseen pictures. So many in fact, that I can't help wondering if these are authentic period photos or if Ralph and his new mates have lugged the old dummies out of the back of the Kling Klang cupboard, dusted them down and taken a few new snaps. No matter, it's entirely in keeping with the vibe of the album. As for the sound, well, for me there wasn't that much wrong with the existing CD release. It's fine, it certainly doesn't detract from the original but I don't know that it adds all that much either. Maybe a slight disappointment given that band members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz, who did the re-master, did such a sterling job with the last Kraftwerk LP Minimum - Maximum?
THE ALBUM: Which Kraftwerk album is the best is, I think, a matter of preference as they're all 5 stars. Personally I've always seen The Man Machine as a concept album based on a day in the life of a modern citizen:
The Robots - the morning: starting the day and bemoaning the drudgery of every day life.
Spacelab - the wonders of modern technology (whatever that was in the late 1970s) around the home.
Metropolis - going to the day job in the city.
The Model - the night-time: going out and getting the initial buzz that you feel when the night is still young.
Neon Lights - the night is at an end and you're on you're way home through urban desolation. Pre-dates Burial by about 30 years.... Read more ›
Faithless fans may have thought that the sun shone when they heard tracks like Drifting Away but this CD WAS RECORDED IN 1978 when a Pentium chip wasnt even in production or possibly not even on the drawing board at Intel.
Which makes this CD still refreshing.
The shuttle hadnt reached the lauch pad at Cape Canaveral yet Spacelab almost is as symbolic - its clockwork beat adds to the imagination.
The space age theme continues in Metropolis.
The Model was a hit for Kraftwerk and has been released as a single several times over the years. Its theme based around the windows of Hamburgs 'model' district.
Neon Lights was always one of my favourite tracks and centres around the Northern Lights experience - the orchestral work in this track is masterful
Which leaves Man Machine another clockwork theme backing track is brilliant and brings this cracking CD to a finale
Buy this CD its worth it and the fact that it is still is as refreshing as 23 years ago proves that it has stood the test of time.
How many modern acts will be able to bost this claim in twenty years time????.
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