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The Man-Machine

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Untitled

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.

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 Trans-Europe Express. The initial recording had been made at Kraftwerk's own Kling Klang 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 on Q magazine's List of 100 Greatest Albums and #92 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s.

Outside of Germany, the album was released by Capitol Records.

Controversy

This album, and Karl Klefisch'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 Constructivist 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 conjures. 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.

The artwork for The Man Machine was reused by music producer Richard X for one of his Girls on Top records, replacing the faces of Kraftwerk members with the face of Whitney Houston. The song "Dancing with Numbers" is a mash-up between Kraftwerk's "Numbers" and Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", a movie Kraftwerk have spoken out against.

Track listing

English release

  1. "The Robots" (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos) – 6:11
  2. "Spacelab" (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos) – 5:51
  3. "Metropolis" (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos) – 5:59
  4. "The Model" (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Emil Schult) – 3:38
  5. "Neon Lights" (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos) – 9:03
  6. "The Man-Machine" (Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos) – 5:28
File:MM-F-vinyl.jpg
First pressings of the French edition (the English recording) were on red vinyl.

German release

  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
File:MM-D-vinyl.jpg
A more limited quantity of the German edition were also pressed on red vinyl.

Equipment

Credits

  • 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.
File:DMM-D-front.jpg
The front cover of the German vinyl album.

Release details

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


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