The Man Machine - Definition and Overview

The Man Machine
LP by Kraftwerk
Released	1978
Recorded	???
Genre	Electronic
Length	36 min 18 sec
Record label	Astralwerks
Producer	Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider
Professional reviews
AMG	4.5 stars out of 5	link (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDSUB040403251443301584&sql=Awiamqj4yojda)
Robert Christgau	B+	link (http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=762&name=Kraftwerk)
Q	4 stars out of 5	March 1995 (http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=125902&resource=125902&fixture_artist=145614)
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 number 1 single in the UK in 1982 and has been covered by bands such as Carter USM, Rammstein and Spanish pioneers Aviador Dro.

Philosophical Interpretation

The Man Machine, can be seen as a pillar in Kraftwerk's philosophy; the dehumanising process of humanity does not come just from plugging our brains into a machine. Postmodern society is already as dehumanised as the model, who acts mechanically in order to satisfy. Although the album can be seen as a leap away from that society into a bright future (note the major key of Neon Lights), the spookiness of The Robots reminds us that humans will not be needed in the same way in the future. Electronic Vocoder-disguised voices speak "Я твой слуга, я твой работник" ("Ya tvoj sluga, ya tvoj rabotnik" - Russian "I am your servant, I am your worker"). The robot's words and the cover (where the band members not only share a common appearance, but are made to look as one with the background) inspire thoughts of a collective future, where the "I" dissolves into the "us", and "us" is the cold and inhuman Metropolis. Thus, the inhabitants of that massive Metropolis (both humans and robots) have lost any trace of what humanity used to mean.

Track listing

English release

1. "The Robots" - 6:12
2. "Spacelab" - 5:55
3. "Metropolis" - 6:02
4. "The Model" - 3:42
5. "Neon Lights" - 8:55
6. "The Man-Machine" - 5:28

German release

1. "Die Roboter" - 6:13
2. "Spacelab" - 6:02
3. "Metropolis" - 6:03
4. "Das Modell" - 3:43
5. "Neonlicht" - 9:00
6. "Die Mensch - Maschine" - 5:26