The Man-Machine

The staff of GQ India assessed: "Taking electronic music from the German counterculture - a still influential moment termed Krautrock by UK audiences - across the 1970s and early '80s, [Kraftwerk] sculpted something modernist [...] out of the possibilities of synthesiser music."{{Cite web |last=India |first=G. Q. |date=2023-05-17 |title=The 10 best electronic albums of all time |url=https://www.gqindia.com/content/the-10-best-electronic-albums-of-all-time |access-date=2025-06-05 |website=GQ India |language=en-IN}}

The artwork for the cover was produced by Karl Klefisch,{{cite web |title=Kraftwerk stoppt Schau zu eigenen Ehren |url=https://www.wz.de/nrw/duesseldorf/kraftwerk-stoppt-schau-zu-eigenen-ehren_aid-25531537 |website=Westdeutsche Zeitung |access-date=3 October 2022 |language=de |date=17 April 2018}} based on the work of the Russian suprematist El Lissitzky – the words "Inspired by El Lissitzky" are noted on the cover.{{cite book |last1=Smolko |first1=Tim |last2=Smolko |first2=Joanna |title=Atomic Tunes: The Cold War in American and British Popular Music |date=11 May 2021 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-05617-7 |page=253 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JHsmEAAAQBAJ&dq=kraftwerk+the+man+machine+new+wave&pg=PA253 |access-date=3 October 2022 |language=en}} The back cover image is an adaptation of a graphic from Lissitzky's book for children About Two Squares: A Suprematist Tale of Two Squares in Six Constructions.{{cite web |title=El Lissitzky. Suprematic tale about two squares |url=http://en.uartlib.org/books/el-lissitzky-suprematic-tale-two-squares/ |website=Ukrainian Art Library |access-date=3 October 2022}}

The Man-Machine was released in April 1978.{{cite book |last1=Schütte |first1=Uwe |title=Kraftwerk: Future Music from Germany |date=27 February 2020 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0-241-32055-6 |page=72 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NSamDwAAQBAJ&dq=May+1978+the+man+machine+kraftwerk&pg=PT72 |access-date=2 October 2022 |language=en}} The Man-Machine was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 15 February 1982 In October 2009, a remastered edition of the album was released on CD, Vinyl and digital formats by Mute Records, and Astralwerks.{{cite news |title=Kraftwerk begin MoMA run TONIGHT, new limited edition boxset now available |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/kraftwerk-begin/ |access-date=3 October 2022 |work=BrooklynVegan |date=10 April 2012 |language=en}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |last=Huey |first=Steve |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-man-machine-mw0000650384 |title=The Man-Machine – Kraftwerk |website=AllMusic |accessdate=29 March 2014}}

| rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev2score = B+{{cite book |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |chapter=K |chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=K&bk=70 |accessdate=28 February 2019 |via=robertchristgau.com |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |publisher=Ticknor and Fields |year=1981 |isbn=0-89919-026-X}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|4}}{{cite news |last=Sweeting |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Sweeting |title=CDs of the week: Kraftwerk reissues |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |issn=0261-3077 |date=14 April 1995}}

| rev4 = The Irish Times

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite news |last=Clayton-Lea |first=Tony |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/album-reviews/reissue-1.763924 |title=Kraftwerk: Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978) (Mute/EMI) |newspaper=The Irish Times |location=Dublin |issn=0791-5144 |date=30 October 2009 |accessdate=18 March 2017}}

| rev5 = Mojo

| rev5score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Snow |first=Mat |author-link=Mat Snow |title=Gut Vibrations |magazine=Mojo |location=London |issn=1351-0193 |issue=192 |date=November 2009 |page=110}}

| rev6 = Q

| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Kraftwerk: The Man-Machine |magazine=Q |location=London |issn=0955-4955 |year=2009 |page=116 |quote=As evidenced by the mesmeric groove of 'Spacelab,' their influence on the more electronic end of disco was feeding back into their own art ...}}

| rev7 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |last1=Coleman |first1=Mark |last2=Randall |first2=Mac |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |chapter=Kraftwerk |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/468 468–69]}}

| rev8 = Select

| rev8score = 5/5{{cite magazine |last=Harrison |first=Andrew |title=Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix |magazine=Select |location=London |issn=0959-8367 |issue=60 |date=June 1995}}

| rev9 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev9score = 8/10{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |chapter=Kraftwerk |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher=Vintage Books |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=215–16}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Cavanagh |first=David |author-link=David Cavanagh |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/kraftwerk/uncut-reviews-kraftwerk-reissues-review |title=Uncut reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues |magazine=Uncut |location=London |issn=1368-0722 |date=16 October 2009 |accessdate=1 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205031308/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/kraftwerk/reviews/13709 |archive-date=5 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}

}}

Reviewing the album in 1978, Andy Gill of NME stated that "The Man-Machine stands as one of the pinnacles of {{Not a typo|70's}} rock music", adding that "the sparsity of the lyrics leaves the emphasis squarely on those robot rhythms, chilling tones and exquisite melodies".{{cite magazine |last=Gill |first=Andy |title=Mind Machine Music |magazine=NME |issn=0028-6362 |date=29 April 1978}} Village Voice critic Robert Christgau also reviewed the album that year, saying: "Only a curmudgeon could reject a group that synthesizes the innovations of Environments and David Seville & the Chipmunks, not to mention that it's better make-out music."{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv9-78.php |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |newspaper=The Village Voice |location=New York |issn=0042-6180 |date=4 September 1978 |accessdate=29 April 2013 |via=robertchristgau.com}} Mitchell Schneider from Rolling Stone found that the "chilling restraint and relentless sameness" of the lyrics and music are tempered by Kraftwerk's sense of humour and "sheer audacity", which makes for a listening experience that is "strangely pleasant in an otherworldly way".{{cite magazine |last=Schneider |first=Mitchell |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-man-machine-96960/ |title=The Man-Machine |magazine=Rolling Stone |issn=0035-791X |date=18 May 1978 |accessdate=19 October 2020}}

Tony Clayton wrote in The Irish Times which "they constitute the resilient framework of electro-pop and electronica we hear today. And if there are more simple, warm and beautiful pieces of electronic music out there than 'Ohm Sweet Ohm', 'Neon Lights', 'Europe Endless' and the title track of Autobahn, then this geezer has yet to hear them." Uncut critic David Cavanagh called "The Model" a "wry pop satire" and wrote that "the sparse lyrics lend themselves to considerable interpretation".

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Steve Huey wrote that the album is "less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms" than the group's previous works, and noted its "tremendous impact" on subsequent synth-pop artists. He also described it as "closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-pop", and noted its "feel of a divided concept album", with some songs (such as the title track and "The Robots") exploring "the science fiction-esque links between humans and technology", and others (such as "Neon Lights" and "Metropolis") celebrating "the glamour of urbanization". NME ranked The Man-Machine as the 57th greatest album of all time in 2013, citing it as Kraftwerk's "definitive" album and the catalyst for the synth-pop "revolution" that followed its release.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-100-1-1426116 |title=The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100–1 |magazine=NME |location=London |issn=0028-6362 |date=25 October 2013 |accessdate=19 October 2020}} Paste ranked it the 11th best album of 1978.{{cite magazine |title=The 30 Best Albums of 1978 |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-albums/the-best-albums-of-1978/#11-kraftwerk-the-man-machine |magazine=Paste |access-date=21 July 2022 |language=en |date=23 February 2018}}

The staff of GQ India called the album's sound "new and brilliant" for its time. They wrote: "Though 1981’s Computer World is arguably more prescient musically in its anticipation of techno, 1978’s Man Machine is the masterpiece - elegiac, witty and truly marvellous in its sheer audacity and triumph. For our money, the best electronic album of all time."{{Cite web |last=India |first=G. Q. |date=2023-05-17 |title=The 10 best electronic albums of all time |url=https://www.gqindia.com/content/the-10-best-electronic-albums-of-all-time |access-date=2025-06-05 |website=GQ India |language=en-IN}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_lyrics = Ralf Hütter except "The Model", lyrics by Hütter and Emil Schult

| title1 = The Robots

| note1 = "Die Roboter"

| music1 = {{hlist|Hütter|Florian Schneider|Karl Bartos}}

| length1 = 6:10

| title2 = Spacelab

| music2 = {{hlist|Hütter|Bartos}}

| length2 = 5:50

| title3 = Metropolis

| music3 = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Bartos}}

| length3 = 6:01

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Words

| total_length = 36:10

| title4 = The Model

| note4 = "Das Model"

| music4 = {{hlist|Hütter|Bartos}}

| length4 = 3:38

| title5 = Neon Lights

| note5 = "Neonlicht"

| music5 = {{hlist|Hütter|Schneider|Bartos}}

| length5 = 9:03

| title6 = The Man-Machine

| note6 = "Die Mensch-Maschine"

| music6 = {{hlist|Hütter|Bartos}}

| length6 = 5:28

}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the 2009 remastered edition of The Man-Machine.{{cite AV media notes |title=Die Mensch-Maschine |type=remastered CD liner notes |others=Kraftwerk |publisher=Kling Klang |year=2009 |id=50999 6 99589 2 2}}

• Ralf Hütter – album concept, artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster), cover, electronics, keyboards, Orchestron, production, Synthanorma Sequenzer, synthesiser, vocoder, voice
• Florian Schneider – album concept, electronics, production, synthesiser, vocoder, Votrax
• Karl Bartos – electronic drums
• Wolfgang Flür – electronic drums

• Günther Fröhling – photography
• Leanard Jackson – engineering
• Karl Klefisch – artwork
• Joschko Rudas – engineering
• Henning Schmitz – engineering assistance
• Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)

• Recorded at Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf, Germany
• Mixed at Studio Rudas in Düsseldorf, Germany

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Kraftwerk|title=The Man-Machine|nocert=true|type=album|relyear=1978|salesamount=150,000|salesref={{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1978/Billboard%201978-12-16.pdf |title=EMI Electrola |magazine=Billboard |location=New York |issn=0006-2510 |volume=90 |issue=50 |date=16 December 1978 |accessdate=5 October 2020 |via=World Radio History |page=WG-12}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Kraftwerk|title=The Man-Machine|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=1978|certyear=1982|date=15 February 1982|refname="BPI"|id=7133-1009-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=178–179|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

• {{Discogs master|4010}}

{{Kraftwerk}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man-Machine, The}}

Category:1978 albums

Category:Kraftwerk albums

Category:Albums produced by Florian Schneider

Category:Albums produced by Ralf Hütter

Category:Capitol Records albums

Category:1970s German-language albums

Category:Synth-pop albums by German artists

Category:New wave albums by German artists

Category:Electropop albums