The Man-Machine is closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-pop -- less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms. Like its predecessor, Trans-Europe Express, there is the feel of a divided concept album, with some songs devoted to science fiction-esque links between humans and technology, often with electronically processed vocals ("The Robots," "Spacelab," and the title track); others take the glamour of urbanization as their subject ("Neon Lights" and "Metropolis"). Plus, there's "The Model," a character sketch that falls under the latter category but takes a more cynical view of the title character's glamorous lifestyle. More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-Machine -- in particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvre -- had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
The Man-Machine is the seventh studio album by Kraftwerk, released in 1978. 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 cover design imitates the graphic style of the 1930s modernist movement, particularly that of the designer/architect El Lissitzky, whose inspiration is acknowledged in the album credits. The rear cover of the album is actually an adaptation one of his geometric page designs for a children's book, From Two Quadrants (specifically, the upper right quarter of the page captioned "And on the Black was established Red Clearly").[1]
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.
A newly remastered edition of the album was released by Mute Records and Astralwerks Records (in the US) on CD and digital download in October 2009, with a heavyweight vinyl edition set for release in November 2009.
The first pressings of the album distributed in Germany (with tracks sung in German) and in France (the English language version) were manufactured with translucent red vinyl, that carried through the dominant colour scheme of the front cover design. The French red vinyl version was pressed in a larger quantity, with the less numerous German red vinyl becoming a rarer and much sought after collectible item as a consequence.
German 1st pressing.
French 1st pressing (the English recording).
In the rest of the world the album was only ever released on black vinyl, but in the UK a 12" single of the track Neon Lights was eventually released in 1979 pressed on an appropriately luminous vinyl.
Equipment
2 "Synthorama" 16-step custom analogue sequencers built by Matten & Wiechers
