THE MAN-MACHINE [AKA: DIE MENSCH-MASCHINE]

"The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine)" is the 7th full-length studio album by German experimental electronic pop/rock act Kraftwerk. The album was released through Kling Klang/EMI/Capitol in May 1978. Their last album "Trans- Europe Express (Trans-Europa Express) (1977)" is quite the achivement to my ears. The band not only made their music more listener friendly, they also achived commercial as well as artistic success. Those tendencies are continued on "The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine)".

"The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine)" is essentially a synth-pop album (before such a term was coined) with simple and memorable synth themes, repetitive electronic beats and processed robotic vocals (there are also "normal" vocals on the album). There are 6 tracks on the 35:59 minutes long album. A pretty short album but almost every second of playing time is loaded with great adventurous ideas. The ending of "Neon Lights" drags on a bit too long, but the rest of the album are more or less perfect. The music is generally easily accessible, simple in nature and very memorable. For the first time on a Kraftwerk album there´s even a track that sounds like mainstream pop. "The Model (Das Modell)" is vers/chorus structured and features real lyrics and not just repetitive vocal lines which is the most usual thing for the band.

The sound production is strong. Sharp, clean and enhancing the energy in the music.

This is such an influential album and artists like Depeche Mode and New Order owes Kraftwerk so much, but also more recent acts such as Daft Punk and Air have taken loads of influence from Kraftwerk. "The Man-Machine (Die Mensch-Maschine)" deserves a 5 star (100%) rating. A seminal album in the development of electronic pop music.