The Man-Machine Review

Released: May 1978
Genre: Synthpop
Label: Kling Klang, EMI, Capitol
Number Of Tracks: 6
Kraftwerk's music has inspired countless band like New Order and Depeche Mode to name a couple. The sound on this album would be best desribed as otherworldly. Like from another planet.

Sound:	9
Lyrics:	9
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	9.3
Reviewer rating:	8.7
Users rating:	10
Votes:	1

overall: 8.7

Reviewed by: swave75, on july 01, 2011

Sound: Why in the world would someone write a review on Ultimate Guitar about a band that doesn't have a guitar player and only plays synthesizers? Well, why not? I mean there tabs of their songs on here. Really, Kraftwerk's music has inspired countless band like New Order and Depeche Mode to name a couple. And I believe David Bowie moved to Berlin just to be around this sort of music and was inspired to make "Low" cause of bands like Kraftwerk. The sound on this album would be best desribed as otherworldly. Like from another planet. Think the soundtrack from "A Clockwork Orange" with lyrics. Sung in English with German accents. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are simple but it works well with the layers of keyboards and eletric drums. Some of the lyrics are sung through something called a votrax and vocoder which I guess makes your voice sound like a robot. The hit off this one is "The Model" which is one of their biggest hits. Easy to sing along with and with a great beat. The keyboards in this one are candy for the ears. "The Robots" is another one of their memorable songs with some words (using the votrax or vocoder) spoken in German sounding like a robot. And "Neon Lights" is so peaceful and wonderfully written with a great synth a... riff. // 9

Impression: Well, with Kraftwerk, you have to remember they were ahead of their time. I think their music has aged well. Not too many bands were doing this sort of music at the time and Kraftwerk were arguably the best. I love the songs "Neon Lights" and of course "The Model" the best. I would say if you like any electronic music at all Kraftwerk would be a great band to check out. If my copy of "The Man-Machine" were lost I would buy the remastered one. // 8