Album Flashback #15 // Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine
Someone once said that
robots rule and they were probably right… in musical terms. One of the
pioneering bands to produce electronic music is Kraftwerk, as well known for
their excellent run of album as for their recent lack of them. But when you
have back catalogue as fascinating as theirs, there is much to enjoy in a look
back.
The Man-Machine is
possibly their best concept album – with its iconic artwork impossible not to
stare at for hours on end for its sheer style and ultra effective simplicity. It’s
difficult to say just how it must have looked to buyers back in 1978, but it
must have been mind blowing to say the least.
The album as a whole is
still a proposition not to be messed with, six tracks of totally unique electronic
songs with a heart of sheer invention that can’t be matched by many other such
albums! Perhaps they weren’t the first group to experiment with electronic
music buy they were the first to do it in a manner so utterly eye and ear
catching that they became known as the masters of said genre.
Opener The Robots, with its
hypnotic metallic edged refrain of ‘we are the robots’ and that still chilling
syncopated beat that kicks off the song’s groove, is a classic to this day. As
a track it’s a supreme example of electronic music with a deadly heart but as
an opener it’s a standard setting six minutes of drama. As the album continues
its metallic pace down the halls of innovation we get the still haunting
Spacelab and the urgent synthetic tones
of Metropolis, as dramatic a musical rendering of the cityscape of the
future as you’ll get.
But it’s not all serious,
because there is that most famous of Kraftwerk moments on the beginning of Side
2, The Model. With just over three minutes to set its agenda, the opening stanza
‘She’s a model and she’s looking good’ does it all. Following three tracks of
cold futuristic soundscapes and robot call outs its appearance is jarring to
say the least. Really, this shouldn’t work at all but Kraftwerk, despite their
appearances, are known for having a sense of humour occasionally. (See Sex
Object, nearly a decade later for another example.)
Neon Lights brings the
warmth up a notch, the softer synth and melodies of this nigh on ten minute
track offering a repetitive but beautiful companion to the darker first half of
the album. There would, arguably, be rarely a more touching Kraftwerk
composition than this again and as such it’s shimmering melodies are surely a
highlight on a consistently inspiring release.
That only leaves the
closer, title track The Man-Machine. An alliterative ode to a future where
mankind become the machines by our own volition, it’s a thoughtful but never ponderous
close to what by modern standards is a very brief album. Of course, it has no
need of an extension as it’s already an iconic and influential album in its own
right.
Even with the music it
would be an essential listen, but as with all of Kraftwerk’s albums the cover
art is well worth mentioning. Shot by Günther Fröhling and typographed by Karl
Klefisch, the two-tone, white and red cover art is simply stunning, seemingly setting
the band as the robots and men-machines in one image that is simultaneously
disturbing yet warmingly artistic.
If you’ve never heard The
Man-Machine before, treasure your first listen. It will be the first of many…
Words by Sebastian Gahan.
