James Brown is to hip-hop as Kraftwerk is to electronic music: both pioneered the use of a repetition-based rhythm as the basis for a musical form that has been sampled and imitated for years afterwards. Released in 1978, Man-Machine remains Kraftwerk's most accessible album, catching the group at its finest: the drum machine, the hypnotic melodies, the tranced out feeling the listener gets- this is the blueprint for much of modern music. "The Robots" was my first exposure to Kraftwerk, and I was thinking are these guys serious or are they joking? The answer is, they're being very serious about joking. I still can't take "The Model" 100% seriously, but drop it at the right moment and the dance floor gets all look at us, we're models. Listening to tracks like "Neon Lights" or "Spacelab", you might not be impressed, but it's the simplicity, the build-up, and the very fact that music did not sound like this before. Buy this album and have crackers for lunch tomorrow, it's worth it. Also includes "Metropolis" and "Man-Machine." Deluxe 2020 import pressed on colored vinyl with printed inner sleeve featuring the original cover and full color booklet with awesome photos of Kraftwerk from this album. Recommended

• red colored vinyl
  
• indie exclusive
• includes full color printed inner sleeve w/ original album art + deluxe photo booklet
  
• remastered sound
• music label: Kling Klang 2020
• also available: Autobahn | Radio-Activity | Trans Europe Express | Computer World | Techno Pop | The Mix | Tour De France Soundtracks

reviewed by the mgmnt 11/2005