Kraftwerk's Die Mensch-Maschine

Amazing album , I love every song on this album , Neonlicht expresses so much beauty, the sound and the vocals creating waves beauty and hypnotic atmosphere
, Die Roboter and the Model are still Hits in our alternative music clubs. Spacelab has a fantastic melody.

 

I am gonna look into this, thank you for the info and link.

 

I've never heard the English version!

 

Good luck finding an original red vinyl copy for a reasonable price, though.

 

Agreed about Electric Cafe. For me, that was their first, ultra-detailed, ultra-funky, album that really went to the next level, sonically.

 

The original 80s CDs on EMI (CDP 564 7 xxxxx 2) all sound pretty great to me.

 

How'd that happen? The German albums are on EMI, not Warner Bros.

 

Found it...
http://www.targetcd.com/kraftwer.html

Are you saying this is the English version? It's possible I'm getting their albums mixed up.

 

that's the English version released in the US, here's the German version



and the English European version

 

There is a great new complete Cover Version by First Vienna Home Organ Orchestra (EWHO) on vinyl, download and CD …

 

Little German lesson here:
Die is the feminine version of "the", put before nouns that are considered "feminine" in German. "Mensch" basically means man as in human in German. Now, you think that Mensch would be a masculine noun, which it is, but "Maschine" is a feminine noun, and "Mensch" can be seen as a adjective, not the main noun, making it "Die Mensch Maschine".

As for the album itself, I absolutely love it. The beautiful analog synths are music to my ears. Personally, I like Computerwelt more (one of my absolute favorites).

As for English vs. Deutsch, I usually prefer the English versions, as I feel the lyrics and singing fit better together and have a better rhythm than the German versions, but I'm probably biased, (even thought I speak a bit of German) I am MUCH more familiar with English. I do however prefer Computerwelt to Computer World, as the mixing and mastering is better.

I have the box set (The Catalogue) and Ican say that Autobahn-TEE sound beautiful, but Computer World is terrible, I much prefer my US Elektra disc. Electric Cafe/Techno Pop has pointless alterations to the sequencing. Not much has been improved with The Mix and TDF (TDF may be *slightly* better than the '03 version). I do not own the German version or the '04 version, but with some, ahem, 'digital copies' I recieved, CW sounds better on the '04 version, and the German version is way better than the English version (it already did sound better anyway).

 

One of their best,but my favorites are still Autobahn and Trans Europe Express.

 

Really? You mean it's not just different vocals?

 

Electric Cafe/Techno Pop is the only remaster that I still own, just because of the new mix track "House Phone" which I enjoy very much. Sadly, they cut "The Telephone Call" down to under half of its original 8 minutes. Just one more reason the original CDs are indispensable.

 

Yes, I believe they did the German version first, and did overdubs for the English version. The German version has more clarity and better vocals. Just compare "Computer Love" to "Computer Liebe".

 

Die Mensch Maschine is my favourite album of theirs. The best sounding version of this CD is IMO the 2004 promo. I Have that box, but since I rather listen to them in german, I play the 2009 disc the most. Even though the bass is boosted I like how it sounds.

Another Kraftwerk promo CD that should be in everybodys collection is TDF Soundtracks. The promo contains slightly different mixes of two tracks & and a really cool looking cover!

 

The Telephone Call is now the 7" version, and House Phone is the B-side remix version. Entirely pointless to me, and ruins the flow. EC is the only way to go for me.

Might be worth noting that the original CDs of Computerwelt and Electric Cafè are very high in Dynamic Range, having DRs of ~15-17

 

No it is a different mix as well.

 

I own the 2009 Katalog (which sounds good to me), but I keep hearing how much better the 2004 promo is supposed to be. Has there been a German language promo release as well, or is it only in English?

 

Unfotumately it was only "released" in English. But it really is both good sounding & good looking!

 

Ok, thanks a lot. I'm not sure if I need to own the albums in English, since I'm used to the German versions. Maybe if I stumble upon an affordable copy (which will probably be right after Kraftwerk officially releases the pre-Autobahn albums nicely remastered on CD ).

 

I understand. 12345678 is an expensve little box. I was lucky to find one on eBay four years ago.

My biggest complaint about the 2009 discs are the altetation of the Techno Pop Album. But that too is a great set of music!

 

I kind of see them in waves. Some (like Man Machine) I almost never see, others like Computerworld I seem to stumble on all the time. Autobahn and TDF are probably the most common, IMO. The first three (I, II, Ralf & Florian) are much harder to come by, at least here in the US.

I'm going to play my copy of MM right now!

 

Hi, Cowboy Kim,

it is much more difficult as you wrote. At first there are three possible nouns in german (der/die/das – mascular/female/non). And Mensch is Man in possible different ways as an individual (single) or as many of them. Mensch is also the figure and/or the medical being(s). Also it as an abstrakt like "Ach, Mensch!" – Oh man! It means in german normally nobody directly – except in case if there a person is directly addressed. For the most interpretations Mensch ist an abstract. German has much more different importances for one word as normally (english for example). So it makes sense to follow the linear translation by Kraftwerk: "Mensch = Man" … But "Mensch" is in german not "Masse" (mass). There is an other philosophical category "Masse Mensch" by Elias Canetti which means much more as only mob … Mensch also means not really human in german. Therefor you use better "Wesen" (as "ein humanes Wesen"). At last "Mensch" is here not an adjective. It is an second object as coupled to define an new creature "DIE MENSCH MASCHINE".

It could be helpful to go in interconnection with the historically linkage to the Russian Constructivism and the Fritz Lang Metropolis subject (Sujet). Man as part of mass(es) ((that for the Russian Construtivism and Sovjet Society = Collectivism)) or as a Robot like Maschinen-Maria from Metropolis. In Metropolis the Girl Maria is transformed into external controlled Maschinen-Maria. For both sources you will find cross references on the cover. Uniformed Robotniks !!! In red and black. And humanized waxheads … O.K. this more than Maschinen-Maria was in 1926 … Anyway … DMM/TMM was first published fifty+ years after Metropolis and the heyday of WCHUTEMAS in Moscow … And now DMM (TMM) is an modern classic and Kraftwerk was until now the best german export in (pop)-art and music … and the origin german LP is absolutely slag-free !!!

All albums from Autobahn till TMM are Retro-Futurism. Computer Welt is the first "modern album" – where Kraftwerk find into the presence and looking into the future. Only older fans remember that at 1976 Radioaktivität was not an critical album against radioactivity but an typically retro looking view into the early years of discovery and domestication of nuclear power … the original LP from 76 has an noncritical intro and no reference against the atomic industry inside (also on cover too). I remember Radioactivity in 76 as a little bit "naive" … The civil rights movement in germany/europe against nuclear power starts in mid 70th. But a bigger public view and assorted literature became more focus in 1977. So it became also an "new view" on the Radioaktivität.

Last aspect on the discussion here, what is better German or English lyrics? The native is german – truly. The english version is for market outside. Radioaktivität is the test to prepare a mixed language album. Later Kraftwerk bring foreign quotes into there lyrics like russian, japanese or french … but the english album is the international album. I think, today Mr. Huetter like it to demonstrate what an international brand the band is, but i don´t believe that they speak inside Kraftwerk english during the day. It is more like the Beatles singing on an 1964 Electrola-Single "Komm gib mir deine Hand" or "Sie liebt dich!" Anyway (Egal !) …

Regards, W.

P.S. The biggest shame for my opinion is that Kraftwerk given up there first albums. RuckZuck and especially the Ralf & Florian Album are really masterpieces (Meisterwerke).

 

I found a couple of Kraftwerk CDs in a thrift shop yesterday, and having never heard them, thought I'd give it a go. Not my cup of tea, unfortunately, but may work out for you guys, I posted them for sale in the CD forum, lol.