Computer World

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For the computer magazine, see Computerworld.
Computer World
Kraftwerk - Computer World.png
Studio album by Kraftwerk
Released 10 May 1981 (1981-05-10)
Recorded 1979–81
Studio Kling Klang Studio
(Düsseldorf, Germany)
Genre
Length 34:21
Label
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
The Man-Machine
(1978)The Man-Machine1978		 Computer World
(1981)		 Electric Café
(1986)Electric Café1986
Singles from Computer World
  1. "Pocket Calculator"
    Released: May 1981
  2. "Computer Love"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "Computerwelt"
    Released: 1981
  4. "Numbers"
    Released: 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[1]
Drowned in Sound 10/10[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music 4/5 stars[3]
Mojo 4/5 stars[4]
Q 5/5 stars[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 3/5 stars[6]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5[7]
Uncut 5/5 stars[8]
The Village Voice B[9]

Computer World (German: Computerwelt) is the eighth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released on 10 May 1981.[10] The album peaked at number fifteen on the UK Albums Chart.[11] It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 February 1982 for shipments in excess of 60,000 copies.[12]

The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. Critics see this album as a peak in the career of Kraftwerk, along with The Man-Machine and Trans-Europe Express. The compositions are credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Karl Bartos. In keeping with the album's concept, Kraftwerk showcased their music on an ambitious world tour and issued several different versions of the single "Pocket Calculator" in different languages: namely, German ("Taschenrechner"), French ("Mini Calculateur") and Japanese ("Dentaku", or 電卓). A fifth version, in Italian ("Mini Calcolatore"), was lip-synched to on Italian television in 1981.[13]

As was the case with the two previous albums, Computer World was released in both German- and English-language editions. The title of the final track, "It's More Fun to Compute", is in English in all releases, as it is based on the slogan "It's more fun to compete!" that could be seen on old pinball machines. There are also some minor differences in the album mixes used on the English- and German-language releases.

Computer World was listed by Pitchfork Media as the forty-fourth best album of the 1980s.[14] Slant Magazine placed the album at number twenty-five on its list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s".[15] Rolling Stone named it the tenth greatest EDM album of all time in 2012.[16]

Singles

The track "Computer Love" was released as a 7-inch single in the UK, in July 1981, backed with "The Model", from the group's previous album The Man-Machine. The single reached number 36 in the charts. In December 1981 the two songs were reissued as a double A-side 12-inch single, and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982, although "The Model" received the most airplay.

"Computerwelt" was remixed in 1982 as a dance version with additional bass and percussion sounds. It was released in January 1982 as a twelve-inch vinyl single only in Germany. The original track was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1982.[17] "Computer World" was also chosen by the BBC for use in the titles of their UK computer literacy project, The Computer Programme.

Track listing

Side A
No. Title Lyrics Music Length
1. "Computer World" ("Computerwelt") Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Emil Schult Hütter, Karl Bartos 5:05
2. "Pocket Calculator" ("Taschenrechner") Hütter, Schult Hütter, Bartos 4:55
3. "Numbers" ("Nummern")   Hütter, Bartos, Schneider 3:19
4. "Computer World 2" ("Computerwelt 2")   Hütter, Bartos, Schneider 3:21
Side B
No. Title Lyrics Music Length
5. "Computer Love" ("Computerliebe") Hütter, Schult Hütter, Bartos 7:15
6. "Home Computer" ("Heimcomputer") Schneider Hütter, Schneider, Bartos 6:17
7. "It's More Fun to Compute"     Hütter, Schneider, Bartos 4:13

Artwork

The cover is probably a stylized Hazeltine 1500 which was just a cursor-addressable ASCII terminal and not a computer. [18]

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The inner sleeve artwork, created by Emil Schult and photographed by Günter Fröhling, depicts four slightly robotic-looking mannequins representing the band members and engaging in studio activities (performing, recording, mixing), similar to the artwork in the previous album, The Man-Machine, also by Fröhling. In two photos, the mannequin representing Karl Bartos is seen playing a Stylophone, an instrument which featured on the track Pocket Calculator.

Personnel

The original 1981 sleeve notes are relatively unspecific regarding roles, merely listing all the equipment suppliers and technicians under the heading "Hardware" and the various other people involved, such as photographers, as "Software".[19] By contrast, the 2009 remastered edition notes list the performer credits as the following:[20]

Kraftwerk
  • Ralf Hütter – album concept, artwork reconstruction, cover, electronics, keyboards, mixing, Orchestron, production, recording, Synthanorma Sequenzer, synthesiser, vocoder, voice
  • Florian Schneider – album concept, cover, electronics, mixing, production, recording, speech synthesis, synthesiser, vocoder
  • Karl Bartos – electronic percussion
  • Emil Schult – cover
Additional personnel
  • Günter Fröhling – photography
  • Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction

Charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 51
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 14
German Albums Chart[23] 7
New Zealand Albums Chart[24] 28
Swedish Albums Chart[25] 27
UK Albums Chart[11] 15
US Top LPs & Tape[26] 72
US Soul LPs[26] 32

References

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  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "Mini Calcolatore" on "Discoring" on YouTube
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ http://ask.metafilter.com/18539/Computer-World-cover
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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