Computer World

Computer World (German: Computerwelt) is the eighth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released on 10 May 1981.[3]

For the computer magazine, see Computerworld.

Computer World
Studio album by
Kraftwerk
Released10 May 1981 (1981-05-10)
Recorded1979–1981
StudioKling Klang (Düsseldorf, West Germany)
Genre
Length34:21
Label
Producer
Kraftwerk chronology
The Man-Machine
(1978)		 Computer World
(1981)		 Electric Café
(1986)
Singles from Computer World
  1. "Pocket Calculator"
    Released: May 1981
  2. "Computer Love"
    Released: July 1981
  3. "Computerwelt"
    Released: 1981
  4. "Numbers"
    Released: 1981

The album deals with the themes of the rise of computers within society. In keeping with the album's concept, Kraftwerk showcased their music on an ambitious world tour. The compositions are credited to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, and Karl Bartos. As was the case with the two previous albums, Computer World was released in both German- and English-language editions.

Artwork

The cover shows a computer terminal (apparently based on one made by the Hazeltine Corporation)[4] displaying the heads of the four band members.

The inner sleeve artwork, created by Emil Schult and photographed by Günter Fröhling, depicts four slightly robotic-looking mannequins (representing the band members engaged in studio activities: performing, recording, mixing), similar to the artwork of the previous album, The Man-Machine, also created by Fröhling. In two photos, the mannequin representing Karl Bartos is seen playing a Stylophone, an instrument which is featured on the track "Pocket Calculator".

Release

Computer World peaked at No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart.[5] It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 February 1982 for shipments in excess of 60,000 copies.[6]

The track "Computer Love" was released as a seven-inch single in the UK, in July 1981, backed with "The Model", from the group's previous album The Man-Machine. The single reached No. 36 in the charts. In November 1981 the two songs were reissued as a double A-side twelve-inch single, and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982, although "The Model" received the most airplay.

"Pocket Calculator" was released as a seven-inch single in the US by Warner Brothers in 1981, pressed on a fluorescent yellow/lime vinyl, matching the color of the album cover. The flip side featured the Japanese version of "Pocket Calculator," "Dentaku".[7]

"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.[8] "Computer World" was also chosen by the BBC for use in the titles of their UK computer literacy project, The Computer Programme.

Kraftwerk issued several different versions of the single "Pocket Calculator" in different languages: namely, German ("Taschenrechner"), French ("Mini Calculateur"), Japanese ("Dentaku", or 電卓), and Italian ("Mini Calcolatore").

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Drowned in Sound10/10[9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Guardian[11]
Mojo[12]
Q[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Select4/5[15]
Uncut[16]
The Village VoiceB[17]

Computer World was ranked the second best album of 1981 by NME.[18]

In 2012, Slant Magazine placed Computer World at No. 25 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1980s.[19] In 2018, Computer World was listed by Pitchfork as the 18th best album of the 1980s.[20] Pitchfork listed the track "Computer Love" as the 53rd best song of the 1980s.[21] Rolling Stone named Computer World the 10th greatest EDM album of all time in 2012.[22]

Legacy

In 1982, American DJ and rapper Afrika Bambaataa wrote the song "Planet Rock" and recorded chords inspired from Trans-Europe Express. The song's lyrics also included the Japanese number counting "Ichi Ni San Shi" from Kraftwerk's "Numbers".

Señor Coconut y su Conjunto, an electronic project of German musician Uwe Schmidt which initially covered Kraftwerk's songs, published a merengue-styled version of "It's More Fun to Compute" in their first LP El Baile Alemán, wrongly labeled as "Homecomputer" on the sleeve.

Coldplay used the main riff from "Computer Love" in their song "Talk" from their 2005 album X&Y.

Ricardo Villalobos' track "Logom-IX" from the 2006 album Salvador uses prominently the riff from "Computer World".

'Home Computer' is used as background music in the Young Sheldon episode "A Computer, a Plastic Pony, and a Case of Beer".

LCD Soundsystem sampled 'Home Computer' throughout the track, Disco Infiltrator.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Computer World" ("Computerwelt")
5:05
2."Pocket Calculator" ("Taschenrechner")
  • Hütter
  • Schult
  • Hütter
  • Bartos
4:55
3."Numbers" ("Nummern") 
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
3:20
4."Computer World 2" ("Computerwelt 2") 
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
3:20
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
5."Computer Love" ("Computerliebe")
  • Hütter
  • Schult
  • Hütter
  • Bartos
7:15
6."Home Computer" ("Heimcomputer")Schneider
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
6:16
7."It's More Fun to Compute" 
  • Hütter
  • Schneider
  • Bartos
4:14

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".[23] By contrast, the 2009 remastered edition notes list the performer credits as the following:[24]

Kraftwerk

Additional personnel
  • Günter Fröhling – photography
  • Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[25] 51
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 15
US Billboard 200[30] 72
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31] 32

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Raggett, Ned. "Computer World – Kraftwerk". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  2. Warwick, Oli (10 May 2017). "The sample legacy of Computer World, Kraftwerk's most influential album". The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  3. "New Musical Express". NME. London. 17 April 1982. p. 39. ISSN 0028-6362.
  4. http://ask.metafilter.com/18539/Computer-World-cover
  5. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. "British album certifications – Kraftwerk – Computer World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 May 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Computer World in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  7. Pocket Calculator (7" single). Kraftwerk. Warner Bros. Records. 1981. WBS 49723.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. "24th Annual Grammy Awards Final Nominations". Billboard. Vol. 94 no. 3. New York. 23 January 1982. p. 90. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  9. Power, Chris (14 October 2009). "Album Review: Kraftwerk – Computer World: Remastered". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  10. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Kraftwerk". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  11. Sweeting, Adam (14 April 1995). "CDs of the week: Kraftwerk reissues". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077.
  12. Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo. No. 192. London. p. 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
  13. "Kraftwerk: Computer World". Q. No. 104. London. May 1995. p. 123. ISSN 0955-4955.
  14. Coleman, Mark; Randall, Mac (2004). "Kraftwerk". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 468–69. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  15. Harrison, Andrew (June 1995). "Kraftwerk: Radio Activity / Man Machine / Computer World / The Mix". Select. No. 60. London. ISSN 0959-8367.
  16. Cavanagh, David (16 October 2009). "Uncut reviews: Kraftwerk – Reissues". Uncut. London. ISSN 1368-0722. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  17. Christgau, Robert (2 November 1981). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. ISSN 0042-6180. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  18. "1981 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  19. "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  20. "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 10 September 2018. p. 10. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  21. "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s". Pitchfork. 24 August 2015. p. 8. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  22. Dolan, Jon; Matos, Michaelangelo (2 August 2012). "The 30 Greatest EDM Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  23. Computer World (LP liner notes). Kraftwerk. EMI. 1981. EMC 3370.CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. Computer World (remastered CD liner notes). Kraftwerk. Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM 307.CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 170. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  26. "Austriancharts.at – Kraftwerk – Computerwelt" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  27. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kraftwerk – Computerwelt" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  28. "Charts.nz – Kraftwerk – Computer World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  29. "Swedishcharts.com – Kraftwerk – Computer World". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  30. "Kraftwerk Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  31. "Kraftwerk Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
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