Customer Reviews

Nina Hagen Band

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 0:56 Mins

Man,this maybe artsy punk,but believe me,that does'nt take away any of the energy and anger that every song transpires.This,her first album,was produced and recorded entirely in Germany,and only after a several listenings and provided you have a great understanding of the brit punk scene you will be able to find the subtlets of influences from that scene,coz this is teutonic punk rock at it's weirdest.At realistic volume levels,few people will be able to tolerate the ear piercing vocals,which can shift from a 20 hz growl to a 15.000 Khz window shattering high note in a split sec. !!! Musicianship is good and the sound is better than it has rights to given the fact this is 1978 low bugdet (but GERMAN) recording.Oh,almost all of the songs feature lyrics in German,which may be annoying for anglosaxon,non german speakers.I can speak some german but even if I would'nt I'd still LOVE this album.I was fortunate enough to catch her show while in tour in Buenos Aires,and not only was I first row but I stretched my hand and my dominatrix goddess allowed me to touch her foot !!!!!.Man was I happy !!!!!!!! (still am)

Hard to belive it is soon 30 years since we first listened to Nina Hagen. Not much have changed, her music is still unique, have great depth, and leaves you flying.
"NaturTraene" is great example on what highs you can reach with a minimal band.
Do not be afraid of the "punk" stamp. This is quality music (well produced and that grows every played), just as Steely Dan, early David Bowie, or Steve Cole, Bob James, etc, etc.

Nina Hagen was amazing when this came out. Still a great album. So sad my vinyl LP got lost.

Oh, holy smoke, is this good! The Nina Hagen Band ruled my life in high school at the beginning of the 80's -- and I didn't speak a lick of German and wasn't even a punk. I just recognized a masterpiece when I heard it.

Thing is, I'm in the process of liquidating a 700+ piece record collection, one that's full of music I love - Steely Dan, Steven Reich, Phillip Glass, Depeche Mode, Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Laurie Anderson...I could go on and on. But I discovered after a few recent listens that I no longer care to listen to most of it. My tastes have developed far more sophisticated processors, and popular music has come a long way in the last fifteen years, to say nothing of the last thirty.

There's nothing in my vinyl collection as sophisticated as Radiohead, for instance. Or as knowing as The Eels. Nothing with the textures of the Junior Boys, the creepy depths of Aphex Twin, or the wisdom of the Love & Theft era Dylan. Indeed there's precious little in that whole wonderful collection of vinyl I care if I ever hear again.

The Nina Hagen Band is one of the few, perhaps the only album from my early years I still listen to really loud even now, close to thirty years after it first hit my consciousness. This is a dense, muscular punk album with an art-punk aesthetic, anchored by Hagen's incredible vocal range and power. She was an opera prodigy from the time she was 9 or 10, and you can really tell here. And her backup band is amazing, too, with a monster drummer who holds every piece of it together by sheer force of will.

I purchased The Nina Hagen Band and Hagen's later oddball masterpiece Nunsexmonkrock online as downloads from a Russian music site for only $2 each. The Russian site was the authorized seller, linked directly from Hagen's official site. This was about 2003, and it shows that Hagen was way ahead of the curve in understanding the sweet spot price point for digital music.

Major hero, and a huge influence on every female punk who followed her, whether they knew it or not. It's amazing how contemporary The Nina Hagen band feels today.

After years not listening to this classic punk inspired gem because of warping, it is a delight to finally be able to listen to Nina's operatic pitching. Her rendition of the Tubes' "White Punks on Dope" and the glitzy glam song on the heels of Bowie's Berlin provide nonstop nostalgia.

NINA HAGEN'S FIRST ALBUM HERE IS NICE & FRESH, EVEN 27 YEARS LATER! THE WAY SHE CAN SING, GOING THROUGH A ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF DIFFERENT VOICES AND SOUNDS SO WELL IN ONLY A FEW MINUTES IS AMAZING. AND HER TALENT SEEMS TO GROW THROUGH HER NEXT 3 ALBUMS (UNBEHAGEN,NUNSEXMONROCK & FEARLESS- THEY NEED TO BE LISTENED TO BEFORE YOU DIE). THE REST OF THE GROUP ROCKS AND TO ME IT SOUNDS GOOD TO HEAR ALL GERMAN LYRICS AND NOT KNOW WHAT THEY'RE SINGING ABOUT! CHECK THIS LADY OUT!

This album of German songs contains gems like Unbeschreiblich Weiblich, her energetic version of the Tubes' White Punks On Dope (TV Glotzer), and the awesome operatic rock excursions Natuertraene & Heiss. The album became an instant cult classic on the indie/alternative scene around 1978 but was perhaps too quirky and unusual to establish her in mainstream rock. And the songs are all in German, but it did find a small appreciative audience in the Anglo punk sphere. The music shows the creative embers burning brightly, extending the boundaries of rock and punk in its seamless operatic fusion and innovative rhythmic explorations. She performs with enthusiasm, the playing is tight and the arrangements are always captivating and often atmospheric, whether mainstream or experimental. This music was highly original then and has stood the test of time very well.

This is a super pick. Nina sings her heart out. Sometimes she tries a little too hard (showing off her exceptional range) but for sheer exuberance and talent these performances have few equals. Great fun and definitely worth a few bucks.