Customer Reviews

Nina Hagen in Ekstase

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

 

 

two versions of this cd exist...there is this one which is mostly in German, and In Ekstasy , whish is mostly in English.

Either way...it's a wonderful effort. Fearlessis slightly better, but you can't go wrong with Ektase
Highlights: The mouth trumpeting on "Atomic Flash Deluxe"

Length:: 1:26 Mins

This was one of my favorites in the mid 80's. I have long since retired my turn-table so when I saw this CD available for right around $10, I was 'in ekstase'. I was disappointed that it was the German version and not the English. My fault entirely. I'd seen this CD for upwards of $40-50 so I snapped it up without reading the details. I've nothing against the German language but I wanted to relive a specific time, track after track. But having said that and listening to it a few times I've grown to like it more and more. Nina is an amazing artist in any language so German, English, Bindi, Urdu, Ninaease, whatever, I'm good. 'In Ekstase' in any language embodies Nina at her most self.

The easiest approach would be saying you can't think of anything you like about this album, you won't get bored. It's not entirely true; with a very short attention span you might judge this as incredibly crappy pop. It takes a few listens from a completely unprepared listener to understand this goes way beyond pop.

For fans of Nina Hagen Ekstasy is on the poppier side of her music, which essentially means this album will cause the average Mtv watching teenager's head to explode in about 2 minutes, instead of 20 seconds. Let's make one thing clear, if you're not into giving music (even weird crappy sounding music) a second or third listen, stop reading at this point and buy some elevator music from Madonna or Eminem.

Hagen's style requires a few listens before it changes from random noise to more or less coherent onslaughts of pure creativity coupled with outrageous vocals and lyrics. The music is largery powered by funk, but it's only the foundations for anarchistic selection of musical styles and sounds from synthpop to punk to bubblegum pop.

Universal Radio is one of my favorites, a nicely psychotic pop tune where Nina sounds cuter than ever. She has a marvelously beautiful nasal voice that the likes of Kylie Minogue and Madonna would quite simply die for. Another strong point is Russian Reggae, with an athmospheric chorus, a couple great twists and great guitars. The Lord's Prayer is more chaotic and playful in typical Nina fashion, but pretty much right on target delivering a catchy anarchopop song.

All in all while Ekstasy manages to be just a little more easily approached, it does not lose much of the raw creativity of what makes Nina, in the process. Nina has never made an album that would be a musical masterpiece by strict standards, but among billboard top 40 she is a genius.

Definitivamente el mejor disco de Nina desde sus comienzos al año 2000, especialmente los temas "1985 ekstasy drive", "Universal radio", "Gods of aquarius", "Prima Nina in ekstasy", "Russian reagge" y "Atomic flash deluxe".

It is a fun German language version of Nina's music, not to be confused with In Ekstasy (ending with a "y" and not an "e"). I recently discovered the English version is out of print and copies of it are being sold used at a premium. So, if the language barrier isn't a big deal, then this is a good alternative.

Totally unique and very fun. German punk. Bizarre, wild, funky, one-of-a-kind. Saw Nina live - amazing woman.

As a fan of both Nina Hagen and of the German language, I looked forward to purchasing "In Ekstase". On the cover photo, Nina looks like a John Waters-eque / Cramps-esque version of Anita Ekberg. The sound here is less conceptual than either "Nunsexmonkrock" or "Fearless". "In Ekstase" is trashier than those two previous records. Half of the cuts resemble straight up rock and roll; it could be described as "The B-Sides of Fearless". Although this record is not consistent, thematically or in terms of quality--it does have some great numbers and moments. Highlights include Nina's outstanding remake of "Spirit in the Sky" ("Gott im Himmel"), a song tailor made for her vision; Hagen improves on Norman Greenbaum's original version. Also noteworthy are: "Universelles Radio" ("Universal Radio"); the humourous "Russicher Reggae" ("Russian Reggae", from which I pulled the quote for the title of this review--"Moskau ist die Zukunfts-Stadt"); "Atomic Flash Deluxe" (featuring cryptic lyrics and a sinister delivery by Hagen); and "My Way". There is also a 59 second reprise of "Gott Himmel" at the end of this CD, which was great way to close out this record. In the enclosed booklet are Hagen's handwritten lyrics to all of the album's songs in German. As much as I admire and respect Nina (please refer to my Amazon reviews of both "Nunsexmonkrock" and "Fearless"), I've only given 3 stars to this CD because ultimately, 50% of this record is filler.

Stephen C. Bird, author of "Hideous Exuberance: A Satire"