NINA HAGEN: "In Ekstase"

Original released on LP CBS 26468

(GERMANY, 1985)

I've loved Nina Hagen ever since I first heard "Nunsexmonkrock" forever ago and the love was further solidified with my discovery of "Unbehagen" and "Nina Hagen Band". I thought the later stuff of hers I'd heard was kinda weak, though dancey and funnish, but this album's cover was so awesome looking I had to get regardless of my doubts. Oh man, this record is so good, and feels way more insane than even "Nunsex" felt when I first heard it. Oh my God, it's fucking wild, on "Atomic Flash De Luxe" she starts quacking that obnoxious circus song (think dickies theme to killer klowns) over a suuperrad dance beat and it's the most mindblowing thing ever. The whole thing's so goofy-epic, and super super super enjoyable. (in RateYourMusic)

NINA HAGEN: "Fearless"

Original released on LP CBS 25667

(PORTUGAL, November 1983)

NINA HAGEN: "Unbehagen"

Original released on LP CBS 84159

(UK, 1979)

Fun fact about this album - Nina Hagen and her band couldn't stand each other before the recording, so that band wrote the music and recorded it, and Nina wrote the lyrics and recorded the singing separately. (The album title fittingly means "Uneasiness"). Paradoxically, I like this album much better. Yes, Nina Hagen's antics often are just as inane and silly as on the debut, but she seems a little more restrained, which I personally appreciate. One of the best songs on the album is the opener, "African Reggae", a fun reggae parody - yodeling and opera-singing to reggae something unheard of, and yet it works pretty well. Some other songs are also fun too - the hard-rock doggie madness "Wau Wau" is also extremely silly, but pretty funny, as is the schlager parody "Fall in Love mit mir", again with some nice reggae parts. The rest of this album is again not much more than proggish 1970s hard rock, but the band is good at it. And the closers of both album sides are nothing but fillers. After this album, Nina Hagen went on to a solo career, and the band became Spliff and released a few interesting albums. 

NINA HAGEN: "Nunsexmonkrock"

Original released on LP CBS 85774

(GERMANY, May 1982)

Her first solo album is very experimental. She switches between English and German. Her vocal style is wild, with screams and deformations. Antiworld deals with exorcism and uses a demonic voice and obsessive percussion. "Smack Jack" was written by her Dutch friend Ferdinand Karmelk about his heroin addiction. "Taitschi-Tarot" is a parody of Chinese pentatonic music. "Future Is Now" brings a message of hope under a sauce of irony. The music makes unpredictable changes; her vocals sound insane. "Born in Xixax" has nonsensical spoken lyrics about family members on both sides of the Iron Curtain. "Cosmic Shiva" is almost the same name as her daughter Cosma Shiva, who was born one year earlier. This musical madness is an enjoyable experience if you're open for it. (in RateYourMusic)

NINA HAGEN Debut Album

Original released on LP CBS 32293

(GERMANY 1978, February 11)

Ok, let's set the record straight here. This is one of the best albums of all time.  First off, she was never really "punk." I think the dyed hair on the cover may have mis-led some people into thinking she was the female version of Johnny Rotten. But of her first several albums, everything up to and including "Fearless" ("Angstlos"), her first album "Nina Hagen Band" is the closest in spirit to punk. Remember, this came out in 1978, before punk had fully defined itself. In that way, she reminds me more of Richard Hell, in the way that there still existed a lot of room for stylistic leeway. It's punkness lies in the attitude, the snarl, the scream. But a great album is not based on attitude alone. Behind the stance lies a bed of extraordinary musical muscle. I've heard it described as "generic 70's rock", but it's some of the best generic rock I want to hear. Bob Seger should have a band that plays so tight, or has so many killer riffs, or so many inventive arrangements. The first side starts off strong enough, but side two is a masterpiece. Sure, "Fisch im Wasser" and "Pank" could be considered slight, and they are.  But the powerhouse that makes up the bulk of the side is tremendous: "Superboy", "Heiss", "Auf'm Friedhof" and "Der Spinner" are some of the best songs ever written! "Der Spinner" is the best song Led Zeppelin never wrote. Nina's amazing vocals are ever-present throughout the record. She has the ability to make me cry one moment and then send a chill of terror down my spine the next. She is one of a kind. A truly remarkable talent.  Later albums would showcase her vocals even more. Specifically, on "Nunsexmonkrock" she expands her ability into a completely different realm. But this first album is my favorite. It has all the elements of a great record: great songs, riffs, attitude, and enough weirdness to keep me coming back time and again. (in RateYourMusic)