German Music:
Alphaville
Music style: Early on New Wave, then a blend of pop, rock, jazz and classical music.Band members: Marian Gold, Bernd Lloyd (until 2003), Frank Mertens (until 1985), Ricky Echolette (1985-1997), Rainer Bloss, Martin Lister
The New Wave band from Münster, consisting of Marian Gold, Bernd Lloyd and Frank Mertens, made it big internationally with their very first single "Big in Japan"
in 1984. The fact that Ricky Echolette replaced Mertens shortly thereafter
did nothing to hinder their further success. Hit singles from the
same Forever
Young LP as well as from their second album Afternoons
in Utopia followed "Big in Japan" into the charts.The band's third LP The Breathtaking Blue (1989) marked a change in their musical style to include a blend of styles from the rock, classical, and blues traditions. Five years later, they once again diversified their musical sound with Prostitute, whose songs show more sophistication and maturity than their earlier works.
After several studio successes, the band went on their first world tour in 1995. By 1997, the band was down to two members, Gold and Lloyd, but they continued to release remixes, remakes, and previously unreleased titles, producing both the music and cover artwork themselves.
In 2000, Alphaville began publishing a new song on their website each month that would later appear in their multi-volume colossal work Dreamscapes. In 2003, Lloyd left the band to work on his solo career. Rainer Bloss, who had been co-composing the band's music since the early 90s, and musical director Martin Lister joined Gold in carrying on the band's work. The new group performed with a string string quartet on the occasion of its 20th anniversary in 2004. Upcoming projects include a new album and a musical play.
| Alphaville
CDs |
|
 |
Crazyshow (2003) Once available exclusively at Alphaville website, now also at amazon.de 
and alibris. |
 |
Forever Pop (2001)
| |
LISTEN
| DESCRIPTION: Collection of remixes of their
best tracks, including reworkings from Paul Van Dyk, Roland
Spremberg, De-Phazz, Eiffel 65 and more.TRACKS: 1. Forever Young
- F.A.F. Mix | 2. Dance
With Me
- Paul Van Dyk Mix
| 3. Big
In Japan
- Roland Spremberg Mix | 4. Romeos
- Rewarped Mix | 5. Summer
Rain
- De-Phazz Mix | 6. Jerusalem
- Georg Kaleve Mix | 7. Summer
in Berlin
- Christian Fleps Mix | 8. Sounds
Like A Melody
- Staggman Mix | 9. Lassie
Come Home
- @Home-Mix | 10. Jet
Set
- Saunaclub-Mix | 11. A
Victory Of Love
- Jab Mix | 12. Red
Rose
- Mark Plati Mix | 13. Big
In Japan
- Eiffel 65 Mix Buy CD at AMAZON 
|
 |
Stark naked & absolutely live
(2000) | |
LISTENBuy CD at AMAZON
|
| Dreamscapes (1999) BOX SET:
DESCRIPTION: A set of 8 CDs covering the band's
complete history from the late 70s to the late 90s, including
9 1/2 hours of live recordings and unreleased songs and mixes.
All of the songs featured on "Dreamscapes" are in
a previously unreleased format. CD out of print |
|
|
Salvation (1997 / US: 1999)
||
LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
|
|
Prostitute (1994) ||
LISTEN
Buy CD at AMAZON
|
 |
First Harvest: 1986-1992 (1992)
||
LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
|
 |
Breathtaking Blue (1989) ||
LISTEN
TRACKS: 1. Summer Rain
| 2. Romeos
| 3. She
Fades Away
| 4. The
Mysteries Of Love
| 5. Ariana
| 6. Heaven
or Hell
| 7. For
a Million
| 8. Middle
of the Riddle
|9. Patricia's Park
| 10. AnywayBuy CD at AMAZON
|
 |
Singles Collection (1988)
||
LISTEN Buy CD at AMAZON
|
 |
Afternoons Utopia (1986) ||
LISTEN
| REVIEW: Alphaville's second album, produced
for the most part by Peter Walsh, found the group creating something
close to a concept record, in overall atmosphere and structure
if not in specific storyline. That Alphaville wanted to aim
high can be gauged from the credit list -- the three core members
"composed" the album, while no less than 30 musicians and singers
helped perform it. Certainly the opening track, "IAO," a brief
a cappella piece with Gold backed by a heavenly children's choir,
finds the group reaching just enough and getting away with it.
While at the time Afternoons in Utopia got lost in a welter
of mid-'80s Euro releases with airbrushing and bad synth playing
galore, in retrospect it's actually a successful endeavour,
perfectly evocative of a mainstream style long vanished while
containing its own artistic worth. "Dance With Me" and "Red
Rose" were the much more conventional singles which got released
in America, the former benefiting from some great U2-inspired
guitar and the latter a reasonably sassy pop number that's one
of various chances for Gold to exercise his Bryan Ferry fascination.
The true character of the album, though, appears on most of
the other songs, such as the sweeping passion of "Fantastic
Dream" (Yes goes synth-pop, only this time without Trevor Horn)
and the gentle pace and sci-fi scenario of "Carol Masters."
"Jerusalem," which was the final single from the album released
in Germany, is the secret highlight, with a wonderful chorus
and an inspiring, just epic enough atmosphere. Other winners
include the sweetly sung title track, which musically sounds
like Enya some years before her own big splash with Watermark,
and the Pet Shop Boys-reminiscent "Universal Daddy." At points
things are just bad yup-funk for wine bars, but a couple of
misfires aside, Afternoons in Utopia holds up well. - Review
by Ned Raggett, All Music Guide Buy CD at AMAZON
|
 |
Forever Young (1984) ||
LISTEN
| REVIEW: Alphaville's 1984 debut, Forever
Young, deserves to be viewed as a classic synth pop album.
There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline
Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album,
but vocalist Marian Gold's impressive ability to handle a Bryan
Ferry croon and many impassioned high passages meant the album
would have worldwide appeal. Indeed both "Big in Japan"
and the touching, sad change-of-pace "Forever Young"
raced up the charts in multiple continents. Borrowing inspiration
from Roxy Music's detached theatricality and Kraftwerk's beats
and rhythms, Gold and company hit upon a magic formula that
produced here an album's worth of impossibly catchy tunes that
could almost serve as pure definitions for the synth pop genre.
The hits race straight for one's cranium and embed themselves
upon impact. "Big in Japan" feels like a more serious
cousin to Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok," as
a slow-pounding beat spars with Gold's desperate voice. "Forever
Young," a stark, epic song that would become essential
for every post-1984 high school graduation, drips sadness and
never fails to cause a listener to nostalgically reflect on
life and loss. Outside of these hits, the remainder of the songs
rarely falter, mixing emotion, theater, and of course electronics
into a potent, addictive wave of synth euphoria. It's likely
every fan could pick his own favorite of the other should-have-been-hits,
but "Fallen Angel" deserves special mention. It begins
with spooky, funny warbling and icy keyboards, and then explodes
and transforms into a startling, romantic epiphany at the chorus.
If its lyrics are a bit goofy or juvenile, it only adds to the
heartfelt love the song expresses. Alphaville stick firmly to
their synths and sequencers on Forever Young, but they
keep things interesting by incorporating motifs from funk, Broadway,
Brazilian jazz, and even hip-hop. Even when the band takes itself
too seriously, the songs' catchy drive and consistently smart
production cover any thematic holes. Forever Young is
a technically perfect and emotionally compelling slice of 1980s
electronic pop/rock music. It's also a wonderfully fun ride
from start to finish. - Review by Tim DiGravina, All Music
Guide BUY CD at AMAZON
|
MORE ALPHAVILLE CDs at AMAZON:
Interesting Alphaville Facts
• The band Alphaville originally called itself Forever Young. In 1984, the group renamed itself after the 1965 Jean Luc Goddard film Alphaville.
• Rather than produce a music video for their third album, the band hired nine producers to make a full-length film called The Breathtaking Blue Songlines.
• Alphaville was among the first bands to post their recordings on an Internet website, allowing fans to follow and comment on the production. The results of the project are documented in the 4-CD release CrazyShow(2003).
Alphaville Weblinks
Alphaville [English] - Official band webpage with band news, history,
discography, selected song lyrics and free
music downloads, and more. Alphaville
Fanbase - [In German] A website for and by Alphaville fans.BACK to INDEX of Contemporary German Music Artists
BROWSE GERMAN MUSIC CDs AT AMAZON:
Popular & contemporary German music | German movie soundtracks | East German music
German classical music | German folk & traditional music | German Christmas carols | Kinderlieder
German books | German magazines | German newspapers | German film | German music
