Search - Nena :: Chokmah

Sorry NENA, this one sucks

leotech | FFM, Germany | 12/26/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"OK!OK!! I am a NENA fan, I went to 10 concerts in the last 2 years, I jumped the stage, I sang along, and did all the other cheesy things, (I even did that handwaving thing during the ballads,yes,yes) but I always started a pit when she rocked!! The new songs that she played on her live concerts that where supposed to be on this album were almost punk and very good, she even did a DORO scream on one, and then this!! Wanna-be Hip-Hop, loops, and something that sounds like someone trying to rap with 80s lyrics on a Bach symphony?!!?
Please, the guitars are missing (ok some are there, if you like synthi-guitars) NENA mumbles some wannabe humble but vain lyrics, as if she smoked one to many (no not tabacco). This CD even has a cover of one of her 80s Hits "Leuchtturm", but no one here in Germany even(that I know) likes this version, she killed the guitars and added a rapper (BUH!!). There are 2 songs that she played live that did make this CD, "Silbermond" and "Dafuer ist das Leben zu kurz". The first is not recongnizable anymore, just wierd electronic dumbdumb beats and the latter used to be a rock ballad, it was terminated by the warschau radiosymphony orchestra (I didn't even know they had one till this CD-now I know why). BUT the last 2 minute of the CD are good, ok it's not even a real song and doesn't even have a title, but I hear guitars and Nena SINGS!!! (most people don't find this song, as there's a 5min pause before it comes in)
The producers that Nena works with on this CD are very popular and sell alot of CDs here in Germany, but they make Hiphop, for Nena, no it's just not her style and it didn't get accepted well at all.But anyway, thanks to the fact that there is an AMAZON here in Germany where you can pre-order, and that the CD was praised as the best of the year, the CD managed to chart in at 18, but a week later landed on 36 and fell out on the 4th week, just goes to show you shouldn't change what you do best!! At least not on the whole record!! We'll have to suffer through the tour 2002 and hope the next CD will be more like "wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nicht" PS: But NENA does still look hot at 41 on the cover!!"

Review by a Philippine Nena Fan Who Understands German

Glenn Garfield Ang | San Juan, Metropolitan Manila Philippines | 12/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the latest Nena cd album( 2001 ) and is a wonderful combination of different music styles. There is a new version of the Nena classic "Leuchtturm"( original version is found in the self-titled album NENA ) which may appeal to rappers; "Lass die Leinen los"( "Let the Linen Loose" in English ) is the title song of the German animated film UNTER DER SCHWARZEN FLAGGE featuring the former East German animated characters, Die Abrafaxe, and the voice of Nena for the character of the famous female Pirate, Anne Bonny, also known as "Anne of the Indies"; and "Carpe diem"( "Seize the Day" in English ) is the album version of Nena's latest single. "Dafuer ist das Leben zu kurz" ( "Life Is Too Short For That" in English )is quite unique for it is a live version of this song, particularly in the later part of the song, and what makes it especially unique is the fact that the audience singing back-up to Nena was recorded live long before this album was produced. "Silbermond"( "Silver Moon" or "Silvery Moon" in English ) is a completely revised version of the original performed by Nena during her live concerts in 2000 and early to mid-2001 before the release of this album on 29 October 2001. As Nena herself comments, the revision provides a completely different dimension to the earlier interpretation of this song. Depending on individual preferences, all of the songs have similar chances of being chosen as one or the other's favorite, whether it be the title song of the album, "Chokmah", the hebrew word for the energy form representing change and new programming/conditioning; "Heute hab ich die Sonne mit dem Mond verwechselt"( "Today I Have Mistaken the Sun For the Moon" ); "Ich hoer mir zu"( "I Listen To Myself"; "Lichtarbeiter"( "Light Worker"/"Worker For the Light" ); "Rede lieber nicht zuviel"( "Talk Preferably Not Too Much" ); "Kann schon sein"( "Can Already Be" ); "Club der Leisen"( "Club of the Silent" ); "Du gibst"( "You Give" ); and, as a bonus track, the Soehne Mannheims Dancehall-Mix of "Carpe diem". I have already listened to this album several times and really enjoy it as a whole and also in terms of each separate song. That is why I very highly recommend this Nena cd album to all who are really able to appreciate good music in terms of very meaningful lyrics, the use of various music instruments, and variety in music styles."

Chokmah

Kathrin Killory | USA, Cranford NJ | 01/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think its a wonderfull album.
I love the lyrics! Even my two kids (10 +12) like to sing her songs loud in our New Jersey home. For us it is a piece of Germany in the States. For me she is like an old friend that I love to meet ever once in a while and see how she develops.
Maybe its because she is a perfect example of our Generation of German Women and I agree with every little line of her songs.
Particularly after the events of the 11.Sept 2001 her song
"Dafuer ist das Leben zu kurz" means a lot to me!
Take care!"