This week’s hottest reissue has to be Nina Hagen’s 1983 classic “Fearless”, coming to CD for the very first time. “Classic” in the sense that very few other batshit crazy, UFO-believing, Teutonic punk-rock goddesses have matched it.
“Fearless” was Nina’s second full-length English album, this one produced by Giorgio Moroder and Billy Idol/Simple Minds producer Keith Forsey. Wrapping Hagen’s alternately hiccup-y and operatic vocals with early hip-hop and dance beats did the trick quite nicely, as single “New York New York” got Miss Freak on MTV and in hipper dance clubs everywhere. The video was even more deliciously insane as Hagen performed a completely live vocal, matching and surpassing all the studio phrasing:
While nothing else quite matches the sanitarium awesomeness of “New York”, the rest of the album isn’t too shabby, particulary “What It Is”, written and performed by a not-quite-famous-yet Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “Zarah”, which has to be heard to be believed.
“You have disturbed me almost to the point of insanity. There…I am insane now.”
“Fearless” came out on Tuesday, and you can buy it at Amazon
. Highly recommended! Now if we could just get her final English album “Nina Hagen in Ekstacy”, featuring her other dance hit, “Universal Radio”, I’d be a happy Hagen-ite.
“New York New York” peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot Club Play Dance Chart in 1983.
“Universal Radio” peaked at #39 on the same chart in 1985.
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