Alphaville
Forever Young

"Forever Young" is the debut album by Alphaville, a German group composed of Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens that, in the mid-'80s, achieved great success thanks to the first singles released from the album in question. Among the major exponents of synth-pop/electro-pop and electronics of the decade, in this work composed of ten songs, five singles were released (firstly "Big In Japan", followed closely by "Sounds Like A Melody", "Forever Young", "The Jet Set", and "A Victory Of Love").

Without describing a track-by-track that might turn out to be almost repetitive, it's worth emphasizing that overall, the songs are characterized by lots of melodies and a certain beat with driving rhythms, often and willingly where the verses are sung more slowly, only to give way to a much more upbeat chorus ("A Victory Of Love", "Fallen Angel", just to name a couple of examples).

Synthesizers are used extensively for the tracks' bases, then the keyboards do the rest, accompanying and giving prominence to the individual pieces.

From my point of view, the most important and representative tracks of the album are "Big In Japan" and "Forever Young". The first, which is the first single as well as the first hit, reflects the aforementioned description, an interesting synthesized base accompanies the famous chorus which, with its sustained and engaging pace, will inspire some bands for covers of the hit some decades later (one of which being Guano Apes in 2001, who reinterprets it in a rock version). The second, on the other hand (which was initially the band's name before it was changed to Alphaville), is the third single by the group, their definitive consecration. It's a captivating, slow, and dreamy ballad, characterized by sweet keyboard pads and beautiful lyrics, and every time one listens to it again, it exudes a strong sense of nostalgia.

Riding the wave of success, they will later release their second album in 1986, "Afternoons In Utopia", launched by the single "Dance With Me", which will enjoy good success.

In the following years, however, they will lose the initial notoriety, partly due to the gradual disappearance of synth-pop.

Nonetheless, it is an album I sincerely recommend to fans of the genre.