Alphaville
Forever Young

THE REVIEW

In the golden years of synth-pop, when dozens of very young bands armed with keyboards emerged with more or less lasting success on the world scene, the German Alphaville (named after a Godard film) managed to achieve a significant milestone with their debut album "Forever Young," which held its ground on the European charts for several months and produced as many as five singles.

Led by Marian Gold and supported by the so-called Nelson Project, the Teutonic trio initially made a name for themselves with a track featuring oriental-flavored sounds that seemed to add nothing to the already explored path by Depeche Mode and other synthesizer epigones, but thanks to a catchy title ("Big In Japan"), it captured the attention of the larger audience. Although not the best track on the album, this song, with its regimented rhythm and an array of martial samples, eventually became a minor classic, to the point of being covered in more or less significant contexts (notably, the nu-metal version by fellow Germans Guano Apes).

Following the interest sparked by the album and the trio's vaguely glam image, other resounding successes followed, like the original "Sounds Like A Melody"—which, despite predictably new-romantic lyrics, hammered a triumph of analog sounds and concluded with a long pseudo-orchestral serenade—the dreamy electronic ballad "Forever Young," also now a classic covered multiple times, "The Jet-Set," and "A Victory Of Love," a majestic and melancholic track that opened the album and certainly ranks among the band's best pieces.

Though not released as singles, tracks like "Summer In Berlin" and "In The Mood" also contributed to the brilliance of this debut vinyl, standing out for the nostalgic aura of the lyrics and for a good rhythmic-harmonic weave, undoubtedly characterized by the prevailing sound of the era (electronic drums, analog basses, synthesized violins) and yet above the average arrangements of other bands popular at the time. Some weaknesses on tracks I consider fillers like "To Germany With Love"—with lyrics about an emigrant and a misplaced musical emphasis—and then "Lies," which drifts by without shining. But in the overall context, "Forever Young" is a title that greatly enhanced the era of synth-pop and wrapped itself in a long-lasting unique stylistic originality.

A note on the technical performance of the trio, who did not pretend to play (as was often suspected of similarly fabricated bands) and found in Marian's versatile voice an excellent performer, capable of moving from deep and full tones to falsettos.