Nina Hagen Band - Nina Hagen Band

A stunning record, very amusing - Nina Hagen really rocks. A record that combines several influences - Krautrock, Punk, Opera, Glam, Hard Rock and Disco and at times even the premonition of Goth. This is a fine combination in itself with both, a parody ('Pank', 'Superboy') and serious attempts to rock your balls off ('TV Glotzer', 'Auf'm Bahnhof Zoo', 'Rangehn'), while on the other hand there are arty in-jokes with 'Fisch im Wasser' which even reminds of the Residents or Laurie Anderson theatrics. 'Nina Hagen Band' is filled with controversy head to toes and makes it such an entertaining summary. Her deranged, energetic operatic vocals, also very much in the likes of Diamanda Galas or Maredith Monk, would certainly cause Monserrat Caballe or Maria Callas big headaches without any help from the aspirin ('Naturträne'). But as someone once said - 'The mother of Punk so what the funk'. Just like Klaus Nomi, Nina juxtaposed Opera with unfriendly textures of Punk Rock that twist the knife in eachother with such charm. A record that integrated so many different styles back in 1978, but today it still sounds extremely refreshing. And great fun, really great fun. 5/5