Forever Young Alphaville Artist

{|Alphaville|}'s 1984 debut, {|Forever Young|}, deserves to be viewed as a classic {|synth pop|} album. There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album, but vocalist {|Marian Gol... Read more

{|Alphaville|}'s 1984 debut, {|Forever Young|}, deserves to be viewed as a classic {|synth pop|} album. There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album, but vocalist {|Marian Gold|}'s impressive ability to handle a {|Bryan Ferry|} croon and many impassioned high passages meant the album would have worldwide appeal. Indeed both {|Big in Japan|} and the touching, sad change-of-pace {|Forever Young|} raced up the charts in multiple continents. Borrowing inspiration from {|Roxy Music|}'s detached theatricality and {|Kraftwerk|}'s beats and rhythms, {|Gold|} and company hit upon a magic formula that produced here an album's worth of impossibly catchy tunes that could almost serve as pure definitions for the {|synth pop|} genre. The hits race straight for one's cranium and embed themselves upon impact. {|Big in Japan|} feels like a more serious cousin to {|Murray Head|}'s {|One Night in Bangkok,|} as a slow-pounding beat spars with {|Gold|}'s desperate voice. {|Forever Young,|} a stark, epic song that would become essential for every post-1984 high school graduation, drips sadness and never fails to cause a listener to nostalgically reflect on life and loss. Outside of these hits, the remainder of the songs rarely falter, mixing emotion, theater, and of course electronics into a potent, addictive wave of synth euphoria. It's likely every fan could pick his own favorite of the other should-have-been-hits, but {|Fallen Angel|} deserves special mention. It begins with spooky, funny warbling and icy keyboards, and then explodes and transforms into a startling, romantic epiphany at the chorus. If its lyrics are a bit goofy or juvenile, it only adds to the heartfelt love the song expresses. {|Alphaville|} stick firmly to their synths and sequencers on {|Forever Young|}, but they keep things interesting by incorporating motifs from {|funk|}, Broadway, {|Brazilian jazz|}, and even {|hip-hop|}. Even when the band takes itself too seriously, the songs' catchy drive and consistently smart production cover any thematic holes. {|Forever Young|} is a technically perfect and emotionally compelling slice of 1980s electronic {|pop/rock|} music. It's also a wonderfully fun ride from start to finish. ~ Tim DiGravina Less