At which point is Alphaville now

[jens]

I have been a fan of AV since the early days, and have been loyally watching their progress through the years..
I know that at present AV is still alive and kicking, but when I browse through their albums I find that "forever young " and "afternoons in Utopia" are still their best albums...
What do you guys feel about that.. Is it pure nostalgia that makes me think like that, or did AV peak early and has been on a downhill course ever since both commercially and artistically.??
For the record my personal favourite is "sensations". What are yours??

[poul e]

For a long time I also had "FY" and "AIU" as my 2 favourite albums, but the more I listen to fx. "Prostitute" and "Salvation" the better they get. In my opinion it´s a case of "FY" and "AIU" being more "easy" on the ears. Most of the songs were really great the first time I listened to them (they still are), but almost all songs from "Prostitute" and "Salvation" weren´t that fantastic the first time I heard them. But now it´s a different story . . . .

Among my favourites are the fantastic ballads "Elegy", "Flame" and "Impossible dream".

Try to look for other people´s favourite AV songs elsewhere in the forum.

[wii]

I honestly think Alphaville are better now than they were in 1984-86. Marians voice has developed a lot, and only few singers can match his power and dynamics. The music itself is much more mature today - it´s not so "naive", like in 80s.

visit us at:
http://www.alphaville.org

Edited by - wii on 19 Jan 2001 08:56:38

[Adiville]

To my opinion, AV were born again when they released SALVATION in 1997.
Dont get me wrong - im not trying to say that they were "dead" between FY and SALVATION.
I LOVE all their work but i see SALVATION as a continue of FY.

@ville - forever and ever.

[Avil]

AV was one of the greatest in the 80´s.
Then they just dissapeard. (Maybe not for us,but for almost everyone else.)
But when they then "came back" 1997, they were bigger then ever.
In an intervju with Daily Planet they say just like me now. You can read the whole intervju at www.zeromagazine.nu if you know Swedish.
Just as Adi I don´t mean that they were "dead" between the 80´s and Salvation, but it can seem like that if you don´t are a "real" fan of them.

*I´m your best friend-the dream*

[hardin]

Well, I think that the release of Salvation
could be much better in commercial eyes.
I was so shyful...
I mean A-Ha's - Minor Earth Major Sky was a better release, even if the album wasn't that good.
WEA an AV didn't talk the same language, as we know.
But I think the way it were released on could be much better.

When I talk to other about AV, I must always explain that they still make music and still release new albums.
Nobody, or very few, knows that AV is still working.
That's a problem.

[Adiville]

You know, i also thought that they "vanished" for a few years but after watching the video i received from a certain fan i know that they were alive and kickin' in GERMANY all these yeas... :)

@ville - forever and ever.

[Trent]

And this friends is the reason why me and me sis have VOWED to tell everyone and anyone we may have a chance to come in contact with about AV..We as fans have to be the advertisement, and believe me I am not as bad as me sister..she is worse about AV than I am if you can believe that.

Cruising in cocktails...
Trent

[hardin]

http://www.soderhamn-net.com/~u00313ma/avtimeline.gif

Well... My Alphaville timeline diagnos will looks like this, enjoy :)

/Dr M. Hardin

[Avil]

hardin...That´s great..*laughing*

*I´m your best friend-the dream*

[Krapplund]

Great Dr Hardin.....very good!!

'Jeder geht allein...
Jeder für sich...
Auf seinem Weg nach Alphaville'

[Adiville]

HE HE... <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle> Hardin : you're so cool !!!
Yeah, I pretty much agree with you <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

@ville - forever and ever.

[Staffan]

hardin, hardin... you've missed the whole '96 tour..... the interest was HUGE, with sold out concerts and everyone worth anything was talking about it. at least here in Sweden.

I'm a danger in your paradise.

[hardin]

staffan, I have not missed the 96 tour.
I can compare it with a cold-start... preparing for the upgoing curve.
AV was in common eyes &quot;almost dead&quot;... then the 96 tour.
Many fans have waited for 10! years to see them, so it was not that unexpected it whould be HUGE :)
Maybe the're alive! And they are!

M. Härdin


Edited by - hardin on 19 Jan 2001 19:19:50

[@DDISON]

ALPHAVILLE ARE ALWAYS ON THE TOP FOR ME !!!!
really !!!
@DDISON

[Dingerz]

I personally think that Alphaville is better now then in the early years. Though the early years are still good to listen to. In fact, Forever Young is actually a timeless song and that's quite an accomplishment..

But the first album does sound dated. In fact Afternoons in Utopia sounds dated too. But by saying that they sound &quot;dated&quot; I am not by any means saying that they are no good. I really love AIU! Prostiture and Salvation however, don't sound dated. I LOVE these two albums. I can't stop listening to them.

My least favourite album is The Breathtaking Blue though I love Romeoes off of it. I am in Canada though, so we have not heard anything about Alphaville in years. But with Salvation available through Metropolis, a lot of alarm bells have gone off. I know that in Toronto if you ask any of the DJ's in the gothic/industrial clubs they certaintly have new Alphaville, they are in the know. So awareness has grown, which is good though because Salvation is a bloody good album!!

In fact seeing I have just re-discovered Alphaville recently myself, the first thing I found myself realising after catching up was that of all the bands I love, Alphaville is rated in the top 5 as best evolved! Meaning they have gotten better with age and have remained creatively impressive. I have not found any stagnation in their efforts at all.

So anyways, that's my long winded opinion.

Tara : )
......now I just erm..need to get my hands on Dreamscapes.

[Adiville]

Its really amaizing...
AV could have released FY in 2000 and it would still be a hit !!! im sure of it !

@ville - forever and ever.

[Avil]

FY could be a hit anytime.
But not BIJ...

*I´m your best friend-the dream*

[Adiville]

As fantastic as BIJ is - it belongs to the 80's...
BUT you can always hear it on the radio as a classic hit !
Or you can come to my house and hear it all day <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Big In Japan - Alright !!!

@ville - forever and ever.

[melloman]

AV has shown growth at every turn.
But of course, when you start at perfection, it can only get better through variation.
Every AV album is it's own slice of perfection.
The really early demos on dreamscapes 1 and 2 showed that it was not without hard work. I am a musician myself, and I can tell how much composition change occurred between the demo and the finished product. Sometimes it's subtle, sometimes not. And usually the change was involved with a lot of heated discussion. Probably the same in every band.
Tom Petty said "being in a band is like a marriage without sex". I believe him.

S.M.I2.L.E! It makes people wonder what you're up to.

[Adiville]

I agree <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>
I've heard both Bernd and Marian talking about being partners and they agreed that it is a very close relationship and that they like to take brakes sometimes - just to keep the business healthy :)

By the way - Tom Petty is cool !!!

@ville - forever and ever.

[melloman]

I believe their biggest break has yet to come.

S.M.I2.L.E! It makes people wonder what you're up to.

[Adiville]

Things will happen while they can...
But AV will always be AV !

@ville - forever and ever.

[Gelford]

Hmm, we are all fans, but Prostitute is not that great an album.

[Dingerz]

What are you talking about? Prostitute is a fasntastic album! It's varied, that's for sure, but once you get used to it, it's great. I admit I had to warm up to it, but once I did, it got better with every listen.

I still don't like TBB that much. It's got some good songs on it, but overall, it's my least fav Alphaville album.

Tara : )

[Adiville]

What Dingerz said is what i think and... YES! <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>
How can you resist Apollo, Euphoria, Ascension day, The impossible dream, Iron john... <img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>
Very different album but very good ! <img src=icon_smile_8ball.gif border=0 align=middle>

@ville - forever and ever.

[poul e]

Dingerz & Alpha-X! I couldn´t agree more :)

[Avil]

I remember when I heard P for the very first time.I hated it!
But after some months when I was really stuck in AV I really wanted it...but then it was gone..had to order it...and it wans´t cheap. But now it´s one of the best albums ever!

-I´m your best friend-the dream-

[davidhorizon]

Prostitute is GREAT!

I remember the day i bought Prostitute. It was a great day. First of all, I didnt know about "So long Celeste", so for me this was the first AV stuff in ages. And unlike when Salvation was released, I only knew Fools, so it was a first time experince with the entire album.

Willy and I, was at my place listening to it. It just got better track by track. We were so happy, and we played it so loud, that I got complaints from the neighbors.

[Avil]

<img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle>Fools<img src=icon_smile_dead.gif border=0 align=middle>

-I´m your best friend-the dream-

[Adiville]

I got Prostitute (+ the singles collection and the Flame single) as a b-day gift from my dad.
Just LOVE him ! :)
I think that the moment you hear PARADIGM SHIFT you know that this album is gonna be different...
Hold tight - this is gonna be wild weather you'll like it or not ! <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

@ville - forever and ever.

[melloman]

I was pondering something my wife said, and please tell me if this has struck a 'chord' with anyone else: My wife is not exactly into synthpop, but she likes AV, mainly because of the lyrics. I like the music and the lyrics together, and I know some people just have a bit of a block when it comes to synthesizer based music. But my wife said that all the poets are musicians nowadays, and that's why not many poets to be poets are around anymore. I would tend to agree with her on that little tidbit.
Marian is a great poet, music or not.

S.M.I2.L.E! It makes people wonder what you're up to.

[Streetside Romeo]

Well, at which point is AV now? My personal resume is the following:
Forever Young was a great debut, the inspiration. But in fact most songs are more chart-aimed and not that complex and experimental like later ones. You could say that it was some kind of childhood for AV - a brilliant one, for sure! But then came Afternoons and they really became immortal, with dreams turned into music, visions of another world. Allright, the promise was perhaps not totally kept on BB, but it was that direction. Then the break. And Prostitute. And: Lord, what happened! was a kind of different AV THEN: not less brilliant, but less dreamers, grown up with all the good and the bad points: The songs were all much more related on the life out there, critical, political, with more desillusion, desperation, and a message for the instant reality. Less dreamers, less poets in the classical sense. Harder edged.
Then with salvation a kind of synthesis. a great concept album, full of both, poesy and critics, utopia and relity. A synthesis that`s hard to find and hard to hold.
Best wishes for the huge task of the 2002 Album!

`"I`m the spectator of the scene"

[russharvey]

I don't know if I would say that AV is better now..... just different. They continue to evolve and its apparant with the DS9 expirements on vocalization that Marian will continue to evolve AV into something different for the future.

unwrapping an new av album is like opening a christmas gift..... you aren't sure what's under the wrapping paper, but its new, and the anticipation is overwhelming!!! But I like each present AV has given me so far....

***This life is expensive, but at least it comes with a free trip around the sun!***

[Streetside Romeo]

Today I rather see it differently: TB was a strange trip into the full mystery, the look behind the scenes of Utopia where they finally woke up to see Prostitute, such a complex album with some FY, very little AIU and pretty much TBB genes in it. Salvation was too shallow in a musical sense: It has some immortal songs, but through most of the songs you have similar styles and beats - its too synthetic, too much disco, too little world and poetry. Now I see some kind of return to the future. Bernd(on AP) with his newly refreshed love for very complex, different beats and styles and Marian (DS9) with a calmer, older, wiser style, very beautiful and pretty much changed, with reminiscences on So Long Celeste, Forever Young, Prostitute and totally new directions, more instrumental and more complex synths again. I am very curious for their new synthesis, Marian's and Bernd's. Hope they stay together.

We are what we are - the meaning of life

[AV_defender]

i really think so much of the dreams disappeared after Alphaville had stepped out of the 80's,aswell as the rest of the world.
maybe its the same for them as for me,that the 90's didnt really have any dreams to dream.but..we are getting into new times,brighter days (maybe) which means more dreams to dream and so on.

I'm just a shadow-You are the light

[Streetside Romeo]

At which point is AV now...I think before the point of split-up, and what will remain is a MarianVille, a new Alphaville we all will love but have ethic problems with it (can we still see it as AV - but this discussion is allready on several other domains here).

We are what we are - the meaning of life

[Avil]

I don´t think that AV is going down as people might think, in fact I only think that they have taken a little break in working with eachother, but they will be back together.

<center> ~/~/~Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, live today~/~/~ </center>