Ideal "Bi Nuu" (1982)

Bi Nuu

release date: Nov. 1982

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]

producer: Micki Meuser, Gareth Jones, Ideal

label: Eitel Imperial / WEA - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Keine Heimat" - 2. "Ask Mark Ve Ölüm" - 3. "Tränen am Hafen" - 4. "Schöne Frau mit Geld" - 6. "Wir zerstören unser Glück (Tu' mir weh)" - 10. "Müde"

3rd and final studio album by Ideal following one year after Der Ernst des Lebens introduces a new production sound aided by British sound engineer / producer Gareth Jones and German producer Micki Meuser.

Stylistically, the band has made its biggest move towards a more general pop / rock universe. The arrangements have both become more complex, the sound more slick almost without the new wave characteristics, but at the same time the album is their so far most experimental. A few songs stand out: "Keine Heimat", "Schöne Frau mit Geld" and "Wir zerstören unser Glück (Tu' mir weh)". Some would probably argue that the first composition (only lead single) is the only with actual hit-potential as traditionally structured rock-song. As was the case on the predecessor, most songs are credited the whole band, while Annette Humpe remains the band's songwriter with a variation of Humpe as lead vocalist and male vocals. The overall impression is bound to much incoherency. Ideal is obviously influenced by many stylistic variations, with several members having previously played experimental jazz-fusion, and that style emerges here and there in combo with other styles - not as something extra, but more as a sudden style-shift and often in combo with krautrock-inspiration but also with bits pointing towards more electronic music, e.g. Kraftwerk. A song is in Turkish language, some are schlager-like and other songs like contrasts - there's simply too much happening, too many directions in one huge pot.

Saleswise, the album didn't fare as well as their previous albums. Bi Nuu peaked at number #20 in Germany, where the two predecessors made it to number #2 and #3 respectively. Apparently, both label and band took this as a stronger rejection than it may actually have been. Nonetheless, a planned tour was cancelled and the band simply split in 1983.

The album is by no means a poor one - it's full of good ideas and several fine compositions, it's more the fact that the songs hardly speak to one another, as if the band tries too hard to show us how well they master all stylistic aspects and posibilities of Neue Deutsche Welle - they are renewers and pioneers who contain it all and, unfortunately, they try it all at once. Following the disbandment, Annette Humpe joined her sister in the duo Humpe Humpe (or: Inga & Anete Humpe) aka Swimming with Sharks and Bamby, and she later released the solo album, Solo (1990). From 2004 she has been one half of the more lasting duo Ich + Ich with Adel Tawil.

Recommended.

Ideal "Der Ernst des Lebens" (1981)

Der Ernst des Lebens

release date: Oct. 1981

format: cd (2005 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Konrad 'Conny' Plank & Ideal

label: Warner Music Group - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Eiszeit" (4 / 5) - 2. "Schwein" - 3. "Sex in der Wüste" - 5. "Feuerzeug" - 6. "Immer Frei" - 8. "Monotonie"

2nd studio album by German quartet Ideal following an unexpected national sales success with the debut Ideal (1980), originally released on the band's newly started Eitel Imperial label. On this, the band has teamed up with Kraftwerk producer 'Conny' Plank to ensure it was state-of-the-art sound. The quartet remains unchanged, as it would throughout the band's lifetime.

Compared to the debut, the immediate difference lies in how much better this is produced. The style remains somewhat unchanged, although, the small difference is a move away from the reminiscence of energy-based new wave rooted in punk rock towards a bolder style of art rock and new wave with heavier use of synths. Annette Humpe is still credited as songwriter but now with the whole band credited all music. Ideal was primarily with Humpe as lead vocalist but on this, several songs are with leading male vocals. WEA promoted the album and tempingly called it 'dance music'. Well, that's a bit taking the mouth full, but nevertheless, there's certainly a stronger stress on the rhythm-section, and when having B52's in your mind, this comes close at times.

"Eiszeit" is the lead single and the strongest track here, although, "Sex in der Wüste" is another highlight but pointing in a complete different direction, sounding more like crafted by D.A.F. And that's touching on the 'problem' with this fine follow-up: it really contains some great compositions, a few of which take up the tone from the predecessor but then the band both experiment with rhythm, using stylistic input from reggae, calypso and electronic music, and they also vary the level of energy as well as the arrangements - some tracks are harsh and more simple, whereas others are more complex, and you end up wondering if they aim to be a German version of Blondie, B52's, XTC, or they would rather pick up the baton from Nina Hagen - "No wait! It's the band who shows Depeche Mode how to deal with synths!" Yes, it's a bit of a mixed bag, although, mostly a positive one. Comming to think of it, when revisiting this album the first thing that struck me was vocal by Einar Örn from the Sugarcubes. Anyway, the two aforementioned "Eiszeit" (both being highly original and yet linking to Joy Division) and "Sex in der Wüste" are my personal favourites on this, and they are really so far from one another that you wouldn't expect them to be from the same album, and hardly from the same artist. Another minor weakness is the decrease of great songs in the second half of the album where only "Monotonie" shines. That said, Ernst... is still a great album that shows a band with great potential.

Not as coherent as the debut but still an essential new wave album.

Ideal "Ideal" (1980)

Ideal [debut]

release date: Nov. 1980

format: cd (1990 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Klaus D. Müller

label: WEA - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Berlin" - 2. "Irre" - 3. "Telepathie" - 4. "Blaue Augen" - 6. "Luxus" - 7. "Rote Liebe"

Studio album debut by Berlin quartet Ideal originally released on the independent label Innovative Communication founded by German artist Klaus Schultze and Michael Haentjes. The band consists of vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Annette Humpe, guitarist Frank Jürgen 'Eff Jott' Krüger, bassist Ernst Ulrich Deuker, and drummer Hans-Joachim 'Hansi' Behrendt. Both Humpe and Krüger had previously played together in X-Pectors, and Humpe was also a member of Neonbabies where she figured alongside her younger sister Inga before leaving that band to concentrate on Ideal.

Ideal counts ten compositions of which three have music credited all members, two are credited Humpe and Krüger, whereas the five remainders are credited Humpe alone.

Stylistically, this is one of the earliest examples of the German variation of new wave that came to be known as Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), a style based on British and American new wave and art rock (think Talking Heads, Devo, Pere Ubu, David Bowie, XTC). The style may be regarded as the fuse of energy transformed from punk rock with inspiration from a simplistic and experimental rock style with that of a strong social dimension - a trait that later fell in the background on the expense of melodic pop arrangements - here you may think of a musical progression from early Ideal (this album) and Nina Hagen Band via Spliff, Extrabreit, Fehlfarben and DAF to Nena, Trio and DÖF.

Despite being released on a small independent label, the album went as high as to number #3 on the national albums chart list, and the band made way for a general interest, as well as that from more established labels, in other artists playing NDW.

I vividly recall watching the band on TV transmissions on (German) Rockpalast back in the early 80s, and I really enjoyed their sound but at the same time witnessed how little interest they garnered in the English music press. This very album stands as their perhaps best effort as a cornerstone, not only in Germany but as an important pioneers of European music that has inspired many more artists to follow. I hear much of their music in later Danish acts like Warm Guns, Voxpop, TV2, and Clinic Q.

Highly recommended.