The album title sure makes you wonder: Made in Germany? That could stand for all kinds of concepts or angles. (By the way, unlike half of the preceding Cover Me album, this one is not sung in English but, as usual, in German!) Nothing too intellectual or conceptual at all, in fact, the title track just intends to be a feel-good statement about where you come from and where you feel at home, in Nena's case, of course, Germany. End of story. (The sound? By turns romantic, dark, forceful, comparable in atmosphere to Atomic by Blondie.) Actually, though, it's no mean feat to write a catchy, unproblematic, feel-good song about a country that's been dissected by countless (and justified) highbrow ponderings concerning its role in history. Nena pulls it off, though, and puts it in the midst of an album that sees her return to simple pleasures all around, which is what these songs are basically all about. Euphoria is the main theme throughout. It zaps right in with the powerful SchönSchönSchön, bouncing along on the Green Onions groove with some synth stabs and some Duane Eddy guitar for good measure. Nena's voice comes on full and strong (as throughout this album), singing about the pleasures of "you and me" and, basically, the thrill of it all, plain and simple. It doesn't stop there; most of the first half of the album continues on that theme, but other subjects also start creeping in, and in the second half the mood shifts from happy-go-lucky to somber and philosophical (all the while keeping things light and lucid, nevertheless). The simplicity is the big surprise here, after a rather ambitious decade of branching out into realms of music she hadn't attempted before, Nena obviously felt more like going into holiday mode this time. A bit of a "spiritual holiday," one could call it, though, because the lyrics are laced with all kinds of references to "what it all might mean" (love, time, life, separation, togetherness, joy, pain) but the language stays simple, often even a bit childlike.

1		Schönschönschön
2		Du Bist So Gut Für Mich
3		Ich Bin Hyperaktiv
4		Dreh Dich
5		Geheimnis
6		Du Hast Dich Entschieden
7		Wir Sind Wahr
8		Made In Germany
9		In Meinem Leben
10		Es Gibt Keine Sicherheit
11		Schmerzen
12		Ganz Viel Zeit
13		Nachts Wenn Es Warm Ist