If ever there was a fluke one-hit wonder, it would be
Nena's "99 Luftballoons," an anti-nuclear war, new wave dance song sung in German and made into a sensation thanks to MTV. But all one-hit wonders are required to deliver a second album, and
Nena did so, delivering the clattering, clanking
It's All in the Game late in 1985.
It's All in the Game is the only album
Nena release that has a complete English-language version of "99 Luftballoons" (the 2008 Cherry Pop reissue took this even further, adding the four known English-language rarities the band cut), and it does feel tailored for the U.S. and U.K. markets, relying on thunderous arena rockers -- arena rockers where the synthesizers are as prominent as the guitars, but the end effect is the same. Strangely for a band that harnessed all the quirky power of new wave on "99 Balloons," the best moments here are the most conventional hard rockers: the big blast of "Young as You," the
Pat Benatar-meets-
Stevie Nicks "Woman on Fire," and the sax-streaked power ballad "You Don't Know What Love Is" feel natural, whereas the robotic pulse of "Let's Humanize" feels stiff. Those highlights are apparent but they're never as distinctive as "99 Balloons," as
Nena is trying to move right into the mainstream, a move that did not work because without a novelty hook, they just wind up sounding a bit generic. Appealingly generic, but generic all the same. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine