For her third collection of songs for children, Nena came up with a batch of self-penned songs, recorded in her home studio. Not only were these new songs, they made up a really fun album -- intended as they are for parties. A second thematic level gives this collection a quality that makes it fascinating for any Nena fan: The songs are written in such a variety of styles (to help make children familiar with the many different possibilities of making music) that it provides a broader showcase for Nena's singing talent than ever before. The title track, "Rabatz," kicks things off with Latin drive, and things continue with old-style rock & roll ("Freunde"), reggae ("Wir Wollen Nicht Nur Schokolade"), swing ("Ich Tanz Allein"), even a mixture of country and hip-hop ("Yippie Yoeh!") -- you name it. The songwriting may be "conservative" (as befits the album's intentions), but the songs have a really refreshing and satisfying quality. Moreover, Nena depends less than ever on co-writers on this occasion. Actually, for audiences who don't understand German, the experience can be more or less similar to a "regular" Nena album, but this time with surplus variety. Apart from being a treat for children's parties, this album hints at the wide range of possibilities Nena might yet explore on future albums.
© Alan Severa /TiVo