Music album review: Thomas Anders Ewig mit dir (Warner Music Group, 2017)
- Das Leben ist jetzt (3:23)
- Sie sagte doch sie liebt mich (3:43)
- Ewig mit Dir (3:52)
- Wir sind eins (3:13)
- Menschen (4:05)
- So wie es ist (3:22)
- Gemeinsam allein (3:35)
- Hätte, wäre, wenn (3:35)
- Ich wollte mich nie mehr verlieben (3:32)
- Viva La Vida (3:10)
- Giganten (3:03)
- Wunder gibt es auch für Dich (3:43)
- Was bleibt (3:24)
- Hätt’s nie ohne Dich geschafft (3:35)
At the end of my review for the previous album, Pures Leben, I asked “Is it too much to hope for a follow-up, also in German?” Well, it’s now a year later and here it is – the follow-up! In German!
Pures Leben set the bar pretty high, so can Ewig mit dir live up to expectations? Yes! Like before, it’s a mix of up-beat modern schlager tracks, mid-tempo songs and ballads. The melodies are solid, the production value high, and they’ve even roped in Florian Silbereisen (without googling I have no idea who this person is) to duet on the second track.
I opted to buy the “fanbox” version, which was more expensive, and when I pre-ordered it, the only information was that it contained the CD and a DVD. The DVD is karaoke tracks (instrumental and not) of the album set to slideshows of the photos in the booklet – except for the first track that actually shows the video. The box contains a signed photo, four postcards, an eternity photo calendar (i.e. a calendar which doesn’t have the days of the week, just the days of the month), a bracelet and – if you’re REALLY lucky – a golden ticket for a dinner with Thomas Anders. There are ten golden tickets out there, but sadly, I had no such luck this time.
Earworms? Not sure there’s one quite as earwormy as Unendlich, but Sie sagte doch sie liebt mich is sure to have people sing along! In fact, quite a lot of the songs are prime sing-along tunes. The songs are fun to sing along to as well, there are some bits in there that are … not perhaps challenging to sing, but interesting. It’s hard to explain. It’s just … fun to sing those bits, you know?
Viva La Vida sounds like it should be a summer hit played at evening beach parties, but uh, it’s late autumn now.
The biggest surprise must be Menschen. You know the song by the Killers with the puzzling question “are we human or are we dancer?” Yeah, it’s that song, but in German. (The German lyrics are less puzzling.) Even though it’s a great cover, I find myself tending to skip it because it’s a song I’ve heard quite a lot already. Then again, I also find myself skipping Das Leben ist jetzt, because I prefer the other songs.
Even the ballads, and that’s saying something. Ewig mit dir is great (!), I really enjoy (!) Hätte, wäre, wenn, and I have to give a special mention to Hätt’s nie ohne Dich geschafft as it’s dedicated to his wife Claudia, and considering they’ve been together for over 20 years now and still going strong, that’s some relationship goals right there. I mean LOOK! They’re so CUTE!
The whole album gives off a very positive vibe, and the lyrics are life-affirming – well, or so I’m told. (My German isn’t quite good enough to understand everything being sung, and I’ve only just started reading the lyrics.) This is another album where the songs make me happy, and granted, I can be pretty easy to please at times, but I’m ever so pleased with this. Keep ’em coming!
Favourite song? Not quite sure. There are many I really like, but I don’t think I can pick a definite favourite, but Was bleibt and Sie sagte doch sie liebt mich are definitely up there.
5 out of 5 cheesy but wunderbar schlager songs.
