99 Luftballons (album)

99 Luftballons (German for "99 Balloons"), also known as International Album, is a compilation album by German pop band Nena, released on 8 April 1984. It was their first album released worldwide following the success of "99 Luftballons"[2][3] and also the first with English lyrics. The album had moderate success in America.[3]

99 Luftballons
Compilation album by
Nena
Released8 April 1984 (1984-04-08)
Recorded1983–84
StudioSpliff Studio, West Berlin
GenreNeue Deutsche Welle
Length40:55
LanguageEnglish, German
LabelEpic
ProducerReinhold Heil, Manfred Praeker
Nena chronology
? (Fragezeichen)
(1984)		 99 Luftballons
(1984)		 Feuer und Flamme
(1985)
Alternative cover
Singles from 99 Luftballons
  1. "99 Red Balloons"
    Released: 1984
  2. "Just a Dream"
    Released: 1984
  3. "? (Question Mark)"
    Released: 1984
  4. "Kino (At the Movies)"
    Released: 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Alternate versions

The most widely known cover of this album is identical to the one used for most versions of the single "99 Luftballons" or "99 Red Balloons".[4] The album was also released as Nena or International Album; this version used the same cover, but with "99 Luftballons" removed, and sometimes with additional sticker at upper left that says "International Album incl. Club-Mix ›99 Red Balloons‹".[5] The Japanese version was released as 99 Luftballons: First America. The alternate cover features the band pictured on a white background,[6] which photo in various releases is the same or similar to the one on the single "Rette mich".[7]

Songs

The album is composed of tracks released on the band's two previous albums, Nena (1983) and ? (Fragezeichen) (1984), five of which are English-translated versions. "99 Red Balloons" ("99 Luftballons"), "Just a Dream" ("Nur geträumt"), "Kino", "Leuchtturm" and "99 Luftballons" were taken from Nena (1983), while "? (Question Mark)" ("? (Fragezeichen)"), "Hangin' on You" ("Ich häng' an dir"), "Let Me Be Your Pirate" ("Lass mich dein Pirat sein"), "Das Land der Elefanten", "Rette mich" and "Unerkannt durch's Märchenland" were taken from ? (Fragezeichen) (1984).

The lead single, "99 Luftballons", is the band's or even Nena's most successful song to date. It reached number one in several countries worldwide,[2] but is considered a one-hit wonder[8] as other singles and albums performed poorly outside of Europe. "Just a Dream" reached number 70 on the UK Singles Chart. "Kino" was initially released on the album in German, but was translated into English titled as "Kino (At the Movies)". Like its predecessor, "? (Question Mark)", the single failed to chart.[2][3] The song was later included as a bonus track on a re-release of the band's second English album It's All in the Game (1985).[9]

Track listing

Side A contains tracks 1 to 5 and side B contains tracks 6 to 11.

No.TitleWriter(s)German titleLength
1."99 Red Balloons"Kevin McAlea (English), Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, Carlo Karges"99 Luftballons"3:50
2."? (Question Mark)"Roy Brown (English), Fahrenkrog, Nena Kerner"? (Fragezeichen)"4:26
3."Hangin' on You"Brown (English), Fahrenkrog, Kerner"Ich häng' an dir"4:13
4."Just a Dream"Julian Dawson (English), Fahrenkrog, Kerner, Rolf Brendel"Nur geträumt"3:30
5."Let Me Be Your Pirate"Brown (English), Kerner, Brendel"Lass mich dein Pirat sein"4:51
6."Kino" (At the Movies)Brendel 2:42
7."Das Land der Elefanten" (The Land of the Elephants)Fahrenkrog, Karges 3:42
8."Leuchtturm" (Lighthouse)Fahrenkrog, Kerner 3:14
9."Rette mich" (Rescue Me)Karges 3:17
10."Unerkannt durch's Märchenland" (Unrecognized Through Fairyland)Jürgen Dehmel, Kerner 3:21
11."99 Luftballons" (99 Red Balloons)Fahrenkrog, Karges 3:50
Total length:40:55

Notes

  • Some releases erroneously printed "Das Land der Elefanten" as "Das Lang der Elefanten" and "Unerkannt durch's Märchenland" as "Unerkannt durch's Marchenland"[10]
  • The spelling of "durch's" instead of "durchs" in title that should be "Unerkannt durchs Märchenland" is an obvious error, too
  • The track list of the Spanish version is translated into Spanish
  • The track list of the Japanese version is partially written in katakana
  • CD versions of the album replace the single version of "99 Red Balloons" (Track 1) with a "Club Mix" (length 4:44). This change has been noted on some international pressings, but not on others. The correct version is available on the iTunes Store.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Allmusic[11] and Discogs.[6]

Nena

Technical personnel

Charts
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 25
German Albums Chart[13] 23
Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 16
Swedish Albums Chart[15] 2
UK Albums Chart[16] 31
US Billboard 200[3] 27

Certifications
Country (Provider) Certification
Canada (MC)[17] Gold

Release history
Region (Alternate release title) Year Label Format Catalog
Japan (First America) 1983 Epic CD 35•8P-42
1984 Epic/Sony LP 25•3P-501
United States Epic FE 39294
BFE 39294
cassette BET 39294
FET 39294
United Kingdom EPC 402592 5
India LP EPIC 10106
Portugal EPC25925
Europe (Nena: International Album)
New Zealand ELPS 4425
Venezuela EPIC 270
Canada FE 39294
Brazil CBS 144.818
Spain (99 Red Balloons) S 25925
South Africa (99 Red Balloons) ASF 2966
United States 1990 Epic CD EK 39294
Japan (First America) 2009 Sony Music
Entertainment
Japan		 SICP 2279

References
  1. Hinds, Andy. "Review of 99 Luftballons by Nena". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  2. "Chart positions for "99 Luftballons" by Nena". SwissCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  3. "Awards received by Nena". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  4. "99 Luftballons (single) by Nena". Discogs. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  5. "Nena by Nena (LP, Epic EPC 25925, made in the Netherlands)". Discogs. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  6. "99 Luftballons by Nena". Discogs. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  7. "Rette mich (single) by Nena". Discogs. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  8. "List of one-hit wonders by VH1". Afrokayo.web.fc2.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  9. "It's All in the Game by Nena". Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  10. "99 Luftballons by Nena (US)". Discogs. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  11. "Credits for 99 Luftballons by Nena". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 214. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "Chart positions for Nena by Nena". Media Control (in German). Charts.de / media-control.de. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  14. "Chart history of Nena". NorwegianCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  15. "Chart history of Nena". SwedishCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  16. Select "Albums" tab:*"Nena – Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  17. "Canadian certifications – Nena". Music Canada. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
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