? (Nena album)

?
Studio album by Nena
Released	27 January 1984
Recorded	October–December 1983 at Spliff Studio, Berlin and A&R Studios, New York City
Genre	NDW, pop rock, pop
Length	42:16
Language	German
Label	CBS
Producer	Reinhold Heil, Manfred Praeker
Nena chronology
Nena (1983) ? (1984) 99 Luftballons (1984)
Singles from ?
"? (Fragezeichen)" Released: 1983 "Rette mich" Released: 1984 "Lass mich dein Pirat sein" Released: 1984

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

? (Fragezeichen) (German for "Question mark") is the second album by German pop-rock band Nena and the third studio album to feature its lead singer, Gabriele "Nena" Kerner. It was released in 1984, just a few months before the band's first international album 99 Luftballons (1984), which contains songs from their debut album Nena (1983) and this album, some of them re-recorded with English lyrics.

Like its self-titled predecessor, this album was produced by Reinhold Heil and Manne Praeker of Spliff.^[2]

Title track

The album's title track was co-written by Nena and the band’s keyboard player Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen. It reached #3 in the German charts in 1983.^[3] The lyrics – written by Nena – comprise the thoughts of someone racked by indecisiveness (“Today I’m coming, today I’m also going….Perhaps I’ll stay, Yesterday that wasn’t for me, Today I need endless love") but still adamant that they know what’s best for them (“No-one can tell me what is best….and who is best…because I know exactly.“)^[4] The song is a mainstay of Nena’s live concerts and seems to be particular popular with female fans although it is not uncommon for Nena to interrupt her performance of the song, apparently to laugh at the absurdity of the lyrics.^[5] In the middle of the version recorded for the 2004 album Nena Live Nena she says, “I felt so small when I wrote this.”

Like most of the Nena's band greatest hits, ?(Fragezeichen) was anglicised for the international album 99 Luftballons and then updated for the Nena feat. Nena album which reignited Nena’s solo career in 2002.

Track listing

Side A contains tracks 1 to 6 and Side B contains tracks 7 to 12.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Rette mich" (Rescue Me)	Carlo Karges	Karges	3:17
2.	"? (Fragezeichen)" (Question Mark)	Nena Kerner	Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen	4:28
3.	"Das Land der Elefanten" (The Land of the Elephants)	Karges, Fahrenkrog	Fahrenkrog	3:42
4.	"Unerkannt durchs Märchenland" (Unrecognized Through Fairyland)	Kerner	Jürgen Dehmel	3:21
5.	"Küss mich wach" (Kiss Me Awake)	Rolf Brendel	Brendel	2:43
6.	"Lass mich dein Pirat sein" (Let Me Be Your Pirate)	Brendel	Kerner, Brendel	4:51
7.	"Ich häng' an dir" (I'm Hangin' on You)	Kerner	Fahrenkrog	4:13
8.	"Sois bienvenu" (French: Welcome)	Brendel	Fahrenkrog	3:22
9.	"Keine Antwort" (No Answer)	Karges	Dehmel	3:18
10.	"Der Bus is' schon weg" (The Bus Has Already Left)	Karges	Karges	0:15
11.	"Es regnet" (It's Raining)	Karges	Karges	4:45
12.	"Der Anfang vom Ende" (The Beginning of the End)	Kerner	Kerner	3:53
Total length:				42:16

Personnel

Credits adapted from Allmusic^[6] and Discogs.^[2]

Nena

• Nena Kerner – main vocals, arrangement
• Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen – keyboard, backing vocals, lead vocals on track 3
• Carlo Karges – guitar, backing vocals
• Jürgen Dehmel – bass
• Rolf Brendel – drums, percussion

"? (Fragezeichen)" and "Lass mich dein Pirat sein"

• David Sanborn – saxophone
• Ollie Cotton – engineering
• Stanley Wallace – engineering

Technical personnel

• Imre Sereg – engineering (on all tracks, except "? (Fragezeichen)" and "Lass mich dein Pirat sein")
• Manfred "Manne" Praeker – production
• Reinhold Heil – engineer (on all tracks, except "? (Fragezeichen)" and "Lass mich dein Pirat sein"), production
• Jim Rakete – cover design
• Roman Stolz – cover design
• Rico Sonderegger – mastering

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart[7]	1
Dutch Albums Chart[8]	2
German Albums Chart[9]	1
Norwegian Albums Chart[10]	17
Swedish Albums Chart[11]	11
Swiss Albums Chart[12]	1

Certifications

Country (Provider)	Certification
Germany (BVMI)[13]	Platinum

Release history

Region	Year	Label	Format	Catalog
West Germany	1984	CBS Schallplatten GmbH	LP	CBS 25 870
		Bertelsmann Club		CBSCL 40383-2 (Club edition)
Netherlands		CBS Schallplatten GmbH		CBS 25 870
Yugoslavia		CBS Schallplatten GmbH, Suzy
West Germany		CBS Schallplatten GmbH	cassette	CBS 40-25870
			CD	CDCBS 25870
Japan		Epic/Sony		35.8P-55
Yugoslavia		CBS Schallplatten GmbH, Suzy	cassette	CBS 40-25870
Europe	1993	Columbia	CD	COL 47365 2 (reissue)
Germany	1998			COL 47365 9 (reissue)

References

1. Severa, Alan. "Review of ? (Fragezeichen) by Nena". Allmusic. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
2. "? by Nena". Discogs. June 28, 2013.
3. "German charts - Nena". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
4. "Lyrics and credits to "? (Fragezeichen)"". Nena.de. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
5. See "Made in Germany Live" 2009 DVD
6. "Credits for ? by Nena". Allmusic. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
7. "Nena – Nena". AustrianCharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
8. "Nena by Nena". MegaCharts (in Dutch). Hung Medien, DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
9. "Chart positions for Nena by Nena". Media Control (in German). Charts.de / media-control.de. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
10. "Chart history of Nena". NorwegianCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
11. "Chart history of Nena". SwedishCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
12. Click on "Charts"→"Alben":
    • "Chart history of Nena". SwissCharts.com, Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
13. Press "Suchen":
    • "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Nena)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.

External links

Lyrics from this album at LyricWiki