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Vanessa Mai – Für Immer

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Vanessa Mai - Für Immer

Vanessa Mai - Für Immer
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very well produced German Schlager pop
  • Vanessa Mai just gives you the feelgood mode
  • Some deeper songs
  • Lovely "Spiegel, Spiegel" duet and other remixes as a "goodie"

Flyctory.com Cons

  • There could be more deep songs - she is great in them
  • The beginning has great tunes, but the songs are similar.

While there were not too many country music releases on my intiial review list, there were some quite interesting new albums on 24th January 2020 of other genres. One of those is the sixth studio album or one of the big names in the German Schlager (folk) music genre, Vanessa Mai. It is titled Für Immer (“Forever”). As I have been to an album preview party in Cologne in November (no Flyctory.com coverage), I have been even more curious to have the complete overview of the album.

 

Vanessa Mai – About The Artist

Vanessa Mai, who was born on 2nd Mai 1992 in Aspach near Stuttgart, Germany, is a German Schlager performer. Her civil name is Vanessa Marija Else Mandekic, her alias is a combination of her first name and the month she was born in (“Mai” means May in German). She had early stage appearances with her father as well as in school projects. 2008, she was German champion in Formation Hip Hop Dancing and represented Germany with her team at the World Championships in Las Vegas. On the professional music side, she initially started replacing the singer of the German Schlager band Wolkenfrei in 2012. More and more, she only represented the project on her own and after two albums using the Wolkenfrei label, she released three additional studio albums under her alias.

The last two albums, the 2017 Regenbogen and the 2018 Schlager, topped the German album charts and also had very high rankings in Austria and Switzerland. On the singles side, none of her songs made it to the Top 30 so far. However, some songs are quite well known, like Mein Herz schlägt Schlager (My heart beats Schlager music), which has never been released on an album, but on a sampler of that genre. Likely, the most popular single is the 2016 Ich sterb für Dich (“I die for you”), which has close to 50 million hits on Youtube only.

 

Vanessa Mai – Für Immer  – Track by Track

The album contains 18 songs (partially multiple versions of the same track). The playing time is 58 minutes.

1. Venedig (Love Is In The Air)

If you follow Flyctory.com more closely, you know that I love that song – I selected it as one of five best non-country songs of 2019. It is a very simple production, not super-posh, but very catchy (live on stage even more impressive than on the album)

2. Forever

A typical Vanessa Mai. Schlager-pop, made to dance and feel good, perfect radio music. Nice arrangement.

3. Blue

There is a striaght arrangement in Vanessa Mai songs. Still, Blue has its own character by long notes in the chorus. Nice song for any German songs party.

4. Highlight

Four songs, four times German dance pop Schlager. The songs are all arranged very well and have different characters, but I look forward to have something different on this album. But, okay, I give in… I feel like dancing while listening to Highlight. Vanessa Mai just has that special touch.

5. Hast Du jemals feat. Xavier Naidoo

I have to admit that I don’t like Xavier Naidoo and his music too much – the German soul singer is very successful in my country, though. This duet of Naidoo and Mai is somehow strange to me – though it definitely offers some very different and characteristic sounds to the album. Nevertheless, I just don’t need it – even though it is maybe sometimes nice to have some different tunes than Vanessa Mai’s feelgood music.

6. Ein letztes Mal

3:55 minutes – the longest track on the album. Quite funny how the genres differ. At Marko Hietala’s solo debut, which I reviewed just before this one, the shortest song was about that length. Another dance track, which funnily even feels a bit too long to me.

7. Spiegel, Spiegel

No, there is not just light party and dance music on Für Immer. Vanessa Mai is able to produce deeper mood, intense songs as well. Spiegel, Spiegel is a song about love, but is beautifully arranged and outstanding on this album. I love the duet version (see below) even more.

8. Ja Nein Vielleicht feat. Stereoact

Definitely not an outstanding masterpiece in this collection of Vanessa Mai tunes – but Ja Nein Vielleicht (“Yes No Maybe”) is definitely one of the best tracks of the album.

9. Zusammen mit Dir

Zusammen mit Dir (“Together with you”) is one of the few ballad songs of the album. The track feels very intense to me, good one!

10. Maisterwerk

Maisterwerk (the German “Meisterwerk” means “Masterpiece”) is a lovely and thankful song in which Mai is praising her fans and their support. Nice one!

11. Beste Version

Regarding the lyrics, one of the best songs of the album to me. It is about accepting yourself as you are (“You are the best version of yourself”). Ballad-alike arrangement, which makes it also a bit special on the album.

12. Meine größte Schwäche

Meine größte Schwäche (“My weakest point”) is – of course – a love song. A very straight pop production, nice and easy to listen. Though the song arrangements are quite similar on this album, Vanessa Mai and her team still create some variety here. Like that.

13. Mein Herz schlägt Schlager 2.0

No, this is not a remix or re-recording of one of Vanessa Mai’s biggest hits. It’s really a new song with the same title (apart from the 2.0 addition). A very modern Schlager track, which you could as well call German dance pop or similar.

14. Venedig (Love Is In The Air) (Club Remix)

Towards the end of the album, there are a couple of remix versions. The Club Remix of Venedig (Love Is In The Air) definitely feels even a bit more like dancing, though I am not too much of a remix person and favor the original.

15. Forever (Schallkaiser Remix)

A remix version of Forever, which is the second track on this album. I don’t feel too many differences to the original, in contrast to the remix before.

16. Blue (Silverjam Remix)

Funnily, I like this Silverjam Remix of Blue more than the original track. It is just having the slightly stronger dance and party character and thus a bit more fun. Good one.

17. Ja Nein Vielleicht (Stereoact Club Mix)

Another club-style remix, to me the best remix in this part of the album. Overall, the remixes are a nice addition, some sort of bonus tracks.

18. Spiegel, Spiegel feat. Axel Prahl

This very last track of the album is not a remix but an acoustic duet of the Spiegel, Spiegel song, sang with Axel Prahl, a 1960-born Northern German singer and actor. As soon as Prahl with his husky voice starts singing, Vanessa Mai’s fragile singing feels to be a bit too inferior, unfortunately. In the chorus, her voice is mixed with a much higher volume then. Nevertheless, a really nice version and one of the highlights of the album to me.

 

Vanessa Mai – Für Immer  – Spotify

Here is the Spotify widget, which allows you to have a closer listen into the album:

 

Vanessa Mai – Für Immer  – My View

Complex lyrics, five minute story-telling, socially critic topics – if you look for any of these ones in music, you will never end up listening to Vanessa Mai. The young lady wants us to feel good and party, wants to make us smile without having to think too much. Does Für Immer fulfil this mission (again)? The answer is a clear yes! You smile when you listen to the album. Nevertheless, there are some deeper parts, some more intense songs. I would love to hear more of that, they feel to be very strong elements in Für Immer. Overall, a very good compiiation, which is close to my top review status.

 

Vanessa Mai – Tour 2020

In October, Vanessa Mai will tour some rather small and intimate venues:

Fr 02.10.2020 Cologne, Musical Dome
Sa 03.10.2020 Frankfurt (Main), Jahrhunderthalle
Su 04.10.2020 Stuttgart, Liederhalle
Mo 05.10.2020 Munich, Zirkus Krone
Th 08.10.2020 Oberhausen, Luise-Albertz-Halle
Fr 09.10.2020 Bremen, Metropol Theater
Sa 10.10.2020 Bielefeld, Stadthalle
Mo 12.10.2020 Hanover, Theater am Aegi
Tu 13.10.2020 Dresden, Kulturpalast
We 14.10.2020 Berlin, Tempodrom
Th 15.10.2020 Leipzig, Haus Auensee

 

German Artists

Here are all Flyctory.com postings dealing with German Artists:

 

Postings about Concerts

All postings about  concerts I visited: