Mensch (album)

Mensch
Studio album by Herbert Grönemeyer
Released	30 August 2002
Studio	Abbey Road (London) Mayfair (London) RAK (London)
Genre	German rock pop rock
Length	48:32
Label	Grönland EMI
Producer	Alex Silva, Herbert Grönemeyer
Herbert Grönemeyer chronology
Stand der Dinge (2000) Mensch (2002) 12 (2007)

Mensch, released in August 2002, is the 20th studio album by German rock/pop artist Herbert Grönemeyer. Mensch ("Human") is Grönemeyer's 11th full-length album of original compositions. It is the most successful German-language album to date.

Background

The title track "Mensch" became Grönemeyer's first number-one single in Germany. The mood of the album reflects the then recent death of his wife, Anna Henkel, and Wilhelm, one of his older brothers, both of cancer, within a week,^[1][2][3] and is rich with poetic imagery. The songs range from rock to ballads. The richness of the imagery and language, as well as the use of creative word play, can make the lyrics difficult to understand and interpret by listeners who are not fluent in German. In Mensch Grönemeyer reflects on his own humanity as it relates to feeling loss.^[4] The song "Der Weg" in particular focuses on memories of his wife and the love they shared,^[2] while the song "Unbewohnt" is dealing with the loneliness and depression he felt after his wife's death.^[5]

The full-length album was released in three versions:

• a copy-protected CD
• a 12" vinyl LP album
• a hybrid Super Audio CD, containing standard compact disc stereo, Super Audio CD high-resolution stereo, and Super Audio CD high-resolution multi-channel audio content.

The compact disc and the Super Audio CD (CD layer and high-resolution SACD stereo sections) contain a hidden track after about fifteen minutes of silence at the end of the last song. The album is entirely in German.

Mensch was a huge success in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and sold nearly 4 million copies,^[4] making it the best-selling German-language record of all time, also being certified with 21 x Gold in Germany.^[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Herbert Grönemeyer; all music is composed by Herbert Grönemeyer, except for "Viertel Vor" by Grönemeyer and Alex Silva

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mensch"	4:28
2.	"Neuland"	3:42
3.	"Der Weg"	4:18
4.	"Viertel Vor"	4:23
5.	"Lache, wenn es nicht zum Weinen reicht"	4:42
6.	"Unbewohnt"	5:04
7.	"Dort und hier"	2:32
8.	"Blick zurück"	5:54
9.	"Kein Pokal"	4:33
10.	"Zum Meer"	5:38
11.	"Demo (Letzter Tag)" (Contains hidden track after minutes of silence)	3:27

Charts and certifications

Chart positions Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [7] Laut.de [8] Rolling Stone [9] Charts (2002) Peak position Year-end (2002) Year-end (2003) Year-end (2004) Decade-end (2000–09) All-time Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 1[10] 2[11] 3[12] 69[13] 6[14] 20[15] Germany (Media Control Charts) 1[16] 1[17] 3[18] — — 1[19] Netherlands (MegaCharts) 38[20] — — — — — Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 1[21] 4[22] 47[23] — — 120[24] Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] 8× Platinum 240,000^* Germany (BVMI)[26] 21× Gold 3,150,000^^ Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[27] 5× Platinum 200,000^^ Summaries Europe (IFPI)[28] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^* ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Singles Year Title Chart positions Certifications AT [10] CH [21] DE [29] 2002 "Mensch" 1 2 1 BVMI: Platinum[30] IFPI CH: Gold[31] "Der Weg" 14 35 12 2003 "Demo (Letzter Tag)" 53 — 36 "Zum Meer" — — 81

See also

• List of best-selling albums in Germany

References

1. "Herbert Grönemeyer ist wieder da". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). 29 August 2002. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
2. Michaelsen, Sven; Ross, Hannes (28 May 2002). "Herbert Grönemeyer: "Man ist Mensch und macht vieles falsch"". Stern (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
3. Küchemann, Fridtjof (28 May 2002). ""Es tut gleichmäßig weh" - Herbert Grönemeyer singt wieder". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
4. Reul, Hans (11 April 2016). ""Es tut gleichmäßig weh" - Herbert Grönemeyer singt wieder". brf.be (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
5. "Der Mensch heißt Mensch: Grönemeyers Erfolgsalbum". udiscover-music.de (in German). 22 September 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
6. "Highest Gold Platinum certifications" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
7. Andrew Leahey. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
8. Nathalie Fritz. ""Mensch" von Herbert Grönemeyer". laut.de (in German). Retrieved 16 September 2022.
9. Willander, Arne (19 September 2002). "Herbert Grönemeyer - Mensch". Rolling Stone Deutschland (in German). Vol. 09/2002. Axel Springer Young Mediahouse GmbH. p. 93.
10. Ö3 Austria Top 40 (9 September 2002). "Austrian weekly albums chart" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
11. Ö3 Austria Top 40 (2002). "Austrian annual albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
12. Ö3 Austria Top 40 (2003). "Austrian annual albums chart" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
13. Ö3 Austria Top 40 (2004). "Austrian annual albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
14. Ö3 Austria Top 40 (2000–2009). "Austrian decennially albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
15. Ö3 Austria Top 40. "Austrian all-time albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
16. Media Control Charts (16 September 2002). "Chartverfolgung: Herbert Grönemeyer" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
17. Media Control Charts (2002). "German annual albums chart" (in German). Charts.de. Retrieved 5 October 2012.^{[dead link‍]}
18. Media Control Charts (2003). "German annual albums chart" (in German). Charts.de. Retrieved 5 October 2012.^{[dead link‍]}
19. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Germany). "Best-selling albums of all time in Germany" (PDF) (in German). Musik Industrie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
20. MegaCharts (1 February 2003). "Dutch weekly albums chart" (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
21. Schweizer Hitparade (15 September 2002). "Swiss weekly albums chart" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
22. Schweizer Hitparade (2002). "Swiss annual albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
23. Schweizer Hitparade (2003). "Swiss annual albums chart" (in German). Archived from the original on 4 February 2004. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
24. Schweizer Hitparade. "Swiss all-time albums chart" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
25. "Austrian album certifications – Herbert Grönemeyer – Mensch" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
26. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Herbert Grönemeyer; 'Mensch')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
27. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Mensch')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
28. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2003". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
29. Media Control Charts. "Chartverfolgung: Herbert Grönemeyer" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
30. Bundesverband Musikindustrie (2002). "German certification" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.
31. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (Switzerland) (2002). "Swiss certification" (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2012.

External links

• Mensch on Discogs
• CD-Kritik: Herbert Grönemeyer - Mensch rezensator.de