Naïve (album)

Naïve is the fourth studio album by German industrial band KMFDM, released on November 15, 1990, by Wax Trax! Records. It was recorded following KMFDM's return from their first visit to the United States and subsequent tour with Ministry.^[3] It was also the first record they released after signing directly to Wax Trax! Records.

Naïve
Studio album by KMFDM
Released	15 November 1990 (1990-11-15)
Recorded	1989–90
Genre	Industrial rock[1] industrial dance[2]
Length	49:58
Label	Wax Trax!
Producer	KMFDM
KMFDM chronology
UAIOE (1989) Naïve (1990) Money (1992)
Singles from Naïve
"Virus" Released: August 1989 "Godlike" Released: August 1990 "Naïve/The Days of Swine & Roses" Released: 1991

Background

The album was out of print for over a decade due to copyright infringement: the seventh track "Liebeslied" used unauthorized samples from a recording of "O Fortuna", from Carl Orff's 1930s cantata Carmina Burana. The album was recalled approximately three years after being released. Physical copies are rare and considered collector's items.^[4] In addition to this, "Godlike" samples "Angel of Death" by Slayer.^[5]

All of the tracks on the album, except for the original mixes of "Die Now-Live Later", "Liebeslied" and "Go to Hell" were subsequently available on other discs. The album was re-released as Naïve/Hell to Go, with some songs remixed, in 1994. A digitally remastered reissue of Naïve was released on 21 November 2006, along with Money and Angst. It was reissued with an edited version of the track "Liebeslied" without the offending sample. It also features the remixes that initially appeared on Naïve/Hell to Go.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Naïve received excellent reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine called Naïve "one of [KMFDM's] strongest releases."^[6] Ned Raggett of AllMusic began his review by saying, "KMFDM brought it all together on the brilliant Naïve", doing "everything from four-to-the-floor beats to Wagnerian epic metal and back again".^[1] He went on to call it "one of industrial/electronic body music's key albums", and said that KMFDM was a band "so ridiculously good that everything they touch pretty much turns to gold".^[1] He also said that while the title track was "fantastic", the "total standout" of the album was "Liebeslied": "Outrageously interpolating Carl Orff's noted vocal piece Carmina Burana into a bombastic explosion of mechanical rhythms, orchestral hits, and an increasing amount of hero guitar feedback slabs, not to mention the husked, desperate lead vocals, it's a jawdropping masterpiece that demands and gets total surrender."^[1] In 2019, Pitchfork magazine ranked Naïve at number ten on its list of the thirty-three best industrial albums of all time, with writer Susan Elizabeth Shepard noting that the album combined "hip-hop beats and metal riffs into deep, big-beat anthems".^[7]

Track listing

Naïve — original vinyl edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Welcome"	Sascha Konietzko	0:18
2.	"Naïve"	Konietzko, En Esch, Günter Schulz, Rudolph Naomi	5:26
3.	"Die Now-Live Later"	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz	5:01
4.	"Piggybank"	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	6:37
5.	"Achtung!"	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	4:24
6.	"Friede" (Remix)	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	4:38
7.	"Liebeslied" (edited on 2006 re-release)	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	5:34
8.	"Go to Hell"	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	4:59
9.	"Virus" (Dub)	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	6:28

Naïve — original CD edition (additional tracks)

No.	Title	Music	Length
10.	"Disgust" (Live)	Konietzko, Esch, Schulz, Naomi	2:58
11.	"Godlike" (Chicago Trax Version)	Konietzko, Paul Barker, Bill Rieflin, William Tucker	3:33

Naïve — remastered CD edition (additional tracks; originally from Naïve/Hell to Go)

No.	Title	Music	Length
12.	"Go to Hell" (Fuck MTV Mix)	Mark Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz	5:48
13.	"Virus" (Pestilence Mix)	Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz	5:08
14.	"Godlike" (Doglike Mix)	Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz	5:39
15.	"Liebeslied" (Infringement Mix)	Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz	4:38
16.	"Die Now-Live Later" (Born Again Mix)	Durante, Esch, Konietzko, Schulz	4:42
Total length:			74:40

Personnel

• Sascha Konietzko – vocals, bass, synths, programming, guitars
• En Esch – vocals, drums, guitars
• Günter Schulz – guitars
• Rudolph Naomi – drums (1–4, 6–10)

Additional personnel

• Christine Siewert – background vocals
• Johann Bley – drums (5)
• William Tucker – guitar (11)
• Bill Rieflin – drums (11)
• Mark Durante – guitar (11–16)

Production

• Brute – cover art
• Blank Fontana – engineering (1–11)
• Chris Shepard – engineering (12–16)
• Paul Barker – production (11)
• Lee Popa – production (11)

Naïve/Hell to Go

Naïve/Hell to Go
Studio album by KMFDM
Released	1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)
Recorded	1989–90, 1993
Genre	Industrial rock
Length	50:30
Label	Wax Trax!/TVT

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

Naïve/Hell to Go is a modified and remixed version of Naïve, with five of the original songs re-recorded, including "Liebeslied", which contained an unlicensed sample of "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's cantata Carmina Burana.^[8] After Orff's publisher threatened the band with legal action,^[9] the original album was recalled.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Welcome"	0:17
2.	"Naïve"	5:23
3.	"Go to Hell (Fuck MTV Mix)"	5:45
4.	"Virus (Pestilence Mix)"	5:08
5.	"Godlike (Doglike Mix)"	5:37
6.	"Leibesleid (Infringement Mix)"	4:39
7.	"Die Now-Live Later (Born Again Mix)"	5:09
8.	"Piggybank"	6:36
9.	"Achtung!"	4:21
10.	"Friede (Remix)"	4:40
11.	"Disgust (Live in Seattle)"	2:55