ABC - Beauty Stab (1983)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by this CD, a 1997 UK remastered import.

“We were eager to go in a totally different direction. We didn’t want to do a sequel. In retrospect, perhaps that is exactly what we should have done" - Martin Fry

To say I was disappointed in this release in 1983 would be an understatement. It was nothing like Lexicon of Love and I felt the album was sorely in need of the production skills of Trevor Horn. Maybe the the band was listening to a lot of mid-'70s Bowie and Roxy Music? Not the best move for album sales, however, maybe a group can avoid the sophomore slump by completely changing directions. Reportedly, half the band quit because of the new direction. But was I wrong about this one? Possibly I dismissed it too quickly back in the '80s. After all, in its 2015 list of "100 Lost Albums You Need To Know," NME placed this album at #37, stating "It’s not a perfect album, but I think there’s something really interesting on there that everyone is missing out on." Well, I don't think that's quite true - there's no way there's something here for everybody - but I will admit that, even though I hadn't listened to this music during the several decades leading up to 2022, it's better than I remember.

Besides the production and arrangements shifts, most lyrics are laughable - most notably the bit about "a piece of apple crumble" - and the music simply isn't suited to Martin Fry's voice. That's a shame because occasionally there's some hooks hanging about if you listen hard enough. Bottom line: I'm glad I've given this another chance over the past year or so and have been amazed at how much of it I remembered, but I probably won't be spinning it very often.

In 2020, Martin Fry and album producer Gary Langan joined in for Tim's Twitter Listening Party for Beauty Stab. Informative in spots, but rather sparse with more lyric-quoting than there should be. Hardly required viewing.

Press of the time:

• Robert Christgau (A-): "give this one five spins and you'll remember every track"
• Rolling Stone (★★): "Martin Fry has only succeeded in shooting a poison arrow into his own foot"
• Smash Hits (6 out of 10): "either a radical mixture of styles or a complete and utter mess." ed. - can't it be both?
• Billboard: "closer in and sound and substance to Roxy Music"
• Stereo Review: "It's like the difference between a Parisian cabaret and a Brooklyn social club. Trouble is, ABC belongs back in that cabaret."
• CashBox: "The music is harder, rockier, and certainly, eclectically more diverse."
• Musician: "To their credit, ABC have struck out in a different direction on Beauty Stab. Unfortunately, they have just struck out, period"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #69
• Billboard Rock: #20
• CashBox: #49
• Rolling Stone: #20

Tracks: One single was released in the US, That Was Then But This Is Now (#89 pop, #35 rock), and I like it on occasion, but the top song on the album is easily track 11, S.O.S. Not coincidentally, it is also the only track that wouldn't be out of place on Lexicon Of Love. Many songs seem like combinations of song bits/ideas/fragments just haplessly thrown together, so there's good pieces to songs like If I Ever Thought You'd be Lonely (chorus), The Power Of Persuasion (opening riff), Hey Citizen (verse), but there's not enough to maintain interest for the whole tune. And then tracks like Bite The Hand are a complete mess.

This particular CD edition of the album added one bonus track: Vertigo, the b-side to That Was Then But This Is Now. Instrumental with lots of LinnDrum and screechy sax; plus it's (mercifully) not even 2 minutes in length. As we like to say around here: b-sides are usually b-sides for good reason.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I was a self-absorbed, know-it-all high school senior when this album was released and I had read some article about the album, it's title, and change of sound and prattled on about it to whoever would listen. I guess I wanted to 1) appear that I liked "cooler music than you," and/or 2) seem more knowledgeable than I was. In retrospect, I only succeeded in seeming insufferable. It's amazing I had any friends, much less dates with actual girls. My excuse? Well, I was a self-absorbed, know-it-all high school senior...

Bringing a smile to my face is the CompuServe URL of the "New ABC Website" listed on the back insert of this 1997 reissue: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Melomania. This has nothing to do with the album itself, but it brings back good memories of early online endeavors and discoveries, and URL adventures with backslashes, tildes, and the like. The logo to webcrawler just popped into my brain.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Lexicon of Love II (2016)
Traffic (2008)
Absolutely (1990)
The Lexicon of Love (1982)

ABC - The Lexicon of Love II (2016)

Okay, let's just forget the inane sequential title of the album (don't worry, Martin, it didn't work for Joe Jackson, either) and look past the fact that I didn't order my copy in time to acquire one of the autographed CDs. Instead, let's just focus on the music because, while it isn't as good as Traffic, it's still a good album. Lots of strings, synths, romanticism, and, of course, Martin Fry's immediately recognizable voice (which has aged well, I must say).

A solid attempt to recreate the sound of the 1982 album, but let's be honest, without Trevor Horn at the board, this didn't have much of a chance to succeed on that count. That dadgum album title set my expectations too high, but the writing is strong enough (read: eightieslicious) that its an enjoyable listen from start to finish. Recommended for summer car listening on a bright afternoon with the top down (Wayfarers optional).

Metacritic has this album at a 70/100 based on eight reviews, but many of those reviews focus on the lyrical content which I usually ignore. Lexicon of Love II is good & you should buy it, but it's no sequel. Trevor Horn - accept no substitutes.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Let's rank 'em!

1. The Flames of Desire
2. Viva Love (and I'll lump the reprise in with it here)
3. The Ship of the Seasick Sailor
4. I Believe in Love
5. Kiss Me Goodbye
6. Brighter Than the Sun
7. Singer Not the Song
8. Ten Below Zero
9. Confessions of a Fool
10. The Love Inside the Love

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Traffic (2008)
Absolutely (1990)
The Lexicon of Love (1982)

ABC - Absolutely (1990)

A 1990 greatest hits package covering singles from the sophisti-pop group's first 5 albums (1982-1989).

	Year	UK	US
Poison Arrow	1982	6	25
The Look Of Love	1982	4	18
All Of My Heart	1982	5	-
Tears Are Not Enough	1981	19	-
That Was Then But This Is Now	1983	18	89
S.O.S.	1984	39
How To Be A Millionaire	1984	49	20
Be Near Me	1985	26	9
When Smokey Sings	1987	11	5
The Night Your Murdered Love	1987	31	-
King Without A Crown	1988	44	-
One Better World	1989	32	-
Ocean Blue	1986	51	-
The Look Of Love (1990 Remix)	1990	68	-
When Smokey Sings (The Miami Mix)	1987	-	-
Be Near Me (Munich Disco Mix)	1985	-	-
One Better World (Pickering Park Mix)	1989	-	-

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:  The best tracks are the four from Lexicon Of Love, Be Near Me, One Better World, and When Smokey Sings, which was the group's biggest US hit, peaking at #5 on the charts. Appropriately, the song honoring Smokey Robinson shamelessly lifts its bass line from Tears Of A Clown. Skip S.O.S. (you're asking for it when you choose that title for your song) and King Without A Crown. The album closes with 4 needless dance remixes that don't come close to touching the originals.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm reminded of how wonderful Lexicon of Love is and how ticked off I was when I purchased Beauty Stab because, at age 17, I thought it pretty much stunk.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Traffic (2008)
The Lexicon of Love (1982)

ABC - Traffic (2008)

"OLD DOGS, NEW TRICKS" WEEK (MAY 1-7, 2011)

This is a great ABC album, second only to 1982's The Lexicon of Love. It's just a perfect blend of soul, rock, and technopop. Martin Fry hasn't lost any of his skills, he's just been hiding them for 20 years. It doesn't sound like an '80s album and it doesn't sound like a 2008 album, either. It sounds like an album from a man (Fry) who is comfortable with where he is in life and where he is as a musician, still unafraid to use female backup singers and disco strings. This release won't bring ABC any new listeners, but it should make the older listeners (like this guy) very happy. I wish ABC would have released this music in 1983 instead of Beauty Stab.

In its review, the BBC stated that "Fry has recorded something equalling his all-time best."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart (I'm not sure the album received an official US release)

Tracks: My favorite cuts are The Very First Time, Ride, Love Is Strong, Life Shapes You, Minus Love, and Way Back When. I usually skip the first track, Sixteen Seconds To Choose, not because it's an awful song, but because it just doesn't seem to fit with the other songs. It sounds more like something from Beauty Stab. Weaker tracks include Caroline, One Way Traffic, Validation, and Fugitives.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This CD received as much play time in my truck in 2008 as my tape of Lexicon of Love got in the Markmobile 25 years earlier.

ABC - The Lexicon of Love (1982)

Note: Several CD versions of this album have been released. I listened to the 2004 Deluxe Edition.

While you could accuse ABC of being style over substance, this is one of my early-80s favorites based on great songwriting combined with über-producer Trevor Horn (who can do no wrong in my book). This is music that defines an era while still aging well. This listening made me aware of how similar the ABC sound was to Haircut 100.

Press of the time:

• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "a corker of an album"
• Robert Christgau: A-
• Billboard: "Of all the new British pop-funk bands to land American shores, ABC is arguably the best"
• CashBox: "Imagine David Bowie backed by Haircut 100"
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "dazzling debut album"
• Stereo Review: "ABC's lavish brand of pop-soul carries all the hallmarks of the current British movement"
• Trouser Press: "Everything is multi-textured, rich, synthesized and overdone"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #24
  
• CashBox: #27
• Rolling Stone: #16

Tracks: One of the things that makes this CD great is that it is designed to be listened to in its entirety. For me, the stand out tracks are Tears Are Not Enough and All Of My Heart. Weaker tracks include Valentine's Day and Date Stamp, but that's not to say they are bad, just weaker than the hits.

Extra tracks: The extra tracks are divided into 4 sections. The first, "The Original Singles" contains a forgettable 12" version of Alphabet Soup with some of the most awful saxophone playing I've ever heard (and please remember I taught 11-year-old saxophonists for years). However, it also contains two interesting takes on Poison Arrow: a Tin-Pan Alley version (Theme from Man-Trap) and a "jazz mix" which is more of a 12" version interspersed with jazz flute interludes with a backbeat. The second section is "An Out-take and an Oddity" which contains a horrible Lexicon of Love out-take and another version of Alphabet Soup. The third section is demos. Like most demos, these inferior versions do not call for repeated listening nor do they shine any light on the creative process. If anything, these particular demos demonstrate Horn's brilliance at production. The final section is a concert from November 82. Valentine's Day is much better live, but unfortunately, All of My Heart suffers a bit. Also, we suffer through another 8 minute version of the mediocre Alphabet Soup.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: My friend Jim introduced me to ABC and I can remember riding around in his jalopy with the windows down and singing at the top of my lungs, "Who got the look? WHHAAAAIII don't have the answer to that question." If memory serves, that would have been New Year's Eve 1982, driving down 7th street.