The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[FogBlueInSanFran]

ABC - Lexicon Of Love

For my choice this time out we are travelling back to the weird and wonderful times that were 1982. A year dominated by a trip to the Falklands, the IRA blowing stuff up, a strange number of aircraft crashes, Villa winning the European Cup, an old ship being raised and for our American cousins the Lakers winning the NBA Finals. Whatever that is.
It was a heady year indeed but looking back one of my biggest memories was of a gold shiny suit majestically posing it's way through an episode of Top Of The Pops. It was elegant. It was suave. It looked the epitome of cool. Attached to said suit was a man who looked the part. Effortlessly preening his way around the stage with foppish hair miming to something a little different. It had strings, it had a groovy bass line. It had a quiet piano bit. It had some rather good lyrics. It demanded a trip to the local record shop.

As with most albums I bought around this time I took it to my mate Matthew's house. His parents were rich. They had a music room. With sofas. His Mum kept up the supply of orange squash and biscuits regularly. And best of all they had a stonkingly big stereo which we could play at whatever volume we liked. Along with Martin and Charlie, the original fab four, we would get comfy, try not to stare at Matthews Mum's cleavage when she popped in, and play an album in it's entirety. Whilst making what we thought were pithy and intelligent comments. We didn't always agree, which was a good thing, I remember a great argument about Upstairs At Eric's by Yazoo which end with me farting on Charlies head and the ensuing big bundle. I was right though, it was an album half full of fillers and half full of great songs.
We all agreed on Lexicon Of Love. It was an astounding debut record, from it's orchestral start and finish to it's amazing production, thank you Mr Trevor Horn, the whole album had us captivated. And the lyrics...oh the lyrics, they spoke to us. Especially me with my complete lack of dedication to girlfriends. Kiss a girl at the local youth club/ park/ school toilets, go "out" with her and then get dumped a week later as I preferred playing football and mucking about with the fab four. I could never work out why though as I did fall in love very easily. Or what I thought was love. The conversation usually had the same theme...did you kiss xxx at the youth club last night? Yup. She'll dump you by the weekend. Oh...who's turn in goal?

Looking back now not a lot has changed, I still think this album is a fantastic offering and one I listen to at least once a month, the lyrics are probably amongst the best of the era, especially on "All Of My Heart", and the production is as lush as ever. I have given up farting on mates heads though. Which can only be a good thing.


Original album rules apply although I suspect spotify will offer up deluxe or digitally remastered versions if fucking about with the original is your bag.



Enjoy!

Standing O for a brilliant write-up. This is what makes music matter.

I am quite confident I have heard this record but never owned it. "Poison Arrow" is the one I recall best.

 

[RobMCFC]

ABC - Lexicon Of Love

For my choice this time out we are travelling back to the weird and wonderful times that were 1982. A year dominated by a trip to the Falklands, the IRA blowing stuff up, a strange number of aircraft crashes, Villa winning the European Cup, an old ship being raised and for our American cousins the Lakers winning the NBA Finals. Whatever that is.
It was a heady year indeed but looking back one of my biggest memories was of a gold shiny suit majestically posing it's way through an episode of Top Of The Pops. It was elegant. It was suave. It looked the epitome of cool. Attached to said suit was a man who looked the part. Effortlessly preening his way around the stage with foppish hair miming to something a little different. It had strings, it had a groovy bass line. It had a quiet piano bit. It had some rather good lyrics. It demanded a trip to the local record shop.

As with most albums I bought around this time I took it to my mate Matthew's house. His parents were rich. They had a music room. With sofas. His Mum kept up the supply of orange squash and biscuits regularly. And best of all they had a stonkingly big stereo which we could play at whatever volume we liked. Along with Martin and Charlie, the original fab four, we would get comfy, try not to stare at Matthews Mum's cleavage when she popped in, and play an album in it's entirety. Whilst making what we thought were pithy and intelligent comments. We didn't always agree, which was a good thing, I remember a great argument about Upstairs At Eric's by Yazoo which end with me farting on Charlies head and the ensuing big bundle. I was right though, it was an album half full of fillers and half full of great songs.
We all agreed on Lexicon Of Love. It was an astounding debut record, from it's orchestral start and finish to it's amazing production, thank you Mr Trevor Horn, the whole album had us captivated. And the lyrics...oh the lyrics, they spoke to us. Especially me with my complete lack of dedication to girlfriends. Kiss a girl at the local youth club/ park/ school toilets, go "out" with her and then get dumped a week later as I preferred playing football and mucking about with the fab four. I could never work out why though as I did fall in love very easily. Or what I thought was love. The conversation usually had the same theme...did you kiss xxx at the youth club last night? Yup. She'll dump you by the weekend. Oh...who's turn in goal?

Looking back now not a lot has changed, I still think this album is a fantastic offering and one I listen to at least once a month, the lyrics are probably amongst the best of the era, especially on "All Of My Heart", and the production is as lush as ever. I have given up farting on mates heads though. Which can only be a good thing.


Original album rules apply although I suspect spotify will offer up deluxe or digitally remastered versions if fucking about with the original is your bag.



Enjoy!

Nice time capsule write-up.

Speaking of the IRA blowing things up, they did that with the Hyde Park bomb when we were in London getting ready to go on our first family holiday abroad. We visited Venice on that trip and I went back there for the first time since that 1982 trip only just this last weekend.

This album was four years before I got into music but even I remember "Poison Arrow" playing here, there and everywhere at the time.

 

[threespires]

ABC - Lexicon Of Love

For my choice this time out we are travelling back to the weird and wonderful times that were 1982. A year dominated by a trip to the Falklands, the IRA blowing stuff up, a strange number of aircraft crashes, Villa winning the European Cup, an old ship being raised and for our American cousins the Lakers winning the NBA Finals. Whatever that is.
It was a heady year indeed but looking back one of my biggest memories was of a gold shiny suit majestically posing it's way through an episode of Top Of The Pops. It was elegant. It was suave. It looked the epitome of cool. Attached to said suit was a man who looked the part. Effortlessly preening his way around the stage with foppish hair miming to something a little different. It had strings, it had a groovy bass line. It had a quiet piano bit. It had some rather good lyrics. It demanded a trip to the local record shop.

As with most albums I bought around this time I took it to my mate Matthew's house. His parents were rich. They had a music room. With sofas. His Mum kept up the supply of orange squash and biscuits regularly. And best of all they had a stonkingly big stereo which we could play at whatever volume we liked. Along with Martin and Charlie, the original fab four, we would get comfy, try not to stare at Matthews Mum's cleavage when she popped in, and play an album in it's entirety. Whilst making what we thought were pithy and intelligent comments. We didn't always agree, which was a good thing, I remember a great argument about Upstairs At Eric's by Yazoo which end with me farting on Charlies head and the ensuing big bundle. I was right though, it was an album half full of fillers and half full of great songs.
We all agreed on Lexicon Of Love. It was an astounding debut record, from it's orchestral start and finish to it's amazing production, thank you Mr Trevor Horn, the whole album had us captivated. And the lyrics...oh the lyrics, they spoke to us. Especially me with my complete lack of dedication to girlfriends. Kiss a girl at the local youth club/ park/ school toilets, go "out" with her and then get dumped a week later as I preferred playing football and mucking about with the fab four. I could never work out why though as I did fall in love very easily. Or what I thought was love. The conversation usually had the same theme...did you kiss xxx at the youth club last night? Yup. She'll dump you by the weekend. Oh...who's turn in goal?

Looking back now not a lot has changed, I still think this album is a fantastic offering and one I listen to at least once a month, the lyrics are probably amongst the best of the era, especially on "All Of My Heart", and the production is as lush as ever. I have given up farting on mates heads though. Which can only be a good thing.


Original album rules apply although I suspect spotify will offer up deluxe or digitally remastered versions if fucking about with the original is your bag.



Enjoy!

If I'd have been there I'd have done my level best to drag your arse away from Charlie's head you philistine, max of two fillers on Upstairs at Eric's. Anyway this should attract some discussion/love from a couple of irregulars and as they didn't really do much in the US (which I always thought was odd in that I'd have imagined them to be quite cool/cult) it'll be interesting to hear the view from the colonies :-)

 

[BimboBob]

Nice time capsule write-up.

Speaking of the IRA blowing things up, they did that with the Hyde Park bomb when we were in London getting ready to go on our first family holiday abroad. We visited Venice on that trip and I went back there for the first time since that 1982 trip only just this last weekend.

This album was four years before I got into music but even I remember "Poison Arrow" playing here, there and everywhere at the time.

A few years later, I worked for a beer delivery company running out of Peckham. We used to deliver to the Houses of Parliament , Mansion House etc etc and we were never checked as the guards knew us. Big truck, full of kegs...what could go wrong! Especially as at Parliament we used to leave the van in the middle of it and bugger off to the staff canteen for free grub. I also thought the IRA were following me around, we were going to go in the Sussex for a beer but it was packed so went to a pub down the road, 5 minutes later...we heard it and the blast rush of wind. The whole pub emptied to go and help. Horrible, horrible sight.

I moved back to Bognor a few months later and they blew up the high street!

 

[BimboBob]

If I'd have been there I'd have done my level best to drag your arse away from Charlie's head you philistine, max of two fillers on Upstairs at Eric's. Anyway this should attract some discussion/love from a couple of irregulars and as they didn't really do much in the US (which I always thought was odd in that I'd have imagined them to be quite cool/cult) it'll be interesting to hear the view from the colonies :-)

It went gold in the US. Not bad.

 

[threespires]

It went gold in the US. Not bad.

That's much better than I thought they had done. I always got the impression that the 'second british invasion' was a bit of a marketing scam and consisted mostly of lots of bands having the odd single doing well rather than sustained success for the majority of them, aside from the likes of The Police. I should be less cynical.

 

[Mancitydoogle]

Loved this album at the time, one of the few nominated that my Mrs likes too,
I’tll be interesting listening to again after all these years.

good pick

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

It went gold in the US. Not bad.

Like Rob, I was full on Springsteen and other US mostly hard rock when this came out.

It wouldn't be for another 3 years or so when I'd be willing to give ABC a fair listen, and that was touched upon in the BM Time Playlist in that thread on the reasons why there. I'm better for it, but not sure I've given this selection a full/proper listen yet aside from the singles. I enjoyed "Poison Arrow" on its own, and that has its own memories too.

1983 was the much better year for NBA champs too where the painful memories of 1982 were all made right with some sweet sweep revenge, but I won't take you all down that road.

 

[bennyboy]

It got rave reviews but I didn't really take to it, not sure I was the target demographic.

Same in fact it will be interesting to see how much my view has changed or not over the years.
One of them that i got out of the library at the time and never came close to recording on tape or paying a fine for a late return.

 

[BimboBob]

If I'd have been there I'd have done my level best to drag your arse away from Charlie's head you philistine, max of two fillers on Upstairs at Eric's. Anyway this should attract some discussion/love from a couple of irregulars and as they didn't really do much in the US (which I always thought was odd in that I'd have imagined them to be quite cool/cult) it'll be interesting to hear the view from the colonies :-)

Too pieces, I before C, Midnight, In My Room and Tuesday.

To name 5.

I'll try and keep my diet simple for when you pop round...;)