The Album Review Club - Week #145 - (page 1923) - Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans

[RobMCFC]

Sometimes, less really is more. This is one of those. I know it is not a genre and era I particularly like anyway, but on it's own merit, it is just overdone. Throw as many gimmicks at it to disguise otherwise boring formulaic song writing and unoriginal performance and singing. And then rinse repeat for each song, with the hope that those looking for something 'more' will fall for it. I have in the past praised richness in songs, so I don't think it is necessarily a conviction to minimalism, just purely how I see this album. Liked it less than the last one and a few I can remember so a 3 from me.

I agree entirely about the rinse and repeat aspect - there’s definitely a whiff of the same song retooled many times. But as I said in my review, there are some very good songs on this album - “All of My Heart” being the best example - that even the OTT production can’t drown.

 

[threespires]

Sometimes, less really is more. This is one of those. I know it is not a genre and era I particularly like anyway, but on it's own merit, it is just overdone. Throw as many gimmicks at it to disguise otherwise boring formulaic song writing and unoriginal performance and singing. And then rinse repeat for each song, with the hope that those looking for something 'more' will fall for it. I have in the past praised richness in songs, so I don't think it is necessarily a conviction to minimalism, just purely how I see this album. Liked it less than the last one and a few I can remember so a 3 from me.

This has been a good album for raising the question what is it we actually hear when we play stuff like this. Are we listening to decent music or are we really 'hearing' our memories of a carefree time and place. I think it's both and tbh even if it's more the latter then what's the purpose of music if not to create emotions that then turn into memories. That said I think this album is a testament to the times but also stands the test of time too. No one seems to have mentioned the hooks, it's got loads of them. Are they massively innovative? Not really. Are they often a bit formulaic? Possibly. But that didn't stop Motown or Atlantic or PIR from producing great records too.

As an apprentice miserablist at the time, I did my level best to dislike all of the pop music of the day. But the good stuff will always get it's hooks into you.

This album is not perfect and some aspects have stood up less well than others but to me over forty years later it's still eminently playable.

 

[OB1]

I can’t even remember exactly what I thought of ABC when they appeared on the scene. They definitely were not what I was buying or going to see in concert but the singles probably didn’t offend me and do remind me of the time they come from.

Much later in life I did feel the need to add “Lexicon of Love” to my cd collection and rate it as a great example of early 80’s pop.

I love a bit of OTT production and Trevor Horn is a master of that; he can do subtle though.

Whilst this is not my fave genre etc, which loses it a point, it is something of a classic and I will give it 9/10.

 

[PragueBlue]

After a few more critical listens, I have to say I still love it. It is, of course, a product of its time but that just adds to the charm of it for me. I have some great memories from those days. There's not a track on the album that I don't enjoy. It has always been one of my favourite albums and, I suspect, always will be. Another 10 from me.

 

[GornikDaze]

Thankfully I’d only heard the ‘hits’ off this album. I get it’s iconic but it’s very much of its time for me and not something I really would enjoy listening to again. It all got a bit samey and repetitive and the cringey additional vocals on some tracks really were annoying.
Respect to @BimboBob for choosing something that means a lot to him. For the very fact I’m not as grumpy as @Coatigan I’ll give it 4/10.
I checked release dates of what I was listening to in 1982 - my album of the year was Rush - Signals which rather puts my score into context

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

When I first listened to the album I was quite surprised it was released in 1982 as I think it sounds very "modern" compared to it's contemporaries. The production is key of course and it's definitely going to split people on it.

Personally I really enjoyed it although I'm not a fan of his voice, but the songs and production are good enough to keep me listening.

The singles are the stand out tracks and there's not many better songs in the 80s than All Of My Heart! It's superb.

Overall it's a good solid album and definitely one to come back to!

7/10

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Normally when I listen to records I like the first time around, they grow on me. This one didn’t get any better on repeated plays, but stayed pretty much as it was: pleasant, bouncy, funny and clever (the lyrics regularly, and the little drum/horn/keyboard flourishes that show up once in a while), but ultimately disposable and not as hooky nor as memorable as some of the 80s/90s dance-pop that populates a lot of my decades-old vinyl collection. My main broader takeaway was that the Pet Shop Boys have spoiled me rotten and set up a difficult comparison for music and lyrics like these, as have others, including my previously-mentioned Scritti Politti. But at least it’s better than Blancmange.

There’s nothing here I didn’t like, and perhaps obviously I knew “Poison Arrow” and “Tears Are Not Enough” and “The Look Of Love.” They’re all a good listen. That said, for whatever reason, “Be Near Me” has always been my favo(u)rite song by these by a little bit, and listening here nothing I already knew or didn’t know before changed my mind.

“Valentine’s Day” probably emerged as the most fun of the stuff I hadn’t heard – that swelling little keyboard is a kick. And I like that line from “Date Stamp” – “Looking for the girl that meets supply with demand” – cute. And I like that bass line on “4 Ever 2 Gether” (though the tempo changes are odd). But as the record wears on, the hooks dwindle some and the songs become a bit of a cliched pastiche, lyrically and musically. And it worries me a bit that the smart-aleck clever-dick of the first several songs becomes frustrated enough by women that he loses his ironic pose by the end.

Maybe I’m looking too hard for meaning in something that’s meant to be breezy and off-the-cuff. Somehow I don’t think so given the care with which the lyrics are crafted and the fact that Trevor “Wall Of Sound 2.0” Horn produced it. But it succeeds often enough at getting my bum up off my seat that I’d hear it again without thinking and relive my youth a little. 7/10.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

My review is going to start with some context from a few of the recent reviews for good reason...

Respect to @BimboBob for choosing something that means a lot to him. For the very fact I’m not as grumpy as @Coatigan I’ll give it 4/10.

I checked release dates of what I was listening to in 1982 - my album of the year was Rush - Signals which rather puts my score into context

I was listening to the same thing in 1982, and certainly not this album. But I didn't first hear this album or band in 1982, it wouldn't be for another 3 years later in another time and place.

This has been a good album for raising the question what is it we actually hear when we play stuff like this. Are we listening to decent music or are we really 'hearing' our memories of a carefree time and place. I think it's both and tbh even if it's more the latter then what's the purpose of music if not to create emotions that then turn into memories.

For me it is much more the latter and the memories and emotions that come with it. That observation in bold above hits the nail on the head for me when it comes to this album. It's the 1985 and beyond memories of this and the then-girlfriend who introduced this band and album to me. One I wasn't initially fond of. Together with her, I had heard the hits off this, specifically "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love", and "All of My Heart".

Before I get to the end, I'll add in some perspective on the listens to this from this past week.

That said I think this album is a testament to the times but also stands the test of time too. No one seems to have mentioned the hooks, it's got loads of them. Are they massively innovative? Not really. Are they often a bit formulaic? Possibly. But that didn't stop Motown or Atlantic or PIR from producing great records too.

I think this is spot on too. The hooks are amazing, and there could be more than a few songs to get hono(u)rable mention to be included in the "Made by the Bass" playlist. The one complaint I'd have is there is a sort of sameness to some of melodies. The music in "All of My Heart" even has a sameness as "Be Near Me" from a future album.

As an apprentice miserablist at the time, I did my level best to dislike all of the pop music of the day. But the good stuff will always get it's hooks into you.

The apprentice miserablist identifying with the lyrics in "Many Happy Returns" of "I know what's good, but I know what trash is" makes me smile thinking of another one who was reviewing this here. ;-)

"The Lexicon of Love" is an appropriately named album as I'd say that since all the songs deal with love and the pursuit of (and sometimes rejection) in some way shape or form, this album hits the mark in what it takes on. It's a guilty pleasure, and if the arrow hits you (pun intended), you're not going to forget the memories that come along with it.

This album is not perfect and some aspects have stood up less well than others but to me over forty year later it's still eminently playable.

Some things don't stand the test of time and some do. On its own musically, this would likely be a 6 from me.

But like the numerous hooks ("more hooks than a meat packing plant" as one review penned) that got me back then, this one is loaded with memories. Great ones that have stayed with me as I expanded my musical horizons and appreciation of genres that I wasn't formerly keen on. Overall, this gets an 8.5/10 for me. My wife would give it a 10/10, but she's biased because she already loved the album musically before she met me. Now we both do, especially for the overlapping memories. Thanks @BimboBob for the nomination and trip down memory lane this week.

 

[threespires]

Think I have said most of what I wanted to on this pick, just picking up a couple of points others have made:

The repetition: whilst not exactly a concept album it’s got a consistent theme running through it and I think that is reflected in repeated musical motifs – I think this is deliberate rather than lacking in imagination.

Of the hits, I would wholeheartedly agree with those picking “All of My Heart” as the standout. There is a school of thought that the songs needed a ‘bigger’ voice than Fry’s, but whatever limitations/fragilities there may be work in his favour on this one and the production on this track is one where some aspects are rightly turned up to 11 but others aspects are less OTT. It’s an exemplar of why pop should never be completely dismissed out of hand.

Whoever it was complaining about the female voices, I’m pretty sure that at least in one or two instances it’s Tessa Niles, so jolly well stop moaning.

I remain convinced that this is significantly more ambitious than the likes of Spandau Ballet and deserves to be considered in the same way as other interesting Sheffield bands of the era whether they sound like them or not.

I scored the Colour of Spring 10/10 because there is literally nothing material I would change about that album. That’s not true of this and there’s enough to knock off a point, maybe even more. However, set against that are the reignited sixth form memories of nipping off to Alexandra Park for a bit of quiet time with my first girlfriend; I was a pragmatist which meant that whilst I might have wanted to have listen to Atrocity Exhibition something like The Thompson Twins was a better bet for spending quality time. However, the great thing about ABC and this album was I didn’t have to compromise on the quality of the music to have a good time. 9/10.

 

[southamptonblue]

I checked release dates of what I was listening to in 1982 - my album of the year was Rush - Signals which rather puts my score into context

Same for me, all rock, couldn't stand any of the poppy chart stuff, hence other than the singles, had never listened to ABC....and despite my musical tastes mellowing quite alot since then, it's not the music I like listening to, a 4.

@RobMCFC ...will put clues up for my nomination tomorrow around half 3 to 4pm ;)