Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Homegrown soul produced by Trevor Horn and including the pop hit "Look of Love", The Lexicon of Love is bursting with hooks, clever lyrics and synthetic funk-inspired grooves that hold up better than most others from the early 1980s. ABC leader Martin Frey sings with a histrionic despair, at once naive and cynical, and all dressed up by horn and string sections that feel positively overwhelming. Such larger-than-life arrangements may seem over-the-top to some listeners, but as the soundtrack to a lexicon of love--how else would you expect it to sound? --David Cantwell
Product Description
CD
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Having ditched my old turntable for a new CD-only player I went through all my old vinyl and picked out the essentials that needed to replaced by CD. While 90% of the synth/pop stuff from the 80's now sounds dated, 'Lexicon' stood out as one of the few that still sounds as good in 2002 as it did around 20 years ago. To those too young to remember or weren't around 'Lexicon' shows how 'pop' is done properly. Big on glam, big on glitz, big on sound. Not for ABC black pullovers, Gap khakis and rehashed Beegees/Cat Stevens numbers.Every track is a winner, although I'd say the 'singles' are not as good as 'Valentine's Day', '4 ever 2 gether' and 'Many happy returns'.Its got the lot, lush string arrangements, big drums and some cracking bass lines. 'Thriller's often talked of as being the best 'pop' album made. Nah! This blows that away every time.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By L. C. Huxley
Format:Audio CD
You know. The one that you like a song or two off of it, so you say, 'hey, give it a whirl', and you buy it and give it a listen. You stick to the excellent singles for a while, and then start to play the others. You enjoy them. You then play the whole damn thing through in one go, and then do it again. And again. Because it has grabbed you and is never, ever letting you go. And you want to shout it's praises in public, in the most superlative, terrible detail, to the bemusement of everyone else. Which is what I'm about to do here. You were warned.
'Lexicon...' is about love. Heartbreak, longing, bitterness, break-up, happiness- but instead of a string of cliched routine pop songs, ABC made what is essentially a kind of pop concept album. It even sort of features a persona, as Martin Fry's voice showcases the innocence of hopeful love and bitterness of a man scorned who feels frustration and sadness but is unable to really vent his anger (like most people, really). Each track is individual(there is no 'fade out' on any of the tracks) but also part of a whole, in terms of theme and execution.
'Show Me' opens the album, but by the end has become frantic in it's speed, and abruptly finishes, to then immediately launch into the splendid 'Poison Arrow', a perfectly produced bit of pop, complete with bitter, and possibly slightly ironic, lyrics, and a classic chorus ('Who broke my heart. YOU did, YOU did'). On 'Tears Are Not Enough', as Fry opens with a near falsetto, but proceeds to sound almost vicious ('yes you're shown you're tough...tears are not enough').... Read more ›
'Lexicon...' is about love. Heartbreak, longing, bitterness, break-up, happiness- but instead of a string of cliched routine pop songs, ABC made what is essentially a kind of pop concept album. It even sort of features a persona, as Martin Fry's voice showcases the innocence of hopeful love and bitterness of a man scorned who feels frustration and sadness but is unable to really vent his anger (like most people, really). Each track is individual(there is no 'fade out' on any of the tracks) but also part of a whole, in terms of theme and execution.
'Show Me' opens the album, but by the end has become frantic in it's speed, and abruptly finishes, to then immediately launch into the splendid 'Poison Arrow', a perfectly produced bit of pop, complete with bitter, and possibly slightly ironic, lyrics, and a classic chorus ('Who broke my heart. YOU did, YOU did'). On 'Tears Are Not Enough', as Fry opens with a near falsetto, but proceeds to sound almost vicious ('yes you're shown you're tough...tears are not enough').... Read more ›
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
When I was forced to listen to this album, back in 1982, by a brother with a curious Martin Fry haircut, I tried with all my might not to like it.I was won over in seconds by the lush orchestral opening with seemed so out of kilter with the single-note synthesiser music typical of the time.Each track built on the one before in such an uncontrived and seamless manner that, without trying, it built into the best concept album ever, and one of the best of all time. Times have flowed ever onwards and fashions have changed, yet this album sounds as fresh and contemporary today as it did all those years' ago.What a shame that the group chose to dramatically change tack after this, their seminal work; but there again, it was a hard act to follow. Do yourself a favour, buy the album and relive those days where everything seemed possible and adult responsibilities were something that your dad worried about.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
When this album was released in 1982, I was 15, thin and thought I knew it all. Thirty years on I am fatter and am aware that I know very little. But I do know this record is one of the greatest pop albums ever made and that it should be in any serious collection of pop music. Given that these days the great majority of my listening focuses on classical music then this is perhaps surprising or perhaps it is not because the sound of this music has a symphonic power and the lyrics would not be out of place in an opera house. Why is this album so exceptional? One classic test of the quality of an album is how many bad tracks are mixed in with the good ones-here the answer is simple-there is not one bad song here and indeed some of the ones which were not released as singles like Date Stamped or Many Happy Returns are equally as good as classics like Poison Arrow or The Look of Love. Then there is the gloriously ironic cliche-ridden lyrics which are as fresh and enjoyable now as three decades ago. Then there is the music itself-a complex blend of jazz, funk, percussion and strings with the synths just one element of a complex musical whole. Having a producer like Trevor Horn was obviously a stroke of great good fortune because the instrumentation, the blending and sound are all outstanding. Even the artwork is a masterpiece and entirely true to the spirit of the music. Some would characterize this music as New Romantic, but the truth is like all of the best albums, the Lexicon of Love transcends any genre or era. I direct this review to fans of the Beatles, Progressive Rock, those under 30 who may not know this music or even fans of Sinatra or Bennett. Listen to this and I defy you not to smile and enjoy, admitting as you do,that you have acquired an outstanding album.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 40 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Memories
This was a great album when it was released - it still is!
The melodies and vocal arrangements are straight out of the 60s but in the 80s musically the UK needed an antidote... Read more
The melodies and vocal arrangements are straight out of the 60s but in the 80s musically the UK needed an antidote... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Reviewer100
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect pop
It is hard to believe that this album is over 30 years old but it has lost nothing in the three decades which have elapsed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Greenhoff08
5.0 out of 5 stars
Happy ever after.
I liked the LP in the eighties and I'm very happy I purchased in back. I'm not a sucker for nostalgia, for it is often a dissapointing reunion. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mena V. D. Bosch
5.0 out of 5 stars
the lexion of love
another brill album from the 80's - some very powerful words and music to help you trance back to days gone by
Published 12 months ago by Mrs. Julia M. James-tarn
5.0 out of 5 stars
F.A.B.
This is a wonderful, wonderful album. For me, early 80s music was dominated by early REM. And no, this sounds nothing at all like REM! Read more
Published 13 months ago by Alan Calderwood
4.0 out of 5 stars
Horn's finest hour?
It's taken me nearly thirty years for this album to win me over. Hearing 'Tears Are Not Enough' on the radio put me off ABC the first time around. Read more
Published 19 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jaw droppingly good. This gives 80s pop a very good name
For a brief time in the early Eighties the hip kids, music critics and sales charts were united: glossy commercial pop was where it was at and teen pop mag Smash Hits would share... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Vauxhall1964
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
One of the greatest albums of the 1980s. Just listen to it and let yourself be amazed. This is pop music at its very best. Every track is fantastic sung with style and passion. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Barclays
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Abc of 80s music
This Album is simply perfect, melodic, powerful, goodsounding.
The single "The Look of Love" could be considered one of the
three top songs of all the 80s. Read more
The single "The Look of Love" could be considered one of the
three top songs of all the 80s. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Lucazest
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Along with Human League's DARE, this is one of the few true classic albums from the 80s, benefiting again from Trevor Horn's brilliant skill as producer and the rich voice of... Read more
Published on 21 May 2011 by Grahame
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
