Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Decades Later - and Still a Classic!, 21 Nov 2004
In a world of monochromatic rap crap and pseudo soul wannabe's, this expanded edition reissue of ABC's debut album, "The Lexicon of Love", is proof that well crafted pop music never goes out of style. Originally released in 1982 (and it is hard to believe that it has been 22-plus years old since its release!), this album is an almost perfect marriage of melody, strong arrangements and clever lyrics. Even the non-singles like "Show Me", "Date Stamp" and "Valentines Day" are just as memorable as "Poison Arrow", "The Look Of Love" or the hauntingly beautiful "All Of My Heart." There are 12" mixes, outtakes, demos and a live performance of the album from 1982 as bonuses. However, the biggest bonus may be in the wonderful remastering job. The heavily compressed sound of previous incarnations is now gone. Dynamics now sound and feel much fuller and more natural and the rich textures and nuances in the arrangements are much clearer. Well worth it, even if you already have an older CD version. release.
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42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 stars ,,, but it could have been so much better, 9 Jun 2005
one of the greatest albums ever made .. and i should know . i helped make it .. the guy who compiled this deluxe edition of lexicon contacted me and asked for my help , which i offered .(being a founder member of the band ). i heard nothing until the version you see here became available .the live tracks , rare mixes ,out takes and photographs /memorabilia i have in my collection are far superior to what ended up on this "deluxe" vesion . so unfortunately you won't get to hear the working demos .or the original demos that we recorded before signing our recording deal with phonogram . "do as i say " "boomerang " "surrender " or my rough mixes that are ten times more enlightening then the awful phonogram demos of "tears" , "show me" and "surrender" .mixes such as the original mix of "poison arrow" . "all of my heart" pre strings . "4ever - 2gether" pre voice .. the oddity "into the valley of the heathen go" is fun i played it once and had a laugh . we often recorded songs made up on the spot . martin was brilliant when it came to add libbing and finding the words as if from air .. we would record country and western tunes , "dependent on the mule" , "hard drivin man" being a couple that spring to mind . and 1960's take offs such as "man i go wig ! (when i see those girls )" we recorded a concert in boston usa in a small club in december 1982 .. and the band were on fire that night, definately the best live recording we did . . i find the hammersmith reditions rather tame .i felt the band and martin were much better in a smaller more intimate surrounding . plus the hammersmith show was being filmed for the movie mantrap so we were limited in just what we could do that night ... it would have been nice to include the look of love parts 2 and 3 , found on the 12"maxi single . and the look of love part 5 a remix especially for clubs . one of the first remixes to use sampling as a basis for a remix .. and don't you think ? it would have been really nice if i'd been sent a copy of the album by phonogram , i did ask on release , but so far it's not arrived ... that's show biz..finally vh1 made a programme bands reunited with 1/2 of the original lexicon line up . i wasn't there . i hate to be lumped in with band such as the thompson twins . flock of seagulls kagagoogoo . i mean ... i recommend the documentary made by sheffield film maker eve wood "made in sheffield " for a true picture of the way it was back then ...
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unprecedented, but not the first!, 21 Dec 2004
Before I even knew what a "trevor horn" was, i was in awe of this album and Frankie's "Pleasuredome" within the same year. "Lexicon" set the standard for my pop/rock ears. It was truly the very first album i would obsessively listen to over and over without skipping a single track and all the while wondering "Why aren't all albums made this way??". Later, I would discover "Avalon" by Roxy Music (which actually came first, but not to my ears). ABC's original killer lineup (Fry, White, Singleton, Lickley, and, most of all, Palmer) had hammered out (with Horn) the ulitmate distillation of what HAD been great 70*s music to form the pinnacle of New Romanticism for the 80*s.The songs are an endless stream of witty couplets, like Satan himself had possesed your average dictionary of qoutations and was using it to sing the evils of love! The lowbrow take on highbrow lyricism all the while laughs at it's own haughty pretension, and Fry's ever-straining (though succeeding!) vocal delivery is emotive and leavening all at once! Tessa Niles (then Webb) made her mark as the angel of the New Romantic bands with her cameo parts here. Duran Duran would allude to her spots on Lexicon with their "Come Undone" single (that record seeming to mourn a bygone era). Trevor Horn (I know what one is now!) assembled the core army that would march forth as ZTT (and the before-mentioned Frankie) around this effort, and the collective genius of all concerned, coupled with an exacting attention to recorded sonics (predicting the digital era to come...) would rise to heights unimagined. This record is every bit as engaging and lofty as any classical symphony or suite. Horn even managed to "tart up' and incorporate a track produced by someone else (Steve Brown on "Tears Are Not Enough") seemlessly. Fortunately for listeners, the original 7 inch single version is here for comparison. Also of note is the FABULOUS jazz mix of "Poison Arrow" (which i long treasured on vinyl) that proves Trevor's chops as an ombudsman arranger and mixer! Some of you may like to know that a "scratch" mix of 'Look of Love" is out there (part 5), it has it's moments, really, but I can see why it missed the cut here... ABC's graphic sensibility PRE dated Pet Shop Boys and was in no small measure responsible for their success first time out. The Deluxe version exquistitely re-tailors the original graphics (Universal/Polygram in-house art has long been a leader in tasteful treatments, even when assigning such work to outside firms). Lots of Goodies for the eyeballs here, as well. The Live and Demo cuts are great, academically speaking. I only wish disc one had incorporated "overture" and "look parts 2 and 3" and left all else to disc two, it would have been less jarring. The sound has a certain "punched and compressed" quality in the percussion parts that was (like vintage Motown singles) a big part of it's vinyl success. It has obviously been decided to not mess with perfection in the audio approach, and the oddness of this approach is preserved (wise choice in my book!). I sincerely hope this album is one day given the 5.1 surround mix it so desperately deserves. It would definitely pose a challenge to Mr. Horn, and he may well feel it is too risky to mess with perfection. This album deserves that extra detail every bit as much as Roxy's "Avalon" did, and "Avalon" succeeded as such, so please Trevor, give a try for the old guard! THANK GOD THIS ALBUM HAS GOTTEN IT'S DUE HONOR AT LAST! You will proudly own the very best if you buy it, even the original vanity "Neutron" label is used! Purveyors of Supa-Fine Product, indeed!
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