Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
1984
Album Summary
Welcome to the Pleasuredome is the debut studio album by English synth-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, first released on 29 October 1984 by ZTT Records. Originally issued as a vinyl double album, it was assured of a UK chart entry at number one due to reported advance sales of over one million. It actually sold around a quarter of a million copies in its first week. The album was also a top-10 seller internationally in countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and New Zealand. While commercially successful, the album also drew criticism for containing new versions of all of the songs from the group's (already much-remixed) singles from the same year ("Relax" and "Two Tribes", plus B-side "War"), as well as a surfeit of cover versions in lieu of much new original material. It was later revealed that Trevor Horn's production dominated the record so thoroughly that the band's own instrumental performances were often replaced by session musicians or Horn himself. Frankie's second album, Liverpool, actively featured the full band. However, the album's evergreen ballad "The Power of Love" subsequently provided the group with their third consecutive UK number one single. To celebrate the album's 30th anniversary, in October 2014, ZTT through Union Square Music released a limited edition (2,000 copies only) box set entitled Inside the Pleasuredome, available exclusively from the website pledgemusic.com. The box set contains rarities on 10" vinyl, as well as a book, a DVD, a cassette (featuring 13 mixes of "Relax" and its B-side "One September Monday") as well as a new 2014 remastered version of Welcome to the Pleasuredome on 180g vinyl.
WikipediaThis was very different to what i expected. It starts out like quite a decent dance record. Inexplicably throws in a few covers which add very little. Then the latter part of the record goes nowhere until the massive hit "power of love" comes on. Not sure how much of a coherent album it is but its fucking mental and mostly enjoyable if only in parts. 3/5
I really enjoyed this. It was weird, trippy, indulgent, all the things that can be annoying and make an album less enjoyable potentially, but this one hits the mark. A really unique and cool experience.
You know, I really liked this a lot. More than I thought I would. There’s a very cinematic feel to it, maybe kind of a broadway show feel. You’ve got kinda synthy stuff like Relax, you’ve got bossanova on the San Jose cover, there’s a Born To Run cover, there’s a skit or two. I’ve listened to it like 3 times in a day because it flows together so well even though it might not be the BEST.
Now this was unexpected! After the opener there was a 13 minute song and I got very nervous but the rest of them leveled out and I actually found a ton that I liked on here. Obviously Relax is a classic but I really enjoyed Two Tribes, Born to Run, and San Jose (which I think is a bit from who's line is it anyway). The album cover looks way better on Apple Music, this looks like Picasso went to the Queen Mary's and had his life changed.
Back to the '80s baby! Of course, the only song I know from this group is "Relax," and thankfully that is on here. Somehow I never picked up on how sexual that song is until hearing it in the context of the album. There are also some covers, like "War" and "Born to Run," and I enjoyed those. Overall, I like their style and enjoyed a handful of songs, but this didn't strike me as anything special. Favorite tracks: Relax, Born to Run, War. Album art: Pretty cool art cover, though the picture framed on this site is different from the one I see on Apple music. I like the colors and art style of this one though. 3/5
Woof this is all over the place. Horrid title track, great songs that would probably sound better covered, very dated, and interesting album experience touches. Too confusing for anything but a 3.
Fun and eclectic, lots of classic rock singalongs with interludes of weird narration or groovy instrumentals.
Wow, I didn’t expect to like this nearly as much as I did… really solid listening experience. The originally songs were fun jams and even the covers were really original takes on those tracks. Overall thoroughly enjoyed this and I might check out more of their stuff. Favorite Tracks: “Welcome To The Pleasure Dome,” “Relax,” “War,” and “The Power of Love”
- strong musicianship - kinda out there but also poppy - wildly explicit lyrics, truly shocking
Just the perfect pop album. Doesn’t sound in the slightest bit dated it was so ahead of its time! Classic!!
I had sort of decided this wasnt for me as I am not a massive pop fan, however this is an amazing album full of great records
My wife says she feel like I was cheating on her with Spotify while listening to this.
Relax, Two Tribes, The Power of Love - these were all tracks I was well aware of and liked, but I had never ventured further into the Frankie Goes To Hollywood oeuvre. Well, I'm very pleased that I now have! I would have originally said Frankie... was decidely 80s pop rock but there are tonnes of different elements going on here, I hear tones of jazz, funk, dance and R&B. Fantastic record!
OMG, I bought this LP when it came out. I wore this album out, there is nothing like it.
Really good album! I really like "Relax" from my entrance into new wave. The entire album's vibe really resonated today. I enjoyed the covers as well. Solid 4 stars!
this was actually very great, very very 80s, very cheesy, very talented and very varied
Crazy album. A 13-minute epic right at the beginning, a couple of covers I wasn't expecting ("War" and "Born To Run"). End of the album was a bit weak, but otherwise a fun album.
Brilliant, singles like relax and the power of love are enough to make this thing timeless
Pleasantly surprised by the musicality in the album. Another deep dive from what i thought was a one-hit wonder reveals another solid artist.
Spooky vibe Jungle sounds lets goo Baby we were born too run - wat een schijf also is het deze waar Michel Wuyts aan dacht bij de finish van Van Aert bij de Amstel Gold Race?
3,8 Waar is die pleasuredome en hoe geraak ik daar?! (ik wil gaan met men lads, where they@?) Album is een vibe, nummer van 13 minuten stoorde mij niet omdat het leuke sounds had. na het einde had ik wel het gevoel dat er paar nummers een beetje filler waren. Niet persé een album dat ik ooit nog volledig ga luisteren, maar ik ga wel zeker nog vaak een paar nummers luisteren! Relax en The power of love fatte bops!
Welcome to the pleasuredome is echt een bop. RELAX ook . Eerste helft was echt goed. Album in totaal was wel iets te lang waardoor tweede helft minder boeide..
bastante chulo la verdad aunque es larguísimo además tiene la canción esa de Relax que es muy famosa está guapa
No sabía que "Relax" era de acá y me parece muy buen hit. Un disco con altibajos, aunque quizá rescate más lo bueno, porque no suena mal y de pronto se antoja como una chispa experimental, de repente parece entre Tears for Fears y Duran Duran. Creo que tiene es todo ese dramatismo, que yo he aducido como representativo de Queen. Otras canciones que me gustaron fueron "Two Tribes", "San Jose" y la cursi "The Power of Love". 7.5/10
Muy chistoso, se ve que hubo buena producción, un sonido muy de su época. Pues me gustó en general, tiene variedad, aunque si tuve que dar un skip por ahi, mis favs fueron sobre todo las primeras canciones hasta Relax, don't do it,. Tararararartara, relax...
some things i love: the bass - great tone, and man, can that guy rip. the liverpool/merseyside stuff - totally a personal thing, but liverpool is definitely special in my world, so hearing that accent was awesome. the rest of the album was a great snapshot of pop music in 1984, for sure. also, the contemporaneous cover of Born To Run! never heard it before, but it totally rocks.
Sweaty. Basically lots of different versions of Two Tribes (no bad thing!) and some utterly redundant cover versions which ruin the tone of the album and stretch it out too much.
Whilst I have kind of heard of Frankie Goes to Hollywood I didn't realise that the absolute classic "Relax" was by these guys! Welcome to the Pleasuredome is an amalgamation of what I think the 80s would've sounded like. Full of deep synths and electro dance pop goodness. Best: Relax; War Worst: Tag
A great album that seems to encompassing of everything 80. Synth pop, new wave, some prog rock esque sounds, a 15 minute song on the first half, couple of covers and sandwiched by two of the biggest 80s songs with Relax and Power of Love
A shockingly engaging album with various movements and genres well blended into a single album. I was impressed by the several famous singles and covers, and while some may describe the structure as messy sounding, it kept me interested from beginning to end.
I was fourteen when this came out and was too cool listening to Pink Floyd in my Led Zeppelin t shirt to give it the time of day. Of course I knew some of the songs but listening to the album was a joy. Clubby, dancey and a pivotal statement in Gay culture. I love it!
Quite the song writer. I'm impressed. I really expected them to be a one hit wonder where everything else sucked. But these guys are good.
I had heard Relax many times before but didn't know anything about this band. Now I know. There are more great songs on this album.
Ended up quite liking this after not being sold on the first track. High energy with some proper good tracks all the way through.
Those cover songs we’re a bit cringey, but Relax was one of the first songs that I was aware of in the zeitgeist Of the MTV heydays. Love that.
FGTH were MASSIVE. Relax and Two Tribes sound like a huge outburst of rage against the system. Great Britain in 1984 - Thatcher’s sweeping social reforms, massive unemployment, miners’ strike, troubled in Northern Ireland, deepening North/South divide and genuine fear of nuclear obliteration - an absolutely awful time to be anything other than obscenely wealthy. And here were a band from Liverpool, making loud, raucous, frenetic music, as maximalist as the excesses of the Tory government but this belonged to them - we’ll sing about sex, we’ll sing about war, we’re blatantly queer and we’re going to be huge. And they were. Radio 1 banned Relax from the airwaves - it made no difference - the song hit number one, followed by Two Tribes (with Relax now occupying number two in the charts - practically unheard of) and Power of Love. Three hit singles. And for a short while, these Lads from Liverpool ran the country - not the fascist regime in Westminster. Anything was possible. Perhaps that explosion of energy explains the shortcomings of this album. The hits and a few other tracks aside, synth pop cover versions do not an album make and perhaps the interference of Trevor Horn meant the creative spark was diminished somewhat when the band tried to make more music. Not a classic album, then, but an important one. Never forget what this band meant. Frankie Says Relax, yeah?
Oh damn. Like this a lot more than I was expecting to. I had Frankie Goes to Hollywood mentally filed next to Soft Cell as being a more or less uninteresting pop act with a smash hit single or two. Really enjoyed the first sequence of three tracks - really did feel like entering a pleasuredome! I also dug many of the covers, especially "San Jose (The Way)"... Not quite a five as the second half has some lulls, but I'd definitely go 4.5 if that were an option. Fave track - "Relax" - that shiz is utterly iconic. The title track was great too, and "San Jose"...
An album ahead of its time. It’s about “to thine own self be true”, positivity and a better future. Although it has an 80’s vibe, it is not dated. This is an album that I have never heard (other than what was on MTV or the radio), I’m glad I had the opportunity. These are the albums I am looking to find by participating.
That 80’s ass bass, fun, and the Pleasuredome track was my favorite. Also never knew the band behind Relax
Spotify. Ok listen. Fave song “Relax” is a classic but also enjoyed the “Born to Run” cover
Bit self indulgent at 1 hour long. Seemed to run out of ideas and resort to odd cover versions in the second half
I had high exceptions. But, outside of a couple of memorable hits, was not thrilled, especially the lame covers.
Really a very weird album from a pretty weird band. The wild misinterpretation of the breakout hit is funnier in the context of the whole thing.
Enjoyed more than I expected. Surprised by the cover of Born to Run. Strangely hearing shades of Pink Floyd in the ballad of 32.
I thought the album was interesting, but "Relax" was the only song that I could see myself wanting to listen to again.
Nicely structured album with interesting songs, but I can't get over the strongly 80s sound. 5/10, cool that they had an impostor band for 2 years
Classic 80's type music. "relax" by far the most popular song on the album and didn't know it was by them - thought it was Duran Duran. Lots of electronica and a few covers. 6/10.
The was the last ‘double’ album on vinyl that I bought. Like most double albums it would have been terrific if they combined the 10 best tracks onto one album. The remaining 10 tracks were a bit self indulgent. 😄 Love the Born to Run cover, completely random.
Gotta admit that Relax is a pretty iconic 80s dance tune that I played about a kazillion times back in the day. Also Despite the goofy narration over War, the bass line has chops and there are some good covers of Born to run and San Jose. But overall this is like watching the original Lethal Weapon or Diehard movies, it’s pretty dated and doesn’t hold up well today
Apologies for the hiatus. I'm back in business! This was a strange one for me to review. I remember having Frank Goes to Hollywood on vinyl but the cover of this one wasn't at all familiar and I can't imagine buying any records after this one. It turns out I had an EP (is that an anachronism or did EPs tag along with the vinyl resurgence?) The EP had four tracks and all four were cover versions. Just kidding - only cover was WAR. On the vinyl EP, the artwork that surrounds the spindle hole had a head shot of Ronald Regan and the spindle hole went right through his forehead. Execution style! The EP was the right amount of Franky. I really don't get why they felt it necessary to make a double album. The title track is over 13 minutes and is nothing other than a far too long introduction to the next song, Relax. It's like having half a dozen burgers as an appetizer before a dover sole main course. I also think there are a few too many cover versions on this bad boy. This led me to think about when cover versions are OK and not OK. Allow me to get distracted; think of it as giving my ADHD some love. Johnny's musings on cover versions: 1. In the 60s multiple cover versions were done frequently so covers were OK then. No limits. 2. Cover versions are also OK when it's jazz because, well, they don't call them covers - they're standards. (I never bought into to that "rose is a rose . . ." nonsense.) 3. A cover is good when it uses a completely different genre than the original. I'm thinking of Syd Vicious' version of My Way. Ditto for Paul Anka's cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. It does exist! If you haven't you should give it a listen. It's particularly funny given what Syd did to Paul's song. Perhaps Paul groups grunge and punk in the same tent so was satisfied with this touché. 4. You can cover a song that isn't a hit or top of mind. I'm thinking Nina Simone's and later Bowie's covers of WIld is the Wind and Jason & the Scorchers cover of Absolutely Sweet Marie although Jason also meets Rule 3. 5. One cover version per album is also allowed cause wtf let's not be too rule orientated - he says on Rule #5 of 9 lol 6. No limit on covers on live albums. It might be the only chance to hear them. 7. I would give a 5 star rating to John Lennon's Rock and Roll album from the mid seventies which was entirely covers. But this album is exempt since its cover versions were the music that influenced the most influential musician in our lifetime. (Wow that's a fucking statement and a half! But I still don't like Fame.) 8. Other than that, fuck off with the cover versions! 9. I reserve the right to exempt other cover versions I like. I'll say the cover of War is OK. The song itself isn't played particularly well but the Reagan voices make it OK. (Rule 9) But why would they cover Springsteen? Born to Run was a smash hit less than a decade earlier. What exactly did they do with the song that made them think: "Yeah Baby, let's slap that brother on our first album"? Ditto for Fury, San Jose and Ferry. I was going to say ditto Power of Love but this a an original! I was sure it was a cover. Now I need to find whose version of the song I like. I really liked the hits (Relax, Two Tribes) when the dance floors found them back in the day so I can't rate this too low but there are some seriously low points.
all right; kind of medium New Wave sound. probably a 3. Pretty decent! Quite a few covers, but I like their versions!
Actually pretty fun, some good tracks: relax is a classic. Some of the lyrics are a bit much, but I suppose the album title warns of that
I was a teen in the 80s and this album, especially the song 'Relax,' are about as much an integral part of the 80s soundtrack as I can remember. At the time, I was mostly a hard-rock devotee but I do remember enjoying this music, synth-heavy as it can be. It's catchy, fun, and even interesting at times. I had forgotten it was also political at points, which adds something to it, as did some of the controversy they stirred up; e.g., unabashedly gay, which was still somewhat rare in the 80s, and doing covers of songs that ticked off some people, which I think is healthy in many ways. Good stuff.
Definitive 80's glam - huge production, great bass lines and tone, FM synth goodness everywhere. First half of the album is absolutely incredible, but the back half of the album loses steam. Favorite Song: Relax
Musicalmente ci sono delle parti interessanti e alcuni brani sono divertenti ma altri sono veramente brutti, anche a causa del sound. Per me sarebbe un 2,5 ma do un 3 per la simpatia.
In conclusione: Sono partito un po' prevenuto perché comunque mi aspettavo una cosa molto kitsch. Da una parte lo è ma l'evidente autoironia mi ha fatto stare simpatici la maggior parte dei pezzi. Diciamo che il rapporto quantità di riferimenti al sesso omoerotico/canzone è chiaramente molto alto ma l'ho trovato molto meno irritante di notorious big perché appunto fatto con uno spirito giocoso e anche un po' sixties make love not war. L'album è lunghetto ma non mi è pesato troppo perché devo dire che i pezzi sono molto vari e li ho trovati molto ben arrangiati, a tratti certi pezzi avevano un po' dei vibe Toto. Anche la produzione nonostante l'influenza ottantina che comunque è forte l'ho trovata non troppo fastidiosa. Non è un album che risentirei probabilmente e non credo di essere il target, però secondo me è un album migliore di come si presenta.
Album: Welcome to the Pleasuredome Artist: Frankie Goes to Hollywood Year: 1984 Best Track: Welcome to the Pleasuredome Thoughts: This one started pretty strong - sounded like it was building to a synth-powered disco concept album. Deflated a bit later. Catchy though.
2nd track is a long journey. seems they are copying some of their songs from other people? 3/5 album. 40% of the album was good.
From when albums were stories front to back still. 80s groovy trippy cinema? Was running when Born to Run cover came on so that was cool. Probably won’t listen again. The 13 minute song was a bit much.
I knew "Relax" was the second real track. What I didn't know was that the title track was over 13 minutes. They kept teasing me. Everytime I thought "Relax" was going to pop up, the title track wasn't done it, and it kept sounding like they were going to transition at any second. The main highlight is "Relax", but there are some decent covers here. Some tracks like "San Jose" or the guitar solo in "The Ballad of 32" stand up as an entirely different genre to keep the experience fresh. There's humor thrown in between the tracks. That being said, the main appeal to a lot of tracks is the production synth which gives it a distinct 80s identity, but I felt a bit underwhelmed. I honestly can't see how "The Power of Love" topped the UK charts. But then again, so did The Lady in Red around the same year so maybe people were losing good taste... Anyway I wish the album ended with something more hi-nrg.
Jee jee, pimpeli pom, geneeristä kasaria, haistakaa vittu 2/5 aa täs on relax, se on iha 4/5, mut muuten 3/5
This album is has a cool sound, and the openness through which it deals with gay male sexuality in the brutality of the 1980s is interesting from a historical standpoint. However, there is no reason for this album to be a double album and contain this many covers. They did some fun things with the covers, but it feels like a waste to make this album so long and include so little original material (especially since Relax was already a huge single prior to the release of this album) 3/5
Pretty good 80s synth pop with a few exploratory tracks, also a few well kno-I MUST KILL THE PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIAAAAAAAA
Estamos ante una banda de singles. No está mal, pero el cover ese a Bruce Springsteen qué pedo, jajaja.
I was not expecting this one. When I read the "synth-pop" style on the Wikipedia page I imagined something so different than what I got. It's not anything genial or like but it's like some good parts of that "New Order"'s style that are enough good for an album and a good discover.
5/10. Not bad, but not good. Welcome to the Pleasuredome itself was fun, a lot of stuff was okay, the Born to Run cover just felt like a worse version of the original, and I really don't understand why The Ballad of 32 needed to have sex noises in the background, like do some people enjoy that in their music? Because I just don't get it. Enjoyed San Jose and The Power of Love. Also rather long.
i can see how this might've been good in 1984 but i found it pretty corny and just not that interesting. 5/10
Well this is a weird album. Dance music...politically themed...bizarre covers of Springsteen and Dionne Warwick classics. One big time hit. Too long and indulgent to rate more than 3 🌟
3rd November 2021 Actually listened on the 4th, I was in the office yesterday with loads to do and then we went to watch Neil's environment play. Podcasts etc catching up! I really liked half of this (including a lovely, punky version of born to run!) but felt a bit long. Good though.
65 Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Holywood 16 tracks. You just think this will be their 2 big hits and then you remember the 3rd one and then the 4th and actually it's decent. It is however really dated & hasn't stood the test of time. 3/5
I was a little disappointed with how much this sags in the middle, the covers don’t work for me
Singles and title track are excellent but the rest of the album brings this down to a 3.
Liked this more than I expected to. I was ready to turn it off after the title track, but it grew on me after that. 2.5/5
good new wave album, Relax is an incredible track. Album was kinda too long so it gets 3 stars instead of 3,5
One mega hit, three average covers and some so-so filler. I liked the bass intro to “War”.
Swiat dlugi i szeroki, tyle muzyki, a lista potrafi zarzucic kolejnym wyspiarskim krazkiem, zeby bylo smieszniej z podobnego okresu, bo wydanym w 84, dopelniajac kwintesencji zartu znowu nowo falowe synthowe granie, ale tym razem jeszcze bardziej eksperymentalnie, co swietnie widac gdy wejdzie sie na ilosc odtworzen poszczegolnych kawalkow na spotifaju, wuec Welcome To The Pleasuredome jest epicka przygoda w brzmienie swiata synthu, debiutancki material grupy Frankie Goes to Hollywood pochodzacej z liverpoolu, z tego co widze sporo tam szuflowania bylo pomimo tego ze zespol gral ledwie 7 lat nie liczac kombeka w latach 2k, ale ten album nagrywany byl piecioosobowym skladem z czego dwoch panow wspieralo jedynie wokalnie zespol, co ciekawsze nie ma wsrod glownego skladu zadnego klawiszowca, a przeciez synthy maja byc grane, no i sa ale w dosc nietypowy sposob, bo sporo brzmienia pochodzi od muzykow sesyjnych w sklad ktorych wchodzi nawet producent plyty pan Trevor Horn, ktory moze byc jedna z wazniejszych postaci tego krazka, bo moze sie komus nie podobac elektronika, liryka, czy wokale, ale calosc brzmi po prostu dobrze i to nie w ten sposob dobrze, ze latwy odsluch i ciach come come chameleonie, ale na 64 minutach i czterech stronach zespol pokazuje cztery rozne sposoby jak mozna grac nowa fale, przez openingowa strone ktorej wieksza czesc zajmuje epicka ballada tytulowa, przez bardziej popowe i energetyczne brzmienie z realx, ktory jest wlasnie tym utworem ktory gdzies mogl mi sie obic o uszy w radio wczesniej, czy two tribes, nastepnie strona coverow, ktora przechodzi w zamykajaca strone z wolniejsza elektronika czesto podana prawie calokowicie instrumentalnie lub z giberyszowmi wokalami, faktycznie jak teraz bardziej sie rozczytalem na temat tej plyty, to doszlo tutaj mozna powiedziec do wrogiego przejecia, gdzie pan Horn objal dowodzenie nad kierunkiem muzycznym w jakim podazyl album, co zaowocowalo tak szerokim wykorzystaniem sesyjnych muzykow, wiec frankie idzie do holiwudow, ale to pan horn ja prowadzi, tak czy inaczej sluchalo sie tego ciekawie, bo odsluch to prawdziwy rolercoster brzmieniowy, a nowym gatunkiem ktory dzisiaj wchodzi w sklad najprzedziwniejszych okreslen muzycznych bedzie oipisujacy te plyte Hi-NRG, jak sama nazwa wskazuje chodzi tutaj o druga strone przepakowana zwawszymi kawalkami, na plejke dodam wspomniany 13 minutowy tytulowy epik i kasowy przeboj grupy, czyli relax, nietypowa plyta sama ciekawie sie slucha, ale jej czlonkowie sie w niej chowaja, a moze raczej sa ukrywami przez poteznego pana Horna
Relax, don’t do it! Whoever has made this list is really into this British synth pop stuff from the early 80s. I got to say not my favorite genre
Always knew they were controversial from Relax; coulnt remember why so Im glad to listen to the whole album now. Great sound with the bass and synths. Reminds me of U2 a little bit. Enjoyed some of the tracks but a lot of them sound quite similar and I was glad to finish the album.
This is a pretty remarkable debut album, not because I necessarily think it's so great, but because the structure of the thing is so nutso. Here we have a debut album, a double album mind you, the first side of which contains a short intro and a 13+ minute rambling odyssey of a title song. It turns out "Pleasuredome" really is one of the best songs on the album, so I get it. The album as a whole though is kind of all over the place. I have to wonder what the thinking was behind all of it. It's like they knew they wanted to do the whole "Pleasuredome" thing and they had just a handful of singles and other ideas they wanted to use, which necessitated a whole 2nd disk that was mostly made of filler. It's very odd and I find the gleeful lack of flow or coherent musical point of view more than a little annoying. I’m annoyed because this has all the pieces of a great album, and they don’t quite get there. This is such a weird mix of the clubby, the political, the mildly obscene and the musically grandiose, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Chris Barrie's little monologues pinpoint a moment in time, but ultimately are just weird. The covers are pretty random and generally not great. That said, the beats and the bass lines are solid fun. When this album hits the right notes, it's terrific. I will add that I give Frankie credit for being incredibly brave in 1984. I still can't believe they made an album like this and it wasn't just a niche recording. It was a massive hit record. Fave Songs: The Power of Love, Relax, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, The Only Star in Heaven, Bang, Black Night White Light
Better than expected. Thought it would be political from a gay rights point of view but it had more expansive political themes. Might have been better off if a few tracks were culled. Overall, we liked it more than we expected to. Hilarious name also. Shannah - 2.5 Conor - 3 Bill - 3.5 (3/5)
Plenty of fun 80s synthy tracks, but it goes on a bit too long with a good chunk of filler. Favourites: "Welcome To The Pleasuredome", "Relax", "The Power Of Love"
The hype to quality ratio is still too high but there’s much more to this than one remembered. The record is pretty fun and listenable, with some thoughtful songs that cool things out. Still, this is much a better record than one would have suspected. The covers are mostly dumb but the record isn’t nearly as naughty or silly as one might have suspected. The hype was of unsuitable “The-Beatles-Are-Coming!” pitch and the one mega hit plus one big one (“Two Tribes”) seeming like maybe it could last, which of course it didn’t any more than a minute.
There were a few songs on this album that were a little catchy, but most of them were just so-so.
Best Song: Relax. It feels like the distillation of all the best parts of the rest of the album in a single, normal-length track. Silly, almost like video game music. And something about the way he cries out "hit me with those laser beams" just gets to me. Worst Song: San Jose. Silly little smooth jazz number that feels at odds with the rest of the album. Overall: Such a weird album. The tone is all over the place, and there are random, just alright covers interspersed throughout? Some individual songs are okay, but the whiplash from all the tonal changes means you can't really just throw the album on in the background and enjoy. Also, as in the song "The Ballad of 32", I think I'm done with artists putting moaning and other sexual vocalizations into a song as if that instantly makes the song edgy and sexy. It doesn't. It makes it awkward.
Spacey 80s pop Miami vice type vibe. Not as gay as I thought it would be lots of anti war stuff and singer could be a backup viagra boy
Some pretty good stuff and some pretty crappy stuff. I was gonna go 7/10 and then I listened to the 2nd half of the album. 6/10
Better than I expected it to be. Maybe a little too experimental at times, but nothing ever really turned me off
Pretty decent album. I didn't love every track, but I was already familiar with "Relax" and "The Only Star In Heaven" was a fun listen.
I have to admit, this wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The hit song from this album, Relax appears everywhere and even to this day it's one of those annoying ear-worms still ringing in my head. It ruined the film, Body Double, which wasn't a great movie to begin with, but why did it take so much screen time? That being said, I didn't hate this album, but it reminds me too much (yet again) why synth-pop is near the bottom of my list for music genres in the 80's!
Positiivisesti yllätti ja pari ok coveriakin levyllä. Ei lähellekään kuitenkaan tajunnanräjäyttävää
Nicht so schrecklich, wie ich vermutet hatte. Die Synthie-Sounds nerven stellenweise. Gute 2 Sterne.
Bleh. Concept album nonsense and cover songs. "Relax" remains a banger, but that's about it.
This album wasn’t good bang for the buck. Pleasuredome has a great start but runs about 6 minutes too long. Then you get the 2 hits on LP 1 with a cover of War. LP 2 starts with covers of Born to Run & San Jose!!! I was sure the album had finished and Spotify had started playing something else, but that couldn’t be right, because Spotify always plays something similar to what was playing, and a hard rock version of Born to Run was definitely not similar. Of the remaining tracks, I find the uptempo ones annoying and the ballads a bit more listenable.
Only knew their hit Relax. Lots going on in their music 🎶. Also liked Tribes, Born to Run and Fury which I think are all remakes of someone else’s work. Did not like Tag.
Lots of good ideas that are horribly executed. Comes out as an overly long and honestly kind of mediocre album.
This album is what would be the equivalent of an 80's electropop band doing covers and singing a couple originals at a Bar Mitzvah. The concept they were going for was alright, but the execution left something to be desired.
First two tracks are really good. Two Tribes is a standout also. That War cover is atrocious. Along with Born to Run. Then followed by a bunch of really boring tracks -- almost unlistenable towards the end.
Possibilitou eu descobrir de onde vem alguns hits dos anos 80 que aparecia nas rádios.
I was surprised to see this pop up on the list - I of course remember the 2 big singles in the mid-80s and then nothing else about them so I'm essentially going in blind. It's a well-produced (slick) very 80s-representative album produced by Trevor Horn (who had his hand in a lot of big music of the era) and as such it plays more like a nice resume point for him rather than featuring the music or band itself. Even their two big hits in retrospect have excellent hooks but are not developed much further than that; they thankfully each wrap up in under 4 minutes. For a lot of these tracks, they *sound* good but if anything they show the shortcomings as songwriters the band had, peppered with some weird/unexpected covers ("Born To Run" "San Jose" "War" - ??). In fact the first true song on the album is about 14 minutes of decent enough music but it's not really a song, per se - it sounds more like a poorly constructed overture. Summing up - nothing at all unpleasant to listen to with some very cool instrumental passages but with a slew of those odd covers and decent-enough sounding poppy dance tunes I don't really see why it's on the "1001 list" - to me it's not much more than background music. 4/10 2 stars
This album was a strange one. Mostly synth pop, but with a good deal of pop rock and prog rock and even a little disco for good measure. But outside of the title track, it never really came together for me. It is something that feels like it needed a little more refinement of identity.
The portion of this album I enjoyed the most were the back to back covers of “Born to Run” and “San Jose” - but that isn’t a positive for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I shouldn’t be thinking “Huh, I’d much rather be listening to Bruce Springsteen or Burt Bacharach than this pompous synth pop.” in the middle of your record!
De paar hits zijn geweldige nummers, maar ik vond de rest van het album nogal een bevalling.
De hits zijn cool, maar voor de rest vind ik de plaat veel te langdradig. En de covers voegen ook te weinig toe.