Reviews (page 3 of 8)
Hmm, okay. I only knew 'Relax' before, and I saw it as a kind of novelty song (akin to 'Mambo No 5' or 'The Thong Song', maybe). But wiki is telling me they were Controversial & Gay, so my attention is piqued. Why are they covering 'Born to Run'?? This is very weird. Not as good as the OG, but I do like 'Born to Run'. Lots of covers on here actually. To their detriment, because I don't think they add anything, but I am a cover-hater. There sure are a lot of songs called 'The Power of Love'. Kinda wish that one was a cover. I dunno, they lost me by the end of this album. The pleasuredome is closed. But it's still a 3! Highlight: 'Wish (The Lads Were Here)' Language ideology: there's a wiki quote that says: <<Richard Harris from NME wrote, "'The Power of Love' is too straight-laced (sic)>> -- what's that "sic" doing there? Some wiki editor thinking "my spelling is the only correct variant even though this one is common and in the dictionary" is annoying me today. There's more than one way to build a legacy!!
10 minute song isn’t my normal thing, but I imagine people who go clubbing would love it. Cranked it up on “Relax.” Rather enjoyed some of it and hated some of it. Born to Run rework didn’t do it for me. The Power of Love lyrics were very odd.
This album was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't really expecting anything even moderately entertaining from it, but I was proven wrong quickly. I didn't realize that I knew any songs by this band, and I actually recognized a good 3 or 4 of the tracks while listening through. I think this was solid. It wasn't necessarily an album that stuck with me, but I had fun during the listen.
Toffe herinneringen!
Echt tof en gevarieerd!!
12yo me knew these guys were rad. 54yo me remembers they're rad. Especially the title track, amazing. Such a treat, thank you, list.
Fine. There was one "oh I know *that* song" moment. Extremely forgettable music -- to me.
6/10 Favorite: The Power Of Love
Not what I was expecting, knowing just the smash hit - and seminal (hee hee) track for Gen X’ers of my vintage - “Relax.” I expected glorious synth dance pop but instead, live instruments predominate, including the ska- and reggae-adjacent stylings popular at the time. There are surprising covers - Bruce Springsteen?! - and a reach for depth with tracks on war and human nature. While enjoyable overall, it’s a mishmash. I’ll take “Relax” and leave most of the rest.
I am only familiar with Relax. I could listen to the album, I guess I always figured they were a one hit wonder. 2.5 stars
So everyone knows Relax, it's been used in so many movies at this point. The covers were wild tho, War and then Born to Run were totally unexpected, not great, but not terrible. I was hoping The Power of Love would turn out to be a curious thing of a cover as well, but it was instead the most wretched song on the album, retch.
I really enjoyed this one!
Better than I thought. I’d give this 3.5 easy. Born to run cover is better than Bruce’s. Bass player fucking jams on that song. Ok maybe not better but it was good.
First time listen Starts on a pretty bad note for me with the title track which just strikes me as overly long and indulgent. I don't mind long or even repetitive songs but I felt like in tandem with the repetitive lyrics it just ended up aggravating me. After that it fell into a more listenable experience. I could do without a couple of the covers but overall this is a fine synthpop album. Fav tracks: Two Tribes, Power of Love Least Fav: Born to Run, Welcome to the Pleasuredome 3/5
Apart from the singles it lacked punch for me. Covers didn't add anything.
This was better than I thought it would be. Needed fewer covers and fewer tracks. But more interesting as an album than just the single would imply
The singles still sound strong. Very much a producer led album. Runs out of steam so has plenty of filler including pointless covers.
I wouldn’t have thought I knew any songs by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, but working my way through Welcome To The Pleasuredome I felt familiar with large chunks of the tracklist. Granted, some of these are originals and other covers, but it all culminates in a very listenable, peppy, and finely curated 1980s mixtape. It is all very of the time, but the epic pop drama of the decade is still appealing.
A high 3 for me, reduced from 4 due to the covers but this is a polished, interesting, and pretty cool record for me, have always liked it but never loved it
This was all over the place. When it hits, it really hits. And when it misses, it's a slog. I didn't love the covers. I appreciate the impact of FGTH and they deserve to be on this list. Relax is an all time banger.
Relax
Are we being so serious rn? Relax and war are cultural mainstays but the rest is just… ugh. Welcome to the pleasuredome is 12 minutes of nonsense and the covers are offensive. Absolutely not
Fuck it. I usually give long albums with some filler a 7, but this gets an 8 from its charm alone. There's too much catchy momentum here that it's impossible to ignore how much fun it is. This isn't the absolute best 80s pop album to be put out, but it's one that brings its own gay twist to the scene. Shoutout all the gays, word tf up. Give it to me one time nowwwwww (8/10, 4/5 on this scale)
Some really great music! From reading about the wider background around the album, I had no idea what an impact this album had. I'm going to give it a 4 as I can't say it was a start-to-finish perfect album, but glad I've heard it. :)
An important album for the UK queer scene in the 80s
Oh, good, more 80’s electro-synth-pop-dance music. Next album, please.
Catchy shit! Some fantastic covers that surprise. A pleasant and soulful journey into 80´s pop
Nope.
A masterpiece of 80s production from Trevor Horn and the team. Spawling double album that contains all the #1s. Perhaps could have been a brilliant single album although where you would cut 20 minutes to make the limitations of vinyl I don't know. Two records just adds to the 80s excess.
Solid first half then falls off
Odd
Very odd spoken portions/audio clips. Has a couple well-known songs, but a weird selection of covers. Not really a fan.
I get why the hits on this album are the hits: I don't love the tracks that aren't "Relax" or "War", they lean too hard into the 80's cheesiness for me. But I do think it's an interesting album, and I don't hate any of the songs.
Yeah, I'll give it an extra star. Wish there was more quality synth pop on here this list instead of boring indie shit. Three all time songs on this album? Guess that deserves the max rating as the songs stand their ground 40+ years across space and time.
An album that really struggles to justify inclusion in a list like this. Aside from the hits, there’s a lot of padding.
A banger
Well, this is an album. It’s actually quite a fun experience. The title track, other than being way way too long, was honestly good. It was just fun. I hate using that word too much in my review, but it was just fun. Relax was one I knew prior to the listen, and was such a great track to return to. I liked how War had a mix of spoken word and instrumental. I’m usually not a huge spoken word fan but in this case it worked. I love Born to Run, such an awesome, danceable track that just speaks to its time period. The bass was absolutely popping in Wish! Ballad of 32 was aight. Krisco kisses was all over the place. Black Night White Light had a great groove to it. Ending the album with bang… was great! The last line was such a good closer. 4/5 ⭐️ 76/1089
Dance music is not my genre, but of course this album was unavoidable in the 1980s and it does have some very catchy tunes that I would have to admit I enjoyed. I am a little interested to see if my somewhat broader musical appetite makes me more open to this in my old age... This is OK. I never knew they covered "Born to Run" (and pretty faithfully!) It is increasingly difficult for me to rate these albums on a 5-point scale. I save the extreme ends for garbage/masterpieces (or albums I truly hate/love,) essentially leaving me with a 3-point scale for nearly everything else. I gave the Cult's Electric 2 stars yesterday, when it felt like it belonged fairly close to 3, and I think I am going to do the same with this one. I liked the hits off this album but the rest did very little for me.
Only knew the hits but wow, this is a really great album...if you like pop music...
If it’s time, but good fun - a couple of unexpected covers and the obvious hits.
Probably one of the better synth-pop albums I've heard. This album and some particular songs was pretty controversial for referencing an un-shamed gay-focused lifestyle. Nowadays it doesn't seem too bad, perhaps maybe hip-hop lyrics have desensitised me, or the lyrics were never bad and just newspaper editors and readers have always been easy to offend. The styles as I mentioned earlier are quite synth-poppy, there isn't a crazy variety, but that's sometimes just fine. Definitely the first ever synth pop double album I've heard, and as an afterthought it could've been shortened, shaving portions off of the third and fourth side would suffice. Highlight Song/s: "Relax", "Two Tribes", "Born to Run" "Including the Ballad of 32" and "The Power of Love"
Two banging tunes - the singles, and then just a lot of filler, not great and without the singles it would rate a 1
Music is all over the place. Relax is a good song, but this album has some odd covers and is not cohesive from front to back.
Good memories
Hard to overstate how much this album and "Relax" influenced how music would sound over the rest of the decade in the 1980s. The first 3 tracks are where the interesting bits on this album happen. It loses momentum with the covers and the back end original material. As a fan, I recognize that the album doesn't really belong on here, just the single "Relax", which of course would violate the rule of only albums and no singles. But its influence really does make it an essential album. "Relax" was one of the first things I had heard that made clear how cool a Fairlight CMI and a Linndrum could be. I would later become much more impressed with what Peter Gabriel, Yello, and Tears for Fears would show that you could do with a Fairlight CMI, Linndrum, synthesizers and sequencers in general. "Relax" is a clear 5, but because we have to rate the whole album, it is a 3 on the music and cultural strength of "Relax". Where others see Trevor Horn interference, I hear genius that reverberated through all of rock, electronic, hip hop, and pop music all the way up to the present. Trever Horn was the shit. The only Trever Horn work that was even more impressive was his work on Seal's debut album SEAL and its follow up SEAL II. It is this kind of stuff that helped inspire some of my favorite music from the 80s. The 80s were filled with groundbreaking in every genre and had finally learned how to fit and finish to the more boring bits from the late 60s and all of the 70s.
A few banging covers 👌
Es un álbum raro por los covers que eligieron e inclusive por los instrumentales. Me gustó pero tampoco me fascinó.
Finally an album that agrees subjects close to my heart, pacifism and premature ejaculation.
3.4 Lots going on for better or worse
Complex, cheeky, passionate. I love everything about this. Bigger than I thought it would be.
This album was bonkers. A 13 minute track about the Pleasuredome? Should I read more into it? Dare I read more into it? Relax is an absolute banger. I can't believe that got airplay. What an accomplishment in itself. I was a child when it was big so I had no clue, now.... The covers come out of nowhere. The "Born to Run" cover was well done. The "San Jose" cover in the midst of songs that abound about pleasure is tonally off but somehow fitting. I don't think this will be in my rotation but yes, I am glad I heard it before I died.
Pure 80s, pretty weird, no notes
The 13min title track is a banger, outstanding. The hits hold up really well, great era synching slabs of pop goodness. The album trails of badly, had some inconsistent flow and poor covers. A mixed bag, marked up one for the strength and longevity of the big hitters
This album gets better when it's placed in society & what was going on, definitely recommend reading a bit about it.
I love the music of the 80s. so fucking loud and boisterous, even if it was Iron Maiden. sorry naren :P :) FOUR ! FUN SOUNDS !
Album 1077 of 1089 Welcome To The Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984) Rating : 3 / 5 This one feels like a strong snapshot of the era it came from. The production, the energy, and the overall style all carry that unmistakable mid-1980s sound. Big synths, big production, and a lot of attitude behind it. Listening to the whole album this time around, I think I actually enjoyed the full record more than I remember enjoying the singles back when they were on the radio. When songs get played over and over as hits, they can start to feel a little worn out, but hearing everything together as a complete album gave it a different feel. The record keeps a high level of energy moving through most of its runtime. It’s colorful, dramatic, and clearly designed to grab attention. There’s a bit of spectacle to the whole thing, which was very much part of that time period in pop music. One thing I really enjoyed was their take on Born to Run. It’s always interesting to hear a well-known song interpreted through a completely different musical lens, and they brought plenty of energy to it. Overall, this turned out to be a fun listen. It captures the spirit of its time, keeps the energy up, and works well when taken in as a full album rather than just the big radio moments.
I did not expect to like this as much as I did. This album is crazy, has many epic moments. It felt extremely 80s but in the best way possible. I feel like this is very close to what The Clash were doing in the later years but in a different genre. I especially liked the long and epic "Welcome to The Pleasuredome" (song).
2/5
I have only ever known Frankie Goes To Hollywood as the "Relax" band. Welcome To The Pleasuredome iis more than anyone could have expected of it; maximalist pop, surprisingly political commentary, especially with the inclusions of some unexpected covers ("Born to Run" rules). I was so pleasantly surprised by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. They were unfairly judged a one-hit wonder when they clearly have more to offer. I don't know how often I'll return to The Pleasuredome, but I do appreciate just how ambitious the Frankie crew is, and how wrong the rest of the world continues to be Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Good one
Weird techno type to begin with, then just off the walls random covers and weirdness the rest of the album. Not sure if I enjoyed it or if the randomness just kept me engaged
Better than expected, a lot of variety. I don’t envision ever listening to it again, but it was a fine experience.
I would have preferred shorter songs. This type of music does not benefit from being dragged through the theater type of genre
Enjoyable rock album with a couple important societal messages
did not like girl moaning in one of the songs. i did like krisco kisses
what a record! i’d only ever heard the singles, but this is DEEP. Wtf the Springsteen cover?? Trevor Horn remains undefeated.
Aside from the singles not familiar with any of this album, was not my thing in 1984. It's a little all over the place and sounds a little same-y at the same time. Up through Two Tribes is very danceable electronic pop. A very random Born to Run cover comes from out of nowhere, and then some more electro pop, then some moodiness near the end. Almost plays like the soundtrack to a musical film.
Pretty much as expected based on my knowledge of “Relax”.
Verrassend goed voor een 80’s one hit wonder. Niet elke cover even geslaagd helaas
BOMBO creativiteit en BOMBO coherentie
3,5
so many bangers with some random covers bringing it down a star for me. why don’t people make 13 min synth rock album openers anymore?
This album is... something else, man. I think it gave me some kind of mental illness just trying to piece together the array of sounds, words, and random covers sprinkled throughout. I was laughing out loud many times, but I still can't tell if it's all tongue in cheek, or if they really thought this was a serious project. It's all subjective, of course, but this was a each for me. Obviously the iconic tracks stand out, but the rest felt like them trying to stretch an EP with of material into a double LP. Manic stuff. 2.5/5 from me.
Clear classics on here. Not every song blew me away, but the vibe was good throughout.
Great eighties funk classic from the Liverpool band
Blind album and artist. I was impressed in the first half, and then it dragged. Shame.
I really enjoyed this, but also I feel compelled to attack the prime minister of Malaysia, so I’m taking away a star for the violent urges.
Certainly something different!
This album screams 80s! If a sounds defined a decade this is it, great songs, some variety but at the same time maybe one or two tracks too long for me. 13 minutes of Welcome to the Pleasuredome could've been cut down, but I'm nit-picking. A solid four star offering!
This went on and on. While I appreciate that Frankie Goes to Hollywood was always more artistically ambitious and eccentric than the '80s nostalgia gives them credit for, I'm not terribly interested in listening to 64 minutes of them. The "Born to Run" cover is surprisingly solid, if inessential, though "San Jose (The Way)" just feels inessential. They could've lost some of the fat here & had a more svelte album, but that wasn't the point, apparently.
Interesting education on Frankie Goes to Hollywood and their brief massive popularity in the UK despite being kind of a one hit wonder. I admire the audacity of a double debut album and having a nearly 14-minute pop song. And I can't hate on any band that does a solid cover of Born to Run - by the way look up their version of it on SNL which I remember seeing in high school and hadn't thought about again until now. Fascinating seeing a leather bar dude dancing and rocking the shit out of a tambourine to the Boss.
Relax and Two Tribes are great, however I found quite a lot of this album to be self-indulgent twaddle, and I'm not a fan of his vocal style either. Not for me.
Dude. The first 4 minutes is just background noise and birds chirping and shit. Are we going to actually do music, or is this album solely here to annoy the shit out of me? This album is too long. I respect that it doesn't sound like typical 80s pop, but some trimming would have been useful.
Really enjoyed this
Full weird, the covers are interesting
It's pretty uneven, but the synths are really good
Didn't like it then, don't like it now.
Yea i know this album its oretty goid
It was ok.
Very 80s. Fun and lively. not my style too repetitive.
I didnt know what to expect but it was cool and I liked the different sounds.
Very interesting album, nature noises etc. I liked it more than expected
High 2? Could have been worse but I will never understand how Relax became a hit
Kinda freaky pretty gay. Despite that, it didn’t do much for me.
Ok album. Överraskande med en Bruce Springsteen cover måste jag säga. Catchy låtar och flera jag hört tidigare. Kul att ha lyssnat i sin helhet.
This was an unexpected joy.
It's camp. It's cheesy. It references Xanadu and the then Prince Charles. It contains Relax, Two Tribes and, in my opinion, the best Christmas song ever, The Power of Love
most of the songs were really good (especially those first few?? like omg that opener is insane) and relax is a classic obv but like. it did not need to be this long of an album. it drags like CRAZY tbh
The long intros to these songs are unnecessary, especially for music that sounds like the soundtrack to Mannequin. Sorry for being so hurtful.
Felt long
Oikein kelpo platta! Kasari huokuu vahvasti kyllä hyvällä tavalla. Tänään hövelillä tuulella nelonen
Toi pleasuredomehan oli vitun kova biisi, harmi et tää muu on aika generistä kasaria. Pannaan kolmonen, pleasuredomelle vitonen!
En ollut levyltä kuullut kuin Relaxin ja Power of Loven, mutta esim. heti Welcome To The Pleasuredomehan on tiukka biisi. Nelosen kokonaisuus helposti.
Joo ihan viehkoo ja taiteellista tavaraa. Selkeesti on ollut visioo tunnelmasta, joka levyskälle halutaan. Kertarysäyksellä taas vähän liikaa vaadittu, että tästä nyt sais jonkun otteen. Riskinä on kuitenkin se, että todellisuudessa biisien värittelyt muodostuukin rasittaviks ja tunnelmointi onkin matcha-latteeta kun kuuntelee enempi. Annetaan nyt kuitenkin näkemykselle vahva kolkki ja arvostetaan fiilistelyjä. Ohan tässä pari radiohittiäkin. Pauvö öv lääv on muuten joulubiisi. Tai niin ainakin heardle christmas joskus väitti.
Yllätyksekseni tämähän oli ihan hyvä, ja tuttuja veisuja oli useampikin! Todella kasarit soundit, mutta ihan hyvällä tavalla. Springsteen-coverin olisi ehkä voinut jättää piippuun.. Ei nyt ihan nelosen arvoista, mutta vahva kolmonen!
Yea, this should be on there. But I still don't have to like it.
I like the music but they took some very well known lyrics and incorporated them in their music. This is something I don’t like that much.
Peak
The World Is My Oyster (Including Well, Snatch of Fury) 2.7 Welocme to the Pleasuredome 3.1 Relax (Come Fighting) 3.3 War Child (…and Hide) 3.2 Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment) 3 (Tag) (Unlisted track) n/a Ferry (Go) 2.8 Born to Run 3.3 San Jose (The Way) 3.2 Wish (The Lads Were Here) 3 The Ballad of 32 3.2 Krisco Kisses 3.3 Black Night White Light 3.3 The Only Star in Heaven 3.2 The Power of Love 3 …Bang 3 Score: 3.106666667
De zweiti song isch mega geil alli ander find ich aber ndso guet
I was surprised when I revisited this. I kinda remembered it as like "kick ass" sort of epic rock, big stadium vibes and almost punk edges. In a way it is but in much more of a way it is much quieter, much more nuanced and not as over the top. It is wholly unique. It has a definite queer vibe that I readily hear now but never picked up on when I was a kid. That is not meant as a good or bad thing, it is just simply something that is present. Now one would need to be unapologetic to dare be so bold, which makes me wish they were a contemporary band and played against this fascism we face. Personally they were different, the epic bits were there and they were more experimental and kind of distinct than I remember. Too bad the whole sort of epic stadium rock anthem band thing is not my scene.
Such a great album. The first 2 sides are all excellent songs, and the last 2 are pretty good. Out of all of Trevor Horn's production work, this might be my favorite.
Ok. Algumas músicas eu já conhecia
Strong start but went downhill fast. Especially hated the covers.
this would make a great soundtrack for a musical also this version of born to run is WAY better than the original
Dit album is belachelijk op een goede manier. Een beetje als een foute jaren 80 film waar je op het juiste moment veel meer lol aan beleefd dan een "hoogstaande" film. 8/10
Remarkably listenable. Its really just Relax and several covers that are good, but Born to Run and War are both solid. And that's the most I've thought about Frankie in 40 years.
Love the singles, but as a whole album it's not really that interesting. Great cover, great band--looks like the came on strong with this as a first album. The Boss cover is kinda fun, but the others don't really make sense to me. Great 80s sound, plenty of bombast...but it left me feeling empty.
Haven’t listened to this in a minute… good album
Maybe I would've liked The Power Of Love if it was the only song that I heard, but the rest was so aggressively bad
Personally dont see the point in music like this
Mostly okay for me! Enjoyed "Relax (Come Fighting)" and "Two Tribes" and the covers of "War" and "San Jose (The Way)" were interesting, but the rest didn't grab me too much
Some hits, the rest was hit-or-miss for me. Nice to listen to once
Relax é icônica e a faixa titulo é fascinante, mas o álbum realmente precisava de um segundo disco?
I was only familiar was Two Tribes and Relax before listening to this album. I quite liked it for the first half of the album. Then there were several cover songs that I just felt messed with the flow of the album. I also felt that was too many covers to make this a stand out album for me. The Power of Love is of course a great song, but by that point I was wanting what felt like an overbloated album to be over. 3/5 Great when it hits hard, but too many covers to be lauded and way too long.
How intriguing! It really makes me want to do something nefarious the Prime Minister of Malaysia... But really, it's a pretty decent album, besides the one song I recognize. First parts of the album sound similar, but other parts are quite different. It's pretty good. While being almost wholly '80s, it's not so dated that it's played out. It still seems fresh in spite of familiar sound styles.
Never was a fan the first time round, not a fan now.
Been looking forward to this one since watching a Todd in the Shadows video on "Relax" a while back. This is fun, sexy album that makes you wanna go to a gay club in the 80s. How can you not love that? Favorite track: Relax 3.5/5
Thoroughly enjoyable, singles are obviously outstanding but enjoyed the rest of the album too
Suprisingly good Springsteen cover
Not great. Loads of half assed covers. Couple of good tracks but feels dated
לא משהו
Not my style
Me gusto el disco. Creo que tiene un gran estilo, aunque no creo que nada nuevo, para la época. Aunque si tiene algunas cosas muy interesantes, juega mucho con un estilo progre que funciona muy bien con lo funkadelic y pop del disco. Creo que es un disco sumamente conceptual y artístico, lo cual me gusta bastante, aunque muy cansado, me costó acabarlo. La producción es muy buena también. Creo que es el gran acierto del disco. Muy experimental, conceptual, artístico, lo que quieras, pero muy aterrizado y bien hecho. Lo que si es que un poco pretencioso y over the top en algunas canciones. Llega a ser cansado tanto punch y tanto hype, las letras luego si dices 'ya okey, entendimos, luego que?' En general, buen disco. Pero cansado de escuchar.
Buena sorpresa, no todo el disco es perfecto pero esa épica “Welcome to the pleasure Dome” lleva el synthpop mas allá de lo que uno piensa de él. Buenas rolas pop ochenteras en los lows y épicas espaciales en los ups 7/10
The power of love is great! Relax is also a good song.The rest is kinda too trippy for me. The two i mentioned before do help tho, so 3/5
Hated this from the get go. The talking, the chanting, the general bizarre-ness of it all. Nah
Det va en ganske merkelig og relativt gøyal kombinasjon av greier æ ikke helt hadde venta skulle kombineres!
Classic pop. Some surprising music moments and hits.
Very cool album.
big 3
I listend to this while mowing the lawn, and it was so inconsequential and uninspiring to me I completely forgot about it and forgot to write a review, so here you go.
Pretty fucking good. Opens really, really strongly with the title track and then RELAX. Briefly dips in quality before returning with Two Tribes. At this point, the rest of the album can go any way for you in terms of enjoyment. Despite it meandering quite a bit, I really like the rest of this album. It never quite reaches the heights of the first few tracks but it works well as an album. Yes, it is too long, but I still really enjoyed this. Highlights: Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Relax (Come Fighting), Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment), The Power of Love
Mange varianter af Relax, men unden at blive en gentagelse. Det er nok bare sådan deres signatur lyd er...
Det var både som forventer og meget anderledes. Jeg havde nok regnet med 17 variationer af Relax, men det stak i alle mulige retninger.
= the Beatles This was much better than I expected
Interesting album. Forgot how funky and bass lead Frankie were. Even though they were huge in the day I never got around to listening to the whole album.
Was only familiar with Relax before listening to this album, and never really cared for it. Surprisingly the album was better than I thought but kind of all over the place and definitely a few songs too long. Was anticipating a 1 or 2 for the album but it was more like a 3 for me.
Very fun didn’t know there were so many hits in this album
It had some bangers, it had some mid tracks, it was incredibly cheesy 80s I enjoyed it.
3/5 I mean it's alright... but nothing earth-shattering. It feels very basic 80s, and I just wish there was more... oomph to it.
This generator comes through again. By no means an obscure album to many this was totally off my radar and was not an album I was looking forward to. I am glad to have listened as this was much more than "post disco" which was what I thought based on "Relax when you want to come." I love the bass playing, the covers, and the overall vibe.
This may be the most 80s record I’ve ever heard and not really in a good way.
Absolutely love the song The Power Of Love. Relax (Come Fighting) was my next favourite song on the album.
Suffered through it. Either sleazy uninspired excess or cover songs.
#844. This one started out pretty mediocre and only got worse from there. 2/5: yawn.
This album was a pain in the ass when it came out and remains so to this day.
Some obvious bangers, but the album itself felt a bit all over the place
Very enjoyable and many songs I recognised. Just solid throughout.
I think this should have been more fun
6/10 What an oddly frustrating album. I don't understand the mentality of filling this with average covers and filler tacks. As a 42mins single album, with Relax, 2 Tribes & Power of Love the impact would have been huge, but it's all diluted and looses it's punch from Ferry across the bloody Mersey.
Really struggled rating this, I didn't particularly like or dislike it in general, some very famous/infamous songs, some weird moments and more covers than I would have expected
You can't 'overproduce' an album in my opinion. If it sounds like an orgasm for the earoles then that's what I like. This is really a Trevor Horn rather than a Frankie masterpiece. The first record (of this double set) is fabulous, although it finishes badly with the embarassing 'Price Charles' skit. A real shame. The second has some excellent covers and and ends strongly with The Power Of Love. I bought this album when it came out and played it a lot and it's been a welcome return to the pleasure dome.
Relax Two Tribes The Power of Love
Relax is the only song I have hear before from this band and most of the album has the same feel as that song, in a good way. Its 80s synth-pop at its best. While not a genre I listen to a lot I always enjoy it when it comes on the radio or a song plays at random.
This album was definitely a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect anything other that the relax song, which is a great iconic pop song and super defining album for the 80s. But I supposed I thought the whole album would be carried by that one song. And yes that song does A LOT of heavy lifting, there’s enough variety here to keep you engaged. It wasn’t my favorite album I had heard in a while and I found a good portion of it to be forgettable. But it doesn’t waste your time and it really tries its best to win you over, and to the albums credit, it DID win me over it just didn’t wow me. Solid pop album.
Much better than I expected, I even knew two songs, Relax is obvious but Two Tribes is much heard and very sick as well! Interesting structure and cool sounds, probably at least 3 stars here
Relax is good. The title track has potential if it wasn't so long. (synth prog pop? Really?) Overall, it's too long, too full of mediocre songs that shouldn't have made the album. Why are there so many covers on here when it's already too long? It feels like they threw together everything they had and hoped something worked. The problem is that there is some good stuff here, it's just presented badly. 2.5
Long.
Maybe it's nostalgia, but this is probably a five star album. Sure, it sags a little in the middle, but the title track alone is magnificent. Also Two Tribes, The Power of Love, Relax, and several of the non-singles are great. It's really a Trevor Horn album though.
Some good ones but none that stuck out too much
Dirty slap base! A bit crazy
To listen to it all these years later, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut magnum opus has lost none of its potency. A single album can't be everything, but this comes rather close to that distinction. An album that spawned multiple hit songs that stayed atop the charts for months, and a driving dancehall declaration of rebellion against the powers that be. A declaration for the rights of gay men (and queer folks generally) to have just as much agency to put their love and sexuality out there into popular culture as the scores of guy/girl romance and torch songs already existing. It would hold its own as a political and social statement: parodies of Ronald Reagan, criticism of the Cold War, and a celebration of the history of social activism. This album has it all. It also happens to be great music you can dance to.
Favorite Track: Relax (Come Fighting)
The highs on this album are fabtastic - the title track is an absolute barnstormer and their cover of Born to Run rips. Unfortunately however the lows really make the album sag.
Starts off great, loses it's way a bit in the middle.
Full of bangers, this one
I quiet enjoyed this one!
Apart from the hits on this album, the rest is just filler with pretty lame covers. Wedding reception DJ type hits though.
This was truly wild. I don’t usually like synth-y 80’s stuff but this was fun, meandering, covered a lot of ground
Oooooh - now this is a tricky one to rate. On the one hand, there is no denying the seismic impact this had originally. Although marginally too young to fully understand, my 2 (much) older brothers had this virtually on repeat and so "Relax" and "Two Tribes" are etched into my brain forever. On the TV you could see the self-belief coursing through Holly & Paul which, teamed with the relentless groove, was like nothing I'd seen before. And then follow that up with a massive Christmas track, because, well, why not. But, in the cold light of day, there's some (actually, quite a lot) of filler. I feel like it should only get a four, but, should this be "THE LAST VOICE THAT YOU WILL EVER HEAR", then you're going out in style..........
I give this 4 Fedchenkos out of a possible 5.
Almost a classic... really close.
The World Is My Oyster (evil laugh) An 80's extravagant aural journey with grooves and covers.
Good energy, '80s references, and fun.
Well, the 14 min song was pretty solid, but none of the rest caught my attention much.
I love spending time in the pleasure dome. My dad used to like this album and thats why i got to exposed to it early on. Triggering childhood memories usually helps to ensure i higher rating here. Listening to it as adult, i can apprechiate the grand vision of the lp even more and am excited to see, that this even caused some political discourse. But even without all this prior knowledge there is so much to love. Fresh pop sounds that just pull you in. Nice production. Pretty big variety of song styles that they all pull of effortlessly. And then there are just the hits. I like relax and two tribes, but i love the born to run cover, krisco kisses and the power of love especially. What a great change of pace at the end.
Definitely weirder than I had expected, though the little parade of covers was a bit crap. Really enjoyed the big 13 minute epic track 2.
The first few songs just sound like one giant intro to Relax, especially the Welcome To The Pleasuredome song...12 minutes of buildup to the song they're most known for. It's a bit much. These songs just don't go anywhere for the most part...they seem like they're building and trying to take off but never make it off the runway. Two Tribes slaps pretty hard, actually. I like it better than Relax. Overall, just really self indulgent music, a little too pretentious.
I didn’t think the album was the worst thing I’ve ever heard. But I also kept checking every 3 minutes to see how may songs I still had to get through. The songs are too long, and pretty uninteresting. Did not really enjoy.
Too 80s. Did this decade give us anything that lasted?
This shit was actually crazy. I didn’t save any songs from here, it was certainly much more if an adventure/experience than i was expecting. Experimentation in the vibe of Pink Floyds Dark Side of The Moon the way they create a scenery more than a song,. Very different bands in almost every other aspect though. Not my favorite, but very well executed.
I’m not going to return to this album over and over but man what a strange
Not my cup of tea
Not going to sugarcoat this one. I thought it was pretty bad. The over-the-top gimmicky-ness and 80s synth pop did nothing for me, and the covers felt like a waste of time given how inferior they were to the original versions. The other major problem was how long it went on. The runtime was 64 minutes. That's probably twice what it should have been. To me, the best part of the album was the title track. That ran close to 14 minutes on its own, but still managed to be fairly decent. Maybe it's early placement on the album helped since my patience was still intact at that point. They followed it with Relax, the only song I knew from this band. Listening to it here made me dislike it, when before I hadn't really thought much about it. Then the album just kept going, either actually getting worse or just seeming worse as I grew more and more tired of it. I found the music annoying, the lyrics inane, and the production off-putting. Most of it felt like they were trying too hard, but couldn't pick a lane between sexy and quirky so ended up failing at both. I guess the vocals themselves were fine, in that way the 80s voices usually seem to be done fairly well. I didn't think they really did much to elevate the rest, though. This was probably intended to be more of a vibes album given the dance-y nature of the songs, the "concept" of the album, and the overall presentation. I can accept that well enough, and I'm sure this plays a lot better if you listen to it in the appropriate headspace. But even if so, I think 64 minutes would be too much time to spend on it. As it is, there's not much about it I can say even reaches the "fine" level. I'll give it some points for the title track and a few other bright spots. I won't be listening to it again, though. Overall: 1.5/5
What a journey this album takes you on. Trevor Horn is a production god.
NGL this album was way better than I thought it was gonna be. Born To Run cover totally shocked me (in a good way). I'll never listen to this again but it was fun while it lasted.
Album très sympa au-delà même du titre Relax qui est top
16/20 Un album très agréable à écouter dans son ensemble. De belles musiques, variées, et toute sympa à écouter. Quelques hit qui restent dans la tête Un sentiment de reviens y très agréable Une très belle découverte.
An album so committed to excess it feels like it should come with a warning label and a mirror ball. Bold? Yes. Necessary? No.
Very interesting, although the lyrics are not for me
This is Synthpop/New Romantic taken to its absolute furthest point. Conceptual and epic in scope, something to a fault. Everything sounds huge, every idea is expanded to its breaking point. There's a sort of sci-fi dystopian ambience going on, which I'm not sure was the point, but it's what comes across to me. No wonder 'Frankie' and co. were never able to properly follow this, but maybe that just makes it all the more special. Key tracks: Relax (Come Fighting) Two Tribes (For the Victims of Ravishment) The Power of Love
Totally fine. I enjoyed it at first but got bored pretty quickly.
Banger. My parents had this on vinyl which suggests that, in spite of their mild homophobia, Frankie’s message cut through. It was my favourite LP as a kid based solely on the gatefold design.
I don’t think I’ll listen again but that was a really unique and interesting album. Good combination of well known, self-written stuff and enjoyable covers. Deserved of 4 stars for sure.
Not as gay as expected.
Queer
# Playlist Track - Relax (Come Fighting) # Notes - A few good track scattered around a giant mess of interruptions and boring tracks. This could have been a cool 80's thing if it was half as long. - There are TWO intros, with a combined 15 minutes running time. - Also, tail end of the album doesn't really fit together and it is kind of a bummer. - Not recommended.
Incredibly cheesy but fun! Liked it overall, but there were definitely some odd covers thrown in there.
special music, greatest first album from fgth, tipp: san jose, the power of love, ...
I had just started my teenage years when this album was released. I well remember the how the elder generations and the establishment believed this was the beginning of the end of days. To the youth it was rebellious and new. In the intervening 40+ years the 3 standout tracks are still played on the radio (well, on the nostalgic channels that I listen to) but the rest is broadly instantly forgettable. I think that Relax and Two Tribes were groundbreaking at the time, for many reasons, and like a lot of groundbreaking tracks they stand the test of time.
not for me
8/10… new wave / dance rock / *1984
Live those dreams Scheme those schemes Got to hit me (hit me!) Hit me (hit me!) Hit me with those laser beams Ow ow ow!
Favourites: 1. Welcome To The Pleasuredome 2. Including The Ballad Of 32 3. The Power Of Love Least Favourite: Fury
For some reason, there was a brief time in my teenage years when I was quite into this album. It was nostalgic to listen to it again. Some great songs here; including a somewhat incongruous cover of Born To Run.
I've listened to this album many times. It has a beat that attracts me and Holly Johnson's singing adds incredibly well to the hard hitting rythym and music. It's a great album to listen to with headphones on and the sound turned up to 11.
Crap, absolutely shite
Three classic singles but the rest is pretty meh.
Completely over the top and overblown, Frankie took the UK charts by storm with a clutch of stonking subversive singles, each released in multiple versions. This album collects the singles along with an on choice of filler. Bombastic, sure. Patchy, definitely. But it's an album that despite its flaws does deserve its place on this list.
Covers and remixes.
This definitely deserves a spot on the list but I’ve just never been a fan of Trevor Horn the producer. From a book I read, it sounds like he had more input and was more of the creative force than even the band themselves. This is his grand achievement and is definitely his most sprawling work. I appreciate the effort to go for it all here and this is probably my favorite of his stuff. It’s hard not to get sucked into the Pleasuredome as the track builds into a crescendo. Nothing against those that like it, his vision is just not my thing. This is weird enough where I’m holding out hope it’ll randomly click one day. Rating: 2.3
Nothing says "80s Club Music" better than Welcome to the Pleasure Dome. The title track, Relax, Two Tribes, and War were all massive club hits and MTV darlings. There's good reason for that - the songs are phenomenal. The rest of the album is also chock full of great songs that make you dance. This is not vacuous techno though; There is serious artistry and social commentary here. Frankie Goes to Hollywood never achieved anything like this album again. They produced a few club hits and one more mediocre album after Welcome to the Pleasure Dome but nothing that achieved this level of musical and cultural impact. They burned bright for a short time but, oh how bright it was.
I came for Frankie, but I stayed for The Power of Love.
Alors j'en n'attendais rien et j'ai été surpris en bien. En vrai, on sent qu'il y a une grosse ambition, mais ça tire un peu en longueur sur la fin. Mais c'est quand même un très bon album et je suis content de l'avoir découvert. C'était bien d'époque, au niveau des sonorités, ce qui fait toujours plaisir. Ah, et donc c'est comme ça que j'apprends que The Power Of Love, d'Ulver est une reprise. Fort intéressant !
Starting a pop album in the 1980s with a 13-minute track is quite a bold move, but the dizzying title track from Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut, 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome', perfectly sets the scene for what is easily one of the more ambitious releases of the 1980s. 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' leans heavily into the pop genre, but to call it a straightforward pop album would be simplifying the record greatly. There's elements of new wave, synth, rock and it even points toward the rave culture that would take off in the 90s. There's a few choice covers here, such as rousing renditions of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born To Run' and The Temptations' 'War', but the strength is in its original music. The best known songs on this album are 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes', which were both released as standalone singles prior to the album's release. 'Relax' has since become an iconic LGBTQIA+ anthem and 'Two Tribes' a prominent anti-war statement, which highlight the breakaway success of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and their ability to tap into multiple camps. 'Two Tribes' and 'Relax' sat at number 1 and 2 respectively on the UK charts for a time in 1984, the only act other than The Beatles and John Lennon to do so at the time. The rest of 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' isn't too bad either, however it does lack focus at times. There's impressive vocals throughout by Holly Johnson, and the driving bass lines of Mark O'Toole are also a standout, but it feels like Frankie Goes to Hollywood put this record out to capitalise further on the success of 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes' rather than create a cohesive album, because much of the remaining songs sound more like ideas than fully realised songs. Mind you, if it had just been an EP with the title track, 'Relax', 'Two Tribes' and 'The Power of Love', 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' would've been a near-perfect collection of music. Best songs: Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Relax, Two Tribes, The Power of Love
Never listened to the whole thing before and was surprised to discover a lot of covers. To be honest, I found most of them a bit superfluous. The rest of it I enjoyed.
Definitely of its time but still a groovy album. Heavily dependent on the production team for its sound but I’m not gonna judge. One of the best albums of the 80’s
Funky, groovy, and fun.
Some bops but the covers really threw me off
80’s pop. Notable tracks include Relax, Two Tribes, Wish, The Only Star in Heaven, The Power of Love.
1/5
Really enjoyed the first half of this up through the born to run cover then it got a little long
There's a couple of anti-war songs on the album but it doesn't stop me from feeling like this band wants to hurt me Feels like a decent album to experience as a whole, most of the songs weren't too individually interesting as it went on Maybe the first half of the album was interesting and had a certain intimidating energy and that wore off later, dunno exactly why there's a cover of Born to Run or how that fits into everything but it's there
ok
6/10 Favourite: Relax (Come Fighting) Least Favourite: Krisco Kisses
Relax and listen to this album. It’s Fury will make you Wish the Lads Were Here with you. Bang.
- 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM - 0 nummers al toegevoegd aan MMMM
Not a bad listen but it wasn’t great either. I liked the start of it
sounds like a movie soundtrack
The quintessential 80s sound to relive your MTV era days.
Was pretty good towards the end. Didn't know they were from Liverpool. Born To Run pretty, pretty, pretty good
ganz nett
Blah.
Early on I forgot who I was listening to and thought that this was Duran Duran. This isn't particularly my kind of thing but it was surprisingly good and I enjoyed it. I'd listen to this again.
Loved this album in the 80s. Not quite as enthusiastic today. But still one of my favourites.
Highlight der 80er!
no. also don’t have sex to this album
I knew coming in that the god awful 80s synth sounds would be coming fast & furious with this one. And I was not disappointed (in that prediction. I very much WAS disappointed to have to listen to all that horrible garbage.) Apart from that synth pop silliness there's some really good shit in here. Honestly, there's some bangers that could earn their way into my regular rotation. If I had the time and patience to acclimate to the neon plastic sheen of 80's production sounds that is. Buuuuuuut I don't. Maybe it'll happen organically. So many covers for a non-covers album! How bout that Springsteen, huh? That was fun. +3 stars for a solidly better-than-average effort.
Amazing album that dares the put it's most experimental side in the front. Loved it, almost till the end. It loses some of it's quality and flow in the last couple song which makes 'Welcome To The Pleasuredome' just lose it's perfect rating by the smallest margin.
A couple of real classics and a load of poor quality filler.
Daring and artful, not many 80s sounds aged this well. Danceable and groovy too! 4.1
Some classics.
Well, RELAX is so worn I couldn't give it a fresh listen after the bowling alley juke box played it to death. The cover of WAR is interesting - and then there's the karaoke version of BORN TO RUN. Not forgiveable.
Good album. So unique and clever. Their music just makes me want to move.
What a strange and good time
I don’t really know what the point of this album was? A load of covers from a mix of genres, poorly lumped in with 80s pop - even if there’s a couple of well known hits in there. I just don’t know why it exists. This could have just been an LP of the songs that were actually their own. That’s my grumpy take on it anyway - maybe if it wasn’t so bloated I’d take to it better.
Struggle to rate this as it's a combination of popular, theatre and oddities. It has quite a lot going for it but wrapped up in this eccentric indulgent veil does that make it better really hard to say. OK it was quite fun and energetic for what it was and perfectly reasonable pop album. Probably left of field genre for me, but it did its job of not losing me so will give it that. I think better Pop albums out there however.
The only positive thing I can find to say about this album is that the production value is excellent. Otherwise, this is an overly long, camp, pretentious, 80s hodgepodge an I found it a tough mission to get through. Surely nobody who didn't live through this era listens to this by choice? Its the sort of music that will quickly be relegated to soundtracks in documentaries about the 80's and kitsch 80's nights in dreary British bars.
Apparently Frankie Goes To Hollywood are really just their one big song Relax. I know they had a few other hits in the UK off this album, but outside of the covers it was the only song I really enjoyed.
War, was is it good for? I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially after the dragged out second song. I was buckled up for a doozy after that, but the rest of the material was pretty good.
Surprisingly 🔥
If I were to read negative reviews, I would expect them to say this is a bloated, overproduced record, full of songs that are repetitive and/or go on too long with some unnecessary covers. And they'd be right. But I loved it. The first time I listened through to this, I thought the title track was just overblown and never ending. However, after having listened to the album, I could come back to this track and realize that it was an amalgam of everything that was about to follow, which turned it from stupid to intelligent for me, making it a worthwhile listen. Relax is a great song. Fun, driving, energetic. Excellent. After that, nothing ever comes quite as close to this, but that doesn't mean there aren't some other cool tracks on here. Two Tribes, Black Night White Light, and The Power of Love led the way for me. Diverse from each other, but all excellent songs in their own right. Wish the Lads Were Here was something I could have found straight out of the Oingo Boingo catalog. At times furious with slapping bass and fun horns. Excellent. Their takes on War and Born To Run were fun, as was San Jose. Not as good as the originals, but those are high bars and they performed admirably against any of the standards. Summed up, this was a great listen for someone who loves 80s music but wasn’t familiar with anything beyond Relax. Lots of good stuff on here.
You listen to something like this and you think England must have been the gayest place on Earth, until you look at what was actually going on in England at the time. I actually really enjoyed the covers section of the album! Not perfect, but I can kinda see why people were so hyped for this album when it came out. Still can't understand why *straight* people were excited for it though...
Surprising. Didn’t know what to expect. Not bad but the album felt way too long by 2-3 songs.
It truly was a warm welcome to the Pleasuredome.
Fun album with quite a few high points, but falls off on the second disc. Basically every Frankie goes to Hollywood hit is on here, so you don't need much more than this album. Even then, this album had a number of uninteresting tracks that made the runtime felt longer than it really was. Side one and two are great, Two Tribes, Welcome To The Pleasuredome and Relax are all great 80's anthems. There's a lot of variety here too, having originals, covers, uptempo tracks and gentle ballads. I like quite a bit here but as an album it's kind of a daunting task to listen.
Although I'm not a big fan of this style of 80's music, the album wasn't bad. I would say I liked the second half of the album a lot better, it just had songs that I liked more.
3.75
Welcome To The Pleasuredome is one of those albums that takes excess and turns it into a full artistic statement. It is huge, glossy, theatrical, and completely unafraid to push every idea as far as it will go. The title track alone is a sprawling, indulgent journey that feels like wandering through some neon dreamworld where everything is slightly surreal but always fascinating. The production is massive, soaked in that Trevor Horn sheen, and it gives the whole record a sense of scale most pop albums only gesture toward. There is a real thrill in how shamelessly the band blends pop, disco, rock, and pure camp. Tracks like “Relax” and “Two Tribes” still hit hard because they combine outrageously catchy hooks with a sense of danger and satire running just beneath the surface. Even the more experimental or extended pieces keep the momentum going with sheer confidence. Nothing here feels small or tentative, and even when it veers into overstuffed territory, that is part of its charm. If there is a flaw, it is simply that the album can feel bloated in places, a little lost inside its own ambition. Some tracks drift, some ideas go on longer than they need to, and the constant grandiosity can be overwhelming. But even with that, the overall effect is something special. Welcome To The Pleasuredome is a wild, ambitious, completely committed piece of 80s pop art, and when it hits its stride it is both irresistible and unforgettable.
Liked it, then didn't, then liked it again.
I had absolutely no idea that they were this gay. I don't mean this as a bad thing but their mainstream presentation was more neutral (or I lack gaydar). It is a dance album that they tried to package as a pop album.
I really like this album! Very complex and creative and lots of music that I didn’t know I know.
OK
Veryyyyyy different
Not impressive
Interesting songs in addition to the hits but not necessarily good.
anotherstupidenglishalbumican'tbeRELAX JUST DO IT BMSHFMNEMNE DO ITwhatdoyoumeanwithanotherhourofthisalbum
Listen; the 14 year old me wore this t-shirt with pride. But even then I couldn't listen to the album. The hit version of Relax (and the painting on the cover) was and is amazing. The rest of this is pure torture to have to sit and listen to.
Ridiculous but amazing
Takes me back
Frankie says relax
well, this is delightfully odd ohhh the relax song
Decent 2,5
C'mon guys, +60 minutes? Just kidding I love long albums. 5/5
Really good album, they had a great sound and could write a hit, runs a little long but worth a listen
- Yeah, this is not for me. It feels really dated, and the synths are so forward, thin, and tinny. - The singer's voice doesn’t do it for me, either - it’s almost good, but it just feels a little too closed off/roof of the mouth/back of the throat, and I’m not into all the talking. - Some nice lead guitar work, and the bass sound has a nice, rich tone. - Welcome to the Pleasuredome is a chore (and soooo long) - I can’t with vocals like “hoo ha”. It’s too experimental to really pull me in, especially with the dated sounds. If I accidentally walked into that Pleasuredome, I would turn and walk right out, feeling violated. This whole album feels like walking in on someone masturbating. - There are moments that are nice (e.g., there are some interesting instrumental parts in Two Tribes, which was a super long version on the album I listened to), but they’re so short and then go back to the unrelenting drumming and annoying vocals. The shorter version is a lot better, and the video is great. - Relax is still a banger.
Favorite Track: Born To Run
Actually enjoyed this one far more than I was expecting. It's a pretty fun album with a few surprising covers.
Interesting and unique album, I won't be listening to any of these again very likely, but I did enjoy the ride.
A nice album here Also, gay sex
did not like this album like i wish i had. given i've grown up in the commonwealth, there's always a dirty joy in hearing british lads just say shit while a digital instrument goes crazy; but i found this ill-focused, unfascinating, and noisy.
It's the relax band! Oh man that damn song had legs didn't it. Showed up a decade later too. It's a fun album, not really my cup of tea but not a bad listen.
It's neat and catchy in parts, but feels dated especially on the cover tracks Fav: Welcome to the Pleasuredome
i always celebrate when my app gives me yet another eclectic 80s pop album. say what you will, but this decade had a true renaissance of sheer innovation and creative expression that few, if any time periods have matched. this album is very fun, very bold, and very... homosexual when it wants to be. whenever you're throwing a party, out on the town or with your lover, this album hits a lot of needs for a lot of people. in a world of rather campy dance-pop, this album really energizes you in a way where you too... makes you want to pay a visit to the pleasuredome. it's an album that basically says "fuck you, i'm gonna live my life no matter what society or the government says". the world is burning. let's dance.
Its very 80s and very goofy, but the title track is actually pretty fun and spacious. An open-ended ~14 minute jam with tight bass, some shimmering synths, and crisp guitar that kept me engaged the entire runtime. I don't care what anyone says, Relax is and always has been a jam. A bit surprising that it got as much radio play as it did given the open interpretation of the lyrics. Interesting yet inferior take on War. Also an interesting choice to cover Born to Run Felt like this one had some really solid highs but mostly fell in a middle space. For me this is a memorable 3.
This one sounds a lot like Genesis at times. Has a good amount of cheese to it and an overall great energy.
The title track is an incredibly funky jam. As soon as Relax came on it made a lot of sense that this is the band that song is by. Also turned me into a sleeper agent. Album started off incredibly fun and funky for the first half. Definitely slowed down and started to get a little old after an hour. But was still enough for a 4. Definitely surprised me based on it being labeled as pop and how the album cover looked.
Oh man the band that did Relax. I could see this being insanely bad. Actually kinda digging Welcome to the Pleasuredome. I don't think I've ever actually listened to the whole song Relax ever, but it's pretty solid. Weird War cover. Thought I had an advertisement coming on with Tag. Also weird. Lots of filler in the middle that wasn't great. Upsetting that I had to listen to The Power of Love. That ended on a poor note. I did enjoy some parts though.
ELAINE: Although one wonders if "War and Peace" would have been as highly acclaimed as it was if it was published under its original name "War: What Is It Good For?" LIPPMAN: What? ELAINE: Yes, Mr. Lippman. It was his mistress who insisted he call it "War and Peace". "War: What Is It Good For?". [singing] Absolutely nothin'! Huh! Say it again!