Welcome To The Pleasuredome

Some of it was great. It lacked coherence and cohesion. The cover versions were great, especially the Springsteen one, but seemed out of place Love the Trevor Horn production.

Ok.

I went to pleasuredome and ejoyied my stay from beginning to end.

This seems vaguely familiar. I'm not sure if I've heard anything from this artist, but we'll see. Why the hell is track 2 thirteen minutes long?? I'll admit, it sounds good. But it doesn't require 13 minutes for one song. Sorry. The creepy laughing at the end is ridiculous. I've heard track 3 before. Track 4 is giving me secular Carmen vibes. 3/5 Not for me. I like the 80's pop sound, so that's the only reason this is getting 3 stars and not 2.

The 80s were weird, and so are parts of this album. Their singles were huge and still go hard. The opening tracks really hook you. (And set the scene for a concept album?). Wanders a bit in the middle, but comes home strong. Some unexpected echoes of Pink Floyd (Wish the Lads Were Here, The Ballad of 32), but oddly they don't seem out of place.

I did not enjoy this album. Heavy 80's style synthesizers are still not my jam, 40+ years later. I didn't enjoy either of the covers. Maybe this is considered a great album because it was somehow new for the time?

Album Nr. 16 Kultband der 80er. Das Album ist aber nicht ganz so top.

That was an interesting album. A bit too far out there for me, but there were a few moments that felt nice.

Well I guess it was worth listening to this once but it really is cruel to make people listen to an hour long album that starts with a 13 minute long song and includes a Bruce Springsteen cover when all anyone has ever cared about is relax. There were a couple of other interesting points but overall its just another 80s synth pop album that tries a bunch of stuff and it mostly sucks except for the one lasting hit.

Not that I recall in the eighties. A mix of originals with a few covers thrown in.

Loved this in the 80s. Still great energy.

favourite song: relax not for me

This took me right to my dorm room my first year in college. I had this on cassette and listened to it a lot. What a strange and eclectic album! And how happy I was to listen to the whole thing again after all these decades. Intros and outros, an end-of-side-one discussion of orgasms, the absolute classic suggestive-but-incomprehensible dance song "Relax," the epic "Welcome to the Pleasuredome," ...and even in 1986 I thought side two was such a completely bizarre, but charming mix of things. What are "Krisco Kisses"? This tape was the first time I heard and understood the lyrics to "Born to Run" and today I marvel at an album that then segues into "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (which was on any mix tape I would have made you that year). I still love the synthesizer sounds and vocals in this all through its crazy journey. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it definitely influenced me for better or worse.

I was not familiar with the album, just the hits, but I was quite taken with it.

A wonderful trip to the 80s. Especially fond of the covers of Born to Run and San Jose. Very fun.

I’m sure I was around this album a lot in high school - I saw it in lots of friends’ music collection - but I couldn’t tell you anything about it other than the big hits. This was definitely an enjoyable listen. Frankie Goes To Hollywood is a fun band - and they know how to cover a tune. I loved being able to tell what the lyrics were to Born To Run! Fun!

I was so ready to be welcomed into this particular Pleasuredome. That opening track is so awesome. And then they talk a bit about war... OK. And then the craziest surprise... a Bruce Springsteen cover? Um... what? Nothing against the covers -- they're good -- but the opening track promised some kind of bacchanal of lusty dance songs or way out-there, outer space ambiance. Not covers of already popular songs?

groovy album, interesting synthy sounds that i really like! Develops very well great balance of powerfull and funky high energy 4/5

"Relax" and "The Power of Love" are two amazing songs and masterpieces of 80s pop. But this album is not. Whether Trevor Horn really dabbled with everything the band created or not (these at least are the rumours), the album feels really inconsistent. Why is the big title track on number 2? Why do they needed to make a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run"? Why is the track order so incoherent? Why do some songs need to make references to other music in that very on the nose way? This is an example of a collection of songs that don't really feel like a proper album. I therefore can just rate it 2 out of 5 stars.

Hhh

Weird but enjoyable

Was a bit of fun.

80s synth pop masterpiece, got them Frankie hits

Kind of hot and cold on this one. On the one hand, I like the sound of it a lot. On the other hand, it's almost all covers? Like all the best tracks are just covers of other bands, and if I'm being honest I don't think they do any track BETTER than the original artist. I like the variety, and it does kind of transcend the whole 80s sound of it all. I was never bored, but I can also never see myself revisiting

Wow. Unexpectedly loved that. So 80s, but so many bangers on it. Take out the middle section (Tag through to San Jose) and that is a phenomenal album that I've never come across or even thought would be nothing but shallow new wave. I'd obviously heard of Relax, Two Tribes, Power of Love before but by themselves they seem like novelty 80s songs. Put them together and pad them out with the rest of the selection here and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. 4*, only dragged down because of the middle section being weak

Heard of the artist but never really listened. Dance album from 1984. Quite enjoying this one - not too dancey but good vibes and definitely 80s. Grating after a while. 3/5.

Really freaky that I saw the album art in All of Us Strangers. Enjoyed it a lot there’s definitely a lot of songs that are classic but overall i don’t know if I loved the whole album. No my vibe particularly but v cool

Awesome sound, lyrics

4.5

RELAX! DRINK STELLA! YOU KNOW IT’LL MAKE YA FEEL BETTA!

People don't seem to be aware these days just how much of "the talk of the town" this album was. Controversy aside, I was always fascinated by the music: from the sublime Trevor Horn production through the variety of music on display here. Fury on one side, a classic of Liverpool, and Born to Run on the other, an American car culture classic. And in between, hits such Relax and Two Tribes. Also worth noting is the album's sound quality, a rare reference in popular music where one could tune equipment to.

I forgot how great this album is!

These guys were real horny in a creepier-than-usual way. And the music was just okay.

Pleasantly surprised

Son los de Relax y The Power Of Love. Normales.

The sound marks a distinctive point in music. I remember the incomplete edges of these songs on my cassette player.

A real mixed bag. The big singles are all here and are far and away the best things on this album. The remainder are a mixture of so-so songs and fillers and a couple of poorly judged covers - Born to Run in particular is very poor.

Rating: 3/10 Hell no.

Good songs on here but too long and too excessive

En megahit, massa bs men bra vibes

honestly this is a fun ass album and the title track is amazing and the rest of it is just like. engaging... never know what's gonna happen on here... i like it

Fun album with a lot of variety! Some hits, some misses, a lot of stuff I was neutral-positive about.

Just an excessive amount of 80's weirdness here, and I can't help but love it, especially Relax. The Born to Run cover was pretty unremarkable and unnecessary, though.

relax, the power of love nice

way too long and pretentious rating: 6.7/10

Some really great tunes, some very plain. Really fun listen

Interesting

I didn't mind it, didn't like it much tho

Great album, some classic songs and a really fun listen, great to learn about the origin of these and hear them in context

Much better than expected but something I'll never go back to.

I never liked FGtH and this didn’t change my mind. Grandiose, repetitive, and a bit fixated, no? Also, the worst covers of Born to Run and San Jose I’ve heard.

It's very 80s. That one single was everywhere and I still hear in movies. More covers then I was expecting. Kind of mixed on this very disjointed album.

This is one strange album. I didn't hate it, though. Actually I kinda liked it. I maybe liked it a bunch. Lots of covers, which was surprising. Relax is great. Sorta sounds like a soundtrack to an 80s movie, and this album is VERY 80s.

This was fine

Tolerable.

This dude is horny AF, just contsant innuendos and then a bit half way where he talks about orgasms. Slightly full on for a Wedsnesay morning, but despite that I really enjoyed the hits that I knew and even some of the longers songs (13 mins+) kept my interest

Absolutely top notch. Defining sound of the mid-80s.

I don't think I've ever delved in enough to FGTH but recently we watched an old 80s TOTP and watched their performance and holy shit it was intense! But in a very good way. The flashy lights how OTT. I can imagine at the time it felt futuristic and wild. And the iconic look was so good on stage. Had this in mind when I listened to this album and really loved it! Just punchy fun tune with a big sound

This was great. I've only ever heard the hits but this was epic and cool. I can here the influence of this on so many different things. Specifically one song which sounds very similar to one on the Pokemon album '2B a Master'.

I neither enjoyed nor respected this album. It's satirically self-absorbed at best. Disturbingly self-pleasuring at worst. I found nothing redeeming in the entire hour-plus experience.

Fire

Meh. As mid-80’s UK synth-pop goes, it’s pretty decent. That said, it doesn’t really hold up for a double album length (64 minutes +). They could’ve scrapped the uninspiring covers, and a couple of other songs and had a tight, concise album that would’ve been better. And covering an iconic song like Springsteen’s “Born to Run” is almost as bad as Madonna covering “American Pie”, which I was subjected to just 3 days ago. Still, a few good songs, and a testament to a time period. 3/5

I really wanted to like this because the big three singles are so good, but the rest of the album was an absolute shitshow. A directionless 13 minute title track, three covers that added nothing to the record, and a load of really cheesy 80s nonsense. Would be an instant one star if it wasn’t for those three absolute bangers

Frankie says Relax! 3,5/5

Some fun songs here, however I wish I could unknow the meaning of the song Krisco Kisses. Ick

A lot of fun

Pretty cool album, unabashedly 80s. Knew more than I thought I would ( relax and war). Enjoyed this album a bunch.

This album both excited and disappointed me. The production was fantastic and there were some unique and original bits in here, but then you have some pieces that don’t fit or let you down in some way. The covers, namely, are some of the most confusing choices on this project. They could have had a more focused, and therefore more concise, album had they done away with those fruitless endeavors which add nothing to the album or the original. I enjoyed some of the songs, but not enough to want to listen to this again. It was alright. 3/5

Þetta er frekar geggjað synthapopp. Ég gat vel unnið við þetta. Kannski ekki alveg það sem ég set á undir öðrum kringumstæðum, en þetta er töff tónlist, það fer ekki á milli mála. Titillagið reif mig strax með og svo var hellað climax með relax. Aftur á móti fannst mér skemmtilegasta lagið Two Tribes og svo var skemmtilegur ode til Gerry and the pacemakers í Fury og helvíti gott BOSS cover í kjölfarið.

Relax er eitt besta lag eitísins, frábært lag. Tvö önnur fín lög, fjögur cover lög, eitt reyndar langbest, og restin rusl. Ef þeir hefðu haldið sig við einfalda plötu en ekki tvöfalda hefði þetta verið fínt. En stór plús fyrir Relax.

wait, there was more than just Relax? Huh! Club vibes.

I wasn't expecting back-to-back covers, enjoyed!

When I think about the 80s, if I was to put a soundtrack to it it’s probably sound something like this album. At times bombastic, other times cheesy and sentimental, it really encapsulates that 80s synth new wave dance pop beat. And I liked this album a whole lot more than I expected to. “Relax” is such a tune, so to hear it in the context of its album was a treat. A weird little album, with two random covers thrown in and some instrumentals and terrifying laughter on the title track. It was different, but it worked for me.

War, what is it good for, absolutely nothing Pleasant surprise, pensive

An album so weak the band members themselves weren’t happy with it, yet someone thought “no, everyone must hear this.” Well, whoever you are, you’re very wrong. No one benefits from hearing this.

Got a weird urge to off the prime minister of Micronesia after listening to this

A few nostalgic tracks...a few fond memories ...but I wouldn't go out of my way to play them. A 2.

OK, I’ll admit it. In groaned when I found out this was my album. I knew it by reputation, the singles are all still huge in the UK, and it’s filled with a load of covers and mediocre album tracks, and when the first song came on it just confirmed my fears that the album was gonna be an overblown, badly produced, slab of overwrought 80’s synth. But then the title track came on. And I found myself engrossed. And I stayed that way for the rest of the album. The production problems really only exist in the intro, and yes It’s overwrought and overblown, but in a way that really works. There are less covers than I realised, and they’re all quite good, with Born To Run being a standout for the album as a whole. So yeah, I’m pleasantly surprised

Relax and give it a 2.5

There is a fine line between the New Wave 80's synth sound that I really found that I enjoy and then this 'Braodway-Bastardized" 80's schmaltzy synth sound which I despise. The Born to Run cover followed by the San Jose were some of the two worst covers I've ever heard back to back. 1.5/5

So this is where Public Enemy got their album name "welcome to the terrordome" from. Bold to start the album with a 13 minute song excluding the intro. It then goes to the banger "Relax" which I've heard before. The rest isn't that impressive but still enjoyable. There's some weird covers as well.

mira, los covers no me vuelven loco, pero me sorprendió la calidad de la primera mitad del disco. Indulgencia es algo que se repite en otras reseñas y coincido.

"Relax" has aged very well. I remember what a huge hit it was when it first came out. It took me longer than it should have to realize what the song was about. I've always loved the title track along with "Two Tribes", although I don't like the remix that I heard here. And I didn't care much for the cover songs. "Ballad of 32" was good, but too porn-like towards the end. The rest just was... Still, I liked that they didn't try and make everything a catchy Relax knock-off.

Bad. Makes 1 hour feel like 5. Really didn’t like its preachy lyrics. It somehow manages to be repetitive and really all over the place.

It's fine, but not too memorable for me. Favorite(s): Relax, San Jose, The Ballad of 32

Fun 80s vibes to listen again in a particular mood

Pure 80s heaven, how this album produced so many memorable songs is basically criminal.

I thought Frankie Goes To Hollywood was just three monster singles. They're all on this album, and are some of the highlights, but the rest stands up too and reads as a piece. The title track in particular is great. I thought the handful of popular covers was going to be a cop-out, but they're all given the Frankie treatment and the record makes no pretence of aiming to be anything other than a hit. A surprisingly excellent double album. Rating: 4/5 Playlist track: Relax Date listened: 24/10/23

When I saw that this album was on the list, I laughed. I hate "Relax." It's the most generic eighties pop song ever, and its sole purpose is to be used in film and television to establish that it's the eighties; just pure drivel. Well, now it's time for me to eat my words. I absolutely loved this. Lyrically, this album was political and fierce, taking shot after shot at Thatcher's England, extolling the fears of nuclear war, and criticizing the oil industry. Musically, it was rich and diverse in sound. From pulsing keyboards, to string arrangements, I was delighted by every song. I absolutely loved their guitar heavy version of "Born To Run" (which I was assigned yesterday), and I have a newfound appreciation for "Relax." The dark and brooding "Two Tribes" was fantastic as well; the guitar, string arrangements, and crashing percussion were a perfect mix. This is an album that I'll definitely recommend and revisit often. I wish I had known how awesome this album was before today.

Much like my landlord and ex lovers, this record takes forever to change keys. After three "songs" and more than 20 minutes, it mercifully ventures away from the key of B. This feels like a concept album. And the concept is an 80's synth pop opera that sucks.

Favorite Tracks: Relax, Born To Run, Black Night White Light, The Power Of Love

2.5/5 - An enjoyable album for the most part

Enjoyable in parts, inexplicable in others. I think they should perhaps have cut out 50% of the songs starting with the covers.

"Ambitious" is the word that most comes to mind with this. I'm not sure why the band thought we needed a mostly-straight cover of "Born to Run", as well as a few others, but they really bring the record down. The originals on here are solid, maybe drenched in a little 80s excess, but once they dig really into the covers, the record never really recovers. I like the production though, it's very big and "futuristic". Favorite tracks: "Welcome To the Pleasuredome", "Relax"

I don't like this at all. like at all, damn. I enjoy a lot of 80s music, it's one of my favorite decades for music, but this is too 80s somehow. I can't take it seriously at all.

Camp and amazing

Very eclectic collection of songs.

I own the vinyl and also have an original import ZTT 12" of "Relax" which I bought before the video hit MTV. The album is rather uneven, in terms of musical styles and content. Damn near certain it was a rush job to capitalize on the strength of the big hits. That said, the sequence of "Relax", "War" and "Two Tribes" has to be one of the most slamming three song sequences on ANY record, period, and "The Power of Love" is a beautiful ballad. The DDD mastering really stood out for the timeframe as well, an unbelievably clear sounding record, extremely well produced. I loved the video for "Two Tribes", classic.

Relax still catchy. Good 80s bass on Two Tribes (and throughout). First half not doing it for me often enough but second half picks up with Black Night White Light, emphasizing the funky bassline and a couple great keyboard riffs, plus The Only Star in Heaven with good driving bass. The Power of Love is an epic closer. Could have been **** with less filler.

Relax, Two Tribes and Power of Love are pretty much the greatest first 3 singles ever The rest is a bit bloated Did enjoy the Springsteen cover though

It was a good album. I need to add it to my collection someday.

BL: Only aware of "Relax" off of this album due to it's inclusion in "Zoolander", so my only awareness of this album is in a mostly ironic context. That will make this a unique listen within the generator and I am excited to see how it ends up going AL: Ok WOW! I didn't come into this with any expectations (which is maybe why I thought this was so phenomenal), but this just absolutely ripped the whole way through. I was not expecting the 10+ minute epic which was "Welcome to The Pleasuredome", I absolutely adored that track. Relax is a good track all things considered, generally the instrumentation does come off as a bit dated at some points - however I do think in the context of dance rock / pop like this and New Order the overproduced basslines work incredibly well. It was controversial, it was erotic, it was LGBT, it was everything I didn't expect and everything I could have wanted, and then it had a Bruce Springsteen cover which completely blew it to another level. Multiple tracks from this are going to make their way into my general rotation FT: "Welcome to the Pleasuredome", "Relax", "War", "Born to Run", "San Jose", "Black Night White Light", "The Power of Love" 5/5

Only dinging a star because the covers are weak. Otherwise, a party front to back.

Start to finish this is classic. 5/5

I do not understand what is going on during this album. There is a mix of original songs and covers?

2.5 stars. A little too overdone for me. Catchy at times but not really my thing. Still better than most pop. Very 80's and some covers that weren't my favorite. Standout was "Relax".

Solid entry here. Sides A&B could've been a strong debut on their own. Side C gets into weird covers of songs not to be covered. But closes strong with 2 great album tracks. This record is fun, inventive, weird and remarkable.

My car has this irritating trait where it plays something random on my phone the minute I start the car. I’ve googled it and I can’t stop it. Sometimes it’s what I was listening to on Spotify, sometimes it’s my white noise app, and sometimes it’s something completely random from my Apple library. Yesterday a tune came on and before I could snap it off, I said, “well I don’t know this one but at least the intro isn’t bad.” It was Black Night White Light from this album. Whadya know. I was set to give this a “did not listen - 1”, and now this. But it’s still no good. It’s not just the heavy handed reverb, so characteristic of this decade. For me it’s the blatant sexuality of Relax in a post-Me Too world. Sometimes it seems to me like a large percentage of 70s and 80s songs were written by young men singing about what they loved most — trying to get a woman in bed. There are some female artists from this era that did that too (Donna Summer and Sheena Easton come to mind), but mostly heterosexual men. So first and foremost, I wonder if that percentage has fallen with Me Too awareness. I hope so. But second, it just seems so unimaginative. There’s so much else in this world to sing about. Maybe that’s where the money was and always has been. After all, Relax is the only hit on this album. Give the people what they want. Hopefully what they want is changing. Or rather, hopefully there’s a recognition that what half the people want is something else.

I'm certainly not an 80s fan. This album just is not appealing to me at all.

I'm gonna get flamed... I thought this was GREAT! it was campy, funny, ridiculous, very over-the-top. The first two tracks sound like a massive joke. The closest thing I've heard to camp in music. This is not an ironic listen! I just had plenty of fun. I'm kind of embarrassed to say this. Was I born at the wrong time? Where are the clubs playing "Frankie Goes To Hollywood?" 4/5

Frankie says Relax. You should do so because this is an album that’s going to put you through the ‘80s gauntlet. At parts frustrating to listen to and in other absolutely brilliant. There’s so much to like but also some much that comes unhinged mid song. It’s over produced and to that the producers hand was apparently VERY heavy. That obvious and it hurts.

Well, this is a funny musical lasagna. Many things happening one after the other; I think it definitely encapsulates the zeitgeist of the eighties. Might listen to it again, but I guess that only selected tracks.

Peak 80’s fun.

Talk about unexpected. Dionne Warwick and Bruce covers, a 16 minute intro track...this was interesting. But not good.

We'll crafted music made with a sincerity that is rare in pop. Odd, but in a good way

Good quality pop with all the obvious hits, suprised how many covers and how intresting they are.

14 year old me loved this. Forty years on and I'm not so sure, but nostalgia is a powerful thing

Frankie says funny things over music. Frankie says sex noises and David Gilmour style guitar wailing. Frankie says cover versions are a great tribute. Frankie says, "Poppers?"

Enjoyed it. The title track is excessive, but then this whole album is about excess and indulgence. Kinda like Mad Max 3, with less sand, and more lube.

8/10 really fun! there’s some great stuff here

Wow, I can see how controversial and groundbreaking this album would have been

Disappointed. Some of the greatest tracks from the 80's mixed with some filler and poor cover versions.

I enjoyed this but it's half brilliant and half really average filler. Welcome to the pleasure dome is excellent although too long to put on a playlist.

Should be the definition of hit and miss

Some really good tunes right in the middle there... then a cover or Springsteen's "Born to Run" and then some whale song?

An interesting experiment. Though there are a few clear standouts, the variety of other choices: covers of San Jose and Born to Run, downtempo pieces like Ballad of 32, and some fine electronic pop, offset other quirky uninteresting contributions. Overall a positive energy record that works.

A few okay songs, but mostly forgettable and generic 80s music

It’s alright,relax and the power of love is good but there’s no need for a 12 minute song.Too many songs about sex,just gets annoying I don’t need to hear a 2 minute song of people moaning.

Never thought it would be the case - but this record is mightily good. From ‘Relax’ to the Springsteen cover - which came as a mega welcome surprise - to the rest of most of this album - it is highly entertaining and well written. Maybe a couple to overlong songs and maybe the whole record could have done with a tiny bit of trimming but it’s a great one.

This has some excellent singles on it, and starts off really strong with "Welcome to the Pleasuredome". Great bass and production. However, I could have done without about 30 mins of it. Why are there so many mediocre cover versions on here?

Shockingly great. The first few songs my thought process was really funny as well: Hey this sounds like the band that does that song 'relax'. Relax comes on. Oh, it is them. War starts playing and I think that song that goes war huh, what is it good for... Would fit so well in this vibe. Then the chant starts halfway through.... Oh damn. So I knew more of this band then I knew. Great discovery overall.

Meh

Aside from Prince Charles’ talking about orgasms, this was very enjoyable.

This was sitting at a 4 because I was having fun… and then they had to add sex noises. So that brought it down a bit.

For an album with lots of covers and not my usual style, this worked for me

I enjoyed most of this.

опять поняла что не различаю группы 70х-80х... стыдно... Фрэнки норм

This record was diving headfirst with great speed into the one-star toilet bowl until they pulled off a really great cover of “Born to Run”. I have no clue what the fuck that song is doing on this album or what the fuck this album even is, but for that cover, it gets two stars.

Well, at least they sound more interesting than most of their '80s synth-pop peers.

shite sandwich of an album started off like it was going to be a secret banger of an album, but then for that tasty tasty shite filling. no idea what the point of the cover versions in the middle were all about and how it fit into this heavily dance orientated album.

Two duelling raindrops dancing a romantic rhumba as they race towards the bubbling orgy of their peers waiting to welcome them at the bottom of the weathered window pane.

So gay

OK, so this is out-and-out one of the greatest albums ever made. As I notice that I'd somehow missed this on the day of review, I find myself getting out of bed at 23:30, going downstairs and retrieving my B&W headphones. Because I want my earballs to be both assaulted and stroked by Holly Johnson, and cranking up the stereo on a Wednesday night is a bit rude to the neighbourhood. Frankie is early 80s through-and-through, but a shaper, not shaped. Johnson (and almost more importantly, Trevor Born) created a sound that was and still is utterly unique to Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Every time I listen to this album I get something more from it. The tonal, rhythmic and tempo changes throughout, hells bells, even within the tracks keep you absolutely glued to it. Trevor Horn is an indisputable genius. The production of this album is superb. Horn layers in sounds across the whole range, with bass as deep as the great lakes, trebles as high as the stars and mids that can't help but satisfy. The changes up for the covers actually improve on the originals. But the hits are where it's at. If you skip half this album - I often do - it isn't because the covers aren't good. They're great. But the hits hit the target so well that you're left wondering how music can be this good. Amazing stuff.

alkaa 5/5 biisillä, 13minuuttinen albumimnimikköbiisi, peukut pystyssä heh. sitten lähtee alamäki.. loiva mäki, ei merenpintaa kosketa. vielä ollaan korkealla. mutta ei koskaan tasangoitu. muutama hittibiisi, hyvä biisi, siellä seassa. helppo midari. welcome to the pleasuredome

Kinda love the idea of a band that only does epic buildups

Well ... this album is really more of a statement and the definition of a sound: that-Trevor-Horn-80's-sound was strong with this one. On here, not every track is a song, and not every song is great, but it was extremely influential in ushering in the sound theat would define so much of an entire decade. There are the obvious must-know hits like Relax, Two Tribes, The Power of Love or the title track. But also some of the lesser known tracks - like the covers of Born to Run and Do You Know the Way to San José or the instrumental The Ballad of 32 - are good music in their own right. Yes, there are some eybrowraising, headscratching interludes that will not go into any playlist that warrants repeated listening. But still, while a litte uneven, this record is definitively worth a listen. That, coupled with its significane in other areas, makes it a worthy addition to the list. 4/5

What a weird album. Relax was the only song I recognized. The Bruce Springsteen parody was interesting. Entirely way too long and no need to visit again.

Varied, good songs, a good album and interesting too

------- frankie says r e L a x ------- well at least two of the songs are good this album promised a lot - a grand prophetic vision, mystic annoations for each side of this double lp, songs of 10 minute disco kaleidoscopic gay euphoria etc. - but it was all just a bit of silly marketing, and the album is really no good. it did however help define the eighties. why is there a side of just bizzare cover after cover, one of which being born to run? old sausage fingers talking about coming was fun though ------- sean i'd say the best one came from tupelo mississippi i'll tell you now that grown men cry and irish girls are prettyyyyyy -------

Pretty enjoyable synth pop album. Very 80s.

See everydaytunez

Highs were high but the lows were uninteresting. Extremely well produced and the best songs had interesting playback. I get the popularity but much too long

Likely groundbreaking at the time. The album is powerful and dynamic. Great singing and a fun mix of instruments. I wish I could Relax and just give it a 4, but it’s not exactly something I have to listen to again.

The album grabbed me right of the bat. It opens with ambient elements, spoken word passages, and goes right into the spacious atmospheric title track. The beats are fantastic and driving and there is a great mix of analog and digital elements that are well balanced. The guitar work especially is great. Most of the covers are executed well, but the inclusion of San Jose is unusual. Overall, the album is quite good, but it definitely drags towards the middle and end. If a few songs were cut, these album would have easily been five starts. It is such a unique combination of synth pop, mainstream rock, and avant-garde that it is unfortunate that it is as bloated as it is.

This one was all over the place. Some really catchy upbeat pop stuff early on, but really fell flat towards the end. Take out the last 30 minutes and maybe shorten up the title track a bit, and this one could have been a banger.

3.9 Sides one and two are just 5/5 *chefs kiss*. Not convinced by some of the covers on this (esp born to run), there was way better songs they could have done but oh well Favourites: Two Twibes, Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Help – one's been hit with the laser beams! Surprisingly more to this than expected (or remembered), with a title track setting an interesting and thoughtful tone (even if it’s a bit overwrought [as are “War” and several other tracks]). “Relax” still has its appeal (overcoming the pretty severe anachronism [not to mention hideous fashion flashbacks]). The covers are somewhat hard to credit (especially the Springsteen) but “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” is good (and odd) fun. The production is fittingly over the top, but everyone sounds like they’re having a pretty good time of it (and not nearly such naughty fun as one suspected or remembered. [Those laser beams must be bad for the memory.]) Begins tending to the ponderous the longer it goes on, but one sees the ambition (which took strange forms, it must be said) to be more than one-off club stars of the Right Said Fred ilk. Ultimately, it’s hard to know how to rate them. Are they the ‘80s version of, say, Happy Mondays? Adam Ant and the Sex Pistols are also good comps, more like Zeitgeisty phenomena than actual musical acts. Fun record, both to hear and consider in the broader cultural context.

Genres: New wave, synth-pop, Hi-NRG Formed: Liverpool, England in 1980 Run time: 16 songs, 1 hour, 4 min The debut studio album by English synth-pop band. They achieved fame in the mid-eighties and Johnson went on to have a solo career in ‘87. Spotify: Least popular song: 547k Most popular song: over 108M plays. Track 2, “Welcome To The Pleasuredome” refers to the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The song is also an epic, at over 13 minutes long. In the 80’s each track that was released as a single was banned by the BBC and was driven up the charts as a consequence. Their material was overt and shocking and certainly caused a stir at the time. Track 4, “War” is a cover of the counterculture era soul song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. The song was an anti–Vietnam War statement. It became a number 1 hit for Edwin Starr in 1970. The FGTH version contains spoken words by the then President of the US, Ronald Regan. It was a very pertinent and clever cover/adaptation. It serves as a prequel to the next song on the album “Two Tribes", which is a dig at the Cold War between the U.S. and USSR. Track 6, “Tag” is 30 seconds of weird! Track 7, "Ferry (Go)" is an extract of the Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers) song “Ferry Cross the Mersey. It isn’t trying to be the original and is a fitting tribute by one Liverpudlian band to another. Track 8, “Born To Run” is a cover of the Springstein song. I alway feel that a cover should be better or significantly different to the original. It’s not a bad cover, but it is a straight cover, and very few artists could outperform Springstein. Track 9, “San Jose” is another cover, this time of a Burt Bacharach song originally performed by Dionne Warwick. Again, it’s not bad but it’s not different or better than the Warwick version. In the 80’s HIV/Aids was in the news alot and caused a lot of hate and fear of homosexuality. At the time many gay male artists didn’t push or hid their sexuality (e.g., George Michael). Due to lack of knowledge many contracted HIV and would die of AIDs in the 90’s (e.g., Freddy Mercury). FGTH didn’t seem to worry about it, and openly did their best to promote gay artists. Holy Johnson did catch HIV, but improved knowledge and medicine means he didn’t go on to contract AIDS. This album resulted in some epic singles. Listen Again?: No My Rating: ***

Quite a bit stranger than I expected, but just so unpleasant to my ears.

Feels like a 1980s movie soundtrack.

1.5

Pretty good listen. I liked the energy to open the album and the War cover particularly. This band is clearly sure of themselves.

Found this to be really boring. Relax is definitely the best track.

Even though this isn't my style, I appreciated the lushness and intricacy of the music. Sounds very well-produced. Favorite song was probably the long one. Some cool songs, and a few songs that were a bit too cheesy and annoying.

Hard to appreciate since they screwed over Mugato so hard causing him to try and take over the world by mind controlling the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Relax.

Highlights: "Relax," "Krisco Kisses," "Black Night White Light," "The Only Star in Heaven" The main thing this band has going for it is the vocalist and some cool bass parts. It warms up near the end but there are samey stretches, lyrics that manage to be both really pretentious and really dumb, and a couple covers that have no reason to exist. As strong as the vocals are, they do not meet Springsteen on "Born to Run" or Dionne Warwick on "San Jose" per Bacharach. It's hard to say how much this band adds to what Duran Duran or ABCs had put down a few years ago. The good ideas don't hold up their respective songs all the way.

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I was familiar with Relax and War but it was the title track at 13mins that won me over. What an amazing pop track. Just the right amount of weird on this one to make for an excellent pop album. 4 stars

This was a strange one

Lots of talent but why the random covers? Sounded like so many different bands and lots of classical influence. I liked most of it. Vocals and instrumental blends are excellent. Cheesy bits of dialog thrown in didn't help.

At first I thought it would be some wierd indie stuff. But then it turned into STRAIGHT DISCO! Loved

Kaukana mistään hienosta varmasti vapauttavaa 1984 kuunnela heh rivoa albumia virtu kiinnosta ejakulaatio lyrics 2023 ÄLÄ ANNA ALUN USKOMATTOMUUUDEN HÄMÄTÄ HYVIN PASKA ALBUMI KYSEESSÄ.. seksisque tho..

This is a really fun album with some pretty epic parts to it. The covers are entertaining, albeit not all too creative, takes on the originals. Favorite track: Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Love it

Ok

Woof

Basically an entire album of the same sound...not for me. 1/5

interesting that there are covers on it

What a weekend banger !!!! We remember the controversy when Frankie broke into the charts. We first saw them on The Tube, which itself was controversial, and that was subsequently banned ! Brilliant !!!! I like Holly Johnson’s voice and enjoyed the covers but everything else on the album wasn’t up to the same standard as the famous tracks at the start. Still 4*

Really liked the first bits of the album. Not so sure about the spate of covers in the middle and then it peetered out a little bit.... solid 3 for the first 5-6 songs though

Good album. Not my jam, but really well done.

ah, some UK 80s pop for a change. This is one of the more well known one hit wonders out there, at least outside the UK. I only knew Relax. The album is more of the same, to varying degrees of quality. Very sophisticated and ambitious, but for all the production and kazillion instrument tracks it never really took off. Everything left me wanting, nothing ever really pulled through. The whole album felt like one giant lead up to something that never came. An hour long tease- ironic given the title. Martini Ranch did this whole vibe better, plus that had Bill Paxton in it. 3/5.

Oh dear - takes me right back - feeling old!

It was a fun listen. I don’t think i’d go back though.

Peak 80’s with some massive hits on this album, including a few decent covers. Deserves its place on the list, doesn’t quiet make my regular rotation though.

i will never get this sixty four minutes of my life back. wtf…

I don’t know if I’ll ever listen to this again but this was a lot of fun. Good stuff and some cool covers.

Pink Floyd meets Steve Miller band, meets queen meets disco. Every song completely different and creative, some are really good

I'm ten percent gayer whenever I listen to this synth-pop masterpiece. That's how good it is! All jokes aside, this is an album that should probably be taken far more seriously than its current "critical reputation" lets on. First, this is producer Trevor Horn's Sistine Chapel: the 13-minute+ cinematic extravaganza of the title track is here to prove it. Secondly, fillers are pretty rare here, which is a feat given that *Welcome To The Pleasure Dome* is a double-album: that string of covers in the middle of the record (standards once sung by Bruce Springsteen, Edwin Starr, Gerry Marsden or Dionne Warwick) are always fresh and interesting, and the vast majority of the FGTH compositions stand out as well. There's the steamy hit "Relax", of course, and getting you ten percent gayer is the very minimum said hedonistic anthem can do. There are also "Two Tribes" and that touching-yet-fully-epic ballad "The Power of Love", aptly concluding the proceedings. Yet as good as those highlights are, they should not *fully* divert attention away from the lesser-known "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Krisco Kisses", and "Black Night White Light" towards the end of this record, along with the instrumental "The Ballad Of 32". Those tracks are pretty catchy as well. As a matter of fact, I find those deep cuts catchier and more satisfying in terms of melodies and hooks than 90% of the other synth-pop acts of the time. And I'm including the overrated Duran Duran here, or even Tears For Fears (ar least as far as their non-singles are concerned). So yep, Frankie Goes To Hollywood released an all-time classic in the synth-pop genre, period. And to be clear, punks, anyone who disagrees with me on this can get on his knees and suck my d... Well, only if said oral activity gives you pleasure, *of course*. And if you're nice and gentle enough, I may even return the favor at some point... Jeeze, did I say this album made me "ten percent gayer"? Maybe it's more like 25. 😎 One last thing, the topical overtones of this double-LP also make it an essential listen, and here I promise I'm not kidding you. Tackling the themes of gay liberation, the horrors of war, and the joy and love that communities must try to reach in times of hardship--all of this during the dreadful era of Thatcherism and the AIDS epidemic--is a pretty serious thing. And managing to tackle those themes while conveying the feeling you're having a blast at the same time is a rather admirable achievement, all things considered. 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 here. Number of albums left to review: 552 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 217 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 105 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 128

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Relax, War, The power of love

Mine is the last voice you will ever hear. Yes, FTFH were huge when I was in college. The singles were ubiquitous. Yet somehow the debut album was a real letdown, very much less than the sum of its parts. The cover choices defied understanding, and the material stretched too long. Would’ve made a fine single album.

The singles are great and the covers are fun. Bit long? I was never bored.

I was fascinated by FGTH as a 9yo; they seemed very naughty and had a ubiquitous media presence - "cool" t-shirts, a weird video game and two raucous videos (Relax and Two Tribes) that hinted of worlds I knew nothing about. The singles were perfect, Holly Johnson's vocals just right for Trevor Horn's never better high-NRG production. This album didn't quite match up to that excitement, although the title track in particular is still great 40 years later. I don't mind the covers as much as others did at the time; indeed, War, Ferry Cross the Mersey and Born To Run (especially) are my go-to versions as they work better in these slightly sped-up and cheeky takes. The rest is not very good, and the single version of Two Tribes remains much better than the one on here. Regardless, a nostalgic 4 for one of the most entertaining bands of the '80s

Well, I enjoyed this much more than I expected. It definitely could have done with being half the length, though. The glut of, pretty rubbish, covers really killed the mood. I'd have been tempted to score it higher if it had ended before that.

Perhaps the most epicly insessential album in history. Relax and Two Tribes had already been released in multiple 12" mixes by the time this came out, and the album mixes are not the best ones. The Power of Love and Welcome to the Pleasuredome were both also monster singles, though the latter is here in its full 13 minute glory. So, beyond this it is thin indeed - a slew of inessential cover versions, the odd filler instrumental, and three okay album tracks tucked away on side 4. So, 5 stars for the singles, 3 for the rest, 2 for the covers - round up to 4.

The cover versions are unnecessary fillers. This is the only song titled The Power Of Love that matters

I enjoyed hearing "Relax" in its album context. Beyond that, the music mostly just made me feel anxious.

I usually like things with a strong 80s sound, but this is where I draw the line I guess. There is an intriguing character to some of the performances, but ultimately it seems insincere. This could have been far more palatable if they had edited the tracks and album length down to a more standard 40-45 minutes, but as is, it's just exhausting. Sounds like a latter day deluxe edition reissue full of outtakes, even though it's not. I guess it was hard to show restraint when you were coked out of your mind in the 80s.

This is why people hate 80s music.

The opening has me interested. Welcome To The Pleasure Dome is a cool song. Relax is a good single, dripping with 80s cheese and hedonism. The covers are wild. Cool album for sure.

Is a album full of music too much to ask for? I don’t need all the talking, laughing and sex noises.

Mixed bag

I was undecided for so long whether to go 4 or 5 with this album, but you know what? It's a classic. So many legendary tunes. Flows well. Powerful album

Call me a prude, but this album is kind of gross. I feel like, while embracing this sort of stuff is important, and acting as though human-beings don't have urges is gross, but it being this on the nose with not a lick of nuance in sight makes me just roll my eyes when I hear some sort of allusion to sex for the billionth time an album, and don't even get me started on what the back of the album and the inner sleeve look like. If not all of that, then covers a plenty. Overall, the album is okay, but most of it is forgettable or dated. I imagine when people say they dislike new wave, this is what they're imagining. Very light three.

More interesting than I thought it would be but overall an average album

Actually some fun 80’s dance music . .Some cool synths and basslines and 80’s guitar tones- but not really a good album and didn’t really like any of the songs Trevor Horn production is cool. Scratching my head at the Born to Run cover. It’s not that different from original, would’ve been cool if they did it in a whole other direction. Now really scratching my head at San Jose. Too many covers on this album.

I didn’t enjoy this in any way

I HATED THIS

80s Synth pop. I loved it.

This was an absolute blast. I had no idea of the covers they did on this.

The epic first song, the three hits singles, the fun Springsteen Cover, much to enjoy. And the camp and overtly gay image to be admired. Of course production by Trevor Horn is brilliant as ever. Buggles, FGTH, Art of Noise, Propaganda's Secret Wish, big hero.

They remind me of Talking Heads except not as new wave. Catchy tunes, "Relax" is just the cherry on top.

Sinkut oli tuttuja! Omituinen syhthpop-eepos joka ei nouse sille tasolle kun pitäisi. 2/5

Jaa-a, oikein hyviä palasia etenkin alussa, mutta aika vaikea saada otetta ja tuntui kovin pitkältä.

Olipa taas kiimainen levy :D Tokan raidan jamittelut toimi ja Relax on huippuunsa viritetty synahitti mut levyn loppupuolella alkaa tökkiä. Tän ei olis tarvinnu ollan tunnin pituinen. 2/5

Frankie says Relax!

This aged much better than other albums of its time! Enjoyed the covers too, wtg Frankie

Relax is obviously a classic but quite played out for me after seen Zoolander 1 trillion times. I definitely was not expecting the Bruce Springsteen cover part of the way through. That was a nice treat. And it is ultimately what saved it from a two star review.

If you want to create the ‘club scene’ of the 80’s this is your album Otherwise, forget it

This was such a massive cultural record for it's time. New sounds, but moreso the suggestive themes that caused (mainly male) Brits to be quite uncomfortable. And for that alone, it gets too marks. Hahah Besides that, these are some really good tunes, earworms, chill vibes. Love it.

Pretty good! And nice to get something different after a string of rock and roll

Not my favourite, though Relax is a definite classic. Prob not something I will return to.

One of the things I had heard about this album was that Steve Howe was in it, so I was excited to hear his guitar work. Did not realize it was on a song that was over TEN MINUTES long. Let's talk about how hopelessly DATED this album is. Sampling RONALD REAGAN. Covering "War," "Born to Run" and "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" and they still sound less fresh than the original songs sound. Also THREE covers? That's a bit much, don't you think? Really everyone's here for the one song we all know. But one song doesn't an album make. "Welcome to The Pleasuredome" was good, too. But there's quite a LOT of filler here. And again, putting all those covers in that "modern sound" just sound like it's still 1985 (I mean I guess that's better than 1955, but...) So this could have been EASILY trimmed down from an hour to maybe 40 minutes. Just saying.

Well, I learned something. Frankie Goes to Hollywood is not a one-hit wonder. Two Tribes isn't bad, and it's certainly deeper than Relax, but it's not nearly as good. I didn't really get their third big single The Power of Love at first. But maybe I was just tuned into the upbeat tempo of the rest of the album. In retrospect, it's quite a beautiful song. I did like a few of the uptempo tracks - Wish the Lads Were Here, Black Night White Light. The title track is unnecessarily long but has some okay parts to it. Most of their remakes weren't great (War, Ferry) though I didn't mind Born to Run. It didn't sound like the rest of the album though - less synth/electronica and more new wave 80's rock. Not quite sure what makes this album so unique - maybe it was their messaging at the time. All in all, I didn't mind it. Almost 3.5 but not quite.

meh 2 stars

Curate's egg. But production's good.

Mixed bag of kinds of songs. Good listen though. Once again, surprised by how many of their songs I already knew whether thru covers etc.

2023/03/28 - very good!

Peak guilty pleasure music. Where do we even begin with this one? At times it sounds like what would be played during the initiation rites of a fraternity, and other times it's the soundtrack to an '80s coming of age film. It's incredibly cheesy, but sometimes it has its moments. Particularly those songs with longer instrumentals, which make you think that they should not be as good as they are. But then they start talking about orgasms, which completely takes you out of the moment. Once the album is done, you begrudgingly admit to yourself that okay, that was actually enjoyable to listen to at times - before quickly switching to another record so your friends don't see that you've been listening to something called Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Standout tracks were War, The Ballad of 32, and Black Night White Light.

Very self-indulgent. At first I thought, “I could get into this” but then they stuffed absolutely every single ‘80s musical trope in and it became too much. Personally, I was not a fan.

Quite the average album. Has a couple of good songs in it, but overall not my taste

relax goes so hard i love this album

I actually have this album :) The album starts great, i still like it. It´s a bit like a concept album where all songs fit together. After two tribes it goes downhill and then goes out with a nice big bang. Overall it was nice to hear the album again.

A difficult to rate album. In some sense it is great. A perfect sound. A perfect production. A perfect album title. Four 5* singles. But certainly half the album consists of boring covers and pretty weak songs. Hence, I usually go for some of their 12"s and hardly ever listen to one of their two albums (their Liverpool album has its moments too but is quite a bit weaker even). It has the looks of a classic, and it could have been a classic if they had cut it down to 35-40 minutes.

Nice to hear the hits again, but this album was all over the place. Takes too long to get started, and once it has, it quickly breaks the flow by songs that seem out of place (the Born to Run cover for example). The Power of Love still sounded great, though.

Crappy album, too long, redundant covers, etc. although with a couple of super classic fragments.

Good! The title track or San Jose would be my favourite.

4/5. Love this album

It took me 4 times to get this And the fact that I kept coming back for it already meant something It's good

4.25

How does someone name an album after the worst song

Así para empezar, qué poco me apetece este disco pero nunca se sabe. Hay canciones buenas de los 80, el Relax y el The power of love, versiones interesantes como el War o Born to run. Le daré 2 estrellas y bueno creo que se merece una escucha pero poco más.

Blessed right at the beginning with a 13 minuter

As far as synth-pop classics go, these guys are nowhere near Pet Shop Boys. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish the album, but I really can't see myself listening to this album of my own volition. The songs I recognized I've probably heard in sappy movies - the only place I can see this music belonging.

once again, one hit doesn't mean the whole album is good

Two good songs and a lot of filler. Strange one. Not really an album, more an extended EP.

pretty alright

I'm finding that the more 80s music I'm listening to, the more I'm beginning to enjoy it. With that being said, this turned out to be a pretty great album. It's certainly very 80s, quite cheesy but not overly so. Not every song was really a hit for me, and it had its fair share of weirdness. The title track was much longer than it ought to be but I still think that was okay. Relax is still a bop, and Two Tribes was a surprisingly good one I'd not heard before. Overall this is okay for an 80s pop album! Favourite: Relax

Another one from the never listened batch! This was surprisingly enjoyable though

The title track is ridiculous...like holy shit 14 minutes!? Could've condensed that a little bit don't you think? Had to skip Power of Love, I just couldn't do it. I'm giving this 2 stars, but the most generous 2 stars I've given so far.

Sometimes it sounds like Devo if they only made bad decisions. They're trying to be quirky but they end up being irritating in a way that I've rarely felt before. More than one hour of this? F my life.

Relax, don't listen to this.

I thought this would be a hood one, it was not

The song "Welcome to Pleasuredom" was very nice, we rarely encounter a 13 minutes conceptual song in the new wave/synthpop aesthetic. And after this song? Nothing. It was long, boring and annoying.

Their cover of Ferry Across the Mersey is the hidden gem.

Oh boy, more 80s music. Haha. I recognize some of this stuff, and its catchy, but seriously, did this entire decade sound the same?

Enjoyable enough

i’m not ever going to listen to this i don’t care if it’s the greatest album ever made

I was looking forward to this as the only songs I really knew from it were "Relax" and "Two Tribes" which are both pretty great. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the album is just bland new wave and uninspired covers. Nothing terrible but nothing really great either. The title song had some cool moments but was probably just a little too long. 3.5 stars

Particular, but it makes you feel all its hour long

So eighties, so pulled long

Mid level album, interesting for a single listen, a few well done covers and a few interesting originals that are 80's staples. Favourite tracks WELCOME TO THE PLEASUREDOME, Relax, Two Tribes.

3.5 - This album along with "Songs from the Big Chair" by Tears For Fears, released within 4 months of each other, both typify a certain peak-80's aesthetic for me - massive synth-driven soundscapes, somewhat Carribean-inflected rhythms and brass fills, pretentious ambient interludes. Besides "Relax", which remains a "best-of" mainstay for the era, the rest of this record shows a comically cocaine-driven hubris. Why put out a 66-minute record with THREE covers? Admittedly, the vocals on "Born to Run" provide a more refined counterpoint to Springsteen's guttural bellows. But the other covers - "War" and "San Jose" - are quite inconsequential. And why SO MUCH filler - from samples of political speeches, to extended instrumentals that trail off into nowhere? Worth the single confused listen but never again!

How many covers are in here? What is this? How does this shit get made? Surely there were better bands for the A and R guy to sign at the bar that night.

Relax and war are classics. 3/5

A diverse one, love that

Sure, Relax is pretty good, classic 80s song about sucking dick that has a lot of nostalgic value. I enjoyed that. But the title track is a painfully long 13:40 and it's chock full of barely passable covers. I've been really into some of the stuff I got from this era but Frankie didn't really do it for me.

The animals are winding me up The jungle call The jungle call Who-ha who-ha who-ha who-ha In Xanadu did Kublai Khan A pleasure dome erect Moving on keep moving on, yeah Moving at one million miles an hour Using my power I sell it by the hour I have it so I market it You really can't afford it, yeah Really can't afford it 4/5

It was alright. I hated how long the 13 MINUTE TRACK at the beginning of the album dragged on. I have heard the track War before, but I couldn't tell you where. It was a nice sound it jam out to while I was in he car. Not really that much that stood out overall. Favorite tracks were Track 3: Relax, Track 4: War, and Track 9: San Jose.

This shit is a straight up fever dream. The backing tracks are sick and great to listen to, but the admittedly obvious underlying tone is sex. Pretty much every song is about sex and will make you feel uncomfortable if you don't want to listen to sex. Also, the lyrics are just way too out there, and listening to them will make you feel like you're on some kinda drug. These factors combined make you feel like you're at a rave sweating your ass off on ecstasy. After about 20 minutes, though, it turns into a samba album, which is such a whiplash because it turns back into a 80s rave album after a few songs. Overall, it's a good album if you listen specifically for what you want and ignore the other weird ass parts. Favorite: Relax

This was actually pretty good. It was corny, being an entire concept album about love and incorporating religion, but it wasn't bad. I was scared since most of the double albums on this list go on for far too long, but this album actually was pretty varied and indulged in many different 80s sounds. This all being said, I probably won't listen to the album as a whole again (especially because some songs are dreadfully repetitive), but there were several songs that I'll hear every once in a while on my liked songs on Spotify. It was really weird to hear a fully 80s pop song be 13 minutes long, but I enjoyed it. This album brings a lot to the table, and does it pretty well. The thing that really irks me is "The Power of Love" which is a 5 minute song with no? verses and feels like only a repeating chorus which felt like it dragged on forever. Highlights: 2, 3, 5, 13.

Ik kan hier echt geen patat van bakken. Een soort jaren tachtig-conceptalbum? Doet een beetje denken aan 'The Who sell out' qua gekkigheid (een cover van Bruce Springsteen, en dan weer zo'n Burt Bacharach-niemendalletje erachteraan?). Het klinkt wel aardig hoor, maar de malloterie overstemt het luisterplezier.

Ik word heel vrolijk van het eerste deel van het album. De sound die ik via de radio van hen ken. Beetje een guilty pleasure. Typisch jaren '80 met een schone rol voor de synthesizer. Maar dan met wel een hele bak geluid. Daarna volgt een grapje en verdwijnt de muzikale handtekening van Frankie. 3.5 ster

Op het moment dat je een album als dit voorgeschoteld krijgt, ga je pas de wikipedia pagina's induiken. Blijkt dus dat ze eigenlijk alleen dit album hebben gemaakt. Een uurtje muziek. Waarvan ook nog een gedeelte uit covers en een ellenlange intro/outro bestaat. En toch herinneren we ons allemaal de sound, die voor een groot deel de 80s samenvat. Bombastische bassen, synths, vol galm, tikje aangezet allemaal, powerballads. Soms iets teveel van het goede (en passant verkrachten ze Bruce nog even), maar soms ook briljant (Two Tribes en toch ook the Power of Love). Gemiddeld genomen 3 vd 5 sterren.

I'm shocked at how good this album is, it covers a lot of territory and is a satisfying journey. I had no idea; the only song I'd heard before was "Relax" which, by the way, mashes up really well with Rammstein's "Du Hast". If you're the kind of person who likes every song on the album to be similar then skip this, you won't like it. Also, you're lame. Go back to the safe playlist bubbles of Spotify or whatever.

Stand out tracks are great

This was a fun listen, full of grandiose excess and catchy rhythms. Some parts got a bit redundant, but overall I enjoyed it. 3 Hollywood stars out of 5 ⭐⭐⭐

Un disc excessiu, pletòric, que aglutina i expandeix els '80. Hi ha de tot i no tot és perfecte, però la majoria és material molt robust. Estan els singles: 'Relax', 'The Power of Love', Two Tribes', que van marcar una época. Estan les versions, una 'Born to Run' efervescent o un 'Ferry Cross the Mersey' reverencial. Estan els growers que amb les escoltes guanyen pes, com 'Krisco Kisses' o 'War'... La producció de Trevor Horn i la imatge i actitud del grup, que va marcar aquells anys, acaben per reivindicar-lo com un dels grans discos de la década

Quality

It's good. It's proggier than you'd expect from 80s dance pop, at times to the point of being a bit pretentious. But when it bangs it bangs. It's probably 20 minutes too long though. Sam Jose could easily have been dropped!

I put this album on and when I came to, I was slap fighting with the Prime Minister of Malaysia. This album was way too long. Best track: Relax

Pretty decent but it all kind of blurs together. There’s a very consistent sound throughout the album (including the covers) so if you don’t like “Relax,” you probably won’t like the album. Dance music is my favourite genre so I enjoyed it for that, but I probably wouldn’t come back to any song other than “Relax” (which of course I already knew).

Notes - Debut album by synth pop band Frankie goes to Hollywood - Mostly re-recordings of previously released singles as well as covers - Drew additional criticism because a lot of the instruments on the album were re-recorded and performed by producer Trevor horn of the boggles & yes - feels extremely overproduced - no momentum on the album, every time theres a song with a bit more drive to it, the next song sucks all the energy - genuinely checked if i had it on shuffle by accident - technically proficient but nothing works for me, not even the big hits Fav - born to run - Just a cover of the Springsteen song but its a good one! least fav - san jose - nahhhh 1.5/5 - it was a big hit when it came out but not for me

Geen uitschieter in het genre. Gewoon album met 2 leuke covers op

Did little for me.

Frankie should rather go to the "Learn When To End An Album Academy", because this shit refuses to wrap up. You could cut out 90% of this album and it would improve as an experience. The first four or so tracks were great, then it kept going and going and I just couldn't make myself care.

Interesting album, even though it’s something I won’t be coming back to. This goes in so many different directions. The Only Star in Heaven is an example. It starts like an early chili peppers song but morphs into Bowie on the chorus. Points for uniqueness of sound (even though many of the songs themselves are covers.)

2.75

Wasn't sure what I was getting into with this one only knowing of this group as peak 80s synth pop. Was pleasantly surprised to find a long weird album that wasn't just drenched in shitty synths and reverb although plenty of that.

Pleasant surprise. Loved the flavor of some of the covers....

relax is the famous song from them the same vibe as non-stop erotic cabaret but more vocal focused 3.5

Still listening, a little backed up on music. But good so far!

A true classic, and one of the defining albums of the mid/late 80’s sound and night club dance scene

Classic 80’s

A classic 👌

Didn't totally care for the spoken interludes, but this album is a vibe. Love the track transitions & overall flow

Welcome To The Pleasuredome isn't good despite a couple of terrifically overplayed hits, of which only Two Tribes is really good. Covering Born To Run should be a criminal act, there's so much poor filler here it can't get more than a low 2/5.

What a disappointment. After the first two tracks (which are a big old bombastic prog rocky style intro) followed by Relax, I was expecting a proper concept album. What you end up with is a couple of their songs mixed in with a lot of really underwhelming covers. It's overproduced to the point it sounds like it's done on purpose - might've worked quite well had they properly leant into the Pleasuredome theme, but it's just a bit of a mess. 2/5, credit for The Power Of Love completely cancelled out by the painful cover of Born To Run.

Very dated 80s music. Not sure why this is on here as it was a one-hit wonder (at least in North America). I keep getting albums with unnecessary covers- this time it's Springsteen and the 1960s song San Jose.

85/100: "Welcome To The Pleasuredome" stays on during sex. Joking aside, this was a shocker of an album. It felt like every song that fit in the category of "I've heard this before and loved it but never knew who sang it" was on this album. On top of that, there were many songs that I had never heard before but thoroughly enjoyed. I expected this album to be really shitty '80s synth pop. I'm ecstatic that I was as wrong as I was. I will listen to this album many more times in the future and think I'll probably buy it on vinyl too.