The Lexicon Of Love

The most interesting thing about this album is the tug of war between the end of disco and the beginning of 80s sound. They're trying to employ too much and ended up with a lackluster time capsule piece. Outside of that, they don't do anything exceptionally well. Did I really need to listen to this before I die?

cero mi onyi.

You're just blatantly not me nan. What is this. Please no. This sounds like a failed jukebox musical. In a bad way. If there can even be a good way to say that. The 80s were a weird time. Favourite: Lowk none Least favourite: Show Me

This must be the most 80s sounding album I’ve heard in a long time. I could practically smell the clove cigarettes. I used to go dancing every weekend at an all-ages club and there were many songs from this album that were on frequent rotation, but I’d completely forgotten that this band existed. Quite the nostalgic listen, but did it age well? I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard music described as post-funk, but it is an apt description of these tunes. The strong hooks, along with excellent incorporation of strings and horns make the compositions more interesting than most synth-pop albums. Fry is also an outstanding singer. So yes, despite being overt 80s pop, I do think this album held up to time well. In fact. I think it is a great album to highlight why music like this became so popular in the 80s. Will I be adding the album to frequent rotation? Probably not, my personal tastes have moved on, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t appreciate the listen.

Jazzy... curious melodies

Looking at a lot of the reviews of this album and there are certainly extremes (perhaps why, at the time of writing, the overall score is 3.07). I can see why. It is a sound that clearly polarizes. But at its core, it is just pop music. But pop music coming out of the back of prog, punk and disco. It was the next step to follow. New Romantic? Maybe, but it is a good listen if you set aside what style you are listening to. It is a product of its environment and, to me, is quintessentially '80's. All Of My Heart is a winner, as is The Look of Love. An album I hadn't listened to before, and enjoyed more than I thought I would. 4/5

Worse than Coldplay

solid 3

Hated this on first listen, and marginally improved on additional spins. Don't need to hear this one again

2 hitjes, 2 sterren

Takes me back tot Vice City... Good times...

Pristine New Wave record. Every hook, vocal line, arrangement choice is in its right place. Would not expect anything else from Trevor Horn on production duties, really. The cleanliness and sophistication of this can get a little much to some, but I really loved it. I do wonder why I haven't looked into the band's output beyond this album. The band probably wonders that too, so much so they released a sequel in 2016, which I did listen because of the title and was pretty good. Marketing strategy success! Key tracks: Poison Arrow Valentine's Day The Look of Love (Pt. 1)

There is almost no band more pristinely 80s cheese than ABC. They don't even bother having a real name. But sincerely, ABC You wouldn't know at first if you didn't know anything about the band, but it's really jarring that “Show Me” has so many nigh-identical musical cues to its follow up, “Poison Arrow”. That's a shame, because for a new listener, that puts Poison Arrow on the back foot, and it is quite truly one of the great overwrought 80s pop songs. That insistent “who broke my heart? YOU did, YOU did!” It's probably supposed to be very emotional, very meaningful. But with that spoken word Bridge, the theater-kid energy of every note, it really comes across as a goof and a bop. It is big stupid 80s and fun as hell. “The Look of Love” is probably the even bigger track, but it's also sillier. It's a song about, well, the look of love, and the centerpiece of the song is him refusing to answer any questions about his song topic. Who's got the look? What's the look? No fucking answer. But thats the look. Yippie aye ayy! All that overlaid on overdramatic horns with that Dun dun Dun ending each chorus. The camp is so blatant and yet it still feels like no one on the record was told about it. The weird thing is that the album keeps feeling like it was put together from magnetic 80s poetry. The lyrics are pretty regularly goofy, the music regularly reminds you more of the previous song than you'd probably find comfortable. The frontman is so, so camp, and you aren't entirely sure if he intends to be. I would totally believe that every song was sung serious as a heart attack, even when Tears are Not Enough is reusing that descending piano riff, even when most songs have similar harmonic three-chord riffs driving them. A musician I like once talked about how they realized every bit of Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in my Hands was built from pre-sets from a keyboard he also owned. I can't speak to the validity of that, but I can definitely say that this album has that same feeling, like everything here is 80s music fashion plates, mixing and matching to create slightly new outfits. All that and a closing song called “theme from Mantrap” that is just a re-imagining of “Poison Arrow”. I don't really believe this isn't all one big cabaret with the loosest theme possible. It doesn't feel like a real album at all. But I guess that's entertaining in its way. Light ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great pop record

not bad, but the songs all sound the same

Sparat

The first half is really fun and danceable, but the second half wasn’t in my opinion. Still good though!

Was okay

Why?

4 stars in the first listen. 5 stars on the second

Did not give this the time it deserved but enjoyed it! Add it to the revisit list

Phenomenal bass lines! It's hard to get past the goofy '80s style. I'm having fun listening to it but I'm not sure I would would put it on by choice.

The dying breathes of the disco era meets the infancy of generic 80's pop. Terrible.

Decent 80s British rock/pop, nothing stood out, but very akin to other bands of that time

A superb slice of the 80's... I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I do when I first heard it. Yes, it's cheesy in places for sure (we are talking 80's after all) but the craftmanship that has gone into these songs, not to mention the execution, is wonderful. Many Happy Returns is my favourite but there's not really a dud on here at all...

I feel like this album is the missing link between so many 80s new-wave bands that either embraced pop/dance or pouted in its general direction--The Cure, Human League, Soft Cell, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Culture Club, etc. ABC seems to have fond a way to blend all sorts of synth-pop styles into a fairly lush arrangement, with Trevor Horn's over-the-top vocals making Martin Fry's despairing love lyrics seem somehow more fun and less bleak. I'm not sure I could say I enjoyed the album and their music, but that's not for their lack of effort, and it's definitely a lot more entertaining than most of their contemporaries' efforts (that goes double for the videos to their singles "Poison arrow", "The look of love", and "All of my heart"). They took a hand of Sparks and raised the bet to Meatloaf levels.

This is that 80s British pop synth sound, kind of like Rick Astley and Aha. Not my thing but nothing awful.

meh

Good soft rock, but too gay for my tastes.

Really nice sounding music that I have no want to listen to again

If you are not squeamish about open hearted theatricality in your pop, then you will find a lot to love here (pun intended). There is a funk to the songs, with plenty of flourishes. The lyrics have a mix of brains, heart and sharpness. Production is great thanks to the acclaimed Trevor Horn and it is a wonderful sounding record. Very successful in mixing funk/R&B with electro-pop sensibilities.

The music isn’t bad. But it is tainted by 80s production elements. Thrown in the affected accent of the singer and the dramatic delivery and I’m pretty out on it.

The singer is channeling David Bowie, while the rest is run-of-the-mill pop music—exactly the kind of thing I found unbearable back then. And still do. I recognize the track "The Look Of Love," but I’ve either never heard the rest or have blocked it out. Worth one point at most, as far as I’m concerned.

I quite enjoyed that. It's 1980s pop/new romantic music in a bottle.

Actually pretty fun, some great basslines in there as well.

9/10

This was a pretty fun album. Very 80s and something that would be a good, upbeat change of pace. The only song I recognized was "All of My Heart" but tbh most of it sounded the same.

ABC was one of a plethora of synth pop bands in the 80s. As such, it took me a moment to remember exactly which one they were! At the time, I preferred slightly harder, edgier music, so ABC wasn't really on my playlist then. The 2 hits I remember from this album (Look of Love and Poison Arrow) are ok, but mostly the album faded into the background for me. Nothing wrong with it, but I wouldn't be queuing for Britfest tickets to see them perform their hits in a Cheshire field either. 2.5 rounded down to 2.

Very 80s, such a fun listen! It’s funny I thought it was going to be some broadway or showtimes based on the album cover. Some tops are Show Me, Tears are Not Enough and Theme from Mantrap

This didn't really didn’t do much for me. It was well produced and polished, but underneath that I found it pretty dull. The songs all merged into one another. Nothing particularly bad, but the whole album went by without giving any reason to care. 2/5

Pretty great! Can feel the roots of a lot of soaring pop in the future

This should have been buried somewhere deep so it could never again bother mankind.

Not too bad for 80s, but sadly still 80s. 2.5

For 80s music this actually kinda slaps

Bog standard inoffensive 1980s pop. Its not bad, but I think even the members of ABC would question it being anything other than filler on this list.

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC WHITE BOY

Groovy, baby!

Honestly found this a pretty good listen. I've heard a few of these songs and di not know where they came from. Feels like if Brecht and Weill had come of age in the 80s.

coming from sheffield is abc with their... ahem, lovely debut, the lexicon of love. a group of eager and creative musicians with electronic roots pretty much expanded what they started in the late 70s, playing songs with producer and arranger anne dudley, who'd later be a prominent member in the art of noise. all the tracks, unsurprisingly are about the concepts and themes revolving around love. while it's classified as synthpop, this record i think fits more of a dance pop descriptor. it's pretty similar to past records in similar genres, i think it's a waste of time repeating similar talking points again and again. but it has a nice foundation above anything else. i would be very complimented if a man stood outside my house and blasted a track or two from his boombox. melodramatic singing voices, glitzy glamour and some groovy fancy pop songs for either sipping some wine or shuffling in your dress shoes, this is a pretty good record for really dabbling into the sparkly inner-workings of sophisti-pop.

Easy to listen. Childhood pop

Over the top 80's pop. Duran Duran does theatre.

This breaks all the rules of me liking it. It is VERY 80s sounding and VERY pop. But this is full of great songs and great performances. The singles are catchy after a single listen and there's not a bad song here.

8/10 Best songs: Show Me, The Look of Love Part 1, 4 Ever 2 Gether When this album popped up I was all prepared to write a review complaining about how this list is full of obscure acts that were relevant for one summer in the early '80s because the guy who wrote this list is nothing if not a fanboy of new wave, but... then I listened to the album. You know what? It's full of bops. It's new wave, but not to its detriment; 80s, but the sound adds to my enjoyment rather than detracts from it. I've been experiencing a bit of a mid-to-bad album drought recently and this one has satiated my thirst for good music.

More generic Brit pop

3.3

I honestly didn’t think I’d like this one that much but this really works. Surprisingly emotional and you can tell real passion was put into this.

There is a place in my heart for disco. I am not saying a lot needs to be on this list, but give me a recovering disco artist with a killer voice, lofty thematic intentions and no hint of pretension and you get ABC. It isn’t a brilliant album by any stretch, but Fry’s vocals are very strong. The drama comes through humorous lyrics and electronic tension with the lack of pretentiousness as its charm. Not for everyone, but if you don’t shut down with 80s synth, post disco, over-the-top dramatic lyrics, then you will enjoy the album

I was 7 when this album came out. Probably no surprise that I didn't like it then. I actively disliked it when I would hear one of its songs. As I got older and my tastes changed, I still couldn't comprehend how ABC broke through and became as popular as they were. Even outside of Adult Contemporary or Easy Listening. I still have the same opinion now.

Not essential at all

Fine 80s pop

This is the most 1982 album I've heard in my entire life and I need more. Everything in this album is so dialed up to insanity and it's just so damn creative for an album that's so aggressively pop. I mean, it's AGGRESSIVELY pop. This sounds like it can only be played in car radios and overly clean 80s-style nightclubs where everyone does that one dance move where they just point diagonally up and down over and over, but that's the fun of it. It's nonstop energy from start to finish, pushed forward by the most unnecessarily expressive lead singer and overly cinematic backing section that a label could possibly throw together. It just works, and it works so much better than it sounds.

80s music with some funk vibes. Not too bad really.

80s pop perfection - transported back to Peel Terrace in Stafford, with the pub 50 step up the road, and of course the Malt & Hops window seat on a Friday night I love the closing track Theme from "Mantrap"

Love this funky junk! I'm going to be humming poison arrow for days.

Not my cup of tea.

With each song, I liked the album more and more! Funky and funny!

A classic, some great tunes on this one.

Very shiny sounding. Catchy but quite cheesy as well.

I swear I have heard Poison Arrow somewhere or remixed into something else. Fun album.

uhh idk. i put this album on while i graded papers this morning. i wasn't sure when one song was over and another began, so there's that. the one sound they're channeling is kinda neat, i guess, but this was (to an addled teacher grading things and being distracted at 7am) too samey

Hell yeah

Idk if I was in a good mood or if this was actually a good album but I didn’t hate it. The singer’s voice got a little unbearable by the end, but it was kind of fun.

This kinda rules ngl

I think this is some very underrated new wave, great maximalist eighties stuff

I don’t know if it’s because the last album I listened to before this one had the same 80s vibe, but this one was not special to me really.

I love 80's music but not this one. Pass like a hard pass

I feel like they named their band “ABC” so they could show up at the top of alphabetized lists no matter how talented they were There’s some decent tracks on here; Show Me and Poison Arrow started off the album pretty strong and there’s a scattering of decent tracks throughout the rest of the record. Funk inspired instrumentation can always be nice, and the overall high energy makes this one firmly “fun” This album is far from perfect though; I’m not a huge fan of the vocals at all, the variety’s pretty poor, and it’s about as deep as a puddle, which is kinda on par for British pop in the 80s. I think Tears Are Not Enough is obnoxious and definitely shows the relative lack of talent in the singers voice compared to contemporaries I’m sure the Brits are crazier about this kinda stuff, but this is one that either does not hold up in the modern era or is just a taste gap or something. It’s pretty average so I can’t hate on it too much, but I really don’t get this one

80s orchestration. you either love it or you dont

Xyz

Even tho this list is super saturated with similar albums, this one still stands out. Good vibes, nice melodies.

Never really listened to ABC outside of hearing the hits on the radio or 80’s compilation albums. They never really did much for me, despite enjoying a lot of 80’s bands. This was alright, although not one I’d throw on by my own a accord.

I do enjoy Poison Arrow and The Look of Love but in the end not enough to add a third point

Enjoyable, fun to listen to.

really good synth pop arty album with banger ballads from 80s, reminded me of jack stauber and something else i cant remember off the top of my head. really good, didnt impact me emotionally personally but i feel like id like more on a second listen.

Someone went to a lot of effort to make this intricate with a huge mess of tracks, both synth and orchestral. There are full orchestra sections on this thing. And I find myself wondering - why? None of what is being portrayed is earning the orchestration. Also this album LOVES reusing the same chords/melodies/intervals/sections - more than just leitmotifs. It gets cloying.

Great album! Highs were high, but lots of filler songs as well.

Pretty good stuff overall!

Great to hear this album in full again, I did own it many years ago, but it got lost in transit somewhere, who knows? Good hearing Martin Fry’s vocals, talented guy.

This is so 80s and I'm loving it, making me want to watch sing street.

Bombastic but refined in a way a lot of other 80s synthpop and new romantic albums typically aren’t. Immaculate production; maximalist vocals and songwriting. It’s a love it or hate it work and I fall so much further on the former.

The Look Of Love is the standout. ★★★

Some great songs. Some filler. 3.5

6.0/10

Nunca he sedio ferviente admirador de los ABC pero eso no quita para que les reconozca una elegancia que en los 80s era difícil de encontrar. Mucha tuvo que ver en ello el cambio de cantante de White a Fry y con ello el nombre desde Vice Versa hasta los ABC. La influencia de Bryan Ferry (también de Bowie) es tan obvia como necesaria, sin ella los 80s no habrían tenido escapatoria. También de Human League (produce Trevor Horn), como pasó con todos los grupos de los 80s. Un disco con una calidad que lo sostiene solo con un paso del tiempo que ha destrozado a otros. Aquí sobresalen, por razones evidentes, The look of love, la primigenia Tears are not enough y Posion Arrow. Su segundo disco fue un estrepitoso fracaso (Beauty stab) no así el tercero, el de When Smokey Sings o la continuación del Lexicon of love 20 años después. Buen disco de los primeros 80 pero no sobresale frente a los clásicos de Spandau Ballet, Visage, Culture Club y Duran Duran, no ya digamos de otros. Lo que le hace valorable es sobre todo la producción, muy buena, pero por ejemplo mejores canciones tenían Blow Monkets y sobre todo Jo Boxers que han quedado completamente olvidados.

Fun & upbeat

Alright stuff

Another fun 80's listen. I especially liked "Poison Arrow". Really consistent production and the album is paced well.

3.5/5

229 albums in, and I’m tired of New Wave. You’ll know The Look of Love, but the rest is largely knock-off Duran Duran. And the genuine article isn’t up to much! Pretty unremarkable 80s pop overall.

Started off in the first few tracks thinking this would be a low 3, but as it went on it grated more and more. It’s possibly the *most* early 80s-sounding album I’ve ever heard, and not in a good way. The production/arrangements and performances are extremely busy, bombastic and melodramatic: gated reverb drums, shiny keyboards, horribly dated synth sounds, lots of ‘funky’ bass, disco strings, etc. It’s probably *too* well-recorded for my taste, so smooth and slick it has no hint of edge, and is a good example of this sort of style, but I won’t be listening again.