Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret

People must have done a lot of cocaine in the 80s

Erotic indeed. Kind of boring. Didn't finish it.

A quintessentially 80s synth-pop album that hasn’t aged all that gracefully. 𝘛𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 remains an undeniable classic — sleek, minimal, and instantly memorable — but the rest of 𝘕𝘰𝘯-𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘌𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵 struggles to match its charm, often feeling more like a period curiosity than a timeless record.

This was really bad. One famous song and it’s a cover.

Alright, I get it. You're above the suburban life and everything about it is terribly boring and mundane. Did you need an entire album to convey that? And one with (what I never thought I would say) far too much synth? I don't know when the term 'try hard' originated, but I could see it coming soon after someone listening to this album for the first time...Tainted Love is great, the rest are just, not.

Everything I hate about 80’s music.

eeeee I couldn't finish this. the sound is fun for a song or two, but gets old very fast!!

Sadly doesn't live up to memories from my youth. Three good tracks, one of which was a (albeit impressively arranged) cover anyway. The rest is just a soup of 80's musical tropes. Shame.

Ruddy hell. If that album cover isn't an 80s cop show waiting to happen then I need my stomach pumped. The centrepiece 'Tainted Love' really is totemic - a little known soul number given the full on urban electronic treatment. Every stab if the synth is perfectly positioned to build an atmosphere of eltectro-pop menace. It's sweet relief after the opening 'Frustration' which sounds like a bar version of PiL. I assume 'Sex Dwarf' is a bit of parody, but you can't be sure with this completely hammed-up album. It belies something unavoidably seedy about these filthy, leathered lotharios. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' is a surprisingly tender and evocative piece of writing, and feels light years away from 'Sex Dwarf' or the entirely throwaway 'Entertain Me'. So they have a hit rate of two, of the ten tracks. That's twenty percent. Twenty percent of five stars is one star. Is that fair? Well 'Secret Life' is actually quite fun. And The two hits are such great cuts that it gets a two.

It's pretty mid aside from the obvious "Take on me".

There's a vibe on this one.

This group had its moment, I guess, and "Tainted Love" remains high on the list of one-hit wonders. Another album that seems mostly harmless, but its inclusion in the face of absolutely NO Warren Zevon albums making the 1001 list is a travesty.

I imagine this was quite the album for 1981. I own it, and I still just like the one song.

Tainted Love is the really good song on here - the rest is not up to par. It’s not bad though, just not nearly as good as Tainted Love

Tainted love is a classic, but the rest is just ok. A bit annoying at times though, vocals are an acquired taste for sure. The atmosphere of the album is soooo 80s neon coded though

i WISH this album was as exciting at the title implied. honestly dull and repetitive. tainted love slaps of course but it can't carry the entire 1 hour 14 minute (!???!) album on its own.

boy, i sure wish this erotic cabaret ever stopped. soft cell really has a particular sound and it's cool for a couple tracks, but 18? in 74 minutes? that's exactly the length of one oliver & company, and i'd rather watch that. billy joel's in that one. does your band have billy joel, soft cell? i didn't think so. this cabaret is gonna be a no from me, dawg. special shoutout to where did our love go, which is tainted love with the serial numbers filed off. same drum part, same synth patches, etc. it would be a brazen rip-off if someone else had done it, but soft cell beat them to the punch??? great job i guess??????? favorites: frustration, tainted love, say hello wave goodbye, where did our love go, so

Actually better than I would have guessed. Tainted Love naturally a goat, but the album itself is decent. High 2s.

Típico som dançante de sintetizadores, sem nada de impressionante ou relevante. Mais um disco que não faz o menor sentido estar entre os "1001 para ouvir antes de morrer". Poucos momentos interessantes são as partes de sopro: David Tofani – saxofone (Frustration); clarinete (Seedy Film).

Tainted love is great and I enjoyed the beat in sex dwarf (I didn't know the song). Love the 80s but I've only saved these two tracks.

Some of these songs are pretty out there but overall a good time if you're feeling like listening to dirty 80s music.

Perfect for clubbing with Patrick Bateman, not much more

Look, Tainted Love is an all time 80’s banger. But other than that? This shit is so corny, bro. Like…really? Everybody giving this 5’s? Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

Tainted Love is in the zeitgeist, so there is not really much to say about that. The rest of the album is much the same, just not as good. It's okay I guess, but not really great to me.

Marc Almond har en riktigt bra röst, men musiken är lite väl tidstypisk och (numer) dated. Tainted Love - covern är förstås en klassiker.

True one hit wonder. Rest of album outside one song is not good.

There’s a reason why they are a 1 hit wonder

It was fine I guess. Some weird songs (“Sex Dwarf”), a great song (“Tainted Love”), and a bunch of mid, really annoying songs (the rest of the album). Just kinda repeated the same lines over and over. I don’t really understand why this is supposed to be an important album.

I can totally understand how they are a one hit wonder.

The one single carries it. I would rather just listen to Depeche Mode

Altfor langt album for denne typen musikk. Morsomme tekster, men det er for langt.

Props for Tainted Love but ultimately the rest is pretty blah and kinda weird

Only one song worth listening to. Tainted love.

This is pretty bad. I never liked taint love and the rest of the songs are just dumb.

Some fun and upbeat songs with lyrics in places that must have been pretty cutting edge at the time, for the sexual content. I'm not opposed to some campy synth pop but a lot of these tracks didn't really stick with me though. I found it maybe too layered in places.. for example Entertain Me where at times it feels like there are 3 or 4 synth lines at the same time and quite frenetic vocals, so there isn't really any melody to cling onto Sex Dwarf is just a silly novelty song as well, don't like that

Hard carried by tainted love

The only half decent song on here is the Tainted Love

Sex Dwarf

Самтаймс ай Фил ай гатту Майкл Шин вайбы

They’ve tainted my love… idk I tried

80s music has never been a vibe for me. This album is no different.

Weak album with 2 classics

it wasn't non-stop, wasn't particularly erotic, and was only kind of cabaret.

Other than Tainted Love and Where Did Our Love Go, I had no familiarity with Soft Cell and did not know what to expect. Now I understand why. This album was all over the place and not in a good way. Also some of the vocals were interesting. Many of them fell flat literally. Can’t give this a one because of the two songs that are noteworthy. But it’s a close call.

They’re a one hit wonder, they’re British, and they’re otherwise forgettable. These are the attributes needed to be added to this fucking list. Bonus points if they’re pretentiously underground. This album is necessarily bad, but besides that mega hit, it’s not worth listening to. I do think “Sex Dwarf” is unironically the most interesting song on the album. I can’t imagine wanting to listen again. 2/5

I dig the dark synthy mood. Vocals are kinda all over the place. Got pretty boring towards the middle of the album.

Some bangers and I loved the closer, but ultimately a bit of a weird album

Not a huge fan.

They really did live off of one song didn't they, and it wasn't sex dwarf

Well the main thing tainted here is my Spotify history, now that I've listened to this album from start to finish. I imagine I'll start getting emails telling me about concerts and similar bands who I'll also not enjoy. I was going to leave this a one star rating, but Sex Dwarf bumped it up to two stars. I think my main complaint is that none of the songs really go anywhere. There's some synth and a few hooks spread quite thinly, but no real substance. Even Sex Dwarf ultimately fails to get going, although there are signs of it having a driving beat for half the song, it just never peaks.

The music of theater kids making their own terrible musical theater album

It was not for me. Tainted love is good, and it's not even theirs completely, but a version... I got quite traumatised with sex dwarf.

Synth-pop can be pretty nice when well-executed, with catchy hooks and loops. But these guys are most definitely not the Pet-Shop Boys. Minimalistic and unappealing.

let's see just how 80s we can be on this shit. I've never, ever, been a big super 80s guy, and this reeks of it. It stinks.

I appreciate music with a sense of humor about itself, but I feel like this album verges on self-parody in a lot of moments. I'm also not a huge fan of Tainted Love, which is the clear standout track on this.

Tainted Love is way too early. Sex Dwarf is amazing. The rest is entirely forgettable.

One good song does not sustain an album of crap.

There's really not a lot here beyond Tainted Love, which is an all-time great cover. I did like that there was a song called Sex Dwarf, though - not that I remember what it sounded like.

Me había olvidado que son los de tainted love. Por momentos el synthpop me parece todo igual y me cuesta distinguir lo temas. No es un género que me guste y no lo volvería a escuchar.

Tainted Love is an amazing song, I didn't really care for the rest of the album.

I enjoy 80s new wave but this just isn't for me.

Tainted Love is the quintessential 80s song, while the music is enjoyable I found singing eh.

Ah yes, the "Tainted Love" guys, and even that is a cover (which I wasn't aware of for years). That's really the only noteworthy thing here, unless you also count "Sex Dwarf" as noteworthy (if only from a lyrical standpoint). I'm sure this had a place in certain, seedy establishments, but I've heard better synth pop.

Another one that feels like it made the list because of a single song. It's cool to hear the roots of synth-based pop music but this is kind of lame.

This feels like coming out the other side of the 80’s sounds that were started by yesterday’s album, “The Pleasure Principle” by Gary Numan. Which is funny because that album only preceded this one by a few years, but Soft Cell seem to be living in a world of already established techniques and cliches. “Sex Dwarf” doesn’t hold back, it’s a bit dizzying towards the end. “Memorabilia” sounds like it definitely inspired the hell out of LCD Soundsystem. On that note, “Fun City” also has that late 2000’s synth bassline that goes up and down and up and down and up and down. I can’t say this is the type of new wave that gets me going. And if I wanted to listen to some sweaty sex songs from this time, I think I’d just be better off with all the stuff Prince put out around then. 2/5

Total ass

Tainted Love is masterful. But, not surprisingly, it appears it was a stroke of luck as much as genius, considering the rest of the album is pretty unlistenable. The quirky Casio sounds and robotic tic make Tainted Love work (and whoever thought to mash it up with Where Did Our Love Go for the single was on to something), but it is awful everywhere else on this record. The outro to Seedy Films was unbearable.

it was... fine. odd.

bro can't sing in tune

The only worthwhile songs are covers. Go figure.

There are so many things I'd rather do than listen to synth-pop. Tainted Love is at least decent but I learned today that they didn't actually write it. There were some moments here that were better than I had expected but from a very low level of expectation, it won't get them above two stars. And they'll thank me for it.

This record will clear a room within about 7-10 minutes

A little song, a little dance, a little synth down your 80s cargo pants.

I only liked Tainted Love. The rest of the songs I didn’t care for much.

I did not enjoy this album :( It contextualized why this band was a one hit wonder, IMO! There were a fair amount of songs that I really enjoyed parts of, but the rest fell of somewhere.... and I think that encapsulates how I feel about this album. Aside from Tainted Love, the only other song I enjoyed was Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

Tainted Love is a certainly a classic, although we've all heard it a billion times. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye is also pretty great. The majority of the rest of the album though...yikes. Guess you had to be there.

Probably should have been producers. Not sure why one hit wonders get on this list. Isn't it about albums?

The cover of "Tainted Love" is rightfully a smash hit, but outside of that this was a slog to get through. 80's synth-pop with overtly sleazy nightlife lyrics.

This was good until it was not

They committed to it. Thats gotta be worth something. Mostly annoying monotonous crap.

Drie keer niks

I now understand why I’d never heard any of their music except Tainted Love.

Uggh

2

very very 80s. album has tainted love so think that vibe. cool album just not a style i would ever really listen to of my own free will tbh

Good sounds for a party, but weak voices.

Tainted love is obviously a classic, but not enough to enjoy the rest of the synth heavy 80s songs. So much creepy weird sex lyrics… and that’s coming from me!

After listening to this album I have determined that there is a clear deliniation point marking the time in my life before I heard Sex Dwarf, and after. Liked Songs Added: Tainted Love Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Los temas son complicados y un poco largos pero esta la esencia de la banda y del estilo. Su mejor tema es su hit

Too 80s for my liking

Yes, Tainted Love is a great song, and Soft Cell's version is great. I consider it a classic of 80's electronic pop music. However, I could only find a couple other songs that felt relevant in 2025 when there is so much better music out there from the 80's, electronic, pop, et cetera. I'd give this a 2.5, but I don't think I can give it higher than that.

Tainted Love is an absolute must listen to. I think it's a cover, but they it so damn well. It doesn't seem that the rest of the album hits like Tainted Love. The synth is subtle and not like a lot of early 80's music where overpowers you. Unfortunately the singing needs it. Dude sounds whiny more than anything.

Umm not really my vibe

An album so middling, I lost all motivation to keep up my somewhat decent momentum from earlier in the year. For the good of the first couple of decade defining Tracks, it very quickly descends into untamed chaos. 'Sex Dwarf' will not be played again unless for some weird joke. Best Tracks: - Tainted Love - Seedy Films Worst Tracks: - Sex Dwarf - Chips On My Shoulder Rating: 4/10

I spent the whole album trying to work out whether this guy can sing or not, I still don't know the answer. Very long and quite one-note for me

"Tainted Love" is decent and then the rest of the album sounds like a worse version of "Tainted Love."

Turns out, Tainted Love was their only hit for a reason

An additional star for Tainted Love. Couldn’t make it past the 30th time they said Sex Dwarf though….

Why do these new wave albums have to be so insufferably long? 2/5

Now don't get me wrong Tainted Love is a great song, but not great enough to save the album as a whole. Just not great, Soft Cell were short lived and a bit of a one hit wonder. The second best song isn't even part of the main album.

Bit annoying.

2 stars. Tainted love is what brings it up from a 1 to a 2. Rip to gay brit ppl but sometimes I hate the voice and lyrics f

could i write poetry to this? n

Another famous one-hit wonder. If you ever in your life have heard Soft Cell's cover of "Tainted Love", then you have already heard the best song on the album. The rest is the same, but not as good. If Pet Shop Boys are your jam, you will have a better chance of enjoying this.

When my brother in law was like 10 the term "Midget Porn" was found in his internet search history.

Thanks for the recommendation. Wasted hours of my life.

A definite turn-off for me

Ok

other than “tainted love” nothing really stood out. meh.

Like Tainted Love but that's about all.

Soft Cell, more like music from hell. Their covers are decent, but don’t let them make their own music.

Sometimes you just have to admit certain music isn't meant for you. This was meant for UK club-goers in the 80's and not for me sitting at my desk working in 2025.

Well, there's Tainted Love. Indestructible no matter how many people cover it, how many times it gets played on the radio, at your uncle's 3rd wedding reception, 80s night at the local nightclub, etc. Also, Sex Dwarf is an interesting song title - but the song sort of fails to deliver on it. There is a lot of 80s electronica, angst and cold neon lights turned into music. Gives me a nuclear world war teenage angst, cold neon light feeling that I don't appreciate much at all.

Ja jo men 2 much synth

I think the late 80s had some awesome music by artists that are more thought of as 90s artists - Prince, Nine Inch Nails - even Bleach by Nirvana was released in 1989. Then you have music that is quintessentially 80s music. And I think 80s music is the worst decade for music. And this sounds more 80s than anything that has ever 80s.

Honestly, apart from Tainted Love, the first half of the album is strange and sounds like music made by either the mighty-boosh or Jez from Peep Show, I don’t get it really. At times it’s a concoction of different sounds with overly British spoken word on top. Second half of the album somewhat redeems itself with normal sounding music, “Where did our love go” is tolerable for instance. 3.9/10.

jaha painetaan did not listeniä niin lähtee arvostelu pois... hehheh. semmosta teknologiaa.. noh kirjotetaas tästä jotain sitte kun halutaan halutaan niin paljon.. tämäa lbumi on tunnettu koska yksi biisi joka on coveri.. tämä ei vuonna 1981 ole millään saatanan spektrumilla mitenkään influentiaalinen tai edes erikoinen. pari ok bisiä siellä tällä suurimmaksi osaksii kraftwerk wannabe paitsi ei lähellekään ei saatana lähellekään missään tapauksessa annetaan se kaksi vaikka vituttaakin vitusti tainted love

Horny

Ok

Yeah Tainted Love is cool but I’m trying to figure out why #5 “Sex Dwarf” wasn’t a bigger ;) hit?? What a WILD album

One hit wonder Tainted Love is ok but most of the rest of this album is a forgettable 80's mess.

there is some distinguishable tracks in here which is nice but i didnt really like any of them i feel like im close to liking this album at times but usually not for long but i didnt really hate listening to it and i listened to all of it

Knew i wasnt gonna like it from the title. Gave it a chance and oof

I have learned through this project, that I strongly dislike this style of music. The vocals are soooo bad and the instrumentals are boring. "Tainted Love" is soooo good but other than that this is average at best. Liked Songs: "Frustration" , "Tainted Love" , "Sex Dwarf" , "Chips On My Shoulder" , "Secret Life" , "What?"

Enjoyed the singles, rest was ok. Standout songs: Tainted Love Bedsitter

Yeah I just didn’t care for it. The last song was actually pretty good though, which was surprising since I expected Tainted Love to be the only notable song.

Like most, I already knew "Tainted Love", but haven't spent any proper time with this Soft Cell. I had kinda written them off as "one-hit wonder", and I was kind of right (in the commercial sense). At times they are playful and purposefully campy ("Seedy Films"), at others there are shades of Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, and the Cure ("Youth"), and sometimes they blend the two into something danceable yet so delightfully stupid as "Sex Dwarf". There is depth here, but not a whole lot. Soft Cell does tend toward the goofy side of things, adding unnecessary effects and vocals, seemingly, wherever they can ("Entertain Me" is a prime example of a good song made worse by excessive noise). There are instances in which these tendencies can elevate the song; "Chips on My Shoulder" features whistles, shouts in the background, group cheers, giving the frantic party vibe I think they were aiming for. In short, it's a weird little work by some unlikely pop-stars. I wanted to like it, but the quality just isn't there.

I mean, the title is apt. But good lord maybe make a song about your day or something idk. Some of the songs are awesome but some are god awful. (2) Scale for future: 1 - turn this off now 2 - will groan if it comes on 3 - no problems, I wouldn’t play it but I don’t mind hearing it 4 - pretty good, I may even play it 5 - bangers

I’m tempted to give this five stars just for Sex Dwarf. But beyond that surreal highlight and the guilty pleasure of Tainted Love this was a slog.

Heavily reliant on tainted love

Big single is a banger. The rest is too 80's

Oh, that's why this album is on here

For the amount of love I have for Tainted Love, it was pretty disappointing to find the rest of this album to be mostly mindless '80s dance club jams. Really happy I did not listen to the whole 30+ Deluxe edition.

Ja, ne. Also der eine Klassiker Tainted Love natürlich schon.

It's Soft Cell. It's aight.

Melodies are almost comedically repetitive. This feels like fake music that would play in a movie set in the 80s like bruh. Tainted Love saves this from 1 star.

I’m not sure I liked this much. I noticed some classic pop songs in this project but this style of music isn’t for me.

The type of album you really want to like because that one track (in this case, "Tainted Love") is so good, there must be something close to that on here. There are a few that are pretty decent, but unfortunately "Tainted Love" is the only song truly worth your time.

Ist mir zu disharmonisch

Tainted love is terrific. But as so often here one song no matter how great does not an album make. 5 for tainted love. -3 for everything else.

You know Soft Cell? Oh what, the band who does Tainted Love? Yeah, that's right. I bet they write loads of songs that are just as good as Tainted Love don't they? Nope.

Sometimes great singles hide even greater albums. And other times, legendary singles actually hide clearly underwhelming full length records. This is case number 2 here. File under "the 1001 cover versions (bettering the originals) you must listen to before you die (if you haven't already)". The album that hit single is from can be mentioned in a footnote, though. 2/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 7/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2) Number of albums left to review: around eighty, as I've gone over the 1000 line and this generator is including albums from all editions of the book Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 448 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 270 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 325 (including this one)

I expected it to be bad but it was mostly ok. Kinda unhinged. A bit like if you added the cynicism of Roxy Music to the B-52s, kept a good chunk of the wildness but took away most of the heart. That gets you about 2 stars in my books. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

Besides the two bangers of tainted love and where did our love go, this album is very forgettable. Those are two great songs though.

It was ok. If not for Tainted Love and Where Did Out Love Go this this group would be a pass for me

Tainted Love is a banger but the rest of the album isn't really. Find the vocal style a bit annoying too.

Tainted Love is an indestructible song, but of course it's a cover. "Sex Dwarf" is much too Spinal Tap for me lyrically.

Not for me, wouldn't listen to this again

Pretty meh. Not catchy enough for pop and not experimental enough to be anything else. 4/10

Its got their 2 big hits on it. Its very 80s so its got a lot of misses on the album too

Tainted Love isch scho en banger, aber süsch isch s album vor allem astrengend findi..

I love 80s synth so completely surprised how much I disliked this. The synth is jarring, some of the lyrics are awful, and the vocals hurt my ears. A bonus point for originality and for the Tainted Love cover.

Not bad, but it feels like it goes on forever

I don't think this is a good album, sorry. 2 stars because of tainted love.

Tainted Love…sure great song The rest of this is so off putting and goes on for so long.

The 2 singles were the only redeeming part of this album. 2 stars for those, 0 stars for everything else.

I mean this with no disrespect whatsoever... This is an album for casual gay sex. There's nothing deep or romantic in here. It's for going to a club putting some chemicals in your stomach watching the flashing lights, finding a guy who looks like a young Harrison Ford and bringing him home. In the morning you find out that Harrison Ford was more of a Steve Buscemi, the ecstasy you took was meth, and this album is shit. 2 stars

The cover of this album and the title on it makes me laugh. The word “erotic” combined with these two guys is close to parody. I have to say the same thing about the music. It’s peak 80s synth in the bad way. The singers voice isn’t bad but he can’t control it properly and his lyrics are pretty bad. The instrumental backing is either noodling woodwinds or generic beeps and boops. Tainted Love is the best track and they didn’t write it (though they made it in to the hit it is with the synth work, so credit due there). I looked up the original track listing to make sure I didn’t actually have to listen to an hour+ of this, and thankfully the original ends after 10 tracks. This is not very good. 2 stars for tainted love and sex dwarf (somehow the best original with the best name and insane topic).

I kinda hate this lol. Didn't know they did tainted love tho so good for them. Definitely picked up towards the end, but still kind of just wailing. Being British and talking about sex is not a personality trait I believe. I liked them better when they weren't being obnoxious and during more calmer songs. Seedy Films made me want to die. Fav Songs: Tainted Love, Secret Life, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Sex Dwarf WAIT THIS IS KINDA GOING HARD I'll give it a 2 Album Art (Gonna start doing this now bc I saw another guy on here do it): These guys look like they're about to sell you the worst joint you've ever seen. Oh wait wtf is he holding is that a cut of meat or was i right about the weed I want to punch them i like the effect and the titles and background thats cool thats nice

Big 80's vibes. Not the best full album. 2/5

seedy, sleazy, singular, melancholic, fixed in time.

I like a bit of synth-pop but was never a fan of Soft Cell at the time. Tainted love is a classic, but apart from that and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye i'm not keen on the rest of it.

I mean, it's not great. Tainted Love is pretty good, but that's their only hit. Everything else sounds average, or slightly below average, to me. I get the vibe of this album, though - very 80s.

I did not enjoy this. Tainted Love is a classic and I hoped this would be good, but it is not. 2.5, rounded down.

It’s ok, just not really my cup of tea 🍵

I'm wondering if Soft Cell were actually a drunken joke gone too far. Surely someone should have noticed at 'Sex Dwarf'? It's a good cover of 'Tainted Love', though.

Weird, but some interesting sounds. Tainted Love is the standout. 2.5

Liked the first few songs but after that it just became noise SOME TIMES I FEEL I WANT TO (👏 👏) TURN THIS OFF

Two stars for two good songs on one album. The rest of the album made me keep checking to see how much longer I had left to listen to.

Had Tainted Love, but that was it.

Oh my. I guess I only knew Tainted Love, the radio hit of the era. Frustration starts this off making me wanna turn it off. Tainted Love pops on and I'm dancing in my seat, the frustration of the prior track fading into the past. Was a bit hit or miss after that. Most I enjoyed, but at times it dragged on and was a bit too campy/dance club for my taste. Where Did Our Love Go? came back at the end to redeem it once more. Fighting with myself between 2 and 3. Fun City sealed the deal. 2 it is.

I like the 80s neon aesthetic, and it is fun with the grimy street youth feeling. Still feels a little too safe and similar sounding, and a lot of the songs are totally uninteresting. Thought it was fine, but not good enough to give 3 stars, probably. Best song: Tainted Love Worst song: What? Best title: Sex Dwarf

Dull

Meh. Not a fan.

Durchschnittliche 80er-Massenware!

I was pretty whelmed, but open to being surprised, when I received this one. As anyone doing this list knows, it has a looooot of synth pop on it. I liked the fearlessness in going after certain seedier lyrical topics (as the name would imply), but I don't think they're handled well, and come off clunky and juvenile. The songs all kind of have the same flavor, which, with the very stiff drums, wears out quickly. It's not the worst example of synth pop I've heard, but it feels more primitive, and feels like it's been surpassed pretty hard. Favorite tracks: "Tainted Love", "Seedy Films"

Has the best song ever in it. Actually a 2/5 though

Less “cabaret” and more awful, cheesy high school musical. The best track is a cover, which is a sad statement, and I didn’t realize they did Where Did Our Love Go. Everything else was next to unlistenable. Terrible even by British pop standards, which thanks to the albums thus far on this list, is a pretty low bar.

This was really out there and delivered supreme levels of cringe but I didn't completely hate it. I couldn't tell if it was parody at parts. What is it about 80's music that sounds so tacky? Marc Almond is the ultimate diva and really delivers on the sleaze and sparkle here. I didn't like "Sex Dwarf" or "Entertain Me" but there were a few decent songs buried within. Based on the album title, it fits the bill but I don't think I'll revisit. 2.30 for making everything sticky.

Tainted Love is the classic that pulls the rest of them up. The rest really wasn't my cup of tea. The singing especially.

Hmmm, the only song they didn’t write was Tainted Love. Their songs were pretty lame. The vocalist, Marc Almond, I know from some of his solo albums which I liked. A 1 except for TL.

This is the album people think of when they say they hate 80s music. Or at least it will be for me.

One hit a couple ok songs and the rest was forgettable.

i mean it does have two songs that everyone knows, somehow. But the rest of the songs are really hard to listen to. So 2.4321 it is.

Tainted Love is the only thing that saves this from being a 1

Tainted love was great, the rest was... weird. Sex dwarf? for real?

I don't care for this 😶

The music is ok but the guys voice is awful. I liked two songs: Tainted love Torch

Just Ight mad horny tho

2/5

Had to give an extra star for tainted love. It’s clear they were all in a midlife crisis and trying to take me down with them. Boooo

Mostly annoying

This is a fine album, but its quality goes up and down in a way that would definitely make me want to skip tracks on subsequent listens. Tainted Love, albeit a standard 80s-sounding hit, is a great track, in part due to its infectious synth riffs and Soft Cell having enough self-awareness not to include mind-dulling repetition in the synth/keyboard/brass parts. The same cannot be said for all tracks. There's a lot of filler here, which could easily be made otherwise by adding some more variation in pretty much any instrumental part. Exceptions are Tainted Love, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Bedsitter, Torch, and a few others. Given the 1hr 14min runtime, I think this could be shaved down, especially seeing that it isn't a concept album. I'm not a big fan of the vocals either. They're reminiscent of British punk, a genre that hasn't seen much high-complexity or groundbreaking music (in my opinion). Swapping them out for someone subtly different but more flourishy, like Morrissey, could be the way to go. Vocal harmonies also could've been a good strategy, but alas, those are generally absent here. 2/5 Key tracks: Tainted Love, Bedsitter, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Torch

Tainted Love is an all time classic, but the rest is garbage.

Everything about this album from the outfits on the cover to the mechanized synth chugging along the entire time just screams 80's. It's a bit much of it for my taste. Really cool to learn the origin of Tainted Love and Soul's influence backwards to Northern England. The satire is light and fun but results in less feeling overall when compared to its' contemporaries

So that’s why they were a one hit wonder.

This is the 80's sound, through and through. Soft Cell has a certain rhythm they use over and over again. If you like it, you like it. If you don't, you don't. I knew what I was getting into when I read the title, but was still surprised at the level of depravity described in some of the lyrics.

I’m teetering between a two and a three. On one hand, Tainted Love is an all-timer (also find it crazy that Where Did Our Love Go? doesn’t directly follow it on the track list) and the synth beats are so damn catchy. On the other, the lyrics are absolutely wild and scandalous (and not always in a good way) and the best song is a cover. I’m going with a two because there’s not much to draw me back besides the two songs. Not looking forward to Sex Dwarf popping into my head at random points later in life either.

I am not a fan of this album. I really struggled to get through it. There's no real aspect of these songs that I like. The synth beats are too weird for me. I don't like the talk singing. This feels like the most put together album that I would give a 1 to. But.... "Tainted Love" is too freaking good to ignore. That opening beat is iconic. Everyone in the world hears that bump bump I can say I know that song. A radio hit since it came out and I'm sure I could hear it over the radio on my drive home today. There are some albums that have a song good enough to warrant listening to the entire album. I wouldn't consider this to be one of them. "Tainted Love" brings this from a 1 to a 2.

Not my favourite.

There are some really nice moments on this album, if you can tolerate the very basic synth sound (which I don't mind) - and the sometimes out of tune singing. It has a nice, homemade, twisted vibe. I can see the influence of the very opening cry of 'Frustration', perhaps, on Trent Reznor's NIN work. Say Hello. Wave Goodbye hits a poignant emotional note and is my favourite track on the album. Other highlights are Chips On My Shoulder and (of course) Tainted Love. Some parts are tackier and Sex Dwarf in particular is a ropey song with feeble lyrics that don't mean much unless you're excited about gold cars and bondage (which I'm not). "You know what they say about small boys" - is a horrible little line that doesn't deserve a place in music, however perverted your tastes. Overall, it's a little forgettable. It is a curiosity in a charity shop - one you'd pick up and remark at, but wouldn't waste your money buying.

tainted love is a banger but the rest didn’t interest me really

Weird britpop. Tainted Love is a certified Singstar classic though. 2.5

Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the debut studio album by Soft Cell, originally released in 1981. Soft Cell are best known for their cover of "Tainted Love", which is a great example of 80s pop/new wave. It's a song that everyone knows but can't name the artist even if a gun was to their head. Unfortunately, that's all they really did. This record is one hit and a bunch of okayish songs. Actually, a lot of the other cuts on here are downright creepy. The overly sexual lyrics just give me bad vibes. One or two dirty songs is fine, but when you're talking about kidnapping someone to use as a sex slave is where it gets a little weird. The only reason this sold so many copies is for the one song, which carries this whole thing. At least the instrumentals on here were interesting. It's kinda cool to hear these rudimentary electronic instrumentals made in the early days of electronic pop. They are very minimal and leave a lot of space to breathe.

Besides Tainted Love...this album does nothing for me...especially Sex Dwarf! Annoying.

Laughing at this opening song about the mundanity of grown-up life - adulting, as we say now. "Tainted Love" is great of course. "Seedy Films" is BAD. I can't help but think of Ross on "Friends" when he busts out his keyboard and plays his songs from college. SEX DWARF OMG

This doesn't feel like any kind of artistic statement by a talented creative duo, more like a pandering commercial endeavor by pop-music opportunists. I will give them a little credit for being on the bleeding edge in 1981, before this sound had really developed as it did later into the 80s.

This album is definitely not my jam

ребята совсем не по нотам и слишком эротик)) не моё

Didn't realize Tainted Love was only 2:33 long....the rest of the 1 hour and 12 minutes was stylistic and just not for my ears. Sex dwarf LOL!!!!!!

Ugh so tedious

This album is completely carried by tainted love, rest of the album isn’t great at all. So I can’t say this is an album you need to listen to before you die, save yourself 45 minutes of your life and just listen to tainted love.

Another 80’s one hit wonder. I’ve heard worse.

Best Song: Tainted Love. By far the tightest, most refined song. Also has a considerably shorter runtime than the other tracks, which to me means they actually trimmed the fat off this one. Worst Song: Facility Girls. I really hate when these songs get so slow that the singer just starts theatrically talking. Overall: Definitely fits squarely in that 80s vibe of "murder dance", perhaps most strongly in tracks like "Sex Dwarf". Sadly, beyond a few "out-there" tracks, there's nothing really of interest here.

Tainted Love may be the most overplayed song of my youth. If I was hearing that song for the first time, I would probably have a more favorable opinion. Who knows...didn't love the rest either.

the only reason not giving 1 star is the cover for tainted love, which is brilliant...

I'll give it a 2 because I like Tainted Love so much. But the rest of the album I didn't like at all, and wanted to turn it off several times.

I have the vaguest memory of having heard this album before. And a stronger one that 'Tainted Love' is the only song worth listening here.

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. But it was just too long, I really stuggled towards the end. Tainted Love will always be a banger though.

Ruddy Hell

Tainted love is such a good song. This is a really strong 2.

What could be interesting lyrics are totally usurped by bad singing and terrible instrumentation.

Tainted Love the obvious stand out from this campy synth pop 80s album that sounds rather dated now

His voice really grates after a few songs and the elctronics sound bad. Some bands were meant to be 1 hit wonders.

Perfect pop as they are, the couple of big tracks set a bar too high for the rest of the album to follow. Worth including on the list as a historical document but hasn't aged well.

Pretty jarring. I love early synth sounds, but this wasn't a great example. Would rather have Visage or Ultravox or Thomas Dolby.

Tainted Love great, everything else is not. Didn't hate it and didn't want to throw it away, but it was very boring. Mostly just passed me by.

Was ready to give this one star just from Frustration and Sex Dwarf. Thought about bumping to two after Entertain Me and Chips on My Shoulder. Then heard Memorabilia and back to one star. Overall, lots of songs I would never listen to again. Some okay songs.

Tainted love carries, but the rest of this is shit

Ben alweer vergeten hoe dit klinkt

What were these guys smoking?

The highlight of thus album is 'Seedy Film'. Great bass line, nice melodies over the top. Only spoilt by Mr Almonds voice. Other than that there are the famous ones, but nothing to write home about. Can't realistically give it better than a 2.

Not a fan of this one.

Not really my thing, but I did like how each song blended into the next one. Not a common thing anymore in the age of Spotify

Where did our love go and Tained Love are excellent excellent songs, the rest (disappointingly) was rather meh 2/5

Tainted Love is great. The rest of the album is tooooo repetitive and simple to hold up. I can hear this album's spot in the evolution of synth-pop and other genres, but it feels like part of the fossil record rather than something I'd choose to listen to.

Eitt alltof ofspilað lag, eitt snilldarlag og restin er la la.

Gah, Tainted Love is just so good but the rest of this was a chore. Did they all want to be the Sex Pistols at the time?

wtf

didn't like this music when it was new and still don't. Tainted Love is one of the best cover versions ever, and Say hello, wave goodbye is a decent song. The rest was quite hard work.

Have I heard this album before? No Highlights: Frustration, Tainted Love, Say Hello Wave Goodbye Rating: 4.2/10 Everyone knows ‘Tainted Love’, a classic of new-wave synth pop, but having never heard any other songs from Soft Cell I was unsure whether the rest of this album would hold up. Aside from a few tracks, I found the singing a bit obnoxious, though the production was mostly good. The album also really drags on too long.

Interesting start to the album. Two of the first three songs included saxophone and clarinet which I did not expect. Obviously “tainted love” is the lead track which is catchy. “Chips on my shoulder” is another track that has a driving beat and utilizes synthesizers to an excellent extent. Got pretty repetitive

Okay

2 stars because of tainted love but the rest is a 1

I did not enjoy this album. I guess rounding up to a 2 for Tainted Love, a great album title and being bold enough to write a song called Sex Dwarf.

I love Tainted Love. But it can’t save this album. Overall very forgettable. I’m bumping my rating to average based on Tainted Love alone. 2.5/5

Sophomoric melodies. How they managed to fart out a hit is pretty amazing to me.

Come on... what are we talking about here? I don't get why we need to acknowledge this as a "top album of all time". I mean... it's fine, has a big hit and there's some interesting instrumentation on it but I'm not interested in putting the whole album on again and I'm not discovering any new favorite tracks.

Pretty fucking bad.

The hit-single "Tainted Love" stands out but the rest feels more or less like the title of the opening-track - "Frustation".

Tainted Love put this album on its back and carried it to the two yard, I mean two star, line.

This may have been big in the UK but didn't translate very well here in the US other than Tainted Love. Sounds too cheesy and clubby for my taste. There are lot better British bands than this rubbish.

It's the average '80s British pop experience of mildly interesting synths and obnoxious vocals. Pretty bad. Everyone is talking about "Tainted Love" (which I think became a meme) but personally, the jazzy "Seedy Films" is the best one from here.

I didn't like this album, I don't know, it wasn't for me. This type of beats and synths don't do for me, but Tainted Love and Sex Dwarf were good and funny, nothing much else to say for the rest.

There are some interesting musical choices here, and even more 'interesting' lyrical choices..."Sex Dwarf"? That's some SNL/Lonely Island shit. "Tainted Love" is a solid remake, but feel the rest is lacking. Maybe it was better at the time (and in certain *circles*) but it feels like a time capsule now. 2.6

Not my thing. But still enjoyed it.

Tainted Love is a tremendous song. I’ve heard it too many times, and it is easy to take for granted. But it is a hyper-melodic romp and still kicks major ass. For me, the other songs don’t nearly match up. They are fine, but unmemorable. There are good elements - the lyrics for “Frustration”, the clarinet in “Seedy Films”, etc. But no other complete songs “Sex Dwarf” sounds like a song that The Pet Shop Boys did - 5 years later and 100 times better.

Rating: 3.5/10 The first three songs are good, the rest of this album is awful. A lot of awful lyrics, cheesy synths, and generally annoying singing and melodies. If it wasn't for Tainted Love this would be a 1 star album for me.

Didn’t Devo do this 3 years earlier? I guess Soft Cell is one step further down the evolutionary line to New Wave than Devo. This isn’t my thing 4.4/10

Tainted Love is wonderful. Got to the third song and stopped.

When a number of the songs off the album sound like parodies you'd hear on sketches from Saturday Night Live, that's not a good look on the album AT ALL. I mean... Sex Dwarf? And the "hit" (Tainted Love) sounds nothing like the rest of the album. You can tell the sarcastic tone the act was going for, but 40 years later it sounds... ridiculous.

One banger and the rest was a bit meh. Half term so it was only half a listen really

I honestly tried. Listened to every song. Just not my cup of tea. "Tainted Love" is about it. "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" made for a nice cover by David Gray.

2.5

Overall did not enjoy this one. Tainted Love is the only redeeming quality for me. It was too long and too monotone.

I'm starting to get annoyed by the sound of singing British men. I don't like this album. Soft Cell is the definition of a one-hit wonder. If you go on to Apple Music and look at the top songs from Soft Cell, the top 7 are just different releases of Tainted Love. And that's not even their song, so it doesn't even really count. This version and the original Gloria Jones version are about the same in quality for me. That song, at least, is pretty good. The others? Hoo-boy these are bad. The synths are fine. They're serviceable. The singing was kind of annoying as stated earlier. The writing does not stand out at all except for the very few moments that make you seriously question what you're doing with your life. Like, why am I listening to a song called Sex Dwarf. Let me repeat that. There is a song on this album called "Sex Dwarf." SEX. DWARF. I don't care anymore. This album's bad. It has no reason to be on here aside from one song that they didn't even write. 2/5. Tainted Love saves this from being a 1.

Allgemein wenig Begeisterung erzeugen der Synth-Pop. Eine Ausnahme auf dem Album ist der wohl bekannteste Song und Highlight "Tainted Love".

Did they intentionally try to make the most annoying album possible? The 80s were rough…

So is a good Italio disco track

One hit wonder

I probably could have died without hearing this one. I always enjoyed Tainted Love; other than that, there is Say Hello, Wave Goodbye which was covered to better effect by David Gray and a cover of the Supremes' Where Did Our Love Go. A couple horn riffs - the rest is inane and annoying. 74 minutes - PLEASE!

Standouts: "Tainted Love," "Where Did Our Love Go?" (Basically the same instrumental), "What?" Lyrics/Vocals- 2/5 Instrumentals- 2/5 Vibes- 2/5 Overall- 2/5 This album was honestly a tough listen. I love their cover of "Tainted Love," and expected something of similar calibre. But, the lyrics at many points were nonsensical. The vocals were grating at times, and many times it sounded like the vocals and the instrumentals were working against each other. However, this was the 80s, which was a VERY different time. To me though, this album really just sounded like noise with no real rhyme or reason behind them. Just noise for the sake of noise.

honestly, a boring album for me, i knew Tainted Love, hated Sex Dwarf, that was just a jarring listen and I had to skip it before I got too annoyed.

jezus man

Very 80s, very camp, and very English. One of those, maybe two at a push, would have been fine, but all three is not for me. Features the third best version of the biggest single (check out The Living End's version of tainted love), and a song later improved by David Gray. Neither of these is a plus point either! He can sing good though, and the music is not actively offensive, I guess, so they can have a second star - and they can thank me for it!

Not for me. The album and songs are too long that have really nothing unique about them and kinda sound the same. But maybe this album could of been big at the time??

Maybe this was groundbreaking in the 80's but it does not hold up....

Horrible vocals

I've gone this long in my life with only knowing a single song by Soft Cell. And now I know why! "Tainted Love" is so far above and beyond everything else on this record that it's kinda hard to believe they managed to so completely knock that one out of the park when the rest of the album is mostly filled with foul balls. I could tolerate "Chips on My Shoulder" and "Bedsitter," but the same can not be said for many of the others. "Sex Dwarf" got skipped pretty hard, guys. Most of all, I have come away with the impression that this dude just isn't a very good singer. Or the songs aren't written for his voice. Or they could really benefit from some 1981 auto-tune. (Looking at you final track.) Either way, the fit is off. Except for when it isn't. Which is "Tainted Love."

Tainted love, but nothing else

1/2/24. Meh, thought a lot of the songs and melodies were repetitive. One or two highlights, but not enough to revisit often.

Started out strong with the first two tracks, but the more I listened, the more I realized the singer can't sing. That really took me out of it, especially with the longer notes and big reverb kind of accentuating it.

2.3

Not really for me…

Something there, definitely interesting, but not for me 2

Det er simpelthen for liderligt. Men god version af tainted love...har altid set Soft Cell som et one hit wonder og det ændrer hele pladen ikke på

Hmm, I can see how this was cutting edge at the time but I can't say the music does much for me now.

The only memorable song (for good reasons) is a cover.

Before listening: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret does not sound like my idea of a good time. And, the length of this album is looking already to be too long. After listening: I'm not going to knock Tainted Love which is genius, but there's a lot on this record that is just not for me. Tainted Love and Where Did Our Love Go? bump this album up from a harsh one star rating to a two star listen I'll never spin again. I like the idea that through the popularity of that Tainted Love / Where Did Our Love Go?, this record found its way into someone's hands and it spoke to them deeply giving them comfort in difficult times.

too weird even for me: sex dwarf entertain me chips on my shoulder

Tainted wehweh

Not great - but a couple of “ok” songs

# 124 : Eighties disco pop! Here we go again, how dull, even a banger like "Tainted Love" can't pull this album out of the pile of crud. Favourite Track : Tainted Love Listened : 05/12/2023

"tainted love" is a bop. super enjoyable and peppy. the second half of the album fell off, though. the first half had energy and was enjoyable wave. the second half was tired wave. i can't imagine soft cell had a good time crafting those songs, and you can tell side B gets terribly boring. creating music around sex is great! it's always been a popular topic, but something soft cell is doing here is too much. you don't need to force these kinds of things. hasn't soft cell ever heard of the word subtle?

Tainted love is the most popular song and for good reason, it's the best song on the album. This album is the very 80s sounding, maybe too much. There's no real substance to it.

Fine.

There is absolutely nothing erotic whatsoever with this try-too-hard attempt to be edgy and sexual. I had to quit at Sex Dwarf, what an asinine track that was. I just felt so disgusted listening to this crap. And here's my dilemma: I LOVE their version of Tainted Love, it is the best ever cover of that song. But one shiny one-hit wonder amidst a sea of poorly executed synth soaked shit does not an impressive album make. Fuck these weirdo assholes for making this crap, I'll never be able to listen to Tainted Love joyfully again.

Sounds like it could be a Police Academy soundtrack.

Outside of Tainted Love, this wasn't great

More like Non-Stop Erotic Karaoke. Pretty awful. Extra star because of Tainted Love