Continuing Revisiting: a dCS series exploring classic albums from decades past. In this edition, we reflect on pop group ABC’s 1982 debut, which combines outstanding lyrics, skilful playing and some artful production from Trevor Horn.
From the early 1980s onwards, Trevor Horn built a reputation as one of the UK’s top record producers. The former member of The Buggles and Yes worked on a diverse range of albums, and with each new project, he managed to conjure a catchy yet ultra sophisticated sound. He produced some of the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s – from Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’, to Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’ – but one of the high points of his career was working on Sheffield-based indie-pop group ABC’s debut album back in 1982.
“I've made a lot of albums in my many years as a record producer, but this one stands out”, he said in 2007. “The material, the songs. The melodies are beautiful, but it's the lyrics that really make the album special…. In my 30 years of making records, this is without doubt the best set of lyrics for a whole album that I've ever had to work with.”
Indeed, it’s the vocals that set The Lexicon of Love apart. The album’s production and musicianship are top tier, but the lyrics – which depict a young man’s experiences of love and heartache – are highly memorable, and brilliantly delivered by lead singer Martin Fry.
When you've got great songs, you still need someone to sing them, and Martin was such a person”, Horn later recalled. “When we started Lexicon, Martin was a fairly inexperienced singer – he’d only been in a little synth band. But as the album went along, his confidence grew and he really took a lot of chances.” As Horn later recalled, Fry was able to capture both a wide range of emotion, and “an edge of humour” in his delivery – a winning combination.
Listened to now, more than 40 years after its initial release, Lexicon… feels strangely timeless.
That’s perhaps because it wasn’t particularly of its time. The only era identifying marks are the presence of classic analogue synthesisers and the lack of compression. Musically, there’s lots of Chic-style funk – an homage, perhaps, to the Brit Funk movement that was happening behind the scenes at that time – plus shades of Bryan Ferry-style crooning, with a dash of Frank Sinatra. This is all set to strong four-on-the-floor rock drumming and soaring strings performed by Horn’s Art of Noise co-conspirator Ann Dudley.
The result is a polished, upbeat and expansive sound. The album’s songs are distinct, yet each one flows perfectly into the next. Fry demonstrates a skilful use of his vocal range, with a sultry yet characterful voice, and delivers each word in just the right way. Looking back on the project, Horn once said, “I remember that the band said to me, ‘if you get to produce us, you’ll be the most fashionable producer in the world, because we’re the most fashionable band in the world!’”
ABC did indeed look as if they’d be better suited to the cover of Vogue than Smash Hits. The band’s record company placed countless advertisements for their single releases in The Face, the iconic fashion and culture magazine founded by Nick Logan (and recently revived for a new generation).
In media interviews done to support Lexicon, Fry demonstrated a sharp and erudite wit, along with a keen sense of his band’s importance. Yet he could be self-deprecating too, and among the clever world play, his lyrics were often tinged with sadness or irony. In ‘Valentine’s Day’, he writes: “If you gave me a pound for the moments I missed, And I got dancing lessons for all the lips I shoulda kissed, I’d be a millionaire, I'd be a Fred Astaire…”
Lexicon has much to offer beyond its four superb singles – ‘Poison Arrow’, ‘Tears Are Not Enough’, ‘The Look of Love’ and ‘All of My Heart’. The album tracks are also outstanding. ‘Show Me’ and ‘Date Stamp’ are particular highlights, with the band showcasing their impressive musical talents. Guitarist Mark White, saxophonist Stephen Singleton, drummer David Palmer and bassist Mark Lickley were a formidable combination, aided and abetted by Anne Dudley on keyboards. Also helping on keyboards was accomplished player and computer programmer J. J. Jeczalik, who worked on the Fairlight CMI synthesiser (more on that later).
Read more at The dCS Edit
From the early 1980s onwards, Trevor Horn built a reputation as one of the UK’s top record producers. The former member of The Buggles and Yes worked on a diverse range of albums, and with each new project, he managed to conjure a catchy yet ultra sophisticated sound. He produced some of the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s – from Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’, to Seal’s ‘Kiss from a Rose’ – but one of the high points of his career was working on Sheffield-based indie-pop group ABC’s debut album back in 1982.
“I've made a lot of albums in my many years as a record producer, but this one stands out”, he said in 2007. “The material, the songs. The melodies are beautiful, but it's the lyrics that really make the album special…. In my 30 years of making records, this is without doubt the best set of lyrics for a whole album that I've ever had to work with.”
Indeed, it’s the vocals that set The Lexicon of Love apart. The album’s production and musicianship are top tier, but the lyrics – which depict a young man’s experiences of love and heartache – are highly memorable, and brilliantly delivered by lead singer Martin Fry.
When you've got great songs, you still need someone to sing them, and Martin was such a person”, Horn later recalled. “When we started Lexicon, Martin was a fairly inexperienced singer – he’d only been in a little synth band. But as the album went along, his confidence grew and he really took a lot of chances.” As Horn later recalled, Fry was able to capture both a wide range of emotion, and “an edge of humour” in his delivery – a winning combination.
Listened to now, more than 40 years after its initial release, Lexicon… feels strangely timeless.
That’s perhaps because it wasn’t particularly of its time. The only era identifying marks are the presence of classic analogue synthesisers and the lack of compression. Musically, there’s lots of Chic-style funk – an homage, perhaps, to the Brit Funk movement that was happening behind the scenes at that time – plus shades of Bryan Ferry-style crooning, with a dash of Frank Sinatra. This is all set to strong four-on-the-floor rock drumming and soaring strings performed by Horn’s Art of Noise co-conspirator Ann Dudley.
The result is a polished, upbeat and expansive sound. The album’s songs are distinct, yet each one flows perfectly into the next. Fry demonstrates a skilful use of his vocal range, with a sultry yet characterful voice, and delivers each word in just the right way. Looking back on the project, Horn once said, “I remember that the band said to me, ‘if you get to produce us, you’ll be the most fashionable producer in the world, because we’re the most fashionable band in the world!’”
ABC did indeed look as if they’d be better suited to the cover of Vogue than Smash Hits. The band’s record company placed countless advertisements for their single releases in The Face, the iconic fashion and culture magazine founded by Nick Logan (and recently revived for a new generation).
In media interviews done to support Lexicon, Fry demonstrated a sharp and erudite wit, along with a keen sense of his band’s importance. Yet he could be self-deprecating too, and among the clever world play, his lyrics were often tinged with sadness or irony. In ‘Valentine’s Day’, he writes: “If you gave me a pound for the moments I missed, And I got dancing lessons for all the lips I shoulda kissed, I’d be a millionaire, I'd be a Fred Astaire…”
Lexicon has much to offer beyond its four superb singles – ‘Poison Arrow’, ‘Tears Are Not Enough’, ‘The Look of Love’ and ‘All of My Heart’. The album tracks are also outstanding. ‘Show Me’ and ‘Date Stamp’ are particular highlights, with the band showcasing their impressive musical talents. Guitarist Mark White, saxophonist Stephen Singleton, drummer David Palmer and bassist Mark Lickley were a formidable combination, aided and abetted by Anne Dudley on keyboards. Also helping on keyboards was accomplished player and computer programmer J. J. Jeczalik, who worked on the Fairlight CMI synthesiser (more on that later).
Read more at The dCS Edit
