OTR: ABC - Absolutely

[illusionofjoy]

joi_division is already voicing her hatred of me for engaging in this challenge to myself. Yes, the very first CD in my collection is ABC's greatest hits compilation, namely because I own no albums by A or Abba (although regarding the former, I did enjoy Hi-Fi Serious and in regards to the latter, I'll be buying a copy of Gold for a wedding I'm DJing this Autumn). In any case, we're kicking things off with the New Romantic...

This disc is pleasant enough, and perfect for the casual fan. I remember sneaking a couple of songs by ABC into my college radio show, namely "How To Be A Millionaire," as WAIH had a few of the group's albums on vinyl. I never felt compelled to explore them beyond their singles and this compilation isn't changing my mind in that regard. There are still high points which are really enjoyable (the aforementioned "Millionaire," for example), but a lot of this is really tepid 80s pop. "All Of My Heart" and "Tears Are Not Enough" leave me dry...but maybe this is because "Poison Arrow" is such a strong opener in comparison.

I actually became aware of this group indirectly because of my grandparents. They would often take weekend trips to see my great aunt (my grandmother's sister) and have the radio playing during the trip. I must have been eight to eleven years old at the time, I'm not quite sure, but one summer I remember "When Smokey Sings" being in constant rotation. I just really loved that song for some reason (even now that I realise my pre-pubescent ears misheard several lyrics). Maybe it was the rhythm or the cool ascending and descending synth horns (80s synth has its way with classic Motown), but I just couldn't get enough of it. Of course, my parents never gave me an allowance, so going to a record store was out of the question.

Incidentally, I'm now up to "S.O.S." - I never want to hear this song ever again. I'm sure I've heard it before, but I probably suppressed the memory.

The track following "S.O.S." is far better. I refer, of course, to "How To Be A Millionaire," one of the songs I used to torture my audience with during my college radio years. The thing has a fucking killer beat, and it was probably the first animated music video I saw that wasn't A-Ha's "Take On Me." Furthermore, unlike that song, this video was fully-animated: not one live actor to be found in the piece. I saw it on VH1's "The Big 80's," and while I can't remember what the other four videos were played during that half-hour block, this one stuck. Hell, they probably played "Take On Me" and I'm just forgetting about it.

So, I find myself on the second half of the disc and as it winds down, I'm not finding much for repeated playing. "Be Near Me" is okay, and I still enjoy "When Smokey Sings" - in fact, it was a bout of nostalgia for that song for which I bought this disc used. Unfortunately, the version I heard on the radio was the album cut and this compilation contains the single edit, in which the bridge is different. I'm making due and not buying the fucking album though - I'm not made of money!

"King Without A Crown" is about the only notable track after that - a nice one for the dancefloor, while "One Better World" is just painful to listen to.