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Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome Audio CD

A fair review of the Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Frankie Goes To Hollywood reviews here, or go back to the Frankie Goes To Hollywood tabs.

Band: Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Title: Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-10-04
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Well... 2: World Is My Oyster 3: Snatch of Fury 4: Welcome to the Pleasure Dome 5: Relax 6: War 7: Two Tribes 8: Fury 9: Born to Run 10: San Jos� 11: Wish the Lads Were Here 12: Ballad of 32 13: Krisco Kisses 14: Black Night White Light 15: Only Star in Heaven 16: Power of Love 17: Bang...

Great Album!
I've never been a fan of downloading singles from an artist since the listener is neglecting the rest of their efforts. I wanted 'Relax', but I got so much more. I am also not a fan of downloads since you are simply stuck at that bit rate. 320kbps is the maximum amount mp3 permits, but in the future who knows how that will sound compared to better compression formats that will undoubtedly emerge. The sound quality is great, and its even better when you have a high quality sound system.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood!
Awesome CD! Brillian combination of styles and tracks - Frankie and his band are missed but not forgotten. . can't get this CD in NZ anymore so love Amazon for making the process so easy (and inexpensive!!).

Memorable Musical Excess
"

The result was WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME, and released with tremendous hype the record leaped to the top of the English charts with the singles "Relax," "When Two Tribes Go To War," and "The Power of Love. With the band's name referencing Frank Sinatra's decision to make films, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD consisted of five men from Liverpool's punk scene who suddenly found themselves on the cutting edge of New Wave: Holly Johnson, Paul Rutherford, Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole and Brian Nash, a club band that attracted the attention of record producer Trevor Horn with the blantantly sexual song "Relax. " The band was soon popular in the USA as well, and t-shirts proclaiming "Frankie Says Relax" were suddenly ubiquitious.

FRANKIE's time in the public eye equated to Warhol's fifteen minutes of fame; their second release was a flop, singer Holly Johnson left, and the band fell apart. But somewhat oddly, WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME has left an unexpected afterglow: both singles and remixes have remained very popular in dance clubs, and remixes of "Relax" and "The Power of Love" actually returned to the English charts in 1993--nine years after the songs first debuted.

In many ways the recording is indicative of 1980s excess. At least two of the band members were openly gay and the band tended to present itself as an exercise in homosexual hedonism; the lyrics to "Relax" were so explicit that it was among the most often banned-from-radio songs of it era, and the video that accompanied it was so hot that it too was banned and a much tamer substitute video was created in order to get MTV airplay. Listening to PLEASURE DOME today one finds it no less explicit than it was twenty years ago. One also finds just as strange as it was when it first exploded onto the charts.

Much of the recording might best be described as musical collage. One song seques into another with odd bits and pieces coloring in the lines between each cut; there are bird sounds; narrative readings; and a host of other oddities. "Well," "The World Is My Oyster," "Snatch of Fury," and the title "Welcome To The Pleasure Dome" feel like one extend piece, bouncing from blunt to sharp. "Relax," the song for which FRANKIE was and is still best known, remains as intense, pulsing, and sexually hot as ever; and "Two Tribes" has considerable power and sharpness. "The Power of Love," one of the few ballad-like pieces the band did, is also very memorable.

The album as a whole--well, let's put it this way. You really have to be in the mood. Holly Johnson does nice covers of "Ferry Cross The Mersey," "Born to Run," and "Do You Know The Way to San Jose," but I wouldn't describe any of these as besting the originals so much as being new takes on old favorites. Some of the pieces are basically fluff filler expertly performed, with "Krisco Kisses," "Black Night White Light," and "The Only Star in Heaven" cases in point. Even so, it is hard to dismiss FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD as purely style over substance, as some have done; in many ways, it is as fresh today as it was when it first came out.

There are two versions of WELCOME TO THE PLEASURE DOME. This particular edition includes seventeen tracks and is essentially the recording as it was first released; a later version includes expanded tracks but, at least according to friends who have heard it, does so at the expense of the "bleed" between tracks. Both, however, seem to include what most people think of the essential three: "Relax," "Two Tribes," and "The Power of Love. "

It's an odd recording, glitchy, strange, and one people seem to either really like or completely loathe. But the musicianship, production, and Holly Johnson's vocals are uniquely powerful and appealing. Flawed, absolutely; recommended just the same.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer.

One of the Best Of The 80S
As for Sound it is the best album of the 80s one of the first full digital recordings. Yes, It is one of the best albums of the 80s. However one problem the current release is not the original album. It's missing the album version of "Two Tribes" which is twice as long as the single version(which is the current version) and a track called "Happy Hi".

Extremely creative!!!!
Some people judged the album and artist on the basis that the band members were gay. . almost obnoxiously so for some. Even though I disagree totally with the lifestyle and political views, I have to admit that Holly was a pure down and out brilliant musical genius. He and his band members were also brilliant and extremely talented musicians. . . virtuosos all! I danced to "Relax" in San Diego in the 80's at a big dance club called Confetti's. On a friday night I was with my wife on the dance floor, when as soon as the opening notes to Relax began playing, the drink servers went into a coreographed dance routine on the multi level dance floor and stairs. The crowd went wild and joined them. It was an event to be experienced!!! Holly's music makes you live to dance!.

You can see a complete list of all Frankie Goes To Hollywood discography, or go back to the Frankie Goes To Hollywood tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.