The Lexicon of Love

The Lexicon of Love is the debut album by the English new wave band ABC, released in 1982. The album entered the UK Album Chart at no.1 and has been certified Platinum in the UK. The album features four UK Top 20 hit singles, including "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love", and "All of My Heart".

Though not a concept album,[1] the album features repeated themes in which the singer experiences heartache as he tries and fails to have a meaningful relationship. A longform music video/film, Mantrap, featuring songs from the album was released in 1983.

Contents 1 Recording and release dates 2 Critical acclaim 3 Track listing 3.1 Original release (Neutron NTRS 1) 3.2 1996 Digitally re-mastered edition (Mercury 514942-2) 3.3 1998 Re-issue (Mercury/Neutron 538,250-2) 3.4 2004 deluxe edition (Mercury 982,437-3) 3.4.1 Disc one 3.4.2 Disc two 4 Chart performance 5 Personnel 6 References 7 External links

Recording and release dates
It was produced by Trevor Horn, engineered by Gary Langan, and featured orchestrations by Anne Dudley and Fairlight CMI programming by JJ Jeczalik; Horn, Langan, Dudley and Jeczalik would later form the Art of Noise. Indeed, most of the production team and sessions players listed below would form the basis for the ZTT label, and their work with Horn meant all concerned would be in constant demand throughout the industry in years to come.

"Tears Are Not Enough" (in its initial release produced by Steve Brown), "All of My Heart", "Poison Arrow", and "The Look of Love (Part One)" were all Top 20 hits in the UK; the latter two also charted in the US, peaking at No. 25 and No. 14 respectively. The album reached No. 1 on the British charts, and peaked at No. 24 in the US charts.

In 2004, a deluxe 2-disc reissue including previously unreleased outtakes and early demos and a live performance of the album from 1982 was released on the Neutron label.

In 2009, ABC performed the album integrally at the Royal Albert Hall in London, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, and conducted by arranger and composer Anne Dudley. They were joined on stage by album producer Trevor Horn.[2]

The Lexicon of Love was again performed live in its entirety on 18 December 2012 at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. This marked the 30th anniversary of the album's release and once again featured Dudley as conductor, performing with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra. The same line-up (with Dudley and Southbank Sinfonia) concluded a four-date mini-tour at this same venue on 30 March 2014 performing the complete album. Martin Fry and band were once more accompanied by the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra for dates at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, Sheffield City Hall, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, and Birmingham Symphony Hall, between November 4th and 9th, 2015.

In April 2016 a sequel album The Lexicon of Love II was announced for release on 27 May 2016.[3]

Critical acclaim
Professional ratings

Review scores

Source

Rating

AllMusic 5/5 stars[4] Blender 4/5 stars[5] Christgau's Record Guide A−[6] Encyclopedia of Popular Music 5/5 stars[7] Mojo 4/5 stars[8] Q 5/5 stars[9] Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[10] The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4/5 stars[11] Select 4/5[12] Spin Alternative Record Guide 9/10[13] NME listed it number 15 on its list of 50 albums of the 80s. NME listed it number 3 on its list of 50 albums of the year 1982. Uncut listed It number 52 on its list of 100 greatest debut albums. Mojo listed it in its list of 9 albums of the year 1982. The Village Voice listed it number 19 on its list of 20 albums of the year 1982. Q magazine listed it number 40 on its list of the 100 greatest British albums ever. Q magazine readers voted The Lexicon of Love the 92nd greatest album of all time. The Observer Music Monthly listed it number 42 on its list "Top 100 British Albums". Mentioned in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing
All songs written and composed by Martin Fry, David Palmer, Stephen Singleton, and Mark White except where indicated.

Original release (Neutron NTRS 1)

Side One 1."Show Me" – 4:02 2."Poison Arrow" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Mark Lickley) – 3:24 3."Many Happy Returns" – 3:56 4."Tears Are Not Enough" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/David Robinson) – 3:31 5."Valentine's Day" – 3:42

Side Two 1."The Look of Love" (Part One) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:26 2."Date Stamp" – 3:51 3."All of My Heart" – 5:12 4."4 Ever 2 Gether" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Anne Dudley) – 5:30 5."The Look of Love" (Part Four) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 1:02

1996 Digitally re-mastered edition (Mercury 514942-2) 1."Show Me" – 4:02 2."Poison Arrow" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:22 3."Many Happy Returns" – 3:58 4."Tears Are Not Enough" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:29 5."Valentine's Day" – 3:40 6."The Look of Love (Part One)" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:29 7."Date Stamp" – 3:51 8."All of My Heart" – 5:18 9."4 Ever 2 Gether" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 5:30 10."The Look of Love (Part Four)" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 0:56 11."Tears Are Not Enough (Demo)" – 3:29* 12."Poison Arrow (Jazz Re-Mix)" – 6:54* 13."The Look of Love (US Special Remix – Edit)" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 5:43 (mislabelled as "The Look of Love (1990 Re-Mix)")* 14."Alphabet Soup (12" mix)" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 8:02* 15."Theme from Mantrap" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 4:19* 16."The Look of Love (Live)" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 6:07* Tracks with * are bonus

1998 Re-issue (Mercury/Neutron 538,250-2) 1."Show Me" – 4:02 2."Poison Arrow" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:24 3."Many Happy Returns" – 3:56 4."Tears Are Not Enough" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:31 5."Valentine's Day" – 3:42 6."The Look of Love" (Part One) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:26 7."Date Stamp" – 3:51 8."All of My Heart" – 5:12 9."4 Ever 2 Gether" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 5:30 10."The Look of Love" (Part Four) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 1:02 11."Theme from Man Trap" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 4:19* track with * is bonus

2004 deluxe edition (Mercury 982,437-3)

Disc one Part 1The Original Album1."Show Me" – 4:02 2."Poison Arrow" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:24 3."Many Happy Returns" – 3:56 4."Tears Are Not Enough" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:31 5."Valentine's Day" – 3:42 6."The Look of Love" (Part One) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 3:26 7."Date Stamp – 3:51 8."All of My Heart" – 5:12 9."4 Ever 2 Gether" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 5:30 10."The Look of Love" (Part Four) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 1:02 Part 2The Original Singles 11."Overture" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 3:59 12."Tears Are Not Enough" (original single version) (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:36 13."Alphabet Soup" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 8:03 14."Theme from Man Trap" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 4:19 15."Poison Arrow" (North American Jazz Mix) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 7:06 Part 3An Oddity and An Out-Take 16."Into the Valley of the Heathen Go" – 2:00 17."Alphabet Soup" (BBC Swapshop version) (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:13

Disc two Part 4The Route to the Lexicon1."Tears Are Not Enough" (Phonogram Demo 20 July 1981) (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 3:32 2."Show Me" (Phonogram Demo 20 July 1981) – 4:03 3."Surrender" (Phonogram Demo 20 July 1981 - song deleted from album's original release at "the 11th hour") – 3:29 Part 5The Lexicon of Love — Live at Hammersmith Odeon November 1982 4."Overture" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 3:56 5."Show Me" – 4:21 6."Many Happy Returns" – 7:02 7."Tears Are Not Enough" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 5:33 8."Date Stamp" – 7:07 9."The Look of Love" (Live at Hammersmith Odeon November 1982) (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 5:59 10."All of My Heart" – 6:45 11."Valentine's Day" – 4:44 12."4 Ever 2 Gether" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Dudley) – 6:53 13."Alphabet Soup" (Fry/Singleton/White/Lickley/Robinson) – 8:26 14."Poison Arrow" (Fry/Palmer/Singleton/White/Lickley) – 5:22

Chart performance
Chart (1982/1983)

Peak position

Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 9 Canadian Albums Chart[15][16] 3 Dutch Albums Chart[17] 16 Finnish Albums Chart[citation needed] 1 German Albums Chart[18] 23 Japanese Albums Chart[citation needed] 17 New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 1 Norwegian Albums Chart[20] 13 Swedish Albums Chart[21] 3 UK Albums Chart[22] 1 US Billboard 200[23] 24

Personnel
Martin Fry - vocals David Palmer - drums, percussion Stephen Singleton - alto and tenor saxophones Mark White - guitars, keyboards Mark Lickley - bass guitar on "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow" and "The Look of Love" David Robinson - drums on single/demo versions of "Tears Are Not Enough" Additional personnelAnne Dudley - keyboards and orchestration Brad Lang - bass guitar J. J. Jeczalik - Fairlight CMI programming Kim Wear - trumpet Andy Gray - trombone on "Tears Are Not Enough" Luís Jardim (misspelled as "Louis Jardin" on album notes) - additional percussion Tessa Webb - female vocal lead on "Date Stamp" Gaynor Sadler - harp Karen Clayton - female speaking voice in "Poison Arrow" ProductionTrevor Horn — producer Gary Langan — engineer Gered Mankowitz — film photography Paul Cox – band photography Pete Bill – cover photography Visible Inc. — design Neutron Records – design 2004 deluxe edition creditsGary Moore – digital remastering Daryl Easlea – album coordinator and compiler Martin Fry – compiler Deluxe Graphics@Green Ink – artwork restoration and adaption