Review Summary: Frankie Goes to Hollywood was a quirky but lovable 80's band whose controversies and fanaticism reached few people this side of the Atlantic but is quite influential on the artists of today. Pleasuredome was their only album that really mattered.
If you look past Frankie Goes to Hollywood's signature song "Relax" and delve into their quirky debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome, you would probably end your first encounter with it more puzzled with it than when you started. It is certainly a diverse, strange entertaining album that either rises triumphantly or falls flat on its face although thankfully, the former is most prevalent.
As such an eclectic and innovative work, WttP suffers from its lack of a unified theme and lacks clear direction and purpose as well as its length. The album was originally a double album. It could have easily been condensed down to a single LP and have been much more fluid and consistent.
The First LP is the stronger of the two featuring an eerie introductory section consisting of the first three tracks before transitioning into the fantastic title track which stretches on for twelve minutes. To this day I cannot figure out why I love this song so much. It is overlong and repetitive, but just trust me, it is fantastic with surreal lyrics and all. Next up is the hit single Relax. Does this need to be even addressed? Track six is a unique cover of Edwin Starr's earlier song. It includes a great Ronald Reagan impersonator reciting several interesting quotes although this dates the material somewhat. Closing the first LP is Two Tribes, a hit for them in the UK. It is not as good as Relax but it still worthwhile and is a fantastic closer. The first record is easily one of my favorites. 5/5
And now we get to the sketchy area. The second of the album really goes nowhere. It starts out with an odd spoken bit concerning orgasms that is hilarious upon first listen but really annoys you later. Fury is a throwaway as is the Bruce Springsteen cover of Born to Run. San Jose is just a pointless and boring cover of an old song. After this mid-album slump, Frankie makes a rebound with Black Night White Light, The Only Star in Heaven, and the Power of Love, another big hit in the UK and a touching love song that I am embarrassed to say that I like. And after a overlong and inconsistent journey (sixty four minutes nearly exactly) the album closes with a Bang, another quirky track that sums up this varied album well. The first side of the second records needed work. 3/5
