ABC Album: “Beauty Stab”

After the stylishly over-the-top "Lexicon of Love" (1981) ABC elected to forego the lush production of Trevor Horn and Ann Dudley in favor of a more stripped down approach. "Beauty Stab," produced by ABC with Gary Langan represented a radical departure for the group. Gone were the lush strings, orchestrations, and synthesizers that provided such a sumptuous backdrop for vocalist Martin Fry. Down to the trio of Fry, Mark White (guitars) and Stephen Singleton (saxophone) the group was focusing on a sound dominated by sax, guitar, and drums ala late 1970s Roxy Music. The comparison is rather appropriate as Fry does consciously seem to be aping Bryan Ferry and backing the band are ex-Roxy stalwarts Andy Newmark on drums and Alan Spenner on Bass. As a whole "Beauty Stab" does rather sound like "Manifesto" or "Flesh and Blood" era Roxy. As usual love is the subject of most of the songs here. Kicking off with the hard driving "That Was Then But This Is Now" ABC clearly throws down the gauntlet that they are not the same band they were on the last outing. The song bleeds into the equally hard driving "Love's a Dangerous Language" sending the message ABC is clearly not going to be the white-tie fops from "Lexicon." The mood calms a bit with "If I Ever Thought You'd Be Lonely" with the group allowing more quiet spaces and giving Fry a chance to really showcase his great vocals; easily the best track on the recording. The tempo roars back up to full speed with "The Power of Persuasion" with some truly hysterical lyrics, but ultimately very enjoyable. "By Default By Design" again slows things down and gives Fry a chance to show off his vocal talent, something never really allowed on "Lexicon." Its at this point that ABC ventures away from the comfortable subject of love and delves into the larger concerns of the world. "Hey Citizen!" is a great track with a great throwaway lyric (There's no glamour in the slammer), but it's never really clear what the hell it's about. "King Money" appears to be an anti-capitalist screed that rocks hard segueing into "Bite the Hand," a swipe at the ungrateful. The pacing here is a bit off but things recover nicely for a return to love with the lively "Unzip" with its catchy chorus. "S.O.S." is a lush turn again showcasing Fry's warm vocals and a sign of things to come on future recordings. The real lump in your throat moment for me is "United Kingdom." I'm not British, but am an Anglophile, and this song to me seems to best sum up Britain's feelings towards their country in the Thatcher era. Perhaps not, but for me it does. The bonus track "Vertigo" is a great instrumental, the B-Side to the single "That Was Then" that wasn't on the original release.

Critics and fans didn't seem to know what to make of "Beauty Stab" as it was such a departure from "Lexicon" sonically and musically. Lyrically it is no different, but the presentation was quite a departure. It was said at the time Martin Fry flushed his gold lamé suit down the toilet after "Lexicon" and perhaps that was metaphorical rather than literal. For many it seemed "Beauty Stab" was literally flushing all they had built with "Lexicon" down the toilet but I think that's a bit harsh. Great tracks abound on "Beauty Stab" ("If I Ever...," "Love's a Dangerous...," "Power of Persuasion," "Unzip," "S.O.S.," and "United Kingdom") that far out compensate the weaker ones and to me the raw stripped down sound was very exciting and interesting. Granted I loved the lush Trevor Horn era ABC too, but the production on "Lexicon" papered over the weaknesses that were exposed on the stripped down "Beauty Stab." Stung by the criticism and lukewarm public reception ABC pared down to just Fry and White and shifted stylistically to the lusher Euro-Disco of "How to Be a Billionaire." Not necessarily a bad move, but yet again a very different turn. "Beauty Stab" remains a recording of a band in search of a style that fits. For most they should have stuck with "Lexicon" and it's hard to argue against that. ABC kept their stylish (some say foppish) airs about them for many more recordings. Most see "Beauty Stab" as a temporary detour but it can be rewarding.

Beauty Stab is a fascinating album for pop music history buffs. The follow up to the slick mega seller, The Lexicon of Love, Beauty Stab was a raw energetic piece of work. It was also a commercial suicide, not even cracking the top 10 in the UK where ABC were huge; the second single from the album, the soothing S.O.S. barely made the top 40. ABC also insisted upon its release not providing any interviews, letting the album speak for itself. Once they finally allowed the press access to them (promoting said S.O.S.), the main discussion was the commercial (and what the English press mostly considered artistic) failure of Beauty Stab.

ABC went on regaining commercial success with sounds in the vein of The Lexicon of Love with an added soul and campy disco flavour. It is, however, interesting that Beauty Stab is now being re-mastered for a second time, showing that some demand seems still to exist for the album (the range in the reviews indicates that it is still being debated how good Beauty Stab really is).

Instead of writing about the music in details, I concentrate on the quality of this newest Neutron Re-release. The previous re-release dates from 1997. The re-mastering of that album was decent and included an extra track, the instrumental Vertigo. The sleeve had a few short essays about the album, period. This Neutron release has improved the sound from the initial re-mastering somewhat. The high tones are clearer. The difference is definitely audible but not dramatic, hence those who own the original re-release in most cases should not upgrade to this version on a sound basis alone. The packaging has been improved, with lyrics added this time around, some of which are timeless - She's vegetarian except when it comes to sex. There are also an additional two tracks from the initial re-release. One is an unedited version of That Was Then but This Is Now, which includes a minute or two of wailing guitars during the end of the song. The other song is a somewhat lame but funny ABC on 45 version of songs from the album called Selections from Beauty Stab, basically sections of songs taped together. I believe this was included on a plastic free single for NME readers.

The music is from my standpoint for the most parts fantastic, although a few songs being below par. The instrumental title track became known as the theme song for the Montreaux music festival which was popular during the mid 80s (few actually knew it was ABC performing that rocking theme song). Unzip and If I Ever Thought You'd Be Lonely are other examples of songs that have aged very well.

For those interested in Beauty Stab, I recommend this version. I also believe time has proved it also being a very good album in its own rights.

There were only a few "difinitive" albums during the 80's...This is one of them. Largely overlooked by AOR radio...it has worked itself out to become a cult classic and probably one of the best produced albums of that decade. Most classic 80's albums did not recieve a lot of radio play and theirs was one of them but, over the years, I've turned many friends and neighbors on to ABC twice...Lexicon Of Love and then this little surprise.

During the 80's there were so many flash in the pan acts. Few had staying power, let alone a classic album...but, ABC-Beauty Stab and Roxy Music-Avalon is another! Both are a must have for any collector.

If I may, let me begin this review with an anecdote:

A year or so ago, I was home in the UK and visiting a musician friend. Well, it just so happened that Steve Singleton (ABC founder member and sax player) was also there. Aside from the thrill of meeting one of my musical "heroes", I was thankful to have the opportunity to tell him personally how much I love this album and how much it means to me.

This album was ripped to shreds by the British music press upon its release and, in a real sense, I don't think the band ever recovered. (Steve left shortly thereafter.) Shame on those talentless Journos - failed wannabe popstars one and all. They should come up with something as timeless and classic as this album.

The album has been reviewed in detail elsewhere and I can only concur with the vast majority who recognise it for the classic it so truly is.

I'm listening to this album as we speak. And 23 years on, it still sounds as contemporary as the day it was made. One of my all-time Top 10. And highly recommended.

This album is amazing, Roxy Music's Avalon rhythm section at the time played on this, perfect choice as the songs are harder in certain ways but also much more sophisticated than Lexicon (one of my top 5's of all time). I loved it at the time, although I admit that it took some time to get into....check it out, this is a more patient record, great for dinner parties!