ABC Album: “Traffic”

i have been waiting for this new ABC cd since i heard the first whisperings of a new album. the music is great! Very ABC! but not a "stuck in the 80's" sound. it's fresh and modern but with that incredible melody, harmony, smooth production, and clever "rhyming couplets" that fans like myself want from Martin Fry. i wish Mark White were still interested in participating in the music; but the collection of songs certainly isn't lacking from it. "Sixteen Seconds" (the first track) is a touch "hard rockin" for me but still a great song.

One of the best new wave pop bands of the 80's, ABC is still going strong. Though singer Martin Fry is the only original member left in the group, who cares when the music is still classy, stylish and entertaining as always. Musically the record has the smooth pop sound we've come to expect, with occasional touches of rock and electronica. Standout cuts include singles "The Very First Time" and "Love Is Strong" as well as the jazz-rock fusion of "One Way Traffic" and the sweet, pure pop of "Lose Yourself." Longtime fans will definitely want to add this one to their collection.

"Traffic" es el último trabajo de Martin Fry y compañía, regresando al estudio junto a su amigo y componente original, el baterista David Palmer, regresan con ese pop fresco que es muy bien llevado gracias a la voz de Fry, abren el disco con la sorpresiva "Sixteen Seconds to Choose", un tema con guitarras que desconcierta en principio por su crudeza, pero bien resuelto por la interpretación de Fry, enseguida llegan "Very First time" y "Ride" cargadas de toda la energía típica de ABC, sonando muy bien y con arreglos muy actuales dejando en claro que no han perdido en nada ese toque elegante que siempre les ha caracterizado, simplemente mis favoritas.

Aparecen más adelante "Love is Strong", "Life Shapes You" y "One Way Traffic" reafirmando la calidad de este trabajo, para redondear un disco muy completo de pop en pleno siglo XXI, una grata sorpresa sin duda, no por su calidad, sino por su inesperado regreso después de 11 años desde su último "Skyscraping".

ABC es una muestra clara de que cuando se tiene calidad y elegancia, jamás se pierde, una verdadera colección de buen pop al mejor estilo británico, de parte de unos músicos que siempre han sido caracterizados por dejar gran calidad en cada uno de sus trabajos.

I'm from the camp that actually liked Beauty Stab, in fact it's my fave ABC album. Viva Beauty Stab!

That said, ABC never made another full album (and this was back in yee olden days when vinyl was the norm) that I appreciated in the whole. Of course there were a few amazing songs from various releases so thank goodness for mixed tapes and "greatest hits" collections.

I was pleasantly surprised to catch ABC/Martin Fry on the Band's Reunited MTV show. That was fun and whatta hunk...but I digress. Ahem.

I totally missed hearing about Skyscraping CD (pity these aren't being released in North America) but I have been listening to Traffic and it's excellent.

Campily twee as ever this is romantic ("Caroline" and well, ultimately all the other songs!) soul singer r & b pop tuneage with a titch of humour ("you like Starsky / I like Hutch.) A few definite rockers too. Rah. Some great female backup vocals complete the picture. An excellent release!

Martin Fry and David Palmer, two fifths of the original ABC, join many other session players for ABC's eighth album, "Traffic". It's been 11 years since ABC's last effort, the mostly solo Fry, on "Skyscraping." Fry and Robinson do an adequate job with reasonable material. There are some good songs here like "Sixteen Seconds To Choose", "The Very First Time", "Life Shapes You", "Way Back When" and "Fugitives", but there are other places like "Caroline", "Validation", "Minus Love", "Lose Yourself" and "Love Is Strong" where the material does not hold up. "One Way Traffic" even sounds like a Duran Duran song!

I was hoping for something more considering that Fry obtained Robinson for the first time in 25 years. To me, though, ABC began to unravel around 1989's "Up", and Fry hasn't quite been able to recover. It sure would be nice if Mark White, Stephen Singleton and Mark Lickley would re-join to make the complete picture.

Instead, we have "Traffic", which is much like a cross between 1983's "Beauty Stab" and 1997's "Skyscraping". A slight extension of the latter, and just a touch of the former. "Traffic" is good ABC, but not their best. The best thing is just having a new ABC album to listen to, and that will do for another decade.