Beauty Stab
| Beauty Stab | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by ABC | ||||
| Released | 14 November 1983 | |||
| Recorded | August–September 1983 | |||
| Studio |
Various
| |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 42:58 | |||
| Label |
Neutron (UK) Mercury (US) Vertigo (Canada and Europe) | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| ABC chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Smash Hits | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[3] |
Beauty Stab is the second studio album by the English new wave band ABC. It was originally released in November 1983, on the labels Neutron, Mercury and Vertigo. The album was recorded over a period of three months between August and September 1983, in sessions that took place at Sarm Studios East and West, Townhouse Studios and Abbey Road Studios. It was a departure from the stylised production of the band's debut album, The Lexicon of Love, and featured a more guitar-oriented sound.
The album was produced by ABC with Gary Langan, who was the audio engineer on the band's first album. The band employed the rhythm section of Andy Newmark (drums) and Alan Spenner (bass guitar)[1] both of whom had recently recorded and toured with Roxy Music at the time. The cover photography was by Gered Mankowitz.
The album was certified Gold by the BPI for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies, but was not as commercially successful as its predecessor. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned only two Top 40 singles (neither of which made the Top 10).[4] In a 1995 article, music journalist Simon Reynolds listed Beauty Stab among "the great career-sabotage LPs in pop history".[5]
In 2005, a digitally remastered reissue of the album was released with bonus tracks.
Track listing
All tracks written by Martin Fry, Mark White, and Stephen Singleton.
| Side one | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "That Was Then but This Is Now" | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Love's a Dangerous Language" | 3:40 |
| 3. | "If I Ever Thought You'd Be Lonely" | 3:55 |
| 4. | "The Power of Persuasion" | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Beauty Stab" | 2:06 |
| 6. | "By Default by Design" | 4:07 |
| Side two | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 7. | "Hey Citizen!" | 3:55 |
| 8. | "King Money" | 4:02 |
| 9. | "Bite the Hand" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Unzip" | 2:49 |
| 11. | "S.O.S." | 4:49 |
| 12. | "United Kingdom" | 3:23 |
Total length: |
42:58 | |
| 2005 re-release bonus tracks | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Vertigo" | 1:58 |
| 14. | "Selections from the Magnificent New ABC Long-Player 'Beauty Stab'" | 5:48 |
| 15. | "That Was Then but This Is Now" (Unedited) | 5:58 |
Personnel
- ABC
- Martin Fry – lead and background vocals
- Mark White – guitars; piano; synthesizer
- Stephen Singleton – alto saxophone
- Additional personnel
- Howie Casey – tenor and baritone saxophones
- Andy Newmark – drums
- Alan Spenner – bass guitar
- David Bedford – string arrangements
- David Theodore – oboe
- Luís Jardim (misspelled as "Louis Jardin" on album notes) – percussion
- Production team
- ABC – producer
- Gary Langan – producer
- John Kurlander – engineer at Abbey Road Studios
- Bob Kraushaar – engineer at Sarm Studios East and West
- Keith Nixon – engineer at Townhouse Studios
- Gered Mankowitz – photography
Chart performance
Peak positions
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 58 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[7][8] | 36 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[9] | 29 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 22 |
| German Albums Chart[10] | 50 |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 34 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart[11] | 42 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[12] | 32 |
| UK Albums Chart[13] | 12 |
| US Billboard 200 Chart[14] | 69 |
References
- 1 2 DeGagne, Mike. "ABC: Beauty Stab [Bonus Tracks] > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ "Rimmer, Dave (24 November 1983). "Album Reviews". Smash Hits. Vol. 5 no. 24. EMAP Metro. p. 27.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "ABC: Beauty Stab". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ "ABC". ChartStats.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ↑ Simon Reynolds (1995), ""Unknown Pleasures: Great Lost Albums Rediscovered" (Melody Maker free supplement booklet)", Melody Maker (free supplement booklet), IPC Media,
Tusk ranks as one of the great career-sabotage LP's in pop history, alongside the Clash's Sandinista[!], ABC's Beauty Stab and Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique; one of those albums by bands apparently on a creative and commercial roll who nonetheless wilfully confound their audience, motivated by artistic frustration, or fucked-up/fucked-off confusion, or simply because they've succumbed to a kind of collective death-wish.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 10. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung (17 December 1983). "ABC – Beauty Stab". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "ABC – Beauty Stab". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "ABC – Beauty Stab". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
- ↑ "The Official Charts Company – Beauty Stab by ABC Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
- ↑ ABC. "ABC – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
External links
- Beauty Stab at Discogs (list of releases)