Track Listing

1. Look Of Love (Part 1) - ABC, Trevor Horn, Martin Fry, Mark White
2. All Of My Heart - ABC, Trevor Horn
3. Poison Arrow - ABC, Trevor Horn, Martin Fry, Mark White
4. When Smokey Sings - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Bernard Edwards, Julian Mendelsohn, Martyn Webster
5. That Was Then But This Is Now - ABC, Gary Langan, Martin Fry, Mark White
6. Tears Are Not Enough - ABC, Steve Brown, Trevor Horn, Martin Fry, Mark White
7. How To Be A Millionaire - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Martyn Webster
8. The Night You Murdered Love - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Bernard Edwards, Martyn Webster, Julian Mendelsohn
9. Peace And Tranquility - ABC, Garry Hughes, Livingston Brown, Miriam Stockley, Mick Mullins, Levine Andrade, Catherine Manson, Roger Garland, Padraic Savage, Robert Gibbs, Frances Andrade, Norbert Blume, Fiona Bonds, Stephen Broom, Andrew Williams, Bozidar Vukotic, David Bucknall, Gary Hughes, A.T. Mackay, Ron Aslan, David Rainger, Charles Olins
10. One Better World - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Kevin William Hedge, Mark 'Spike' Stent
11. S.O.S. - ABC, Gary Langan
12. King Without A Crown - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Julian Mendelsohn
13. Be Near Me - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Martyn Webster
14. Ocean Blue - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Julian Mendelsohn, Martyn Webster
15. Vanity Kills - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Julian Mendelsohn, Martyn Webster
16. The Real Thing - ABC, Martin Fry, Mark White, Bob Kraushaar
17. Blame - ABC, Garry Hughes, Livingston Brown, Miriam Stockley, Mick Mullins, Levine Andrade, Catherine Manson, Roger Garland, Padraic Savage, Robert Gibbs, Frances Andrade, Norbert Blume, Fiona Bonds, Stephen Broom, Andrew Williams, Bozidar Vukotic, David Bucknall, Gary Hughes, A.T. Mackay, Ron Aslan, David Rainger, Charles Olins

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6380 in Music
• Released on: 2001-07-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 70 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Whilst the gold lamé suits may have been hung up years ago, The Look of Love: The Very Best of ABC proves that ABC or rather Martin Fry still has the ability to dazzle. As any 80s compilation will validate, hits such as the title track "Look of Love", "Poison Arrow" and "All of My Heart" are nowadays viewed as defining musical moments of the 80s. Despite going through an identity crisis during the mid-1980s, the group still managed to produce consistently excellent tunes ("Vanity Kills", "Be Near Me" and "Ocean Blue"). After Martin's successful fight with Hodgkinson's Disease the band reached a new peak with their suave 1987 album Alphabet City, which offered the slick hits "When Smokey Sings" and "The Night You Murdered Love". Fascinated by the emerging Acid House scene, two years later they released Up which was a more up-tempo, dance-orientated album that incorporated "One Better World" and "The Real Thing". Even though the hits dried up during the 1990s, as new tunes "Peace and Tranquillity" and "Blame" demonstrate, Fry still has the ability to pen sophisticated, soulful compositions. --John Galilee

CD Description
LOOK OF LOVE: THE VERY BEST OF ABC skims off the tastiest cream by this early- 1980s synth-pop band. Drawing from old-school R&B, the New Romantic movement, and (for singer MartinFry, in particular) the innovations of '70s glam crooners Bryan Ferry and David Bowie, ABC forged a stylish--and often danceable--brand of pop in which saxophones and synthesised drums peacefully co-existed. Lesser-known cuts like the exotica-tinged "S.O.S". and later work like 2001's mid-tempo groover "Peace and Tranquility" prove the ensemble remarkably consistent in sound and songwriting.
Of course, it is the group's chart hits that stand out here, and for good reason.The collection's title cut, and "Poison Arrow" (an early MTV video sensation) are near-perfect pop songs. Likewise, thelilting electro-ballad "Be Near Me", the Smokey Robinson homage "When Smokey Sings" (which appropriates the riff from "Tears of a Clown"), and the catchy bounce of "How to Be a Millionaire" push all the right pleasure buttons. A winner as both a hits collection and a comprehensive career overview, LOOK OF LOVE is the definitive ABC disc to own.

Customer Reviews

Vanity Kills
Mixing skilled production with sharp lyrics, ABC was one of the more interesting groups of the 1980s. "The Look of Love" features hits starting with the 1982 classic "The Lexicon of Love" right up to 1989's "Up" (strangely enough, this album excludes material from the excellent "Abracadabra" and "Skyscraping"). Of course, their biggest hits were "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow," but my personal favorites are the Chic-inspired "The Night You Murdered Love," "King Without a Crown," "Vanity Kills," and the housed-up "One Better World." These songs may not have been huge hits in America, but they're just as good. In addition, we get two previously unreleased tracks: "Peace and Tranquility" and the killer ballad "Blame." This album is certainly an improvement over their previous compilation "Absolutely ABC," which had a rather awful and pointless remix of "The Look of Love." But here, we get all the original singles, digitally remastered with care. If you want to hear a fine example of pop music from the 1980s, then you can't go wrong with this impressive CD.

top drawer pop music
This is a "best of" collection that simply cannot be missed by anyone who is interested in listening to British pop music at its finest.

ABC are quite simply one of the best bands to have graced the scene in the last 2 decades. Constantly evolving and never dull, making music that is designed to entertain and touch people... the essence of what music should be about.

All their classic singles from the 1980's are included, such as "The Look of Love", "Poison Arrow", "Be Near Me" and "When Smokey Sings".

Not only does "Look of Love" provide a great trip down memory lane, but it shows the contemporary relevance of ABC. The 2 new tunes... "Blame" and "Peace and Tranquility" mark a return to their very best form. Let us hope that Martin Fry will make a new album chock full of tunes such as these!

Until then, put on a copy of this top notch album, sit in the sun and hear the music smile!

Sparkling collection of 17 pure pop singles
There is no need to introduce ABC. Their 1982 album Lexicon of Love put producer Trevor Horn on the map and changed the face of music. Then they switched style, sound and faces. And again! For a couple of years. Twenty years after their debut here's a fine collection to pay tribute to one of the best bands the UK has ever had.

Their first fifteen singles are all included, from the rough Tears Are Not Enough to the housey The Real Thing. Of course The Look Of Love, Poison Arrow, Be Near Me, When Smokey Sings and All Of My Heart are all included. Compared to their first Best Of, 1990s UK top 10 album Absolutely, the US single version of Vanity Kills and The Real Thing are added. But fans will be most excited about the inclusion of two sparkling new songs that see the band return to their best form. New single Peace And Tranquility is a classic ABC single. Blame is a ballad in true ABC style. Some many strings that you could get lost in it's sheer beauty.

Whether or not they will return to the UK top ten remains to be seen. But this collection is a fine tribute to the band and features 17 classic four minute pop gems.