Recorded 1982 Pleasure Victim
(1982) Love Life
(1984) Release date 1982 Genre New wave | Producer Daniel van Ratten Artist Berlin Label Enigma Records | |
 | ||
Released 1982 (original)
January 26, 1983 (re-release) Length 29:07 (EP)
37:17 (reissue) Similar Berlin albums, New wave albums | ||
Berlin pleasure victim full album
Pleasure Victim is the second studio album by the American new wave band Berlin. The original album was recorded in 1982 and released that year by independent label Enigma Records. After considerable attention received by the second single, "Sex (I'm A...)", the album was re-released worldwide by Geffen Records on January 26, 1983. The album marked the return of lead singer Terri Nunn to the group. To date, it is Berlin's best-selling album and was certified gold by the RIAA in September 1984 and platinum in February 1993. It is the only one of Berlin's albums to be certified platinum and the first that reached gold; two subsequent studio albums and a greatest hits compilation were also certified gold.
Contents
- Berlin pleasure victim full album
- Berlin pleasure victim
- Release
- Reception
- Track listing
- Berlin
- Additional personnel
- Production
- Songs
- References
After "Sex (I'm A...)", two subsequent singles followed: "The Metro" (April 1983), considered a "masterpiece" of '80s new wave, and "Masquerade" (September 1983). These three singles all charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
All songs were written by bassist John Crawford, except "Sex (I'm A...)", to which Nunn and keyboardist David Diamond contributed, and "Masquerade", written by Chris Ruiz-Velasco.
Berlin pleasure victim
Release
Originally including seven tracks on both vinyl and cassette, Pleasure Victim is sometimes listed as being an EP album. Subsequent cassette and CD versions of Pleasure Victim added an eighth track, an extended version of "Sex (I'm A ...)." According to John Crawford, the album's reissue on Geffen Records is identical to the original Enigma Records release aside from "a little remixing".
Reception
The album's original release on Enigma Records sold 25,000 copies, an exceptionally high amount for an independent release.
In a joint review of Pleasure Victim's 1983 reissue and Soft Cell's The Art of Falling Apart, Michael Goldberg of Record panned the album, saying that Berlin's use of sex to sell their music (particularly noting the track "Sex (I'm a...)" and the inner sleeve photo of Terri Nunn wearing nothing but a mink stole) is unintentionally humorous, and that the instrumentation is riddled with synthpop cliches. He concluded "Like bad pornography, comic books and a Top 40 hit like 'Rosanna', one can wallow in the sheer trashiness of Pleasure Victim, though you wouldn't really want to call this stuff 'music'".
Track listing
All tracks written by John Crawford, except where indicated.
Berlin
Additional personnel
Production
Songs
1Tell Me Why5:34
2Pleasure Victim3:50
3Sex (I'm A)5:06