Search - Berlin :: Pleasure Victim

Underrated!

Todd Hawley | San Francisco CA | 07/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As I listened to all of this CD, I kept asking myself why I didn't buy this when it first came out in 1983! I'd always heard Sex played on the radio and never investigated further. This CD is a great example of early 80s rock, with poppy-sounding synthesizers out in front and of course, Terri Nunn's sensual voice. If you can get past the overplayed Sex (I'm a ...) and listen to the rest of this CD, you'll realize what an enjoyable listen it is. Nothing wrong of course with Sex (I'm a ..), but if you think that's all Berlin was, you're missing a lot. Songs like The Metro (Yeah!!), Tell Me Why, World of Smiles (*g*), and the title track all sound hot. BTW, the bonus track is an extended version of Sex and while it doesn't add much to the CD, it's still a hoot to listen to, especially the ending.Berlin only put out this EP and two albums in its original incarnation. The band reformed in 1999 with Terri back on vocals. I beleive they're currently working on a new CD. It will be interesting to see if it reaches the same heights and energy as this one did way back when."

I'm a man- I'm a (fill in here)

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 02/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After cutting a single and breaking up, bassist and synthesizer-man John Crawford and lead vocalist Terri Nunn resurrected Berlin with a new lineup that included Dave Diamond and Rick Olsen on guitars, Matt Reid on keyboards, and Rod Learned on drums, although he only performed on the first track of their debut EP, Pleasure Victim, the remainder being done by Daniel Van Patten.The uptempo drum machines, sci-fi sounds, and swirly synths of "Tell Me Why" makes this a hallmark of early 80's New Wave. The sound is similar to one adopted earlier by Kim Wilde on her debut album. The title track sports a wall of synth and a more leisurely sound and BPM.The next three songs ended up on Berlin's greatest hits album. "Sex (I'm A...)" will definitely go in rock history as a controversial single right from the first lyric. This uptempo synth number with grinding guitar has in its chorus vocals traded between Crawford (?) and Nunn: "I'm a man-I'm a goddess/I'm a man-Well, I'm a virgin/I'm a man/I'm a blue movie/I'm a man/I'm a b-tch/I'm a man-I'm a geisha/I'm a man-I'm a little girl/and we make love together." What I'm seeing here is that a man is just a man, and the many fantasies and roles he conjures up of a woman. It wouldn't surprise me if this is the most-played track for most listeners. Although I never had the pleasure of seeing the video, it did also gain more notoriety of being edited for MTV. In the eight minute extended version, there are more drums and synths, but at one point, the music cuts off to just drums, nad then the line "I'm a sl-t." Was that there to wake the listener or was that a confessional? (JK)"Masquerade" has that "Kids In America"-type sound and the life in a late-night dance club, which has its incessant lifestyle and perils: "so they reached for tomorrow/but tomorrow never came." More pronounced keyboards feature in "The Metro," a bitter and sad retrospect about an encounter aboard a subway car.Sci-fi style zaps and Cars-style synths figure in the weird "World Of Smiles" while "Torture" is a slow ballad of someone dying for love with some stark imagery: "kiss me, kick me, feel my blood."A good first effort from the group, followed by greater things to come."

Pleasure Treasure

Armando M. Mesa | Chandler, AZ | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every track, with the exception of World Of Smiles, is mesmerizing and intoxicating. There was practically nothing like this out there in the music scene back in '82-'83 (maybe Missing Persons). While Sex was the most pronounced and overplayed track of the entire album,Tell Me Why,Pleasure Victim, Masquerade, and Torture were equally worthy of airplay time on the radio.Writer, producer, instrumentalist John Crawford and singer Terri Nunn and the rest of Berlin brought the California/West Coast New Wave sound to the forefront for the rest of the country; It was a pioneering and revolutionizing effort.The synthesizer work was incredible and very state-of-the art for early eighties which had just begun to lose the disco stigma. Berlin was also a group whose music was a precursor or blueprint for later artists of the 90's with regards to techno music.What also set this group apart from the rest of the other groups was Terri Nunn's strong, sensual and seductive vocals. Terri wasn't just looks but talent (still is)!..."