Listen (A Flock of Seagulls album)
Listen | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 April 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1982–1983 | |||
Studio | Conny Plank's Studio (Neunkirchen, West Germany) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 42:02 | |||
Label | Jive | |||
Producer | ||||
A Flock of Seagulls chronology | ||||
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Singles from Listen | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Smash Hits | 3/10[5] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[6] |
The Village Voice | B+[7] |
Listen is the second studio album by English
Reception
Listen received generally positive reviews. While Tom Demalon of AllMusic retrospectively felt the album was "sterile" and inconsistent, he found "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" to be "multilayered [and] hypnotic" while also praising "Nightmares" and "Transfer Affection".[3]
Robert Christgau joked that the album's "aural pleasure" of "whooshes and zooms...and computerized ostinatos" could make Mr. Spock dance. He gave the album a B+ rating.[8]
Reissues
Listen has been released with varying track listings on at least three separate occasions. The original 1983 release, the 1992 CD Beehive label release, 2004 Superfecta Recordings release and the 2010 Cherry Red release.
The cassette version and the 1992 CD version (on the Beehive label) contain the original LP tracks in a slightly different order, with the additional tracks "Rosenmontag", "Quicksand", and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin" interspersed (although the track listing for the CD edition, printed on the inserts and the disc itself, incorrectly follows the LP track listing above rather than reflecting the disc's actual contents).
The 2004 CD version contains the 10 LP tracks in the order, followed by three bonus tracks—"Committed", "Quicksand", and a live rendition of "I Ran (So Far Away)". "(It's Not Me) Talking" was released in 1981, two years before Listen was released on Nelson's Cocteau label. The version of the song used on Listen is a re-recorded version; as a consequence, the Cocteau version has yet to see a CD release.[9]
The 2010 Cherry Red release has the 10 LP tracks in the order, followed by the B-sides "Committed", "Quicksand" and "Tanglimara" and the remixes of "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and "Nightmares".
Track listing
Original LP
All tracks are written by Mike Score, Ali Score, Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" | 5:30 |
2. | "Nightmares" | 4:39 |
3. | "Transfer Affection" | 5:21 |
4. | "What Am I Supposed to Do" | 4:13 |
5. | "Electrics" | 3:36 |
6. | "The Traveller" | 3:27 |
7. | "2:30" | 1:00 |
8. | "Over the Border" | 5:04 |
9. | "The Fall" | 4:29 |
10. | "(It's Not Me) Talking" | 5:00 |
Total length: | 42:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" (extended version) | 9:36 |
12. | "Committed" | 5:37 |
13. | "Nightmares" (12″ version) | 5:05 |
14. | "Quicksand" | 4:43 |
15. | "Tanglimara" | 4:30 |
Total length 1:12:05
Cassette
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" | 5:31 |
2. | "Nightmares" | 4:37 |
3. | "Transfer Affection" | 5:21 |
4. | "What Am I Supposed to Do" | 4:13 |
5. | "The Fall" | 4:30 |
6. | "Rosenmontag" | 4:03 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
7. | "Electrics" | 3:33 |
8. | "The Traveller" | 3:26 |
9. | "2:30" | 0:59 |
10. | "Over the Border" | 5:04 |
11. | "(It's Not Me) Talking" | 5:00 |
12. | "Quicksand" | 4:44 |
13. | "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin" | 6:06 |
This track listing was also used for the 1992 Beehive Trading Ltd. CD reissue.
Personnel
A Flock of Seagulls
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Additional personnel
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[20] | Gold | 50,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Mella, Alfie (31 July 2019). "A Flock of Seagulls - Inflight (Album Review)". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- ^ "Music Week magazine" (PDF).
- ^ a b Demalon, Tom. "Listen – A Flock of Seagulls". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- .
- ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (26 July 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (26 July 1983). "A Flock of Seagulls". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-31306-022-9.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6228a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – A Flock of Seagulls – Listen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Charts.nz – A Flock of Seagulls – Listen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – A Flock of Seagulls – Listen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "Billboard 200 – Week of July 16, 1983". Billboard. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ISSN 0006-2510– via World Radio History.
- ISSN 0033-7064– via Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – A Flock of Seagulls – Listen". Music Canada. 1 February 1984. Retrieved 13 July 2022.