20th Century Masters: Millennium

ABC | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2000)
• Original Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B00004U0OS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,530 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars " most significant artists of the past century", July 24, 2000

By 

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20th Century Masters: Millennium (Audio CD)

ABC formed in 1980 after Martin Fry interviewed Vice Versa guitarist Mark White and saxophonist Stephen Singleton for his fanzine. Under the direction of Martin Fry, the group scored several catchy, synth-driven dance-pop hits including "POISON ARROW", "THE LOOK OF LOVE" and "BE NEAR ME". The major factor in ABC's success was its stylish videos in the early days of MTV and "THE BEST OF ABC" includes the theme from its 1982 music video collection "THEME FROM MANTRAP".

One of the biggest hits was in 1987 with the pop-soul Motown tribute "WHEN SMOKEY SINGS" from Alphabet City. More adventurous than most, ABC was one of the more popular purveyors of perfect pop. Highly recommend this "best of" album from the most significant music artists of the past century.

Total Time: 45:06 on 11 Tracks/ Mercury Records - 314 542 459 2 (2000)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Average - If you like ABC, this might do the trick..., April 24, 2004

By 

L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20th Century Masters: Millennium (Audio CD)

Being a fan of a few ABC songs, I bought this CD as a way to have add some of these songs to my collection. This CD accomplished it and accomplished it well. When I buy such a CD, I look for two things: 1) Additional songs that I haven't heard before and hope to get into some new song I haven't heard before; 2) Great Liner Notes.

All in all, every ABC song I would expect to find from ABC is in this collection (again this is from a more casual fan's perspective). Songs such as "Poison Arrow" and "Theme From Mantrap" fall into that category of "Song I haven't heard before that caught my attention", but there wasn't much more to help me really get into ABC. The interesting thing I noticed was how "Theme From Mantrap" had a twist on the lyrics from "Poison Arrow". Every song from ABC has a true "80s" feel to it. Most of the songs from this album range from 1982 to 1987 and during this time, it doesn't appear like they took many new directions musically..

The liner notes were average, but not great. They did give some information on how the songs did on the chart, but didn't have details in terms of the band credits that I would have liked to see. There is a nice writeup on the history of the band.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disposable pop for the ages!, January 12, 2001

By 

DPK (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 20th Century Masters: Millennium (Audio CD)

Having reached my thirties, it's a little daunting to realize that I've loved some of the music on this collection for more than half my life. This is a solid no-frills collection of a group that specialized in elegant, sometimes perfect pop music. Taking many of the right cues from David Bowie and Brian Ferry and combining it with a musical sense all their own, ABC's best songs have endured while many artists who scored hugher on the pop charts of the day have been forgotten. Some gems are obvious ("The Look of Love", "Be Near Me" and "When Smokey Sings") while others such as "S.O.S." (which is not a cover of the ABBA song) may not be familiar on first listen. Nonetheless, all the songs here will be thoroughly enjoyed and taken to heart by all those who appreciate exquisite pop music.