How to Be A...Zillionaire!

ABC

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001FD5
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #121,282 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated 80's Pop, May 23, 2000

By	David R. Miller (Huntsville, Al USA) - See all my reviews

I was a teenager in the late 70's and early 80's and consider myself quite the connoisseur of new wave and early 80's pop. The singles "How To Be A Millionaire" and "Be Near Me" are worth the price of purchase for this CD. In my opinion, "How To Be A Millionaire" is a very underrated pop single from the early 80's and I don't understand why you don't hear it with all of the 80's retro going on now. You often hear "Be Near Me" in the 80's retro radio programming now. And then there is "So Hip It Hurts", a very campy but still very funky dance track that still makes me want to dance.

ABC had a unique sound with the vocals of Martin Fry and Eden. And I think their work on this particular album has stood the test of time pretty well. Much more so than some 80's albums I've been giving a second listening to here of late.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic 80's Pop., March 1, 2000

By	Jason Stein (Chula Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As far as ABC goes, How To Be A Zillionaire (HTBAZ)is one of their best albums. The other two to seek out would be 1981's The Lexicon of Love and 1991's Abracadabra. HTBAZ is a collection of 10 spritely sarcastic pop songs. Martin Fry's delivery is less over-the-top on this album and his lyrics are right on the mark. The music is essential 80's with synths and synths and synths. It has the hit "Be Near Me" with Euro-hits "Vanity Kills", "How To Be A Millionaire" and "Ocean Blue." HTBAZ has a frenetic, upbeat and almost zany feel to it, but so few artists can achieve that brand of pop giddiness. This is a must have for any ABC fan and also a great addition to any music collection.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How To Be A Zillionaire, March 8, 2003

By	Mr. S. St Thomas "suckerfly" (UK) - See all my reviews

When I bought this album, I was already a fan of ABC from The Lexicon of Love days. Beauty Stab I absolutely thought was great, and so different from their first album that I had to appreciate ABC for just their inventiveness.

Then this album came out, and I remember thinking what the ... is going on here?? Who's Eden? Who's the little dude with the glasses? This isn't ABC is it? Are they serious?

But I loved this album, and I still think its yet ANOTHER departure for another style that Fry and White undertook in a very short space of time. If you think about it, Lexicon / Stab / and Zillionaire are all completely different albums. Zillionaire is amazingly kitsch, quite camp actually, but I realise now thats how its supposed to be. Lexicon was all style, nightclubs, wine, dinner suits, sophistication. Beauty Stab was all leather jackets, working class, street level but with intelligence. Zillionaire is Vegas, tacky, its America in a nutshell. It symbolises alot of the 80's. I really think Fry and White always knew what they were doing.

This album is worth buying. Don't be disappointed by it. It is more synth dominated than previous albums, but the songs are just as good. My particular favourite has always been '15 Storey Halo'. Something about the end of the song is really powerful.

ABC are worth it. Smart, witty, excellently crafted pop.