Customer Reviews

Traffic

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After listening to this album a couple of times it really grew on me. All the songs are real catchy and unique; now it's all I listen to. Martin's voice sounds great and the music is outstanding, if you enjoy ABC than you will definitely enjoy this album.

i have been waiting for this new ABC cd since i heard the first whisperings of a new album. the music is great! Very ABC! but not a "stuck in the 80's" sound. it's fresh and modern but with that incredible melody, harmony, smooth production, and clever "rhyming couplets" that fans like myself want from Martin Fry. i wish Mark White were still interested in participating in the music; but the collection of songs certainly isn't lacking from it. "Sixteen Seconds" (the first track) is a touch "hard rockin" for me but still a great song.

As a long-time ABC fan for over 25 years, I eagerly awaited for ABC's new TRAFFIC CD, their first real full-length CD of new music since 1997's SKYSCRAPING 11 years ago - and the wait was worth it! This isn't ABC resting on its laurels, but creating state-of-the-art pure pop confections all informed and elevated by Martin Fry's still-suave voice and clever wordplay - is there any contemporary singer-songwriter aside from Elvis Costello who knows his way around a quick-witted couplet? Tracks like THE VERY FIRST TIME, WAY BACK WHEN, LOVE IS STRONG, RIDE, and more all compare to the best ABC tracks over the years - the soaring sonics of LEXICON OF LOVE paired with the guitar attack of BEAUTY STAB but updated for '08 sensibilities. Taken as a whole, the CD is very impressive and a solid listen all the way through, considering ABC has been churning out singles for almost almost three decades. Too bad U.S. radio and/or MTV/VH1 won't touch this: TRAFFIC deserves to be a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Martin Fry and Co. are still "so hip it hurts."

Martin Fry's a great artist like Bowie or Dylan. He's always interesting to hear. So although much of this is good but not great it's still interesting and entertaining. It is something I will go return to from time to time. It's not the masterpiece of 'Lexicon'. I think he sequenced it wrong. First impressions often make or break the album. The first track sounds like recent work by 'The Cult', so that's pretty pedestrian. It takes the fourth song to hit it's stride. 1/2 the album is very good, and a few great tunes here. If you're a fan of ABC this is worth having.

I love ABC and have been a fan since Lexicon of Love in 1982. Traffic has elements of Lexicon, but so much more. I love every song on this disc, but a few stand outs are:

3. Ride. A very cool song about just going out and taking a ride and enjoying life.

6. Life Shapes You. Marting totally hit the nail on the head with this song. We all go through different things, but because of it life shapes us. Simply amazing song.

All the cuts are great and for me the entire disc is pure magic. Thanks for Traffic Martin and company, I took your ride and didn't even mind the traffic!

One of the best new wave pop bands of the 80's, ABC is still going strong. Though singer Martin Fry is the only original member left in the group, who cares when the music is still classy, stylish and entertaining as always. Musically the record has the smooth pop sound we've come to expect, with occasional touches of rock and electronica. Standout cuts include singles "The Very First Time" and "Love Is Strong" as well as the jazz-rock fusion of "One Way Traffic" and the sweet, pure pop of "Lose Yourself." Longtime fans will definitely want to add this one to their collection.

All Music Guide says the following about "Traffic", the first ABC album since 1997's "Skyscraping": "Surprise, surprise, but that ABC magic is back again! (...) Since no one expected it, hardly anyone noticed that in 2008, Martin Fry pretty much delivered the album that ABC fans were probably hoping for in 1985." I was among those that didn't notice - it was only by chance that I found out about this new ABC album two years later, a couple of days ago, in fact.

I'm listening to the disc for the third time as I'm typing this, and while I was okay with it the first time, I'm enthusiastic now. "Traffic" is pure delight - it's one of those albums that grows on you when you listen to it repeatedly, and attentively - and then it becomes a favourite.

"Traffic" thematically revolves about the journeys we humans undertake today, and I'm happy to see another concept album from ABC, following the vein of "Lexicon of Love" or "Alphabet City". In fact, this sounds like the album ABC could have released at the peak of their popularity in the mid-80s. It fits right in there with those first few, distilling their best elements, but then, there's more. While the sound is unmistakably ABC (thank God!), every song has its own character: there's an acoustic guitar solo in the beautiful mid-tempo "Validation", "The Very First Time" has some of the synth sound effects found on 1987's "Alphabet City" and plays 100% like an 80s song, "Fugitives" has great modern electronic beats mixed in, "Caroline" is a smooth ballad with a soulful piano intro, and "Life Shapes You" starts with a sweeping string intro that could have been lifted straight off ABC's brilliant debut "Lexicon of Love". Holding it all together are the ever-present guitar sounds (acoustic or electric, rocky in "Sixteen Seconds to Choose" or bluesy in "Lose Yourself" or "Fugitives"), the electronic beats, and, of course, Martin Fry's voice. He's still in great shape. In fact, at 50, he sounds just the way he did back in the 1980s (compare that to e.g. Huey Lewis): his sly timbre feels like he's winking at you or nudging you in the side. I always enjoyed that about him, and I'm glad it's still there.

On the first few listens, you miss hooks and climaxes in the songs. This changes when you give the album more time to breathe and unfold, but the feeling never goes away entirely. While wonderfully crafted altogether, the songs never reach the catchiness of, say, "When Smokey sings" or "The Look of Love", which had a great way of grabbing you and making you move. Go to your favourite video site now and listen to them, I dare you to remain still. Here, however, ABC don't pull it of just as well - it feels more unified, more like a steady flow. The melodies don't peak or grab you as much. ABC make up for it with creative ideas, like breaks or interesting bridges, or changes of pace within the songs.

One of the reasons ABC used to be above the rest was their theatrical wittiness. The lyrics are still sophisticated and funny, a bit like a tongue-in-cheek swing record (Sinatra or, for today, Cullum or Mraz). Fry always liked throwing in the odd idiom ("you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink / love your sons and daughters but don't tell them what to think"), and his lyrics have some deeper thought to them, especially when listened to with the album's theme of human journeys in mind. "Validation" is possibly the best example of music here that appeals to your intellect while touching your heart. There are low points, too, though: "Minus Love" is a run-of-the mill love ballad. It's pleasant, but trivial, ending the album on a slow note.

Although I would have loved Tevor Horn to come back and produce, he is not too sorely missed. The sound is strong and punchy, albeit a bit lacking in clarity and dynamics - since this is a danceable record with lots of electronic elements, I feel it sounds surprsingly warm. Then again, with the richness in instruments to complement the beats and sound effects - guitars, piano, strings - perhaps the broad sound is not too bad of a choice. It's comparable to the production of Maria McKee's "Late December" (2007, brilliant album), where, despite the slightly muffled nature, you can hear every single instrument as if you were there in the studio. It's just a studio with lots of padding on the walls.

In so many words, this is expertly crafted, witty and inspired pop music, and instantly recognizable if those earlier ABC recordings still ring in your ears - either from a collection (recommend "Absolutely" from 1990) or from the albums ("Lexicon of Love", "Beauty Stab", "Alphabet City"). I don't think it got any notable airplay, but boy, I cannot recommend this disc enough. It may not be too impressive on the first listen, but give it some time - you'll fall in love with it.

"Traffic" es el último trabajo de Martin Fry y compañía, regresando al estudio junto a su amigo y componente original, el baterista David Palmer, regresan con ese pop fresco que es muy bien llevado gracias a la voz de Fry, abren el disco con la sorpresiva "Sixteen Seconds to Choose", un tema con guitarras que desconcierta en principio por su crudeza, pero bien resuelto por la interpretación de Fry, enseguida llegan "Very First time" y "Ride" cargadas de toda la energía típica de ABC, sonando muy bien y con arreglos muy actuales dejando en claro que no han perdido en nada ese toque elegante que siempre les ha caracterizado, simplemente mis favoritas.
Aparecen más adelante "Love is Strong", "Life Shapes You" y "One Way Traffic" reafirmando la calidad de este trabajo, para redondear un disco muy completo de pop en pleno siglo XXI, una grata sorpresa sin duda, no por su calidad, sino por su inesperado regreso después de 11 años desde su último "Skyscraping".
ABC es una muestra clara de que cuando se tiene calidad y elegancia, jamás se pierde, una verdadera colección de buen pop al mejor estilo británico, de parte de unos músicos que siempre han sido caracterizados por dejar gran calidad en cada uno de sus trabajos.

I'm a big fan of ABC's first two polarized albums. I'm a casual fan of their 3rd and fourth, with some songs I like and some I can't listen to. Traffic seems to take aim right at my favorite moments and present new songs that represent all aspects of ABC. We have Beauty Stab edgy guitar songs alongside polished pop gems, and it really works. Martin keeps the lyrics pointed enough to keep the poppy songs from getting stale. I wish I caught the US tour...

I'm from the camp that actually liked Beauty Stab, in fact it's my fave ABC album. Viva Beauty Stab!

That said, ABC never made another full album (and this was back in yee olden days when vinyl was the norm) that I appreciated in the whole. Of course there were a few amazing songs from various releases so thank goodness for mixed tapes and "greatest hits" collections.

I was pleasantly surprised to catch ABC/Martin Fry on the Band's Reunited MTV show. That was fun and whatta hunk...but I digress. Ahem.

I totally missed hearing about Skyscraping CD (pity these aren't being released in North America) but I have been listening to Traffic and it's excellent.

Campily twee as ever this is romantic ("Caroline" and well, ultimately all the other songs!) soul singer r & b pop tuneage with a titch of humour ("you like Starsky / I like Hutch.) A few definite rockers too. Rah. Some great female backup vocals complete the picture. An excellent release!