BUY NOW FROM RUBELLAN REMASTERS
Earlier this month, the Rubellan Remasters label issued their latest expanded CD - a bonus-track packed version of Berlin's breakthrough album, Pleasure Victim.
Released in 1982, Pleasure Victim found the California band (no Europeans here, despite the name) bouncing back from a few years of difficulties on the club scene. In 1979, lead singer Teri Nunn had left the band, leaving the rest of the group's members to record a debut album with another vocalist. When Nunn rejoined, the group began to gain some momentum, especially when a 1981 single, the minimalist synth-rock tune "The Metro," started gaining airplay on the nascent MTV. Not long after Pleasure Victim was recorded and released by the Enigma label, a second single, the vampy "Sex (I'm a...)," eventually garnered enough airplay to scrape the middle of the Billboard Hot 100. (A reissued "The Metro" notched a few spots higher in 1983; the group finally cracked the Top 40 in 1984 with "No More Words," while 1986's "Take My Breath Away," from the blockbuster Top Gun, topped Billboard's singles survey.)
Pleasure Victim, which ended up selling more than a million copies in America, is now remastered from the original tapes for the first time on CD, with the album doubled in length thanks to seven single and expanded remixes of "Sex (I'm a...)," "The Metro," "Masquerade" and "Tell Me Why." The accompanying eight-page booklet features the album lyrics and images of the original single sleeves.
The disc is available now at the link below.
Pleasure Victim: Expanded Edition (Rubellan Remasters RUBY15CD, 2020)
- Tell Me Why
- Pleasure Victim
- Sex (I'm a...)
- Masquerade
- The Metro
- World Of Smiles
- Torture
- Sex (I'm a...) (Single Remix)
- Tell Me Why (Single Remix)
- The Metro (Euro Single Remix)
- Masquerade (Single Remix)
- Sex (I'm a...) (Extended Remix)
- The Metro (Extended Remix)
- Masquerade (Extended Remix)
Tracks 1-7 released as M.A.O. Records/Enigma 3 / Geffen GHS 2036, 1982
Tracks 8-9 from Geffen single 7-29747, 1983
Track 10 from M.A.O./Mercury European single 814 034-7, 1983
Track 11 from Geffen single 7-29504, 1983
Track 12 from Geffen promo 12" PRO-A-2004, 1983
Track 13 from M.A.O./Mercury European 12" 814 034-1, 1983
Track 14 from Dancing In Berlin - Mercury 20PP-105 (Japan), 1987
I have this and the remaster he did for Love Life. Both are really well done and sound great. The band for some reason wanted nothing to do with these reissues which was bizarre. Geffen has to be one of the worst legacy labels to be reissued from and only do it via boutique labels and then only if approached.
Either way, for a recently reunited band (Nunn is back with John Crawford and Dave Diamond) you would think reissues of their best albums would be a source of pride and promotion but for whatever reason they don’t see it that way. I’ve heard of no alternative plans if reissues from them. All that said, Rubellan did a nice job on these.
Glad to see this covered by The Second Disc. Incredible reissue with superb, dynamic sound - no brick-walling! Rubellan Remasters is a one of a kind reissue label! Everything is professionally done and dynamically remastered! Check out the "Love Life" reissue among a handful of other stunning releases from Rubellan Remasters as well!
Got it the day it was released. Rubellan Remasters always offer the best possible sound on their CDs. Every cd is truly a work of art and careful dedication. Other labels will remaster stuff by tweaking up the volume and brickwalling the sound til it’s unlistenable. But certainly not in this case. Scott and team at Rubellan offer great dynamic range on all their CDs. Pleasure Victim is flawless. This is the first official remaster of this album and it’s worth every penny!
Great to see them reissue Ric Ocasek too. Do hope they (or others) will reissue the debut solo album by Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes too : "Niagara Falls".
https://www.discogs.com/Greg-Hawkes-Niagara-Falls/master/181706