Berlin - Pleasure Victim

Originally released by the fledgling Enigma Records in 1982 and picked up by Geffen in early 1983, Pleasure Victim is a great time capsule for fans of early 1980s Synth Pop & New Wave. The album's stand-outs would easily be the essential 80's New Wave singles "The Metro" with its rhythmic structure, "Masquerade" with Terri Nunn's sensual and soaring vocals, and the lascivious novelty single "Sex (I'm A...)”. Much of the attention surrounding Berlin was elicited by their provocative vocalist Terri Nunn, as well as the lyrics for the first single "Sex (I'm A…)", which plays like a modernist update of Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby". The other four songs (not to mention the tiresome eight-minute remix of "Sex" on the CD version) are much weaker. Surprisingly though, for a record that was completely unfashionable within months of its initial release, Pleasure Victim actually has more to offer than many might remember.
However, Pleasure Victim is frankly an exploitative slab of synth pop cynicism, so boldly crass in its positioning of lead singer Terri Nunn as a sex kitten, and lyrically obsessed with the seedy side of the Los Angeles demimonde that criticism of such becomes nearly beside the point. Lyrical obsessions aside, Pleasure Victim actually holds up quite well as a piece of early-'80s Synth Pop, with the gimmicky and atmospheric "The Metro," the one song where Nunn's limited vocal abilities are put to their best use.
The exploitation nature of Berlin’s songs keeps this from being essential, but then, Pleasure Victim is very much a product of its time.

Ripped from the 1987 CD release to MP3

1.       Tell Me Why 5:36
2.       Pleasure Victim 3:51
3.       Sex (I'm A...) 5:08
4.       Masquerade 4:08
5.       The Metro 4:11
6.       World of Smiles 3:51
7.       Torture 2:40
8.       Sex (I'm A...) (Extended Version) 8:09