Listen (A Flock of Seagulls album)


Listen is the second studio album by English new wave band A Flock of Seagulls, released on 29 April 1983 by Jive Records. It once again teamed the group with record producer Mike Howlett—who produced their A [Flock of Seagulls (album)|self-titled debut album]—except on "(It's Not Me) Talking", which was produced by Bill Nelson. The album includes the UK top-10 single "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)". Other singles released from the album include "Nightmares" and "Transfer Affection". The face on the cover is that of the band's drummer, Ali Score.

Reception

Listen received generally positive reviews. While Tom Demalon of AllMusic retrospectively felt the album was "sterile" and inconsistent, he found "Wishing " to be "multilayered hypnotic" while also praising "Nightmares" and "Transfer Affection".
Robert Christgau joked that the album's "aural pleasure" of "whooshes and zooms...and computerized ostinatos" could make Mr. Spock dance. He gave the album a B+ rating.

Reissues

Listen has been released with varying track listings on at least three separate occasions. The original 1983 release, the 1992 CD Beehive label release, 2004 Superfecta Recordings release and the 2010 Cherry Red release.
The cassette version and the 1992 CD version contain the original LP tracks in a slightly different order, with the additional tracks "Rosenmontag", "Quicksand", and "The Last Flight of Yuri Gagarin" interspersed.
The 2004 CD version contains the 10 LP tracks in the order, followed by three bonus tracks—"Committed", "Quicksand", and a live rendition of "I Ran (So Far Away)". " Talking" was released in 1981, two years before Listen was released on Nelson's Cocteau label. The version of the song used on Listen is a re-recorded version; as a consequence, the Cocteau version has yet to see a CD release.
The 2010 Cherry Red release has the 10 LP tracks in the order, followed by the B-sides "Committed", "Quicksand" and "Tanglimara" and the remixes of "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)" and "Nightmares".

Track listing

Original LP

Total length 1:12:05

Cassette

This track listing was also used for the 1992 Beehive Trading Ltd. CD reissue.

Personnel

A Flock of Seagulls
Additional personnel