Welcome To The Pleasuredome (Deluxe Edition) ［7CD+Blu-ray Audio］

1984年10月にリリースされ、英国チャートで1位を獲得、予約販売だけで100万枚を突破したFrankie Goes To Hollywoodのデビュー・アルバムがデラックス版で登場!

7CD+1Blu-Rayのデラックス・エディション。
未発表曲28曲を収録。初期のデモ音源やBBCラジオ・ワン・セッションからシングル曲、アルバム作品、そしてそれ以降の楽曲まで、バンドの軌跡をたどる旅へと聴き手を誘う。
各ディスクには、80年代音楽の金字塔とも言える楽曲のレア・ヴァージョン、そして大半が未発表となるヴァージョンが収められている。
世界的に著名なアーティスト、プロデューサー、リミキサーであるSteven Wilsonが、Blu-Ray用にアトモス・ミックスに加えステレオおよび5.1ミックスを提供。
ブックレットはPhilip Marshallがデザインを手掛け、貴重な写真や記念品に加え、Frankie Goes To Hollywoodのメンバー全員の協力を得てバンドの成功までの軌跡をたどる年表を収録。
10x10inchのBoxには40ページの上記ブックレット、7CDと1Blu-Rayが収納される。

Strip away all the hype, controversy, and attendant craziness surrounding Frankie -- most of which never reached American shores, though the equally bombastic "Relax" and "Two Tribes" both charted well -- and Welcome to the Pleasuredome holds up as an outrageously over-the-top, bizarre, but fun release. Less well known but worthwhile cuts include by-definition-camp "Krisco Kisses" and "The Only Star in Heaven," while U.K. smash "The Power of Love" is a gloriously insincere but still great hyper-ballad with strings from Anne Dudley. In truth, the album's more a testament to Trevor Horn's production skills than anything else. To help out, he roped in a slew of Ian Dury's backing musicians to provide the music, along with a guest appearance from his fellow Yes veteran Steve Howe on acoustic guitar that probably had prog rock fanatics collapsing in apoplexy. The end result was catchy, consciously modern -- almost to a fault -- arena-level synth rock of the early '80s that holds up just fine today, as much an endlessly listenable product of its times as the Chinn/Chapman string of glam rock hits from the early '70s. Certainly the endless series of pronouncements from a Ronald Reagan impersonator throughout automatically date the album while lending it a giddy extra layer of appeal. Even the series of covers on the album at once make no sense and plenty of it all at once. While Edwin Starr's "War" didn't need redoing, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" becomes a ridiculously over-the-top explosion that even outrocks the Boss. As the only member of the band actually doing anything the whole time (Paul Rutherford pipes up on backing vocals here and there), Holly Johnson needs to make a mark and does so with appropriately leering passion. He didn't quite turn out to be the new Freddie Mercury, but he makes a much better claim than most, combining a punk sneer with an ear for hyper-dramatic yelps. ~ Ned Raggett