Pleasure Victim

Originally including seven tracks on both vinyl and cassette, Pleasure Victim is sometimes listed as being an EP album. Subsequent cassette and CD versions of Pleasure Victim include the extended version of "Sex (I'm a ...)" as a bonus track. According to John Crawford, the album's reissue on Geffen was identical to the original Enigma release aside from "a little remixing".{{cite magazine |last=Meyer |first=Marianne |title=We Now Take 'Sex' Seriously, Thanks to a Shot in the Dark |magazine=Record |date=June 1983 |volume=2 |issue=8 |page=6}}

On August 31, 2020, a remastered version of Pleasure Victim was released on CD by Rubellan Remasters, expanded with single mixes and extended remixes from 1982 and 1983. Early versions of singles from 1981, when Berlin was with M.A.O. Records, were not available for licensing.{{cite web |url=https://www.rubellanremasters.com/berlnpv |title=Berlin / Pleasure Victim |publisher=Rubellan Remasters |access-date=August 31, 2020}}

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Stewart |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pleasure-victim-mw0000189222 |title=Pleasure Victim – Berlin |website=AllMusic |access-date=July 8, 2019}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2score = C+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=B&bk=80|chapter=B|access-date=August 16, 2020|title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-679-73015-X|via=robertchristgau.com}}

}}

The album's original release on Enigma sold 25,000 copies, an exceptionally high number for an independent release.

In a joint review of Pleasure Victim{{'}}s 1983 reissue and Soft Cell's The Art of Falling Apart, Michael Goldberg of Record panned the album, saying that Berlin's use of sex to sell their music (particularly noting the track "Sex (I'm a ...)" and the inner sleeve photo of Terri Nunn wearing nothing but a mink stole) is unintentionally humorous, and that the instrumentation is riddled with synthpop cliches. He concluded, "Like bad pornography, comic books and a Top 40 hit like 'Rosanna', one can wallow in the sheer trashiness of Pleasure Victim, though you wouldn't really want to call this stuff 'music'".{{cite magazine |last=Goldberg |first=Michael |title=The Art of Falling Apart/Pleasure Victim review |magazine=Record |date=June 1983 |volume=2 |issue=8 |pages=28–29}}

{{Track listing

| all_writing = John Crawford, except where noted

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Tell Me Why

| length1 = 5:34

| title2 = Pleasure Victim

| length2 = 3:50

| title3 = Sex (I'm a ...)

| writer3 = {{hlist|Crawford|David Diamond|Terri Nunn}}

| length3 = 5:08

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title4 = Masquerade

| writer4 = Chris Ruiz-Velasco

| length4 = 4:04

| title5 = The Metro

| length5 = 4:07

| title6 = World of Smiles

| length6 = 3:50

| title7 = Torture

| length7 = 2:36

| total_length = 29:07

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Geffen reissue bonus track

| title8 = Sex (I'm a ...)

| note8 = Extended Version

| writer8 = {{hlist|Crawford|Diamond|Nunn}}

| length8 = 8:10

| total_length = 37:17

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2020 reissue bonus tracks

| title8 = Sex (I'm a ...)

| note8 = Single Remix

| writer8 = {{hlist|Crawford|Diamond|Nunn}}

| length8 = 3:31

| title9 = Tell Me Why

| note9 = Single Remix

| length9 = 4:10

| title10 = The Metro

| note10 = Euro Single Remix

| length10 = 4:28

| title11 = Masquerade

| note11 = Single Remix

| writer11 = Chris Ruiz-Velasco

| length11 = 4:04

| title12 = Sex (I'm a ...)

| note12 = Extended Remix

| writer12 = {{hlist|Crawford|Diamond|Nunn}}

| length12 = 8:08

| title13 = The Metro

| note13 = Extended Remix

| length13 = 6:19

| title14 = Masquerade

| note14 = Extended Remix

| length14 = 7:22

}}

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Pleasure Victim.{{cite AV media notes |title=Pleasure Victim |type=liner notes |others=Berlin |publisher=Enigma Records |year=1982 |id=Enigma 3}}

• John Crawford – bass, synthesizer, vocals
• David Diamond – synthesizer, guitar, vocals
• Terri Nunn – vocals
• Daniel Van Patten – drums, electronic percussion
• Chris Ruiz-Velasco – guitar
• Ric Olsen – guitar
• Rod Learned – drums {{small|(track 1)}}

• Daniel R. Van Patten – production {{small|(tracks 2–7)}}; engineering
• The Maomen – production {{small|(track 1)}}; remix {{small|(tracks 3, 4, 7)}}
• Charles Ramirez – engineering assistance
• Jon St. James – engineering assistance

• PWR – still photography
• Mark Ulves – art direction, design
• Martin Mann – insert photographs

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Pleasure Victim}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Berlin|title=Pleasure Victim|award=Platinum|type=album|id=1985-01-18|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|date=January 20, 1985}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Berlin|title=Pleasure Victim|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=1982|certyear=1993|date=February 9, 1993|access-date=July 8, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Berlin (band)}}

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Category:1982 albums

Category:Berlin (band) albums

Category:Enigma Records albums

Category:Geffen Records albums

Category:Mercury Records albums