''Fascination!'' is an EP released by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

in 1983. The EP was issued as a stop-gap release in between the albums ''

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'' (1981) and ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

'' (1984). Released in the US and Canada, it was made available in Europe as an import. The original vinyl release of ''Fascination!'' contained six tracks, including two versions of their single "

(Keep Feeling) Fascination "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a song by English synth-pop band the Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent (which would be the last song he produced for the band for seven years). The song ...

" as well as " Mirror Man", both of which were hits on the UK singles chart and the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Also included is "Hard Times", which was originally the B-side of their 1981 hit " Love Action" and also appears on the band's 1982

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

album ''

Love and Dancing ''Love and Dancing'' is a remix album by English synth-pop band The Human League, released in July 1982 by Virgin Records. Issued under the band name "The League Unlimited Orchestra" as a nod to Barry White's disco-era Love Unlimited Orchestra, ...

''. The featured version of "I Love You Too Much" is an earlier version of the song that would later be released on the band's ''Hysteria'' album in 1984. The album was released as a digital download in 2008 with a bonus track, a dub version of "I Love You Too Much". A CD version was released as part of the "deluxe edition" release of ''Dare'' in 2012, minus ''Hard Times'', but with other extra tracks. In November 2015 a limited edition single-CD was released (only in Japan), with the same track list as the ''Dare'' "deluxe edition".

Reception

A contemporary review in ''

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'' noted the lack of new material on ''Fascination!'', stating: "The more anti-social soothsayers among the reviewers will point out not only that two of these cuts are respective vocal and instrumental versions of the same song, but also that only three cuts are 1983-vintage material per their copyright dates; one '82 and two '81 "leftovers" fill out the disc." The review noted the lyrics on the album, "''Fascination!'' ..is all dance dance dance, with maybe a bit of thinking (about dancing) thrown in here and there. I can't find a single phrase worth quoting among all the lyrics, even when Phil Oakey's vokes are at their most drone-authoritative. If I could translate all of Human League's synthesizer squeeps and yowls and pocks into characters and syllables, you'd have the whole verbal freight of ''Fascination!'' right there. (Stick with

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of founding Human League members Martyn Ware (keyboards, drum machine, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) with voc ...

if you need more coherent word-politics in your muzik.)" The review concluded that "Don't fight the slick

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, as

electrolux Electrolux AB () is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool Corporation, Whi ...

bands like the Human League will become more and more prominent as the long-cherished myth of the singular-performance

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

"concert" breaks down, and fans are increasingly satisfied to get over with prerecorded, undeviatingly swift and sure riffs like these (Human League's the glossiest as they come)."

Track listing

References

1983 EPs Albums produced by Martin Rushent The Human League EPs Virgin Records EPs A&M Records EPs {{1980s-pop-album-stub