''Prostitute'' is the fourth studio album by German

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 Alphaville, released in 1994. The album was reissued in a remastered and expanded edition in November 2023.

Overview

Following the "science-fiction-themed" ''

Afternoons in Utopia ''Afternoons in Utopia'' is the second album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in 1986 via Warner Music. The album was recorded between September 1985 and May 1986. A remastered and re-released version of the album, on both CD and v ...

'' and the "lushly orchestrated" ''

The Breathtaking Blue ''The Breathtaking Blue'' is the third album by German synth-pop band Alphaville, released in April 1989. A companion video, ''Songlines'', was released in September 1989. The CD release of this album was one of the first commercial CD+G format ...

'' albums, this was Alphaville's first release in five years. Having "a great variety of styles", this "

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

y and EDM-influenced", "dark, theatrical album" proved "too abstract to achieve" much success. The lack of commercial appeal led the band to return to its synth/dance roots with the following album, ''

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

''. In 2019

Marian Gold Marian Gold (born Hartwig Schierbaum; 26 May 1954) is a German singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer of the German synth-pop band Alphaville, but also has recorded as a solo artist. He is known for his tenor multi-octave vocal ra ...

recommended ''Prostitute'', along with the 2017 ''

Strange Attractor In the mathematics, mathematical field of dynamical systems, an attractor is a set of states toward which a system tends to evolve, for a wide variety of starting conditions of the system. System values that get close enough to the attractor va ...

'', to anyone who only knew Alphaville from '' Big In Japan''. It is the last Alphaville album with Ricky Echolette.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "Sometimes called Germany's answer to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

, this trio is now likely to enjoy their first real success since their 1984 global smash ' Big in Japan'. Apart from the ' Fools' single, which is making some promising radio inroads currently, the album contains potential airplay candidates such as 'Beethoven', the ballad 'The Impossible Dream' and the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

Overview

Critical reception

Track listing

Charts

References