HOLD THE HOOPLA

“LIVERPOOL.” Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Island. Frankie Goes to Hollywood entered the pop music scene with sexual innuendoes that earned them radio censorship and hit singles. Their second album, “Liverpool,” is a departure from the sex and sensation of the debut. It offers a more dramatic sound, and the familiar dance mixes are interspersed with horns, strings and some surprisingly aggressive guitar riffs and solos. Holly Johnson’s soulful vocals urge the listener to keep trying, hoping and dreaming for a world without oppression. “Liverpool” does not fall prey to the hype and hoopla of the first Frankie album, instead representing a tighter, tougher mixture for these original bondage bad boys.