(New Wave, Synth-pop) [7", 45 RPM] [24/96] Berlin - The Metro [1981, USA, MAO-S4] - 1981, FLAC (tracks)

"The Metro" is a new wave song written by John Crawford for his band, Berlin. The song first appeared on Berlin's breakthrough album Pleasure Victim, released on the independent label Enigma in 1982 and re-released on Geffen in 1983. "The Metro" became the third single from the album, and the second to appear on the Geffen label. It was produced and engineered (as was most of the album) by the band's then-drummer and drum programmer, Daniel Van Patten.
The song is known as epitomizing the new wave genre, for showing the genre for what it essentially was: a blending of punk rock and pop, with heavy use of the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer. Terri Nunn said the song, which was a breakthrough hit for Berlin, "defined us and defined that period of music".
The single surpassed the Hot 100 peak of their previous cult hit, "Sex (I'm a...)", going to #58, and it remains their third-highest charting single in the U.S.
This 7" is the original 1981 US release on the now obsolete M.A.O. Records label. The single contains the original mixes that were re-recorded for the Pleasure Victim EP. Not available elsewhere. The single also has alternate artwork and the labels list the sides as "E" and "W".