Solsbury Hill [Single, Enhanced, Maxi, Import]

Erasure is in top form with this maxi-single: Every remix of Solsbury Hill and Video Killed The Radio Star remain faithful to the original tracks, and are all vocal too! Each mix is very different from each other, yet you know what song you are still listening too. This is a wide variety of choices -- Solsbury Hill's radio mix is perky and fun techno pop, the 37B mix is funky, the Manhattan Clique mix is club-friendly and well structured. And all the while you can sing along and know this isn't some "re-interpretation" by some trendy dj that has no real relation to the song to begin with. At least these tracks offer different visions and still provide thorough enjoyment.

The other cover on the single is "Ave Maria," and it's a great avenue for Andy Bell to give it his all and use his voice to it's fullest. You'll even love the non-lp tracks included, "Tell It To Me" and "Searching." The latter is a great disco-influenced song that I find myself playing quite often.

For the price, you're getting a lot of good music and for once ALL of the eight tracks are well done! None of the tracks are throwaways. Plus, the bonus of a short film as CD-ROM makes this a must have for Erasure fans and those hungry for something outside of today's bland "American Idol"-type or rap/metal-saturated music.

Give yourself a treat and try this CD, it shows why Erasure is still in top form after 20 years in the business!

Originally a Peter Gabriel tune (which I have not heard), "Solsbury Hill" gets a nice once-over by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The song encompasses some typical Erasure production: bleeps, good beats, Bell's strong but wobbly voice, and a light touch overall.

The single starts off with the radio mix. For once, the radio version actually sounds a tad different than the original mix, with a slightly faster tempo, and some different instrumentation. I prefer it slightly to the original, which we get to hear on track 2. The 37B Mix of "Solsbury Hill" is a slower, slightly funked-up offering, but it still retains a good amount of the song's original elements. Then we have the Manhattan Clique Extended Mix. It has a faster, harder edge to it, but still retains elements of the original mix. There is a 37B Mix of "Video Killed the Radio Star" included (another song from their covers album). This is probably the only song which I didn't like Erasure's interpretation of, and this mix doesn't help my opinion of it. There are three new songs included on the single; "Tell It To Me", "Searching", and Clarke & Bell's version of "Ave Maria". They are all good, in their own interesting ways. It's hard to go wrong with "Ave Maria", and Bell's voice compliments the mood of the song wonderfully. There is also a short film featured for the CD-ROM portion of the single, titled "Dr. Jeckyll and Mistress Hyde". It is cute - typical Erasure.

Erasure is back. "Solsbury Hill" is a strong single, not only by itself, but with all of the remixes, additional songs, and enhanced-CD offerings that come with it, it is a definite must-own. If you're an Erasure fan, then you shouldn't be disappointed. I don't buy everything Clarke & Bell put out, but I bought this. And am quite happy for it.