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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Erasure's deepest (most advanced) work, 21 Nov 2001
By A Customer
This is (so far) the most 'serious' work done by Erasure, but sadly also one of the most underrated albums of the 90s(!)
Most of the tracks runs 6-7 minutes (71 minutes total), and they all show how Vince Clarke can make his famous analogue synthesizer, the Oberheim Xpander, sound emotional.
The album, 'Erasure', even though many fans disliked the album, does in fact also show their well known trademark of electronic (but not necessarily techno) pop.
This album IS Erasure's most beautiful album. The opening Intro 'til the 10 minute track, "Rock Me Gently", is a complete, melodic joy. The only track I don't really appreciate is "Grace" (track #6).
"This is as close as we'll ever get to ambient", Vince Clarke commented when this album was released. I certainly hope that they'll give it yet another try, because this one is definetely an extraordinary work. It must have required a lot of effort to make some of the more complicated arrangements, such as the long synth solo on "Rock Me Gently", work.
Perhaps the reason why this album failed to "win the crowd" was that nobody expected Erasure to write long ambient tracks?
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't be put-off by the atrocious cover!, 3 May 2009
'Fingers and Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day)' is the track on this album that sums it up. Far more thoughtful than the band's usual lightweight pop, it is lush and emotive and is possibly my favourite song from the synth duo. 'Rock Me Gently' is another strong track; Andy Bell has foregone the camp theatrics for once, and his maturing voice perfectly complements Vince Clarke's restrained (are we talking about Erasure here?!) keyboards.
This may have been released when the band were in danger of slipping from the public's consciousness, but it is a powerful statement that there is more to this band than frothy chart music; it also represents the point at which the band grew up. Highly recommended for those who are unfamiliar with Erasure, and a must have for fans.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An underrated album, 11 Jul 2004
By A Customer
I'm not into superlatives, so I'm not going to describe this as the best album ever - music is too personal for that. But what I can say is that in my 400+ CD collection that includes just about every musical genre, this is the album I listen to the most. It is so 'textured' that you hear new melodies and sounds underlying each song every time you listen to it, which is why I haven't tired of it. You probably have to enjoy electronic dance music to listen through it in the first place. But if you do, you will be rewarded with one of the best produced albums in your collection. It is Vince Clarke at his best. He is the synth master, layering tones and melodies, one on top of another. Combined with one of Andy Bell's best vocal performances (excluding Rock Me Gently, in which his high pitched wailing grates somewhat), it is certainly Erasure's most underrated album. Few albums come together as a whole as well as this one, too, where each track seems logically to follow the other. Despite many upbeat tracks its ambience makes it more of an 'easy listening' than a 'pop' album, which is no doubt the reason for its lack of commercial success and why it was disliked by many Erasure fans. But if you are a late convert to Erasure like me, you will enjoy it simply as the best showcase there is for Vince Clarke's incredible musical talent.
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