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Hercules and Love Affair [Enhanced]

~ Hercules and Love Affair

3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Price:	�16.09 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

Audio CD (24 Jun 2008)
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Enhanced
Label: Mute
ASIN: B00193PV24
Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download

Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 181,772 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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1. Time Will

2. Hercules Theme

3. You Belong

4. Athene

5. Blind

6. Iris

7. Easy

8. This Is My Love

9. Raise Me Up

10. True/False, Fake/Real

11. Classique #2

12. Roar

13. Blind [Multimedia Track]

14. Time Will - Hercules and Love Affair

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Effectively the solo project of New York based DJ and producer Andy Butler, with the help of some interesting friends, Hercules and Love Affair is , unlikely though it sounds, the point where classic disco meets classical myth--the title apparently refers to the legendary hero's fondness for his own sex. Although co-produced by LCD Soundsystem's Tim Goldsworthy, Hercules and Love Affair is a flightier, more hedonistic proposition, filled with echoes of long gone clubs and ghosts of the pre-AIDS glory days of New York's gay scene. Yet it celebrates rather than mourns the past as a series of guest vocalists leave their mark, Antony Hegarty the most familiar. The terrific, irresistible single "Blind", reportedly some four years in gestation, stands out but the wistfully positive "Raise Me Up" isn't far behind, Hegarty's inimitably sad tones incongruously juxtaposed with a gleeful arrangement. Though even his voice has a hard battle with the lift from Frankie Knuckles's classic "Your Love" which underpins the opener "Time Will". The spaced out jazz of "This Is My Love", sung by Butler himself, the dizzily ecstatic house of "You Belong", the purest of flashbacks, and Kim Ann's vocal turn on the elegant "Athene" are other highlights on a remarkably assured and entertaining first effort. This year won't see a better example of danceable melancholy than Hercules and Love Affair. --Steve Jelbert

NME

"all the sparkle and naughtiness that made disco oh-so-special"

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Believe the Hype; Don't Believe the Backlash Either., 9 April 2008

By	Mr. G. C. Cutter "cutter_me" (Manchester) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hercules and Love Affair (Audio CD)

Whatever impressions you may have gotten from lead single 'Blind', its best to approach this album with an open mind (as with most things). Whilst Hercules & Love Affair do take their lead from disco music, the scope of the songs is much broader, embracing minimalistic techno and torch-balladry to creating a heady and eclectic tracklist. They might not always produce up-tempo, dance-floor friendly hits, but to criticise Hercules & Love Affair for such a thing would be unfair, not to mention small-minded.

If there is a fault with the album, it is in the sequencing. The penultimate tracks, 'This is My Love' and 'Raise Me Up' sound uninspired and formulaic in comparison to all that comes before, contributing to a distinct second half-lull. This a minor complaint considering that the run of tip-top tracks runs uninterrupted from opener 'Free Will' through to the sublime 'Easy'. Each song has its own stylistic flavour that should keep the restless happy. To pick two examples: 'Hercules' Theme' starts off with a slinky keyboard and grows from there into a steam-rolling behemoth as the violins, trumpets and bass begin piling on top of one another; 'Athene', on the other-hand, cruises on a bed of crisp percussion and cartwheeling keyboards with unflappable cool, finding its groove and riding it until its five minutes are up. Even after this, there's still much more to explore.

Antony Hegarty of Antony & the Johnsons fame is a soulful presence on the album and leaves an indelible mark on tracks like 'Blind' and 'Easy'(his talents are wasted on the workman-like, 'Raise Me Up'). Antony might be the star here, but the whole menagerie of musicians and singers deserve credit, and its in thanks to this fluid-line up that Hercules & Love Affair can be seen as a banner for pioneering pop.

Of course, you might have problems with the group's genre-tourism and find nothing beyond 'Blind' that spins your propellor - but you could do worse than buy the album and give it a try. Don't let the bad reviews put you off.

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10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge any book by its cover, let alone a record, 31 Mar 2008

By	DIOONER - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hercules and Love Affair (Audio CD)

I'm really surprised by many reviews here mentioning the supposed disco influence on this record. To me, it's rather more paying tribute to early Vince Clarke stuff, Visage or even Soft Cell than to any late 70's disco act... And please, to the reviewer who thinks disco SHOULD be uplifting, I advise you to listen carefully to "There But For The Grace Of God", "Born This Way" or "Is It All Over My Face" (that are mostly incendiary, politically charged records, rather than po-faced whitey dancey stuff for Saturday nights...) instead of Bee Gees or Abba's greatest hits. It's about as relevant as if you reduced rock music to "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "We Will Rock You" and "I Love Rock'N'Roll"...

For the record itself, now, I really think the best tracks here are the ones when Antony Hegarty gets in ("Free Will", "You Belong" and the single "Blind" standing heads and shoulders above the rest to me); if you knew what the guy was all about, you'd probably agree he's paying homage here to his very close heroes such as Boy George, Marc Almond or even (to a lesser extent) Jimmy Sommerville. The music itself is really more synth-oriented than the pale imitation of those legendary Salsoul classics that some other reviewers suggest.

To sum things up, if you want to understand how this release relates to disco, expect something closer to Arthur Russell's seminal experimental dance tracks than to Gloria Gaynor's straightforward singalong approach.

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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 5.4 not 54, 23 Mar 2008

By	Peter Parker-Penn "The Great Wazoo" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hercules and Love Affair (Audio CD)

Disco is often treated like dance music's embarrassing uncle, but the disco era produced some classic tracks-such as 'Night Fever', 'I Feel Love' or 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)'-which can still get people up and dancing. Although H&LA has all the right ingredients, there's nothing on the album with the energy or feeling of joy that infuses the best disco tracks. If anything, the mood on H&LA is a bit melancholic. So, not a cd to stick on to get the party started, but one to stick on as you enjoy a glass of wine after the guests have left.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep the love affair going
Hercules and Love Affair throw something new and inventive into the ring with their self titled debut. Read more

Published 10 months ago by M. Speller

4.0 out of 5 stars Not an album to please from start to finish, but where it's good it's very good.
I would give this 3.5 if i could, but i'm giving it 4 because some people reviewing it seem to be overly critical. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Mr. S. Bennett

2.0 out of 5 stars Blind is awesome....the album is not
Basically i bought it....put it on and thought...o dear why did i buy this....even after listening to it a few times, it doesn't grow on you, the only song that saves it from... Read more

Published 19 months ago by R. Sutton

3.0 out of 5 stars I can look outside myself

I first heard of Hercules & Love Affair via a Goldfrapp remix that they did of the song "A&E. Read more

Published 20 months ago by E. A Solinas

1.0 out of 5 stars Tosh!
Don't believe the hype. This is a load of old derivative rubbish. Not even Antony's presence can save it. It's like torture in slow motion!

Published 20 months ago by zerxan

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh no!!!!
This album has been promoted as an all out disco project. Disco is supposed to be fun, uplifting and preferably over the top. Read more

Published 20 months ago by N. Pedersen

3.0 out of 5 stars The 1980s have returned!
Actually, I quite liked the 1980s. This album is quite good fun, and I like Anthony's voice. But the Human League all over again in 2008? No thanks....

Published 20 months ago by Collins End Music Club

5.0 out of 5 stars ADORABLE
I adore this band. It was love at first listen for me.
Packed with ear pleasing goodness.
Antony soars with lending his voise to dance - genius. Read more

Published 20 months ago by M. M. Boyne

› See all 11 customer reviews...

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