List | E | Erasure | 'Wonderland' CD 1986

Track:	Name:	Time:
1.	Who Needs Love Like That	3:18
2.	Reunion	3:24
3.	Cry So Easy	3:35
4.	Push Me Shove Me	5:10
5.	Heavenly Action	3:30
6.	Say What	3:55
7.	Love Is A Loser	3:02
8.	Senseless	3:26
9.	My Heart... So Blue	4:30
10.	Oh L'Amour	3:03
11.	Pistol	3:29
12.	Say What Remix	7:21
13.	March On Down The Line Remix	6:06
14.	Senseless Remix	5:06
	Total	58:55

Comments:

When Vince Clarke was joined by singer Andy Bell and formed Erasure everyone expected it to be an as short lived collaboration as Vince's earlier projects, like the one album with Depeche Mode, the two with Yazoo or the singles with The Assembly and Paul Quinn. However, this band lasted a bit longer than that. They've worked together now for more than ten years by now and released more albums than I can keep track of. I'll try to get hold of all the early ones at least, if I can find them reasonably cheap.

So what's it like then? Well, as you might expect, it's very Clarkish; blippy, bouncy synth pop. Andy's voice is a bit too smooth for me, I liked Alison's better (which could explain why Yazoo is still my favourite Vince band - Depeche Mode got so much better after he left). Some of the songs are a bit boring frankly, but there are some true gems here.

It shows a bit that it was recorded in the mid '80:s, especially on the rhythmic sounds, the sampled drums and such, and the almost Pet Shop Boys-ish rhythms. (Not that they invented those, but I couldn't come up with anyone else; everyone and their mother had drums like that in the '80:s, sort of cheap sounding with dry sampled bongos, congas and a-go-go:s in semi-disco drum machine patterns). The synths sound a bit thin as well - was Vince digital in those days? It seems unlikely, but just maybe...?

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