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The Innocents Ironically, after Erasure lost its innocence making Circus, they titled the next cd of 1988 The Innocents. I don't know if that was conscious or not, but in many ways, it was a brilliant move. Innocents combines the innocence (appropriately) of Wonderland with some of the experiments that worked well on Circus. It has the top notch artistic songs of the latter and is as fun to listen to as the former. There are a few songs that come across as filler, but this is still one of Erasure's strongest works, I think. Then again, it's also the first one I heard, which may have a lot to do with why I like it so much. "A Little Respect" was a huge commercial hit for Erasure in the States, and went a long way towards establishing them in mainstream music. It's also a wonderful song, by the way! It starts light and airy, yet quickly develops energy. Althrough it is fun and upbeat to listen to. "Ship of Fools" and "Phantom Bride" are a little darker in content, although a far cry from Depeche Mode dark. Both are fun songs still, although they have slightly more serious subject matter than any of the others. They hit on the hopes and dreams of the subjects of the song, which makes them universally appealing, I think. "Chains of Love" was the first single from the album, and it put Erasure on the U.S. map in a big way. I've heard it probably a million times now, but I still enjoy it. "Hallowed Ground" and "Heart of Stone" aren't bad either but don't really stand out. Sandwiched in between these two is "Sixty-Five Thousand" an instrumental based on the jazz song "Pennsylvannia 65,000. I find it fairly boring and I really have to wonder why Vince Clark likes to remake songs of all genres as synthpop instrumentals. Perhaps the weirdest song to get that treatment was the theme song to the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which appeared as a b-side for "Chains of Love" during this same period. The next two songs, "Yahoo!" and "Imagination" are similar in many ways to "Heart of Stone" but for some reason I like them better. I do think they are funner songs, and both make me want to get up and dance. After those, however, come two filler songs, "Witch in the Ditch" and "Weight of the World." Both are somewhat concept songs, and neither is really very standout. However, the two final tracks, bonus tracks, actually, are interesting and end the cd out well. "When I Needed You Most (Melancholic Mix,)" as if there were another mix, is one of the best Erasure songs I know. It is extremely poignant and beautifully written and sung. I don't know how it got relegated to the inglorious state of bonus track, but it is one of the stars of the cd. The last song, a remake of an old Tina Turner song is "River Deep, Mountain High (Private Dancer Mix.)" Now, I know about Andy Bell's sexual proclivities, yet hearing him sing about when he was a little girl is still jarring. I guess it's a decent enough song, but I think Clark does well enough writing his own stuff, and doesn't really need to rip off Tina Turner for inspiration. Overall, The Innocents showcases Erasure's ability to produce work that is extremely fun, light synthpop. This is one of the classic cds of the genre, and one not to be missed. It's one of my favorites by Erasure, which makes it one of my favorites all around.