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Some of the unifying factors on this cd besides the theme include the sonic library. Erasure later experimented with lots of bleeps and bells (no pun intended here) but they use a strictly analogue sound with a very recognizable bass line unifying many of their work here. "Who Needs Love Like That" starts off with a good dance song that works well as a single. It also highlights Bell's vocal range. Like Jimmy Sommerville, Neil Tennant and Marc Almond, Bell decided that androgynous, very tenor vocals were the way to go for Erasure. He is capable of hitting lower range notes, but didn't do so much for some time. "Reunion," "Cry So Easy" and "Senseless" are slower tracks that are still upbeat and happy sounding, although a trifle wistful as well, as if seen through a dream. "Heavenly Action" was the first single from the album, which was a mistake in my book, as it isn't as good as some of the later work which is, for the most part, still remembered much more. "Say What" was a little bit of a departure, using "shouted" or chanted vocals for part of the chorus. The next two songs, "Love is a Loser" and "March on Down the Line" are similar to each other, very peppy, happy, almost carnival sounding at times, with positive "the world is a happy place if we want it to be" kind of themes. Next comes "My Heart...So Blue." Perhaps my memories of the song cloud my judgement of it somewhat. I used to DJ dances for my church group as a high school student in the late 80s, and I almost always used this as a closing slow song. I remember quite clearly the tears of poignancy during the "wave goodbye" chorus when one of our friends moved away. My youthful memories aside, it is a powerfully written slow song, one of Erasure's consistent strengths, I think. The best remembered song from these days was, of course, "Oh L'Amour" a nice dancey song that was very well known in the New Wave underground in the U.S. It's enough of a classic (on par with "Just Can't Get Enough", in my opinion) that I don't really need to say anything more about it, really. It's a great song still, thirteen years later. The cd also comes with nice liner notes and two extra tracks, so you can get a better feel for the musical climate in which Erasure was founded. The remixes are "Who Needs Love Like That (The Love That Mix Version)" and "Oh L'mour (The Funky Sisters Remix)" and both are extended nicely with some additional sounds here and there whilst remaining true to the original sound. Exactly the kinds of remixes I prefer, I might add.
Overall, this is an extremely strong debut album, although less wouldn't really be expected from Vince Clark. Although some of Erasure's cds would be as good as this, many weren't. This is one of the classic cds of the mid-80s new wave scene, and is an especially nice contrast to Depeche Mode's Black Celebration of the same year which had such a completely different feel and theme despite the recent history of both with Vince Clark.
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