HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL , HOPE TO SEE YOU MORE OFTEN THIS YEAR !
<BRIAN.KIDD@sky.com>...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL , HOPE TO SEE YOU MORE OFTEN THIS YEAR !
<BRIAN.KIDD@sky.com>
Member since:10.05.2001
Reviews:185
Members who trust:24
~0~ hits ! - the very best of erasure ~0~
2003 has been a bit of successful year for Erasure . Firstly saw the release of the highly successful erasure album ' Other Peoples Songs ' , a compilation of classic songs given the erasure treatment . from it were released two successful singles , namely ' Solisbury Hill ' and ' Make Me Smile ( Come Up and See Me ) ' . Next followed a UK tour , which was again well received . Then came the surprise release of the erasure classic ' Oh l'amour ' , only this time remixed , and again it proved a big success . to finalise the year , Mute records have released the compilation album ' Hits - the very best of Erasure ' . In the meantime andy and vince continue to work on new material.
~0~ comparison time ~0~
Back in 1992 mute records released ' Pop ! 20 hits ' , a compilation
album containing erasures first 20 released singles , plus a bonus remix track of the first ever single release ' Who Needs Love (like that) ' . ' Hit's - the very best of ' was released a full eleven years later . However , it does overlap with ' Pop !' , in that contains twelve tracks that can be found on ' Pop !' . The remainder of the album is made up of the ' Abbaesque ' tracks not included on ' Pop !' and selected releases from tracks after the release of ' Pop !' - one notable miss though is the highly acclaimed ' Rain ' .
The track listing is as follows ( * marked tracks can be found on ' Pop !' as well ) :
1) Oh l'amour * 2) Sometimes * 3) Victims of Love * 4) Ship of Fools * 5) Chains of Love * 6) A Little Respect * 7) Stop ! * 8) Blue Savannah * 9) Chorus * 10) Love To Hate You * 11) Breath of Life * 12) Lay All Your Love On Me * 13) Take a Chance on Me 14) Voulez Vous 15) Always 16) Stay With Me 17) In My Arms 18) Freedom 19) Solisbury Hill 20) Oh L'Amour ( August Mix - 2003 release )
Total Playing Time - 77 mins. 47 secs.
~0~ Value for Money ? ~0~
I think Mute have been very clever as to the timing of this release . If you discount the ' Oh L'Amour' remix , then 12/19 can be found on ' Pop !' , leaving just seven songs to make up the album . Many people will have ' Pop !' in their record collection , and will begrudge paying their hard earned money for an additional seven tracks . There were other single releases that could have replaced a few of the duplicated tracks .
In normal circumstances I would not contemplate buying this album , in particular because I already own ' Pop !' . However , Mute aware of this possible reaction , were also clever enough to release this album in two versions . The second version contains an additional CD with the Erasure MegaMix , and ironically it costs the same as the standard release .
~0~ The MegaMix ~0~
1) Stay With Me 2) You Surround Me 3) In My Arms 4) Soilisbury Hill 5) A Little Respect 6) Chains Of Love 7) Take A Chance On Me 8) Love To Hate You 9) Stop ! 10) Victims Of Love 11) Blue Savannah 12) Always 13) Freedom 14) Corus 15) Oh L'Amour 16) Breath Of Life 17) Sometimes 18) Ship Of Fools
Total Playing Time : 73 mins. 49 secs. Mastered and recontructed by Mark Jones
Take note of the above - the tracks are not a new mix , and they can be found on various obscure Erasure releases , eg ' Stop! ' can be found on 'Crackers International - CD 2 ' , which was released in America . This means that Erasure fanatics may have come across the odd track . As a rule , the editing / joining of tracks is pretty good , there are however a few ambiguous joins to say the least in particular 5/6 , 6/7 and 11/12 There is however enough of the remix fix to please any Erasure fan , especially the inclusion of classic remixes of ' Stay With Me ' , ' Stop! ' , ' Freedom ' and 'Oh L'Amour ' .
~0~ Release Details ~0~
Released October 2003
CDMutel 10 ( standard release )
LCDMtel 10 ( with bonus CD ) .
Cost : £ 9.99
Availability - most music outlets , although you may find it difficult to find the bonus CD edition , however this can be ordered from the Mute web site ( www.mute.com ) , at a cost of £9.35 + P&P + vat .
~0~ Final Thought ~0~
A bit of a con really , and only worth buying if you haven't got ' Pop ' or can find the bonus CD edition .
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Brian
This is the only Erasure Album I don't have as I too felt Pop Covered a lot of them, I would however buy it is I could get a hold of the mega mix version
Roll on the Erasure Concert 2005! Clare
OKkaraoke 02.01.2004 19:08
One of my friends has this. It's very good car music.
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