It's confused. So Vince Clarke broke up Yaz, and then went on to form Erasure with Andy Bell. However, Bell sounds like the male counterpart to Alison Moyet, singer of Yaz. Seems dumb.
And on that negative note, we come to my journey through Erasure. The duo group was formed in 1985 after Clarke placed an ad in Melody Maker seeking a vocalist. Ironically, Bell prepped for his audition by listening to Moyet, as well as Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Erasure's first three singles, including Oh l'amour, failed in the UK, with the latter managing to chart in Australia, South Africa and a few European countries. In fact, the song remains the groups only hit in Germany. They also found minor success on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play in the US with a couple singles. However, upon their debut album Wonderland's release (1986), it was considered a flop. It remains their only album of the 80's to not receive an sales certifications.
The album ended up in my collection for the aforementioned Oh l'amour, a song which I enjoy in moderation. It's a fun pop song, but not one I necessarily need to hear every day. While I was hoping to come away from Wonderland with more than this, unfortunately, things were not going that route. By track four, I was essentially asking myself, "What is this generic bubblegum throw away pop?" For someone as established as Vince Clarke, this was really bad.
Track five, Heavenly Action was decent, but far from amazing, and I'm still down with Oh l'amour. However, by track seven, I couldn't take anymore of this album. I audibly said, "This is bad," and started skipping songs in a vein effort to find something salvageable here. I couldn't.
You know how when you buy an entire 80's discography from someone based on a handful of songs, only to regret that life decision? I do. I'm feeling it right now. Fortunately, most of Erasure's albums were found in dollar bins, but man, based on this one, I'm not looking forward to continuing through them.
I'm hoping, I mean, really crossing my fingers hoping that things turn around with their next album, 1987's the Circus. Wish me luck...
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS September 30, 1989 |
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