Customer Reviews

Abba-Esque

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Andy and Vince of Erasure create some of the most original synth pop songs the music industry has every seen. Imagine them getting together one day and saying "We're gonna show why we love ABBA!" and you have Abba-esque. Let's take a look at the 4 tracks Andy and Vince covered.

Lay All Your Love On Me-Wow, what an opener. The opening rift of this is great and it is a definite tribute to Abba and the song. Andy's vocals are excellent and the chorus is quite good. Nice job on this!

S.O.S.-A nice little cover that might suffer from a few extra bleeps here and there. I particularly think the closing notes grate on the ears if you play this too loud. However, Andy's vocals save this track and it's a good decent version.

Take A Chance on Me-the "single" off this EP is absolutely awesome because not only does Andy do good vocals but Vince's music is simple and not overdone (as maybe with SOS). The inclusion of MC Kinky's rap is brilliant. Very unique.

Voulez-Vous-Wow..the music on this is simply jamin. A nice version that ends with a long long sequence of notes..maybe too long but the main music simply jamns so much you don't care. A nice job!

Overall a nice little tribute that runs about 16 minutes thats a tribute by a great original band for a great original band. ABBA and Erasure 4 ever!

I love love love ABBA and Erasure! However, the only song I like from ABBA that Erasure re-recorded is "Take A Chance On Me" and if you want to hear that, I recommend buying the best of Erasure, it's the last song on that album and you'll love the rest too.

A lot of people who admire ABBA do so in the privacy of their closet. Not Erasure. Since Vince Clarke and Andy Bell did a cover of "Gimme Gimme Gimme" back in the 1980s, they have shown no shame in acknowledging the Swedish act as one of their key influences. On this EP, these guys revive four ABBA songs with an arsenal of synth bleeps and electronic touches, and the end result is one helluva fun ride. My favorite tracks are their high-energy rendition of "Lay All Your Love On Me" and the perked-up version of "Take a Chance on Me." "Abba-esque" shot to No. 1 in the UK, not only giving Erasure their first EP chart-topper, but it also reignited a global interest in ABBA. Indulge.

It seems that every couple of years brings a new CD, movie, or stage show that pays tribute to the enduring appeal of Scandinavian pop supergroup Abba. Well, Erasure's CD "Abba-esque" is one of the best of these Abba homages. This CD contains Erasure's versions of 4 of Abba's most recognizable songs: "Lay All Your Love on Me," "S.O.S.," "Take a Chance on Me," and "Voulez-Vous." Erasure stays true to the spirit of the songs while invesing them with Erasure's distinct pop style.

The happiest marrage of the best of 70's and 80's POP. If you love ABBA and if you love Erasure, then you will feel so much LOVE when you hear this music that you might explode from sheer joy. The best way to listen to Abba-esque is while driving a convertable on the interstate at 80 MPH, full blast (I have done this, it is extremely uplifting).

Bizarrely enough I had absolutely no exposure to Abba before discovering this in 1991. I grew up in a house with parents who ONLY listened to classical music, so I was slow to explore other genres and am still filling gaps. Luckily, junior high had schooled me enough so that I was already a huge Erasure fan, and I plunked down my allowance for their Abba covers without a second thought. I loved it immediately -- it was in constant Walkman auto-rotation for weeks. And cheesy as they are, these Erasure covers led me to discover the originals... and now I love Erasure AND Abba equally and unreservedly. I realize, however, that I'm in the minority. But hey, I think you either love this little album or you hate it. I hope you love it. I do, I do, I do, I do, I do (ha, couldn't resist).

I "grew up" listening to Erasure, and I have been an ABBA fan for about three years. When I heard about this album, I could hardly believe it! I ordered it immediately, and I have been nothing but happy ever since. The only downside is that Erasure only did 4 songs. I would have been happy to hear even more!

Andy Bell is my second favourite male vocalist of all time after Roy Orbison. Both singers have voices that make you feel with only one note that you are transported to a higher plane where angels and gods play. Abba's songs and style of music haven't aged by transcending time and space to endure strongly in the present. You listen to Chiquitita or Fernando or SOS and the emotion still resonates as it did the first time you heard it. Erasure's version of SOS is in my top 5 favourite songs of all time. He is a true singer and talent with no need for computers or tweaking that all the forgeries and frauds of the last 20 years would be nothing without. He has a great range and hearing his voice again and again through the overdubs is heaven to my ears. His emotional range is comparable to Annie Lennox or kd lang. When I listen to him singing, i feel exactly what the words are trying to convey, he can only be eclipsed by Roy Orbison singing The Crowd or It's Over; both songs that leave you breathless. Take A Chance On Me is not bad and Voulez Vous is average. Lay All Your Love On Me is the one i skip. I am a huge fan of electronica and techno. It is amazing that emotion can be conveyed with computers. So Erasure has the perfect balance of technology and true musical harmony in Bell's voice. Another great combination of electronica and great singing ability is the Dutch DJ ATB or 4 Strings. I highly recommend both for the lover of electronic music and harmonious vocals.

It was said somewhere (I can't remember where) that this album should have made Ace of Base redundant. Now I like Ace of Base, but this album does upstage them a little. Of the four tracks, S.O.S. sounds the most like the Swedish quartet and is probably the weakest song on the disc. The single, 'Take a Chance on Me', however, is better but is really only the third best. Lay All Your Love on Me is probably the best, fitting in seamlessly among Erasure's own hits. Voulez Vouz is my personal favourite though. It's just a great high energy piece that doesn't let up until the end. If you're in the mood for a quick blast of high energy music, pop these four songs in your player. I only wish they'd included more ABBA songs on this album (they've done some more ABBA tracks as B-sides that they should have tacked on to this CD).

I stumbled across this cd while I was trying to use up my GC. On this cd are 4 ABBA songs covered with a side dish of techno. While I enjoyed this ablum, I honestly would like to see the ABBA GH covered by a single guy singer.