Customer Reviews

Loveboat

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

In a popular music scene dominated by simplistic "boy bands" and bubble-gum whatever, it's refreshing to know that there's still some groups willing to create new and interesting music. Erasure is one of those groups. With the release of "Loveboat", Erasure has created a cd that has the ability to touch every emotion. While one should never compare one Erasure album to another (they are each masterpieces in their own right), there is definitely a sound on this cd reminiscent of previous releases such as "Chorus" and "Wild!". The tracks, "Freedom", "Here In My Heart", and "Catch 22" are uplifting, inspiring, and just pure fun. "Moon And The Sky" simply rocks."Where In The World" conveys a sense of heartache and loneliness through the excellent use of heavy reverb and dense bass allowing you to truly feel the emotion in the lyrics. "Crying In Rain" moves between a funky hip-hop sound and an ambient, almost dream-like state, really cool. "Alien" is beautiful, mellow and dreamy, as is "Surreal". "Love Is The Rage" contains a great mix of melody, acoustics, classic Erasure electronica and of course, Andrew Bell's wonderful voice. "Perchance To Dream" is simply a fun song that kind of makes you want to tap your foot and bob your head a little. "Mad As We Are" is slightly haunting and very ambiant sounding.Well, that's my thoughts on the tracks. I must say that I've loved Erasure since "Wonderland" and became obsessed with them after the release of "The Circus" with it's songs "Sometimes" and "Hideaway". Since then, Erasure has never failed to produce anything short of awesome music filled with captivating lyrics and intense electronic sound. "Loveboat" has continued the tradition and it will not disappoint any true Erasure fans. This cd is a must have! And, may I suggest to those of you that have complained about the "heavy bass" that you upgrade your stereo systems, the cd is quality is excellent!

Here is my take

Freedom -- a well known one, although the mix one, is even cooler

Where in The World -- If you like the deep voice of Andy, this song definitely hit a new high (or is it "low" ?)

Crying In The Rain -- a bit of Hip/Hop influence, not bad at all

Perchance To Dream -- it started a bit like 70s. I enjoy the refrain

Alien -- this could become a classic

Mad As We Are -- has "Sono Luminus"/"Rock Me Gently" flavor, one of the best piece.

Here In My Heart -- a very good transition from above song. It makes me one to get up and dance right away.

Love Is The Rage -- one of the best pieces from this album

Catch 22 -- another very danceable song, it's catchy indeed

Moon & The Sky -- a very hi-nrg song

Surreal -- a good closure

I wish Erasure does promote this album better in US. This album definitely deserves it. I have never heard an album so beautifully crafted and diversed. I also wish they don't take a break this long in the future. It's definitely worth the wait though.

This is an extremely unusal release for Erasure. There are a couple of catchy tunes like Freedom, Catch 22, and Moon & The Sky. But songs like Mad As We Are and Surreal are quite odd. I do enjoy them immensely though. The album is 44:47 minutes long and includes 11 tracks. The liner notes are quite awesome with it's super glossy material and full lyrics.

The bass is actually quite heavy and I don't mean the thumping bass...I mean throughout the entire album, it's almost as if you turned on some kind of bass booster.

Like most Erasure albums, this one has a good set of songs from the danceable to the beautiful. Andy Bell has not lost his phenomenal range or emotional quality. If you've been listening to the MP3's, forget your initial reaction and get the CD. It will make you fully appreciate the album.

My musical tastes include: Sunscreem, Anything Box, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, Queen, Liz Phair, Sarah McLachlan, Beck, Jeff Buckley, and more.

I have everyone of Erasure's albums. My favorite is by far "Erasure" and also, "The Innocents". The problem with this album is not the lack of great songs, they're definately here, but it's the mixing. So the only way to review this album is to give it two reviews.

1) The Songs: They are good and better than "Cowboy." They really went for a different sound on this one. The addition of accoustic guitar is something I hope they just keep playing with in the future. It adds a new dimension to their already brilliant song writing. "Where in the World" and "Crying in the Rain" really shine after multiple listenings. The songs really are strong which I would give 4 stars to. BUT...

2) Who mixed this thing?!?!? The bass is so heavy that it's actually distorted even if the volume is brought down on a few tracks. The vocals are inaudible at times. The reverb is maxed out, creating very muddy mixes. The lyrics are impossible to understand on most tracks. I completely understand what they were going for; an ,ambient, moody album, but you must take great care in the mix to pull that off, and you MUST give the listeners a break from it every now and then. If anyone disagrees with how down right wrong the mixing is, listen to track 6, "Mad As We Are". The voice is inaudible and sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom and when the bass comes in, it almost blew my speaker.

My hope is that we see a remixed album for the US release. It doesn't need much tweaking to fix the problems, but it needs some help before I could put this album at the top of my Erasure list.

A Short Hint: Listen to the album on your desktop computer. Through smaller speakers, the bass is leveled and you can really here some of the brilliance of the writing on this album.

First off, I'd like to silence the critics who think the sound quality on this disc is flawed--it isn't. The bass is NOT overpowering as some critics have mentioned. Second, it appears that Erasure have finally silenced the critics who for years have said that Vince Clarke uses the same keyboard and drum riffs on each cd. "Loveboat" is a departure for Erasure about as much as "Achtung, Baby" was for U2. Vince and Andy have created a more subdued and intimate quality to their music this time out, and it is, at times, reminiscent of "Sono Luminus" and "Rock Me Gently" from their self-titled 1995 cd. "Freedom", "Here In My Heart" and "Catch 22" are the most recognizable Erasure-sounding songs found on this set. "Freedom", "Here In My Heart" and "Moon & The Sky" are the only real dance tracks that pick up the pace enough to be immediate dancefloor favorites. The rest of the songs vary from mid-tempo hip hop beats to slow ballads. None of this is to say that Erasure haven't created something interesting this time around--they have. It's refreshing to hear the duo moving forward with their music and not relying heavily upon past successes this time around. I believe 1997's "Cowboy" suffered that fate. Typical Erasure fans who are expecting the usual Erasure fanfare will be disappointed, but those fans who are hard core and have open minds will welcome the new change. Vince adds some acoustic guitar touches to some of the songs like "Freedom" and "Love Is The Rage" and reduces the keyboard playing on many of the songs. It appears that Andy's vocals and lyrics are more the focus this time around, and that's also a welcome change. Andy's lyrics seem to have gained maturity just as his voice has, and it is highlighted nicely on this cd. Vince uses his synthesizers to enhance each song rather than drive them, as has been the case in the past. The most radio friendly song is "Freedom", and it would seem that the rest of the songs, as they are presented here, are not exactly bound for radio play. For years Erasure has been making radio friendly tunes that have received little airplay in America and now they have created a cd that contains many songs that typical radio stations would not play. This cd isn't "Wonderland" or "Wild" nor is it "Erasure". It's the duo moving into unexplored territory, and doing it very well.

First I thought oh no. What have they done. Boy was I wrong. This is the best CD that the dynamic duo have done in quite a while. The sound (the mastering of the cd) is rather strange but it is so strange that one cannot put the cd on the shelve. I can hear pop music at its best behind the curtain that Flood has put over the music and melody of erasure. I do not believe Erasure want a pop smash, no touring, no promotion and no US release.

Loveboat is absolutely the best Erasure album to date! I am a fan of their music since "Wonderland" and Andy and Vince suprise me every time. There is no other band I can think of (Depeche Mode maybe?) that blends wonderful melodies, splendid lyrics and a daring bit of production. Loveboat is glued to my CD-player for 3 weeks now and I know it'll take some time before the glue wears out.

This latest release from Erasure is a more subdued, understated affair than their last album "Cowboy". Upon the first couple of listens I was disappointed but then the more closely I listened the more it grew on me and now I would rank it up there as one of their best.

Erasure has lasted through the years because their sound really is quite timeless. They're fairly reliable and don't pull too many surprises. Okay, perhaps they aren't as adventurous as some of their peers past and present but with an Erasure album you know you will always get a solid, sometimes sporadically brilliant work. This is no less true of "Loveboat" even though at first I was a bit underwhelmed.

Tracks #8 "Love is the Rage" and #10 "Moon & the Sky" are, for me, this album's highlights. "Love is the Rage" has a beautiful melody spearheaded by Andy Bell's hauntingly ethereal voice. "Moon & the Sky" is just a great dance track and ranks as one of their best tracks ever.

Other highlights include #3 "Crying in the Rain" and #11 "Surreal".

This album probably won't sell gangbusters but for loyal Erasure fans or anyone who likes pure pop, "Loveboat" is worth the trip.

I read each of the Amazon reviews for this album before making my purchace, and was quite troubled by some reviewers' complaint about the CD being too bass heavy. Unfortunately, they were right.

I don't think its a matter of the quality of the soundsystem it gets played on, there's something not quite right about the mixing. Andy's voice is buried way below everything else. In some songs he sounds like he singing in a distant room while the mic is located in front of a amplified woofer speaker. This is especially a turn off on delicate songs like "Where In the World" and "Mad As We Are". I like dance music with a lot of thump in the bass, but even the upbeat tracks lack sonic dynamics, because the bass is so muddy and louder than everything else.

Musically this could be one of Erasure's best recordings. "Moon and Sky" is nothing like what the band has done before, yet is totally Erasure. The acoustic giutars that appear on some tracks add a new dynamic to Erasure's sound that I hope they will explore further on future recordings. My favorite tracks are "Love Is the Rage", "Freedom" and "Alien". The latter would make a great choice for a single.

So my advice is this: If you are a raving Erasure fan who is starving for new output from this band, go ahead and treat yourself to this import version. As for myself, I would be willing to buy a domestic release of Loveboat, PROVIDED something is done about the mix. As it is the current version is a muddled mess of what a great album this could be.

I really wanted to love this CD, I've been a huge Erasure fan since they came into Synth-Pop scene 15 years with "Wonderland". Like most fans I own every album and a huge singles collection so I can benefit from the B side tracks. But I'll be honest with you, this album left me dissapointed. Although I like many of the tracks on this CD, the sound quality destroyed the "feel" of many of their songs.

For Example:

The song "Mad as we are", is probably one of the best song on this CD. But the 1st time I heard the song I thought the beginning of the song was just an interval between one song to another with Andy muttering to himself, and it's not until the chorus that I realized this was the song.

When I replayed the song back on my computer's cd drive, set the base on low and treble on high on the speakers (as someone had reccommended), and read the lyrics as I was listening to the song, I realized how great this song really was.

I understand they were trying to create a new sound by using the ol' Polyphonic affects, but they failed miserably to the point where they ruined the CD.

But aside the bad sound, this album lacks a "Show-stopper", a song that stounds out after the title track "Freedom".

If you you're an "Erasure-head" like me, you'll probably enjoy this album anyway, and overlook it's faults. But I would not reccomend this album to a new-comer.