Customer Reviews

Non-Stop

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

 

 

Wow, it's the second half of the 80s Supergroup Erasure, giving us a blast from the past,today and beyond! His style of dance sway towards a bit of disco and electro, brings to life his vocal talents seldom attained by few in the business. If you are a fan of 70's Disco, early Petshop Boys & New Order, then work the cd player with the lead single "Call on Me". It's non stop hypno grooves from start to end, just take my word for it, I really get off on the recent releases but wow it's time to applaud the talents of And Bell.

It's been three years since Erasure's last album "Light At The End Of The World", and five years since Andy Bell's solo debut, 2005's "Electric Blue". "Non-stop" is the equivalent to late night drive-thru. Tasty and fattening, but ultimately non-nutritious.

I have to say I liked "Electric Blue" better. Bell definitely goes retro here and with varied success. The best tracks "Running Out", "Subject/Object", "Will You Be There?", "Touch", "Non-stop", "DHDQ" and "Honey If You Love Hime (That's All That Matters)" all have catchy melodies that at the same time feel watered down or muted. The lesser tracks "Call On Me" and "Say What You Want" are electro-disco throwaways that don't really amount to much. The worst track is easily "Slow Release" with its relentless chorus drilling its way into your cranium.

"Non-stop" is Andy Bell having fun, but it's not necessarily fun for his fans. He could have done more to vary the sounds on this album while still retaining a club feel. I think he might have needed a better producer here.

Three and a half stars because it's good, but not up to par with his previous works, and it just falls short of the mark.

Here's how "Non-stop" compares to previous work:

Erasure:
1986 Wonderland: Three and a Half Stars
1987 The Circus: Four Stars
1988 The Innocents: Four Stars
1989 Wild!: Four Stars
1991 Chorus: Five Stars
1994 I Say I Say I Say: Four Stars
1995 Erasure: Four Stars
1997 Cowboy: Four Stars
2000 Loveboat: Three Stars
2003 Other People's Songs: Three Stars
2005 Nightbird: Four Stars
2006 Union Street: Three Stars
2007 Light At The End Of The World: Three Stars

Andy Bell Solo:
2005 Electric Blue: Three and a Half Stars
2010 Non-stop: Three and a Half Stars

*** 1/2

With "Non-Stop," Andy Bell continues to show how his solo work is the yan to Erasure's yin. (Or maybe it's the yin to Erasure's yan. Whatever.) Erasure's music is whimsical, with soundscapes that are often innocent and childlike, inhabited with Andy's androgynous, emotive voice. Andy's solo material seems to be more conventional modern disco/dance music, with consistently higher beats per minute, and more of the sexuality and grit that coincide with club life.

It's good, though. Less original, but the quality is still there. Similar to Kelis' last album, Andy's voice is so heartfelt that it keeps the songs from ever sounding too mechanical (as a lot of dance music does). And the production is really pretty good (think "X" era Kylie Minogue or "Confessions" era Madonna). You would listen to an Andy Bell album on the way to the club, or on the treadmill. Erasure's music is better suited to before bedtime.

Andy Bell has seriously outdone himself. He burst onto the scene as the lead singer for Erasure and has continually upped the game with every collection.

Electric Blue was phenominal and I didn't think he'd ever top that album.

Non-Stop is easily the best CD he's recorded! It's at once relevant and catchy. The songs stick in your head and MAKE you want to listen to them over and over. There's one "ballad" on the CD and I normally skip over ballads... Pop singers should sing upbeat pop... not soggy ballads. However, Slow Release is just strange enough, and the words so personal, that it made me stop and play it again... and then again. It's the one ballad on a pop album that I don't skip over!

Lyrically, he's always been far above any other singer. His words stand alone as prose, but when put to the catchy syncopation and quirky synth arrangements, his phrasing creates whole new levels to the words...

It's one of those CDs to which I will never tire of listening!

And if Bell ever reads this... Keep recording... NON-STOP! No time off... No vacations! Get back in the studio now! We need more more more!

Being a long time Erasure fan, I was curious about Andy Bell's second solo release. After a listen, it seems a little generic. I wanna say it tries to hard. I would much rather have a new Erasure cd than this.

I've been playing this disc almost Non-stop since I got it! It's Dance Pop perfection. Bells voice is as hypnotic as ever (especially on the track "Slow Release") & the songs are perfectly crafted, full of hooks & infectious melodies. A rare treat to find an album where every track is memorable. The slick classy production lends a trippy sonic vibe that enhances but doesn't overwhelm. "Call On Me", "Will You Be There?" are particularly infectious & "DHDQ" is sly fun. This is Bells best solo effort so far & one of the best discs of the Summer, if not the year. Enjoy!

I really wanted to like this album, as I have been a huge Erasure fan since their first album and liked Andy's first solo album too. I was really excited to hear this album would be mostly dance club oriented as Erasure's past few albums have been a bit too mellow for my taste. Well, this album certainly is dance focused, but don't expect the synth-pop sound you associate with classic Erasure. Instead, you get an album where Andy's vocal's are so processed and filtered that they sound nothing like his voice. This is a shame since Andy's voice is one of the true vocal talents of our time, and instead of hearing all those nuances in this natural singing voice, we instead get generic processed vocals that could have been sung by any random studio musician. I wouldn't mind that effect if it was used occasionally or only on a few tracks, but to use it on the entire album was such a let-down. In addition, the music itself seemed way too trendy and focused on the current hot electro sound, that is already sounding dated and will not stand the test of time. Given Andy's past, I would have expected a dance alum to focus more on 70's disco rhythms or 80's synth-pop, not something that seems to be trying to capitalize on the hip fad of the moment. By the time I am writing this review, electro itself as a music genre is already fading in many ways, and this album already sounds outdated. Granted, nothing is particularly bad and it is a somewhat enjoyable album overall, but I just felt like I was listening to something from Ladytron or Felix da Housecat rather than Andy Bell. The one highlight of the album to me was "DHDQ" which stands for "Debbie Harry Drag Queen" which is just so campy and fun that it is classic Andy (except for those darn vocoder effects)!

Although not as strong as Electric Blue, this is still a great set from one of the best. Andy Bell delivers. He saves the best for last. The final three tracks 'Non-Stop', 'DHDQ', and 'Honey if you Love Him' will have you wishing for more. Can't wait for the next one!!!!

It took me awhile to appreciate this one as much as I do now, but that was true with his previious solo CD too, which is one of my favorite CDs. I would give that one, Electric Blue, five stars.
The first time I heard Non-Stop, I knew there were several great songs on this disc; will you be there, touch, and dhdq. Honey if you love him was amazing the first time I heard it, and still love it.
All of the rest continued to keep growing on me the more I heard them, except for slow release, sorry Andy, I know you menioned it as one of your favorites in an interview I heard, but it just drags everything else down.
I loved the other slower ballad songs on his first CD, which I saw that he dissed in an interview which I was very surprised about.
Maybe the stuff that comes easier for him are not as easily appreciated by those who create them, but I love those.
These songs are designed to be fun "fast food" if you will, as another reviewer mentioned. They do not quite reach me as much on an emotional level as Electric Blue does.
I would give it five stars except for those reasons, and the fact there are only ten songs.

Aloha from Hawaii...

This CD is, as the title says, "non-stop" dance...love it how he brings his artistic electronic pizzaz to music...love it...