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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Andy Bell the new Sylvester?, October 4, 2005
A friend did the inevitable and compared this recording to an Erasure album. It cannot be done. He said: It has nothing without Vince's synths. This may be true.
A few years back, Andy Bell's solo record was going to be the Erasure project "Other People's Songs". Could you imagine the disaster that would have been?
Now, we have a Mr. Bell who is confident with his identity, a man Alive and Aware and that is what's reflected in this album. Living and having a good time. This is the celebration that is experienced after the melancholy of "Nightbird".
The songs and melodies may not be as strong as Erasure tunes. Erasure tunes are generally more sensitive, introspective-love songs with blue skies and birds (a la TAKE ME BACK). With this project, you can see where each other artist's strengths lie - Andy has always been the singer, Vince the pop-hook master. But much like voice masters such as Sylvester, Andy Bell is a singer with soul, and singer with heart, and he is a voice with Life screaming out of his lungs.
Also like Sylvester, this album is supposed to make you dance. It tries, and succeeds. The tones and programming are current with the dance scene of "now" and I expect the remixes to explore different territories. Kudos to Manhattan Clique for programming well when they knew they would be compared to Godfather Vincent.
Andy Bell has always been on that fringe of stupid camp. But, now we look at how influential these artists are now that we are older: The Cure, Erasure, Depeche, Siouxsie, Moz, Talking Heads...you can almost name their new clones: Rename, OUT HUD, The Rapture, The Faint, Tiga. The fact that Jake Shears from Scissor Sisters duets with him is a pure sign of his due respect.
That Andy Bell finally did a solo album is expected and overdue. I'm glad he waited until he was in a good space personally to give a good album with a lot of heart rather than an attempt at trying to keep busy to fight off demons.
Is it fan album? Definitely. Will it burn up the dance floor for the rest of the world? Who knows. But I know of at least a few dozen dance-queens who will be owning the cd and playing it before going out Saturday night.
Standout fave track: Runaway. Great counter melody and mid-tempo dance anthem.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
People, STOP!, STOP! STOP!, December 4, 2005
I was reading all the reviews on Andy's superb solo album and all you read is a comparison between Andy and Erasure. This is his experimental and desired album, a dance album that plays softly with Andy's angelical voice. But instead of all the credits of being a good dance album for those who enjoy electronic music, all you can hear in the reviews are ERASURE, VINCE CLARK or both. He is still in the group but other than his style and his voice, IT'S NOT ERASURE. If he intended it to be another Erasure album, it would have been Erasure not Andy Bell.
With enough said on the comparison let's talk a bit about the album. Even though "Crazy" was the album's launch I would have made "Rest of our lives" his debut. Andy toys with his voice each and every tune seeming like all the songs go in a pattern, keeping you wanting more of the album as it goes. Everyone can revive that glorified 80's electric, new wave, pop synth era catchy hints accidentally reminding you of other songs from that time, yet its not the rythm that make this album but,yes, Andy. Anyone will tune in with "I will never fall in love again", and "I thought it was you". His strongest songs "Caught in a spin" and "Love oneself" while his weaker are "Jealous" and " Fantasy". So if you don't enjoy dance electronic music but do enjoy Andy Bell's voice try this album but please closet all your thinking on Erasure because in this album he just wanders off on purpose to show what he is all about: Andy. A voice, a dream and his creation for all to enjoy.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disco Ball., November 10, 2005
Andy Bell's first solo album sets itself apart from recent Erasure releases by going for uptempo, dance club beats. While this is a welcome departure from "Nightbird" and "Loveboat", Mr. Bell's producers fail to create an original piece of art. 14 tracks of mostly thumping drums and bass becomes slightly tedious by the end of the disc. There are a few slower tracks, but the interesting thing here is that Andy does not seem to offer anything more personal than what we've already heard on Erasure's previous works. It's understandable that Andy may have wanted to just to a straightforward dance record, and in that case, he succeeds to a degree.
Three songs have the potential for cracking the top 40 if promoted properly. "Caught In A Spin" has a nice "Freedom-like" beat with guitar flourishes that set itself apart from the rest of the cd. "Jealous" had great vocals and synths, and might be the most Erasureish track on the disc. "Delicious" has a great stomping dancefloor beat and the vocal trades by Bell and Brucken are excellent. "Love Oneself", "I Thought It Was You" and "See The Lights" would be secondary club hits. I disagree with "Crazy" being the first single, and I actually find it to be one of the weaker tracks on the disc. The best ballad is definitely "The Rest Of Our Lives".
Interestingly, since I've been buying popular music for over 20 years, I enjoyed all the retro-80's synth noises and swaths. I'd swear that one song combined the Pet Shop Boys's "Love Comes Quickly" with Donna Summer's "I Feel Love". There were several other synthetic flourishes that reminded me of other new wave/disco songs of yore. Overall, as a first album, Andy goes a long way in terms of breathing life back into electronic music, though it's not as original or edgy as I would have liked. If anything, we Erasure fans can just borrow tracks from this disc and mix our own compilation of Erasure/Bell music. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone but hardcore Erasure fans will be checking this out as there doesn't seem to be any promotion behind this disc.
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