Wonderland

Performer: Erasure
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Erasure: Andy Bell (vocals); Vince Clarke (various instruments). Originally, Erasure's first album was to have had a number of different singers, a conceit keyboardist-songwriter Vince Clarke had taken from his previous project, the Assembly. However, previously unknown singer Andy Bell was such a perfect foil for Clarke that he quickly became a full partner in the band. Breaking with the tradition of Clarke's earlier bands, Depeche Mode and Yaz, where Clarke had been the sole songwriter, Bell co-wrote most of WONDERLAND. The album is the template for the next several Erasure releases, matching the Hi-NRG dance of "Push Me Shove Me" to the quiet lyricism of "Oh L'Amour." Bell's lyrics betray a sense of emotional turmoil, especially on "Say What," that never becomes histrionic. The album contains two instant Erasure classics, "Who Needs Love Like That," and "My Heart...So Blue." In what would quickly become an Erasure tradition, the CD contains two bonus remixes.

Q (6/95, p.136) - 2 Stars - Average - "...unembellished electro-pop dance with uncomplicated lyrics about love and heartbreak, allied to Vince Clarke's prolific and sustained tunefulness..."

After founding seminal synth-pop outfits Depeche Mode and Yaz, Vince Clarke joined forces with singer Andy Bell in the mid-1980s to form Erasure, combining Clarke's melodic electro-pop pedigree with a more danceable approach. The duo scored numerous hits throughout the second half of the '80s. Though their chart presence diminished somewhat in the '90s, the pair continued tenaciously into the 21st century. Latter-day releases found Erasure saluting their influences, with an EP of Abba tunes in '92 and a covers album, OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS, in 2003.

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