The Innocents [Reissue]

Performer: Erasure
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Erasure: Andy Bell (vocals); Vince Clarke (various instruments). The Kickhorns: Roddy Lorimer, Tim Sanders, Simon Clark, Steve Sidwell (brass). Additional personnel: Caron Wheeler, Naomi Osborne, Jane Ayre (background vocals). Producers: Stephen Hague, Dave Jacob, Erasure. Erasure's third album, 1988's THE INNOCENTS, features the US breakthrough hits "A Little Respect," and "Chains of Love," and is a welcome departure for the duo. With this release, Vince Clarke and Andy Bell move away from the strictly-synthesized Hi-NRG dance-pop of their earlier albums, adding horns and gospel-tinged backing vocals for a more soulful, organic sound, while maintaining the disco vitality of earlier albums like WONDERLAND or THE CIRCUS. Bell's lyrics are more overt in their social commentary, as on "Phantom Bride" and "A Little Respect," and he pointedly leaves the original gender references intact in the CD-only cover of Tina Turner's classic "River Deep, Mountain High." However, the duo is still capable of camp silliness like "Sixty-Five Thousand" and "Yahoo!" giving the album a balanced sensibility. THE INNOCENTS ranks with 1989's WILD! and 1994's I SAY I SAY I SAY as one of Erasure's best albums. Having built up a strong fan base and back catalog in just a couple of years, Erasure turned into a full-blown pop phenomenon thanks to The Innocents, winning the British equivalent of the Grammy for album of the year and spawning a big American hit single, "Chains of Love." Stephen Hague took over as producer from Flood, perhaps smoothing out some points for a more general mainstream appeal, but otherwise letting the strengths of the songs speak for themselves. It begins with another single and stone-cold classic, "A Little Respect," with a charging beat/acoustic guitar/synth arrangement, and a flat-out fantastic performance from Bell, especially on the ascending chorus. Guest performances help flesh out a number of songs quite well. Wheeler and others reappear on "Yahoo!," a gospel-touched (musically and lyrically) number, while noted session performers the Kick Horns add just that to the "please come back" punch of "Heart of Stone." On their own, though, the duo continues in the same general vein of earlier releases, while the Erasure formula of dance/synth/soul was by then clearly established through and through; thankfully the combination of slight variety and overall performance prevents the album from dragging. The Innocents' ballads are perhaps a touch prettier than the lyrics would make them out to be, but if the sheen of songs like "Hallowed Ground" cuts away from the sometimes blunt images of poverty and hopelessness Bell calls up, the music still has a solid power. The CD version adds a fine original, "When I Needed You," and a fun cover of the Phil Spector/Ike & Tina Turner classic "River Deep, Mountain High." ~ Ned Raggett

CMJ (1/5/04, p.22) - Ranked #17 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1988"

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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