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Sunday, 11 June 2006 |
 The duo celebrated two decades together last year, prompting an acoustic retrospective that finds Messrs Bell and Clarke in a wistful and reflective mood. If Erasure’s music has at times seemed too bombastic and self-consciously ironic for some to stomach, this collection might win a few converts.
Boy and Home, the former from 1997’s Cowboy, are revived and become bittersweet near alt-country laments tinged with pedal steel guitar and banjo. It’s a million miles from the original’s waning disco kitsch. Bell and Clarke have said they’d like to play the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. They might get their wish with How Many Times’ neo-country gospel. All open picked guitars and completive lyrics, it reveals a side to the band few would know existed.
Similarly, Love Affair is all swirling strings, soaring vocals and heartbreaking, sleepy-eyed naivety. It will serve its purpose of attracting new fans, a hard thing for any band which has been around over two decades to accomplish. On the other hand, the decision to rework Tenderest Moments, a b-side from Run To The Sun, and therefore a track most people won’t have heard, would seem pointless if it didn’t capture an aching unrequited love which has lately only been seen in, well, Brokeback Mountain.
However, while an alt-country version of Blue Savannah might have been too much, Union Street is crying out for a hit to round things off. Queue disappointment from this reviewer that there’s no room for Respect.
Whether this collection will register much interest with audiences preoccupied with reality TV, manufactured pop and novelty football songs remains to be seen. It’s ultimately their loss. Union Street is a fine collection that deserves a wider audience. Definitely worth investigation.
Record Label: Mute Records
Words By: Alex Donohue
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