Erasure Album: “Drama! [#3]”

With three mixes of one of Erasure's top 5 best songs, three mixes of one of their best instrumentals (unless you count a robot voice as lyrics) and two versions of another B side, you've got a "single" that's actually longer than the entire "WILD!" album. There are no bad mixes here, with even the seven plus minute long "Krucial" mix of "Drama!" never dragging. The only thing wrong with this is that "Paradise" is a little below average as Erasure songs go. But hey, a single should be about the actual single song with the B-sides just being a bonus, and based on that this is five stars going on six. Another single to try is the "Star" single which boasts a superior version of that song to what the album has to offer, coupled with Erasure's best B-side, "Dreamlike State". I think Amazon no longer sells the "Star" single....but they should :-)

If you are an erasure fan, you know that this is by far one of the most cherished and best CD singles the band has ever put out. "Drama!" is also one of their best B-sides even in remixed form. With mixes by Bob Kraushaar and Mark Saunders, the song with it's very impressive hook and bass line, is almost instantly addictive. "Sweet, Sweet Baby" had an underground following fora while, sampling off campy films such as Barbarella and Dark Star. This is a must have for any erasure fan.

This is probably Erasure at one of their finest points. This CD was released at a point when the duo kept getting better and better, going from "Sometimes" to "Oh L'Amour" to "Chains of Love" to the radio/MTV hit "A Little Respect" and then this one. They were pretty big at this point and it shows in the very self-congratulating use of giant brassy synth stabs in success called "Drama!". It's a very fun CD, if you don't like the whole Erasure-esque esperience then you will detest every moment of this CD. It is extremely sugary. "Sweet, Sweet Baby" had underground appeal in 1989 with a very euro piano-house vibe, vocoder robot voice, and shrill strings. "Paradise" is in the Erasure mood. This is a few releases before this duo become predictable and bland and too political.