Erasure Album: “Loveboat”

This album is quite a departure from previous Erasure albums. The songs are a bit more abstract (even more so than their self-titled Erasure album). Several songs seem to hint at a more acoustic sound, although the familiar electronic elements come in here and there. Upon first listen, it's easy to see why this album never really took off. It actually takes effort to listen and truly hear the musical arrangements. However, with that effort, you will hear a very well-written collection of songs.

My rating of three stars SHOULD have been four, but I had to take one away for the TERRIBLE mixing and cleanup of the sound. The album sounds like an old cassette tape. The bass is abnormally strong and messy, and some of the more important highs are drowned away. It's really a shame, because the record has huge potential to be one of Erasure's best.

Highlight tracks include the infectuous "Freedom", the melancholy "Alien", and the beautiful acoustic "Love Is The Rage", which is probably one of the best Erasure tracks I've ever heard.

I'd recommend this record for fans only. If you're unfamiliar with Erasure, check out The Best of, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Nightbird or The Innocents.

I know that I'm going against the grain in choosing this as one of the group's best--but I truly believe that it ranks with "Chorus" and "I Say, I Say, I Say." Others have docked this one points for its mixing, but on a good sound system it sounds just fine. People are not accustomed to the heavy bass and downplayed vocals, but the material here is well suited to this approach. The album was produced by Flood, who produced the first two Erasure albums with sparkling clarity, and who has produced many of the biggest names out there, including Depeche Mode and U2. The album sounds the way it was meant to.

Perhaps another reason for the lack of enthusiasm is that, other than "Freedom," there are no real Hi-NRG numbers, which were once the bread and butter of the group. It is a much more peaceful, pensive, and even melancholy record. I love nearly everything here, from the devastating "Mad As We Are," to the lovely "Alien," from the techno-blast of "Moon and the Sky" to the wistful romanticism of "Here in my Heart."

For me, this is the best Erasure album since "Erasure," far superior to "Cowboy" and "Other People's Songs," and more complex and interesting than "Nightbird."

No one saw this coming. In the wake of their previous album 'Cowboy', which had featured shimmering production and a very upbeat atmosphere, Erasure's 'Loveboat' docked with a resounding thud, both commercially and, more importantly, sonically. This album has the dubious honor of being Erasure's worst selling, and many would say worst-sounding album.

Although it continues the whimsical, computer-generated cover-art style of 'Cowboy', the similarities between the two records pretty much end there. The sound mix of 'Loveboat' is certainly the record's most infamous characteristic; producer Flood (with Erasure's cooperation) mixed this record down into a dubby, lo-fi, bass-heavy collection featuring dirty beats, hip-hop rhythms and a far-away, spacey atmosphere, which brought the record some critical acclaim (unusual for this band), but disastrous sales. It barely registered on the UK charts, and wasn't even released in the USA until 2003 (Maverick, their US label at the time, refused to release it without major remixing (and subsequently dropped them entirely), but finally Mute offered their own US release).

Despite its demo-like sound quality, 'Loveboat' does contain some outstanding tunes which, when taken on their own merit, rank among Erasure's best (and most uncharacteristic). Certainly the lead single "Freedom" would show up on many fan's 'best-of' lists, while the tender ballad "Mad As We Are" is a simply gorgeous track, building up from a dreamy start to a stratospheric conclusion. "Where in the World" is a melancholy masterpiece, "Love is the Rage" is a tuneful, guitar-based sing-along, and "Moon and the Sky" is an intense, dubby dance trip (whose single version was drastically altered for commercial airplay). More traditional Erasure tracks "Here in My Heart" and "Catch 22" sound somewhat like 'Cowboy' outtakes, although they too have been mixed down into a lo-fi state. The tender ballad "Alien" is a standout, and the album's lovely closer "Surreal" ends the proceedings on a dreamy note, courtesy of Vince's atmospheric synths.

Indeed, Vince's synthetics throughout the record are heady and spacey, seeming to come out of nowhere at times. This gives 'Loveboat' an atmospheric ambience, and justifies its lo-fi mix. The entire record feels rough and underproduced, which, according to Vince, was the band's intention.

Most controversial among fans are the R&B-flavored tracks "Perchance to Dream" and "Crying in the Rain". Their hip-hop beats and altered vocals are uncharacteristic of the band (although traces of this style can be found on 'Cowboy'), and the bass lines literally take over the tracks. Erasure's charm had always stemmed from their bubbly, melodic songs that sounded superb ('Cowboy' in particular had been produced to a glistening sheen), so these tracks are rather jarring at first. In hindsight, "Perchance" would have made an excellent single, but slow album sales probably killed off any further single releases.

In some ways it is sad that 'Loveboat' is remembered mostly for its sound mix, since it contains so much interesting and adventuresome music. When taken on its own merits, 'Loveboat' offers an enjoyable cruise. It deserves a better reputation than it currently has, even among longtime fans.

I don't know why this album is getting such low marks on here. I picked this one up the other day and its been in my car stereo ever since. They use some acoustic guitars sometimes, but its not some folksy album;its regular danceable erasure. There's only about 3 songs which I skip, but otherwise its an awesome cd. I think its up there with the Innocents easily.

I'll make this review as simple as possible. The secret to Erasure's success has been simple. Simple lyrics, sweet melodies, and a syntho-pop sound that has yet to be duplicated. Erasure has had the knack of incapsulating a sweet as sugar harmony into a rythmic blend of greatness. That being said, this Erasure offering is way off base. They've exchanged the charm and happiness apparent on "Cowboy" and "I say, I say, I say", and turned out a dreary, depressingly melodic, bore, and that's not what makes Erasure great. There are a few that may catch your attention. Freedom was a logic choice for the first single, its the only track with a hook chorus. Moon and the Sky is also a nice track, but the rest of this offering is so un-Erasure it's truely disheartening.