Erasure

Collections of cover songs seem to be cropping up a lot lately, but Erasure are certainly not strangers to the genre, having released a wildly successful EP of Abba songs many years back. This new collection was primarily the brainchild of singer Andy Bell, who wanted to free himself from his karaoke addiction and record some of his childhood favourites. Then his partner Vince Clarke entered the picture. Clarke, arguably one of the reasons electronic pop exists in the first place, wanted to join in on the fun and try out some of his own favourite songs and make this an official Erasure release. The end result is a 12-track album that takes a stab at a lot oldies by the Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "Ebb Tide") Buddy Holly ("Everyday," "True Love Ways") and Elvis Presley ("Can't Help Falling In Love"). These songs actually turn out quite nicely, and instantly adopt a recognisable Erasure style. But the highlights of the album are Clarke's choice of covers, such as Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," Cockney Rebel's "Come Up And See Me" and best of all, the Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star," which abandons Bell's vocals in favour of a computer voice. As a whole, this is an album created purely for the fun of it and it succeeds brilliantly.