Audio CD review:
Erasure - Erasure 4 / EBX Singles

Erasure - Erasure 4 / EBX Singles

Band: Erasure Title: Erasure 4 / EBX Singles Rating: Release Date: 2001-12-10 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Chorus - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 2: Over the Rainbow - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 3: Chorus - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 4: Snappy 5: Chorus - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 6: Snappy 7: Chorus - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 8: Love to Hate You 9: Vitamin C 10: Love to Hate You 11: Vitamin C 12: La La La 13: Love to Hate You 14: Am I Right? 15: Carry On 16: Let It Flow 17: Waiting for Sex - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 18: Am I Right? 19: Am I Right? 20: Love to Hate You 21: Chorus - Erasure, Bell, Andy [1] 22: B3 23: Perfect Stranger 24: Breath of Life 25: Breath of Life 26: Breath of Life 27: Breath of Life 28: Breath of Life 29: Breath of Life 30: Breath of Life 31: Lay All Your Love on Me - Erasure, Andersson 32: S.O.S. - Erasure, Ulvaeus, Bjorn 33: Take a Chance on Me - Erasure, Andersson 34: Voulez-Vous - Erasure, Andersson 35: Voulez-Vous - Erasure, Andersson 36: Lay All Your Love on Me - Erasure, Andersson 37: Take a Chance on Me - Erasure, Andersson 38: S.O.S. - Erasure, Ulvaeus, Bjorn

A complete way to end the boxed set series...for now. Here's the breakdown: CD1 Has same number of tracks as the original Chorus CD single. It appears that all the remixes and singles from the early 90s have all made it relatively unscathed to this 4th boxed set-with only a few track time issues that I noticed. However, what's called the martyn Phillips 12" remix of "Snappy" on the original domestic CD single has no remix name here-and it reads in a CD player as being 15 seconds shorter than the original release-although, I couldn't figure out if there's a part cut out or if this version is perhaps sped up. CD2 Has all the mixes from the original import single of Love to Hate you, plus an extra mix of Vitamin C and Love to Hate You. CD3 A flawless single, this has all the tracks from the original Am I Right import CD single, plus the much harder to find remixes from a limited edition release Am I Right single, which included a more dance oriented mix of Am I Right, as well as remixes of Chorus and Love to Hate You, plus Perfect Stranger. And finally, you get the David Bascombe remix of Am I Right from the original import vinyl 12", which is a slightly longer and slightly remixed version of the original. CD4 This one is tricky. It has all the mixes from the original US CD single of Breath of Life, while Waiting for Sex and Carry on Clangers are both on disc 3. However, some of the names of the mixes for Breath of Life are different here. The Swiss Mix is called the Dave Bascombe mix. The Umbilical mix is simply called the Joey Beltram mix. And the Elixir mix is simply called the "remix". And finally, you get an accapella dub remix that was not on the US single at all. CD5 Here is the COMPLETE Abba-esque EP, finally on one disc. At the time of it's release, the original Abba-esque EP had just the four original mixes. Later another EP was released that was just the remixes of each. It was much harder to find, not to mention, most fans of the songs didn't really care for any of these remixes. Like them or not, here they are. And the "No Panties" mix of "Lay All Your Love on Me" is 40 seconds longer than it was on the original release. We need more of these from Erasure! This is a great idea, especially since you get even more tracks than you do if you buy all of the domestic single releases individually. Unfortunately, Erasure hasn't released more box sets for the singles released after Chorus/Abba-esque. Judged individually, some of the singles are better than others. The first single, Chorus, has disappointing remixes, all mixed by the same individual. Even the other mix of Chorus that you find on the Am I Right? single, mixed by Moby, disappoints. Fortunately, you have Over the Rainbow, a kind of tribute to Abba, as well as Snappy, which is among the better of their b-sides with minimal lyrics. Love to Hate You, one of Erasure's greatest hits ever, has a couple of good remixes, as well as one bad b-side, Vitamin C, as well as La La La, which is one of those songs that makes you wonder why it didn't make it on the album. It starts with a brief sample of an Eastern chant sung by a woman, and then goes full throttle, electronically dense and moving. Don't get discouraged by the goofy title! Am I Right? is the most varied single. In addition to two remixes, both of them good, you have the one-two punch of Let It Flow, a joyous hymn to love, and its antithesis, Waiting for Sex, which is an arch dismissal of guys who believe they are too sexy for you or anyone else. Also, you have the aforementioned Chorus remix, a killer remix of Love to Hate You, and an eloquent acoustic rendition of Perfect Stranger. Oh yeah, there's also B3 and Carry on Clangers, which both fall in the "dud" catagory. The last single from Chorus is Breath of Life. Although the song itself is uplifting, most of the remixes don't do it justice. To boot, there aren't any b-sides or other tracks to redeem it. Finally, you have Abba-esque, which includes the EP as well as one remix for each. Again, there is some disappointment- the mix for Voulez-Vous sounds like it was made for a monster truck rally, and the the mix for Lay All Your Love On Me is grating. Take a Chance on Me is given the "house" treatment, with the line, "When I dream I'm alone with you, it's magic" repeated over and over, and S. O. S. is given a semi-interesting makeover. This is a great box set. If for no other reason, the Chorus sessions yielded some great b-sides, any of which could have made it on the album. These include Over The Rainbow, Let it Flow, Waiting for Sex, La La La, and Snappy. You can see a complete list of all Erasure discography, or go back to the Erasure tabs