Album Highlights Take Me Back I Love Saturday Man In The Moon Always All Through The Years Weakest Track So The Story Goes Rating

Critical Quote
"Nothing can match the relentless melodies and sorcery of I Say I Say I Say. Take Me Back ebbs and breaks like an electronic sea of soundwaves while the theatric So The Story Goes soars with the aide of the Cathedral Choir. The track's lyrics brim with innocence and idealism...not to mention, they're the Godfathers of pop and hardly anyone does it better." - Slant Magazine


Onge Review
This number one album was the first Erasure album I owned, and to this day remains one of my favourites. The whole package is extremely professional, particularly the aesthetic sleeve design and presentation. Take Me Back isn't a typical Erasure song, but is one of their finest. The imagery reminds me of the wonderland depicted on the sleeve design as we are escorted to a beautiful haven via Andy's lyrics. But what makes this song so special is the way it climaxes superbly with a thousand Andys bellowing the final "Please don't tell me anything, I'd rather fall into you". The conclusion of this great track always sends shivers down my spine, and it is quickly followed by the marvellous I Love Saturday. A catchy toe-tapping number, it underachieved in the UK charts but deserved the airplay it received. Full of electronic bleeps and harmonic backing vocals, it is a joy to behold and one of Erasure's most pleasant and enjoyable tracks. As if I Say I Say I Say hasn't started well enough we are treated once more to another great Erasure song in Man In The Moon. Andy's lyrics set the tone to this classic song, complimented with a wonderful arrangement from Vince, this song simply screams perfection with faultless production from Martyn Ware throughout. The album next slows for the ballad So The Story Goes. The Choir of St. Patrick's Cathedral are featured to compliment Andy's voice, but this does little to inspire a largely unexciting song. This album lowlight is followed by the up-tempo Run To The Sun. This track sticks out from the album as it's pseudo-techno sound is not in keeping with the rest of the album's style. This does not make this a bad track by any means, indeed this is a highly enjoyable number sung with passion, particularly as the song reaches its finale.

Next up is the magnificent Always, a song that deserves to immortilise the band forever more. This song made me a fan, and many others no doubt with the awesome chorus and sensational musical backdrop. Sheer genius, this is a song fit for any 90s or Millennium compilation and will probably never be bettered. For the definition of the ultimate pop song, look up Always. Amazingly, this track is followed by another excellent song in All Through The Years. The backing vocals in the chorus and the metaphoric imagery encapsulated in the lyrics underline the outstanding song writing ability of Erasure. Once more Vince's melodies and Ware's production are perfect, making this one of Erasure's finest album tracks. Unfortunately after this, the album deteriorates slightly, with the remaining three tracks lacking the cutting edge quality some their predecessors. Blues Away contains some nice lyrics, but generally Andy's high-pitched singing and the song's nondescript chorus fail to impress significantly. Miracle, once more choir assisted is a pleasant song, but again lacks a certain something to make this a significant track. Because You're So Sweet is a nice song and a good way to conclude the album, but having accustomed myself to the superior remix of this song found on the cassette single of I Love Saturday before hearing this I Say I Say I Say mix, I find it difficult to enthuse over this album version of the song. It is though a very pleasant ballad.


Summary
This album a jewel in the Erasure crown and should be an indispensable member of everyone's record collection. Full of various electronic bleeps and whooshes it is one of Erasure's most synthesized albums, but with an exceptional quality of song writing within. This album's only fault is that after All Through The Years all the album highlights have been and gone, but the quality of what has gone before makes this a sensational album. A must own CD.



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