The Innocents

by Erasure

Overview

Having built up a strong fan base and back catalogue in just a couple of years, Erasure turned into a full-blown pop phenomenon thanks to The Innocents, winning the British equivalent of the Grammy for album of the year and spawning a big American hit single, "Chains of Love." Stephen Hague took over as producer from Flood, perhaps smoothing out some points for a more general mainstream appeal but otherwise letting the strengths of the songs speak for themselves. It begins with another single and stone-cold classic, "A Little Respect," with a charging beat/acoustic guitar/synth arrangement and a flat-out fantastic performance from Bell, especially on the ascending chorus. Guest performances help flesh out a number of songs quite well. Wheeler and others reappear on "Yahoo!," a gospel-touched (musically and lyrically) number, while noted session performers the Kick Horns add just that to the "please come back" punch of "Heart of Stone." On their own, though, the duo continues in the same general vein of earlier releases while the Erasure formula of dance/synth/soul was now clearly established through and through, thankfully the combination of slight variety and overall performance prevents the album from dragging. The Innocents' ballads are perhaps a touch prettier than the lyrics would make them out to be, but if the sheen of songs like "Hallowed Ground" cuts away from the sometimes blunt images of poverty and hopelessness Bell calls up, the music still has a solid power. The CD version adds a fine original, "When I Needed You," and a fun cover of the Phil Spector/Ike and Tina Turner classic "River Deep, Mountain High." ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	05/14/2021
Label:	BMG Rights Management
UPC:	5016025310555

Tracks

1. A Little Respect
2. Ship of Fools
3. Phantom Bride
4. Chains of Love
5. Hallowed Ground
6. Sixty-Five Thousand
7. Heart of Stone
8. Yahoo!
9. Imagination
10. Witch in the Ditch
11. Weight of the World

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Erasure   Primary Artist
Andy Bell   Keyboards,Synthesizer
The Kick Horns   Brass
Roddy Lorimer   Brass
Steve Sidwell   Brass
Caron Wheeler   Vocals (Background)
David Jacob   Co-Producer
Peter Christopherson   Director
Tim Sanders   Brass
Guy Barker   Trumpet
Vince Clarke   Lead Vocals
Simon Clark   Brass,Brass
David Croft   Director
Val Chalmers   Vocals (Background)
Jonti   Percussion
Emma Chalmers   Vocals (Background)
Jane Ayre   Vocals (Background)
Naomi Osborne   Vocals (Background)
Phillip Vile   Director
Carom Wheeler   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Dave Jacob   Engineer,Producer
Stephen Hague   Producer,Remixing
Shep Pettibone   Remixing
Andy Bell   Composer
Bob Kraushaar   Engineer
Benny Andersson   Composer
Ellie Greenwich   Composer
Erasure   Mixing,Producer
Eric Radcliffe   Remixing
David Jacob   Engineer,Producer
Bjoern Ulvaeus   Composer
Mark Freegard   Remixing
Peter Christopherson   Video Director
Phil Spector   Composer
Ennio Morricone   Composer
Vince Clarke   Composer
David Hinds   Composer
Jeff Barry   Composer
Mike Rogers   Engineer
Justin Strauss   Remixing
Stephen Hugue   Producer
David Croft   Direction
Robert Gordon   Remixing
Neil Ferris   Producer
Phillip Vile   Video Director
Spector   Composer