Track Listing

1. Freedom
2. Where in the World
3. Crying in the Rain
4. Perchance to Dream
5. Alien
6. Mad as We Are
7. Here in My Heart
8. Love Is the Rage
9. Catch 22
10. Moon & the Sky
11. Surreal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125583 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
Originally released internationally in 2000, three years after their Maverick issued album Cowboy, Erasure's ninth collection of original pop songs was co-produced with Flood, Erasure's original producer. Mute. 2003.

Amazon.com
Along with the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure long-ago cornered the market in pure synth pop. While credited as early exponents of house, techno and club culture, both duos have at their core an unashamed love of the catchy hooks and anthemic choruses of pop, but their latter day releases have featured an added component: subtly. For Erasure--considering the hands in the air exuberance of hits "Stop!," "A Little Respect," and the sequins and glitter of their Abba tribute EP Abba-esque --Loveboat's seductive tunes and sensitive words are almost excessively subtle. Despite the pounding beats of "Perchance To Dream," the sci-fi electronica of "Here In My Heart," and the album's title, their ninth studio album isn't about the joy of love, but the pain that goes with it and indulges in melancholic melodies and a sense of longing that takes the pair straight back to those early bitter sweet hits "Oh L'Amour," "Sometimes," and "Victim Of Love." Sequin-free and relatively sedate, Loveboat, for all its subtleties, still has its share of addictive tunes--"Aliens" and "Freedom" prove that they've lost none of their penchant for pop and can still write a catchy classic when they put their minds to it. --Dan Gennoe

Customer Reviews

True To Form
An avid collector of Erasure music (singles, imports, etc), I was anxiously awaiting the US arrival of this long-delayed album. My first impression of this album was mixed. It was not truly in the tradition of the syntho-pop music that made Erasure so reknowned. Nevertheless, I gave "Loveboat" a chance and put it through multiple listening sessions.

Driving along the interstates of Texas, I suddenly realized that this was the Erasure of the 2000s. The message of their music, which meant so much to me growing up, carried through. The sound was somewhat different than what the Children of the 80s may have anticipated, but it was beautifully adjusted to a more current beat.

"Mad As We Are" is a fantastic piece which begins like black & white television then morphs into a classic Erasure ballad. Simplistic and haunting, this song speaks loudly. "Catch 22" is an upbeat tune in the tradition of early Erasure albums. "Alien" is yet another tune that should appeal to the hardcore Erasure following.

There is a new twist to the album that will leave some Erasure-ites with mixed emotions. Several of the songs have a harder edge that speak to a more alternative sort of taste. It took several listenings for me to adapt to this new sound from Bell & Clark.

This album is traditional, campy and innovative. Be prepared for an experience that ranges from expected to the unexpected from our British Boys. The hardcore Erasure fan will find another gem. The casual listener looking for the sound of the 80s may be disappointed. Overall, however, the album is a keeper for anyone who considers themselves a connoisseur of the Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Depech Mode tradition.

a Sonic mess, but with great tunes
I dock this CD one point because of the production, engineering and mixing. If it was supposed to be mixed this way, then I must be missing out on something. Most of the tunes on this disc, especially my personal favorite "Perchance to Dream", are mixed so oddly, with the vocals mixed way down and the bass SO way up front, it makes a horrible murky thudding mess of almost any system I play it on, whether it's on my home system , my computer system, my walkman, or in my truck. I have to adjust the bass so far down that it makes most of the songs inaudible and unenjoyable. That said, the majority of the tunes themselves are brilliant, as usual, full of the hooks fans have come to expect from Erasure. I find far less material I consider "filler" on Loveboat than on earlier, more popular releases such as Wild! and The Innocents. All in all, not as bad as many fans are making this out to be. I just think Loveboat should have been remastered or given to another remixer before being released in the US. I think it would have been more succesful. Then again, I'm sure Andy and Vince are happy with it, otherwise they wouldn't have let it go out like this. If I could sit them down and ask them myself, I surely would.

Weird, but good
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.