Product Description

A handy 20-track singles compilation covering Erasure's first five albums plus the EPs CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL and ABBA-ESQUE and the remix album THE TWO RING CIRCUS, this is a near-perfect way to get acquainted with the duo of Vince Clarkeand Andy Bell. Running in basically chronological order from 1986's "Who Needs Love Like That?" to 1992's "Take a Chance on Me", the collection includes such classic Erasure hits as "Stop!" "Chains of Love", and "Oh L'Amour", in their original single mixes, which are occasionally somewhat differentfrom the album or extended club versions.
While this collection is essential for neophytes, it contains no new songsor mixes, and hardcore Erasure fans may find it most usefulas a failsafe party album or mix-tape substitute. Later Erasure albums are more melancholy in tone; in retrospect, POP!feels like the closing of a chapter.

Track Listing

1. Who Needs Love Like That
2. Heavenly Action
3. Oh L'amour
4. Sometimes
5. It Doesn't Have To Be
6. Victim Of Love
7. Circus
8. Ship Of Fools
9. Chains Of Love
10. Little Respect
11. Stop
12. Drama
13. You Surround Me
14. Blue Savannah
15. Star
16. Chorus
17. Love To Hate You
18. Am I Right
19. Breath Of Life
20. Take A Chance On Me
21. Who Needs Love Like That (1)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3546 in Music
• Released on: 2001-07-02
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
A singles band if ever there was one, the hits on Pop make the duo of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke of Erasure sound like the Rogers & Hammerstein of synth-pop disco. With the exception of The Circus and The Innocents albums, most of Erasure's full lengths house only a few brief moments of brilliance, the rest of the songs being limp and uninspired. But putting songs like "Blue Savannah" with its sweeping loveliness, the haunting "Ship of Fools", and the campy, raucous "Love to Hate You" all on the same disc shows that when Erasure is on, they shine like a thousand-carat tiara. The energetic and electronic disco is front and centre here with "Oh L'Amour" and the audience participation number "Stop!", but the beautifully crafted "Sometimes" shows the band's true potential. The irrepressible melody line is punctuated by an acoustic riff and a melancholy trumpet solo that actually has to do its best to keep up with Bell's warm lament. An indispensable collection. --Steve Gdula

From Amazon.com
A singles band if ever there was one, the hits on Pop make the duo of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke of Erasure sound like the Rogers & Hammerstein of synth-pop disco. With the exception of The Circus and The Innocents albums, most of Erasure's full lengths house only a few brief moments of brilliance, the rest of the songs being limp and uninspired. But putting songs like "Blue Savannah" with its sweeping loveliness, the haunting "Ship of Fools," and the campy, raucous "Love to Hate You" all on the same disc shows that when Erasure is on, they shine like a thousand-carat tiara. The energetic and electronic disco is front and center here with "Oh L'Amour" and the audience participation number "Stop!," but the beautifully crafted "Sometimes" shows the band's true potential. The irrepressible melody line is punctuated by an acoustic riff and a melancholy trumpet solo that actually has to do its best to keep up with Bell's warm lament. An indispensable collection. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

POP,POP AND MORE POP
At last all Erasure on one cd, 3 tracks to miss are HEAVENLY ACTION,WHO NEEDS LOVE LIKE THAT(BOTH REMIXES), all other tracks on the album are very good. A LITTLE RESPECT stands out as my best song on the album, AM I RIGHT a very close 2nd. The boys now show us all what fantastic song writers they are with this album. hopefully they will release a new album with all there greatest hits from their first hit WHO NEEDS LOVE LIKE THAT to there latest SUNDAY GIRL.......we wait and see

Unexpectedly Passionate, Romantic, and Bitter
I'm not often enthusiastic about club-dance-techno-pop bands, most of which seem determined to copy each other to the point of exhaustion. But I'll make an exception for Erasure, which has a great deal more going for it than the vast majority of music you're likely to hear the next time you hit the dance floor.

Chief among the band's assets is vocalist Andy Bell, who has a remarkably rich and passionate voice--but Erasure does not rely on Bell pure and simple. It is the combination of Bell's vocals, a bouncy beat, and the often unexpectedly thoughtful and frequently bitter lyrics that do the trick. The result is a consistent sound that crackles with a sensuous passion, and at its best creates one memorable cut after another.

POP! suffers from the usual failings of every compilation album, which is to say that it generally goes for the obvious choice even when a lesser-known selection is clearly superior. But even so, it offers a solid overview of Erasure, from the purely danceable to the disquietingly emotional playing against the dancefloor rhythm. "Ship of Fools," "Chains of Love," and "A Little Respect" are perhaps the side of Erasure that are most recognized--but when the selections turn to such intense and lyrically sharp selections as "Drama" and "Love to Hate You," you know that you've stumbled into something special.

The compilation, in my opinion, saves the best for last, running a gamut from the intensely passionate and romantic "You Surround Me," to the purely elegant "Blue Savannah," to angry "Chorus," to the moody and introspective "Am I Right"--the latter of which may well be single finest thing in this collection. As a garnish, the collection finishes up with a very enjoyable cover of Abba's "Take A Chance." But whichever you happen to prefer, it's all good stuff. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Classic albulm
One of the best groups of the best decade ever for music - the 80's. Erasure recorded some fantastic tunes, and to hear Sometimes, Blue Savannah, Oh l'amour et al on the same albulm is pure bliss. It's really upbeat, feel-good music. Definatley reccomended.