Track Listing

1. Piano Song (1)
2. Blue Savannah
3. Drama
4. How Many Times
5. Star
6. La Gloria
7. You Surround Me
8. Brother And Sister
9. 2000 Miles
10. Crown Of Thorns
11. Piano Song

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35594 in Music
• Released on: 1993-12-31
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Widely considered the duo's masterpiece, 1989's WILD! is the album on which Vince Clarke and Andy Bell move away from the sometimes camp Hi-NRG dance pop of earlier releases like WONDERLAND and CRACKERS INTERNATIONAL into a quieter, more complex, and organic sound. Though the 11 tracks, including the two versions of "Piano Song" which bookend the album, arestill based around Clarke's synthesizers, some songs introduce traditional instruments into the mix in a much less jarring way than the orchestral experiments of 1987's THE TWO RING CIRCUS.
"La Gloria" has the same Latinised feel as contemporary singles by the Pet Shop Boys and New Order, thanksto the Spanish resort of Ibiza's then-dominant position as the trendy European club scene. The mock-mediaeval "Brother and Sister", and "How Many Times", are somber tunes which foreshadow the melancholy of later Erasure albums such as I SAY I SAY I SAY.

Customer Reviews

Possibly the best album of the 1980's
After their smash 1988 album, 'The Innocents', it was widely believed that Erasure had reached pop perfection and could go no further. Not so. In 'Wild!', the unlikely duo had created a masterpiece, bettering its award-winning predecessor and becoming possibly the most complete album of the decade. 'Wild!' opens with a poigniant instrumental, 'Piano Song', which was refreshingly devoid of synthesizers. It then moved swiftly on the the chart smash 'Blue Savannah', which is still my favourite song to this day. The album then conitunues brilliantly, moving seamlessly from song to song. Highlights include the triumphant 'Drama!', the synth-happy singalong 'Brother and Sister' and the magnificent full version of 'Piano Song'. The minus points? I'm still looking...
What makes this album so great is the fact that the songs merge beautifully despite their diverse nature. The only other albums i know to have done this are 'Automatic for the People' by REM and Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks', and they are both classic albums in their own right. Perhaps 'Wild!' will one day be seen in the same light. Deservedly so, I think.

A Riveting Musical Journey
`Erasure's' fourth album may have lacked the message of `The Circus' or the heart aching emptiness of `The Innocents.' But it was also musically diverse and upbeat without feeling as if it had been `Thrown Together.' And in the end, even most of the darker tracks possess a powerful and moving rhythm.

The instrumental version of "The Piano Song" is still one of the best overtures that I've ever heard in my life, flowing rhythmically into "Blue Savannah" with only a brief, silent pause.

The roll of thunder at the end of that track is the clarion call for "Drama." The album then changes pace with the sighful lament of "How Many Times." And then it changes pace once again with the joyful Latin rhythms of "Star" and "La Gloria."

"You Surround Me" is then a return to the style and the soul of the second track before the hard hitting impact of "Brother and Sister." (One of my favourite tracks on this album, but obviously far too dark and meaningful to ever be released as a single.) And whilst "2000 Miles" might have been far more musically upbeat, I'm happy to say that it also possessed a vindictive and venomous edge.

After that, "Crown of Thorns" is a wonderfully deep and powerful stepping stone. And then, the whole experience is beautifully rounded off with the full version of "The Piano Song."

As the title states then, this album is a riveting musical journey, and I would recommend it to almost anyone.

From the sublime to the ridiculous
This is possibly my least favourite Erasure album after 'Loveboat'.
It has the infamous 'La Gloria' (by general consensus the worst Erasure track ever) and lacks the pure danceability and singalong melodies of 'The Innocents' or 'The Circus'.

Having said that, it does contain the stonking 'Drama!' and 'Star', the lovely 'Blue Savannah' and one of the sexiest songs of all time, 'You Surround Me'.

So, some great choons, but too much filler.