One record at a time: 122. Erasure - Other People's Songs

This record is an unmitigated disaster. The only reason I own it is because I felt the need to possess a complete collection of Erasure's albums on vinyl and it was cheap. When the record arrived I hid it away in my collection and pretend it didn't exist. As a consequence, this record remains sealed in its cellophane cocoon and I have absolutely no intention of opening it.

When the lead single "Solsbury Hill" was released in 2003 I remember hardcore Erasure fans being more than a little smug that the band had secured a top ten hit after years in the commercial wilderness. Yet, as an outsider, it was fairly obvious that this success was attributable to clever marketing and a co-ordinated effort by fans to buy multiple copies of the single. Vince and Andy's version of the Peter Gabriel classic is perfectly listenable with the "Radio Mix" on the DVD single being the pick of the bunch, but this is as good as the parent album will get by quite some margin.

I dislike this album for a number of reasons. In some cases I actively dislike the song being covered ("Make Me Smile", "When Will I See You Again"), for other tracks it is because they are very badly executed ("Ebb Tide", "Video Killed The Radio Star") and sometimes it is because the cliche is too much to bear ("You've Lost That Loving Feeling", "Can't Help Falling in Love").

I guess there are people who enjoy this album and I understand that my taste can be eclectic. But to me this is a dumpster fire. 0/5