Erasure have been one of the best-loved pop groups of the last 15 years, charming audiences and critics alike with their exceptionally catchy brand of synthpop. So it's a shame to see them reduced to this, a listless collection of cover versions which notably fails to reflect the enthusiasm they claim went into the making of it. The root of the problem is that it's totally unclear why the duo chose the songs they did - they're neither obvious influences on the Erasure sound, nor are they particularly well-suited to the duo's traditional working methods. Songs such as Elvis's Can't Help Falling In Love or the Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' simply weren't meant to be played on plinky-plonk keyboards, and Andy Bell's half-heartedly kitsch vocals suggest that he isn't terribly convinced by the whole project either. Elsewhere the back catalogues of Cockney Rebel, Buddy Holly and Peter Gabriel are also raided, to equally little effect. File this one under criminal records, but don't hold it against Erasure too much - it is, after all, a first offence.
