Album of the Week : The Innocents
15 June 2008 | Music | By: Richard
Twenty years have passed since The Innocents
Comprising some thirteen tracks (the vinyl album only had eleven, with “When I needed you” and “River Deep, Mountain High” being ommitted from that format), this was pop duo Erasure’s third album and it topped the charts in the UK. Erasure really were riding high, building on the success of 1987’s “The Circus” and “The Innocents” almost provided us with three top ten hits - “Chains of Love” peaking at Number 11 in the singles chart, while “Ship of Fools” fared better, reaching Number 6 with the best-selling track off the album being “A Little Respect” which made it to Number 4.
While album and singles really tapped into the popular market at the time, how does this work sound now, twenty years later and in a different century? The simple answer is - very, very well. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell worked their magic with this album and it really encapsulates “classic” Erasure. The sound is clean and pure, as are the vocals, if not the lyrics, which present a collection of tales of the progression of life, from the lost innocence of a “Phantom Bride” through to the yearning for the “Chains of Love” to be broken, reaching the desperation and frustrations of the little wise man who carries the “Weight of the World” on his shoulders:
You keep it wrapped up inside
It’s like a leathal potion
Gonna find it soul destroying
This album is anything but soul destroying - it’s tone and content are uplifting. While the subjects of the songs have to manage and cope with a range of challenges, ultimately the message is that risking the pain (or chains) of love is indeed worth it, and even in your darkest hour there will be someone there, to pour your heart out to.
First class. Enjoy it now
Erasure - The Innocents (p) and (c) 1988 Mute Records Limited. All titles by Clarke/Bell. Published by Sonet-Musical Moments/Sonet.