ON THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE - ERASURE
Erasure may have logged only three stateside hits over 20 years, but that has never slowed its ability to fill venues with steadfastly maniacal fans. Last year’s acoustic tour proved once and for all that it is more than synths and camp that have made Vince Clarke and Andy Bell an enduring force, with stripped-down and wholly reconfigured new versions that reveal melodic beauty and thoughtful lyrical messages often lost in the beat. That acoustic concert is lovingly captured on this set, which includes 18 tracks on CD and an accompanying DVD from a stop at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium last May. Best among many pleasant surprises are the peddle-steel-enriched “Victim of Love,” the stripped-to-sweet “Oh L’Amour,” the folky “Piano Song” and a rollicking hoedown reading of “Blue Savannah.” A dynamic, delightful rewriting of the book. Billboard
