FREEDOM

Erasure

Erasure… Erasure… name rings a bell… oh yes, now I remember. They're the ones responsible for the whole Abba revival thing, aren't they? What a claim to fame that must be. As I recall, they also used to be good. No, really they did. See Chorus for an example of how pop music should be done. Unfortunately their more recent stuff's been patchy to say the least, but let's ignore that shall we? God knows the public did, so Erasure fell away from the heights of fame with a speed and consistency only Sheffield Wednesday supporters can possibly comprehend. Three long years they've been away, surely enough time to work out what went wrong and sort it out. That's what you would've thought and luckily enough, they're back to doing the stuff they do best, ie. flawless pop music that's had a bit of thought put into it. It's jolly, moves along at a nice pace and Andy Bell's singing voice seems undiminished after all these years. Only one thing worries me. It doesn't do anything for me at all, which is odd seeing as they're still doing the same sort of thing they've always done. Still, it deserves to be a hit if only for the following argument - who would you rather have on Top Of The Pops, the Vengaboys or Erasure?

THE GAME

Nichola Holt

Oh. My. God. This is dreadful. There's not really a lot to say about this one, it's a bog standard dance track with the vocal talents of the fifth person to leave the Big Brother house put over the top. I suppose it was inevitable really and if she wants to be a disco diva then I say the best of British luck to her. However, this single's so forgettable they may as well have released It's Only A Game Show.

BEAUTIFUL DAY

U2

When the first sign of a guitar is when the chorus starts, you know U2 are up to something different. Mind you, when they do arrive they make up for lost time by sticking around right to the end. As does the drum machine. It's not as daft an idea as you'd think as the song rocks away quite nicely, but it's the sort of tune that makes you sure there's better stuff on the album. Knowing U2, there probably is too.