Erasure4Rum

billyburg129 wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:09 am I'm still holding out hope that they will release a Blu-ray version of the Phantasmagorical Entertainment Show

mrblue wrote: Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:58 pm Mute and BMG have been very resistant to Bluray, at least as far as Erasure and DM go. There are a few DM Blurays, but as we know Erasure have been completely overlooked in that department.

Mute/BMG need to know it's commercially worthwhile doing. When you consider the DVD was a commercial failure and a flop, it's hardly suprising they are 'reluctant'.

I was once told from 'the horses mouth' so to speak that the 'The Tank, The Swan and The Balloon' DVD was a commercial failure and underperformed as far as the record company were concerned. It just didn't shift copies - fans turned out not to be all that interested. Which will be why we started getting the concert DVDs packaged with the album re-releases instead. So with that in mind, it's highly unlikely that they're going to got to the expense of releasing it again on Blu-Ray if sales of the DVD were disappointing.

mrblue wrote: Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:58 pm audio (on the DVD) is stereo, not 5.1, so the audio would also need to be remastered to multi-channel.

That's not correct - the audio on the DVD IS in 5.1 surround sound, as well as having a stereo option. Quote from the box! - "Audio options: Dolby 5.1 & PCM Stereo" (The Disc 2 documentary however is only in stereo)

billyburg129 wrote: Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:09 am Do you think this is it for the Chorus 30th Anniversary Celebration?

mrblue wrote: Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:58 pmwe'll see! After all, the 30th anniversary is still over a year away

Erasure are reissuing the album in 2020, so I think it highly unlikely that they are going to do something again for its anniversary the following year in 2021.

Despite the album seemingly ranking high amongst some of the die-hard fans (including me!), it doesn't actually occupy any special status compared to other albums, certainly nothing to justify 'something else' just one year after a remastered reissue.

Chorus is not even Erasure's most successful album - that honour probably goes to The Innocents, or even The Circus, with 78 and a staggering 107* weeks on the UK album charts respectively. Wild! spent 48 weeks there. Comparatively, Chorus spent a measly 25 weeks in the charts (that's not even quite as many as the difference between The Innocents and The Circus!).

Perhaps also worth noting is that Wild! occupied the number one spot for two weeks running, and the Innocents got to number one on two separate occasions within one year - a feat which got Erasure into the Guinness book of records at the time. Chorus was number one for one week only.

So really, there's no special reason Chorus should get any extra attention in addition to the 2020 remaster. And I say that as someone who still ranks it in my top three!

*I've always assumed that sales of The Two Ring Circus counted as sales of the Circus, which might account for the 107 weeks on the charts (and would account for the absence of ANY stats specifically for TTRC).

Chorus also arrived just as the "grunge" phenomenon was taking over the airwaves and the charts. At least in the U.S., seemingly overnight, the "alternative" radio stations which defined alternative as DM, Erasure, New Order, the Cure, etc... switched to alternative meaning Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc.!!

kwerty wrote: Tue Nov 26, 2019 1:46 am
That's not correct - the audio on the DVD IS in 5.1 surround sound, as well as having a stereo option. Quote from the box! - "Audio options: Dolby 5.1 & PCM Stereo" (The Disc 2 documentary however is only in stereo)

You're right kwerty, my apologies. I must have been thinking of a different DVD. To your other points, I agree that Chorus isn't Erasure's most successful going by sales, but it did come at a time (and was responsible for) the band's peak popularity around the world. Of course I say this from the skewed viewpoint of an American. That period of 1991-1993, also boosted by the insane success of DM's Violator, brought all synth/electro music to the forefront of popular music for a short time. And of course 1992 saw Erasure's only #1 single in UK. It's a shame, but not surprising, they likely won't be doing much more to celebrate that album and period than this 3CD set.

@MikeyC - it's laughable that even now, almost 30 years later, hearing bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc referred to as "alternative!"

mrblue wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:44 pm CD2 - c'mon, Perfect Stranger KROQ *and* Acoustic? They're basically the same, not to mention the live version on CD3 which is a very similar stripped down version.

I see your point, but I think the issue here is the inclusion of the acoustic version, not the KROQ version. I absolutely think the KROQ tracks should be on this set. All the previous deluxe editions featured 'studio session' versions of tracks from the time - my expectation was always that those would be on here, as it keeps the release consistent with those previous releases. Having said that, there is also the 'Friday Night at the Dome' sessions which could have been included on here - there's a session version of 'Chorus' and another version of 'Perfect Stranger' (similar, but different, to the KROQ session - however, I also appreciate that it needs a variety of songs representative of the album)

We should also bear in mind that very few people will actually have the KROQ sessions officially - plenty of us may have acquired them illegally, possibly via Twelfth Of Never, but when we purchased that set we did so with the promise that we would buy anything that was on there should it become officially available.

mrblue wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 10:44 pm CD3 - I've made "Chorus Live" mixtapes years ago. This is a giant MEH and I can't help but wonder who's bright idea this was. A completely wasted disc. Why not just include the TSB DVD?

If not the DVD, then at least as many songs from the show as could fit onto a CD - could have been a nice way to acknowledge ABBA-esque from the period. Although I suppose they might want to avoid paying the royalties...

But however they did it, even if they included the DVD, it would still be a 'meh' from me. I've got it already, so it adds no value however they present the live tracks - although I do kind of prefer the idea of having just an audio CD to listen to. But there are better things I would have liked to have seen for CD3. Like...

mrblue wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:15 pm - I would have really loved a "Chorus Remixed" instead of "Chorus Live"

No argument for me there! I wish they'd done that for ALL the deluxe editions, or failing that release a separate EP of remixes similar to Phantom Bride (although in that instance The Innocents had the almost mythological 'missing' fourth single to draw upon, which Chorus doesn't have)

mrblue wrote: Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:15 pm the KROQ cassette also has a few minutes (maybe 5 total?) of interviews. The whole thing could easily have been included on CD3

I don't know... on one had I agree, on the basis that if they can fill up a whole CD on FMTM for that kind of garbage, then they could at least put something like that here. On the other hand, I don't care for that sort of thing on my purchases anyway. I'd rather it was just put on the website.

Anyway, there's probably also a licencing issue - KROQ will own the recording of the interview (KROQ didn't record the music sessions themselves - they were sent to them to broadcast).

Right, I 100% agree and am happy that the 2 KROQ tracks are finally officially released. Sure, we've all heard them either on UTTON or the awful-sounding Ultra Rare Trax. My point was that Perfect Stranger (Acoustic) could and should have been left off in lieu of something else (I mean, if CD space is the issue). We'll have 3 versions of Perfect Stranger that are all very similar, as well as the original on CD1, and that just shows a bit of poor planning imo.

I guess I just don't like the shotgun approach that we keep getting with these releases. By that I mean: the 2 KROQ tracks should be back to back on the CD. They belong together and it's just tidier to group items together in a sensible manner. It's quite obvious by now that Mute/BMG's intention is to give us a scrambled track listing so that us bigger fans have to pause and digest what's there, but want to try to bedazzle more casual fans by making it look like a grab bag of stuff. It seems the idea of a well-organized Erasure release died with the 4 EBX sets.

I suspect the highlight of this set will be Vince's mix of TTLTA, though I'm really excited for all the new mixes honestly. I love it when Vince takes a 2nd look at earlier Erasure tracks

mrblue wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:08 pm Right, I 100% agree and am happy that the 2 KROQ tracks are finally officially released. Sure, we've all heard them either on UTTON or the awful-sounding Ultra Rare Trax. My point was that Perfect Stranger (Acoustic) could and should have been left off in lieu of something else (I mean, if CD space is the issue). We'll have 3 versions of Perfect Stranger that are all very similar, as well as the original on CD1, and that just shows a bit of poor planning imo.

I guess I just don't like the shotgun approach that we keep getting with these releases. By that I mean: the 2 KROQ tracks should be back to back on the CD. They belong together and it's just tidier to group items together in a sensible manner. It's quite obvious by now that Mute/BMG's intention is to give us a scrambled track listing so that us bigger fans have to pause and digest what's there, but want to try to bedazzle more casual fans by making it look like a grab bag of stuff. It seems the idea of a well-organized Erasure release died with the 4 EBX sets.

I suspect the highlight of this set will be Vince's mix of TTLTA, though I'm really excited for all the new mixes honestly. I love it when Vince takes a 2nd look at earlier Erasure tracks

Agreed re: Vince taking a second look. I still get goosebumps from his reworking of "Waiting For the Day"!!

Erasure - Chorus EIS T-Shirt cut-off date

Erasure - Chorus
As already announced, the pre-order for the Erasure Chorus 3CD Deluxe Edition is now in progress. Please be aware that the cut-off date for the special limited edition EIS t-shirts has now been set at Wednesday, 15th January 2020. All t-shirts are being made to exact quantity so this strict cut-off is required to allow for the manufacture of the t-shirts in time for the release.


Bonus postcard set for first 2000 orders
(Photo credit Greg Hudson)

A nice insight into the making of the video on erasureinfo.com

https://www.erasureinfo.com/behind-the- ... ght-video/

Wow, I have a new perspective on the song now. Didn't know about the AIDS connection but now it totally makes sense. Loved reading that. x

https://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news ... e-edition/