Chorus (Erasure Album)
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''Chorus'' is the fifth studio album by British band
Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...
, released on 14 October 1991 by
Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...
in Germany and the UK and on 15 October 1991 by
Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...
/
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
in the United States. It later made the short list of nominees for the 1992
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
. In 1999, Ned Raggett ranked the album at number 45 in his list of "The Top 136 or So Albums of the Nineties".


Background

Upon its release, ''Chorus'' became Erasure's third consecutive number-one album in the UK and gave them four more top twenty hits. In the US, it was Erasure's highest-debuting and highest-peaking album on the ''Billboard'' 200 at the time, entering at number 29. It gave Erasure their first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entry since "Stop!" with the title track, which also charted well on the
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart and ''Billboard''s
Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...
chart. ''Chorus'' also charted well in Germany, where it peaked at number thirteen.


Production

Prior to the album's production, programmer Vince Clarke had noticed technical limitations of the by-then-predominant
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
sequencing standard. Specifically, triggering multiple notes at once queues them and sends them one at a time, resulting in "MIDI slop". In an effort to eliminate this and give the album a "tighter" feel, he avoided MIDI completely, using primarily analog synthesizers and the
Roland MC-4 The Roland MC-4 MicroComposer was an early microprocessor-based music sequencer released by Roland Corporation. It could be programmed using the ten key numeric keyboard or a synthesizer keyboard using the keyboard's control voltage and gate outp ...
CV/gate CV/gate (an abbreviation of ''control voltage/gate'') is an analog method of controlling synthesizers, drum machines, and similar equipment with external sequencers. The control voltage typically controls pitch and the gate signal controls not ...
sequencer. Avoiding MIDI had other side effects on the sound of the album, such as the lack of chorded voices (the MC4 can only trigger four notes at a time, lending itself well to playing four monophonic parts) and the absence of digital synthesizers and samplers, due to lack of CV/gate control on available models. Clarke would continue with this production technique for later recordings through the 90s.Vince Clarke article on answers.com
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Special editions

''Chorus'' was also released as a limited-edition CD in special packaging. Instead of a jewel case, it came in a folding cardboard box. The cover was also different, with the two portraits taken from the side instead of the front, as on the cassette releases. It included the standard lyrics booklet, as well as 8 picture cards with various artwork. The first four are the stock photography from the booklet and have "e" logo backs: family on the beach (later used for the "
Love to Hate You "Love to Hate You" is a 1991 song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''Chorus'' (1991). Written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is an electronic dance track insp ...
" single cover), a business meeting group, three businessmen at a construction site, and a woman and child bicycling. The next four are the portraits from the album cover, one each of Clarke and Bell from the front and side. The backs of these have patient data from Clarke and Bell's
MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
scans. Another special edition was released as a promotional item for the music industry: a hardcover book entitled ''Chorus Software User Manual'' with hidden compartments inside which hold a copy of the CD and cassette as well as the same 8 cards as the other special edition.


2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalog, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's ''
Light at the End of the World ''Light at the End of the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 May 2007 by Mute Records. The album's release was announced on the band's website on 26 January 2007 in a video message from membe ...
''. All titles were pressed and distributed by Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.


2020 deluxe edition

A three-disc deluxe edition of the album was released by BMG on 14 February 2020. This consisted of a remastered version of the original 1991 album (disc 1); a collection of seventeen B-sides, remixes, and rare tracks (disc 2); and live recordings of tracks from ''Chorus'' performed at the
Manchester Apollo The O2 Apollo Manchester (known locally as The Apollo and formerly Manchester Apollo) is a concert venue in Ardwick Green, Manchester, England. It is a Grade II listed building, with a capacity of 3,500 (2,514 standing, 986 seats). History The ...
in 1992 as part of their Phantasmagorical Entertainment tour. It was packaged as the "hardcover casebound book edition" and branded as one of BMG’s Art of the Album series.


Critical reception

Upon its release, Andrew Smith of ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'' praised Erasure as a duo who produce "the purest, most perfect pop imaginable" and have "often suffered from their stunning simplicity being mistaken for naivety". He described ''Chorus'' as an album of "sparkling three-minute wonders" and added that "often the yricalimagery is awkward or clumsy, but allied to those famously transcendent melodies, this is all the more charming". He believed it to be an improvement over ''
Wild! ''Wild!'' is the fourth studio album by British band Erasure. Released in 1989, it was the follow-up album to their 1988 breakthrough '' The Innocents''. The album was produced by Erasure, along with Gareth Jones and Mark Saunders and release ...
'' (which "contained so much dead wood") and noted it is "timeless as timeless comes", adding that the songs "could be played on balalaikas and they'd still sound bloody marvellous". Barbara Ellen of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' considered ''Chorus'' to "further underline" Erasure as "composers par excellence of exquisitely vivid pop tunes". She noted that on the album Clarke has "pruned down their enormous sound", describing it as "at times basic and workmanlike until Bell's filthy, fruity vocals come in and take us off to fantasy land again". She concluded, "''Chorus'' is, in effect, hyper-emotional, subtly camp, dizzyingly-layered quality disco."


Track listing

All tracks written by Andy Bell and
Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...
.


1991 original edition

# "
Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
" – 4:26 # "Waiting for the Day" – 3:50 # "Joan" – 3:50 # " Breath of Life" – 4:07 # " Am I Right?" – 4:18 # "
Love to Hate You "Love to Hate You" is a 1991 song by English synth-pop duo Erasure. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, ''Chorus'' (1991). Written by band members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, it is an electronic dance track insp ...
" – 3:56 # "Turns the Love to Anger" – 3:56 # "Siren Song" – 4:44 # "Perfect Stranger" – 4:05 # "Home" – 4:14


2020 deluxe edition

CD 1: Original album (remastered) # "Chorus" – 4:26 # "Waiting for the Day" – 3:50 # "Joan" – 3:50 # "Breath of Life" – 4:07 # "Am I Right?" – 4:18 # "Love to Hate You" – 3:56 # "Turns the Love to Anger" – 3:56 # "Siren Song" – 4:44 # "Perfect Stranger" – 4:05 # "Home" – 4:14 CD 2: B-Sides, Remixes, and Rarities # "Over the Rainbow" – 3:30 # "Turns the Love to Anger" (Vince Clarke Remix) – 5:40 # "Perfect Stranger" (KROQ Mellow Version) – 2:25 # "Waiting for Sex" (Full Length) – 4:07 # "Love to Hate You" (Robbie Rivera's Juicy Mix) – 5:57 # "Twilight" – 4:23 # "Let It Flow" – 4:22 # "Chorus (Fishes in the Sea)" (Ben Grosse Remix) – 4:37 # "Siren Song" (Alternative Lyrics) – 4:05 # "Breath of Life" (Divine Inspiration Mix) – 6:41 # "Love to Hate You" (KROQ Blunder Version) – 4:14 # "La La La" – 4:12 # "Mirror to Your Soul" – 3:56 # "Waiting for the Day" (Demo Version) – 3:41 # "Perfect Stranger" (Acoustic) – 2:12 # "Am I Right?" (Glen Nicholls Extended 12" Mix) – 6:48 # "Home" (
Minute Taker Ben McGarvey (born 22 December 1981), known under the stage name Minute Taker, is an English recording artist. He has released three albums; ''Too Busy Framing'' (2008), ''Last Things'' (2013) and ''Wolf Hours'' (2022) along with several EPs, i ...
Remix) – 6:22 CD 3: ''Chorus'' Live at Manchester Apollo, 1992 # "Chorus" (Live) – 4:39 # "Waiting for the Day" (Live) – 3:37 # "Joan" (Live) – 4:02 # "Breath of Life" (Live) – 4:30 # "Am I Right?" (Live) – 5:11 # "Love to Hate You" (Live) – 4:07 # "Turns the Love to Anger" (Live) – 5:29 # "Siren Song" (Live) – 6:17 # "Perfect Stranger" (Live) – 3:20 # "Home" (Live) – 5:00


Personnel

* Andy Bell – vocals *
Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s, programming * Dave Bascombe – mixing * Me Company (Paul White) – design * Martyn Phillips – producer *
Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Authority control Erasure albums 1991 albums Mute Records albums Sire Records albums