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(More customer reviews)At long last Erasure has released a dvd of one of their live concerts, and what a spectacular visual (not to mention audio!) feast it is! I've never seen Erasure live, but I have seen clips from some of their concerts on their Hits! dvd, so I had some idea of the sort of thing to expect. Even so, "The Tank, The Swan and The Balloon" (filmed in 1992 with a running time of 135 minutes) is quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. The concert moves through a number of themes, which take their cues from the songs themselves. It's almost like a musical set to the music of (and performed by) Erasure; certainly, it's more of a stage show than a traditional "concert." It's dramatic and campy, with lead vocalist Andy Bell going through seven complete changes of costume, most of which are unusual, all of which are entertaining, and most of which have some connection with at least one of the songs he's singing! The balletic opening with Andy's entrance as a swan (in a swan boat whilst engulfed in white feather boas), for example, is absolutely beautiful; and his "fish-scale" pants are fun and very effective. Most spectacular (not to mention entertaining!) is his blue-sequined, um, "backless" cowboy outfit (which is complemented by Vince Clarke's hilarious Mae West costume)!
Apart from Andy and his costumes, there are two superb back-up vocals (twin sisters) and a full complement of dancers, all of whom also go through a number of really interesting costume changes which are usually themed to the music. As for the choreography, it's nothing short of spectacular, which is especially apparent during the sole instrumental number (The Good, The Bad And The Ugly) which, together with the Arizona-desert backdrop, sets the "cowboy" atmosphere for the upcoming set of songs.
That leads me to the songs themselves. The cowboy-themed numbers include a cover of the country song Stand By Your Man and The Soldier's Return (I'm not sure where this song comes from; I'm not familiar with it and it's not on any of their studio albums). Andy does a breathtakingly beautiful rendition of Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. Of course, there is the tribute to Abba featuring all four songs from Abba-esque. The rest are all Erasure's own songs: Who Needs Love Like That, Love Is A Loser, and Oh L'amour (from Wonderland); Sometimes (from Circus); A Little Respect, Ship Of Fools, Heart Of Stone, and Chains Of Love (from Innocents); Blue Savannah and Star (from Wild); Stop! (from POP!); and all ten songs from the Chorus album.
Disc two contains the only dvd extra, which is a 25-minute interview (from 2004) with the choreographer, the costume designer, Andy Bell and, at a separate location, Vince Clarke. In a nutshell, they discuss how the idea and themes for the show came about (like the swan, for example), how the music was choreographed, how the ideas for costumes came about and were achieved (that blue-sequined cowboy outfit, which was insured for $125,000, apparently took 5 people 3 months of full-time work to hand bead!), and so on. Excerpts from the concert and snippets of behind-the-scenes footage of rehearsals, etc., are interspersed throughout.
In conclusion, it's obvious that a lot of work went into bringing this musical extravaganza about, and I highly recommend the dvd to all fans of Erasure. Whether you've seen their concerts live or not, if you like the music of this extremely talented British synth-pop duo, you will certainly enjoy this concert. I've watched it twice since getting it (which was less than a week ago), and it is hands down the most entertaining concert I've ever seen!
Extremely highly recommended!
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DVD Features: 2 DVD 5.1 surround sound Directed by David Mallet [David Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes']. Recorded at the Apollo in Manchester, UK, on August 6 1992 Features Erasure's Andy Bell in several eye-catching costumes, aswell as dancers and dozens of sets. Second disc features exclusive interviews and backstage footageTRACKLISTING Siren Song Ship of Fools Chorus Breath of Life Chains of Love Love to HateYou Joan Voulez Vous Take a Chance on Me SOS Lay All Your Love On Me Am I Right? Oh L'amour Waiting For The Day Heart of Stone Stop! The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Who Needs Love Like That Stand By Your Man The Soldiers' Return Turns The Love To Anger Star Blue Savannah Over the Rainbow Love is a Loser A Little Respect Home Perfect Stranger Sometimes
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