An avid collector of Erasure music (singles, imports, etc), I was anxiously awaiting the US arrival of this long-delayed album. My first impression of this album was mixed. It was not truly in the tradition of the syntho-pop music that made Erasure so reknowned. Nevertheless, I gave "Loveboat" a chance and put it through multiple listening sessions.

Driving along the interstates of Texas, I suddenly realized that this was the Erasure of the 2000s. The message of their music, which meant so much to me growing up, carried through. The sound was somewhat different than what the Children of the 80s may have anticipated, but it was beautifully adjusted to a more current beat.

"Mad As We Are" is a fantastic piece which begins like black & white television then morphs into a classic Erasure ballad. Simplistic and haunting, this song speaks loudly. "Catch 22" is an upbeat tune in the tradition of early Erasure albums. "Alien" is yet another tune that should appeal to the hardcore Erasure following.

There is a new twist to the album that will leave some Erasure-ites with mixed emotions. Several of the songs have a harder edge that speak to a more alternative sort of taste. It took several listenings for me to adapt to this new sound from Bell & Clark.

This album is traditional, campy and innovative. Be prepared for an experience that ranges from expected to the unexpected from our British Boys. The hardcore Erasure fan will find another gem. The casual listener looking for the sound of the 80s may be disappointed. Overall, however, the album is a keeper for anyone who considers themselves a connoisseur of the Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Depech Mode tradition.

I dock this CD one point because of the production, engineering and mixing. If it was supposed to be mixed this way, then I must be missing out on something. Most of the tunes on this disc, especially my personal favorite "Perchance to Dream", are mixed so oddly, with the vocals mixed way down and the bass SO way up front, it makes a horrible murky thudding mess of almost any system I play it on, whether it's on my home system , my computer system, my walkman, or in my truck. I have to adjust the bass so far down that it makes most of the songs inaudible and unenjoyable. That said, the majority of the tunes themselves are brilliant, as usual, full of the hooks fans have come to expect from Erasure. I find far less material I consider "filler" on Loveboat than on earlier, more popular releases such as Wild! and The Innocents. All in all, not as bad as many fans are making this out to be. I just think Loveboat should have been remastered or given to another remixer before being released in the US. I think it would have been more succesful. Then again, I'm sure Andy and Vince are happy with it, otherwise they wouldn't have let it go out like this. If I could sit them down and ask them myself, I surely would.

This album is quite a departure from previous Erasure albums. The songs are a bit more abstract (even more so than their self-titled Erasure album). Several songs seem to hint at a more acoustic sound, although the familiar electronic elements come in here and there. Upon first listen, it's easy to see why this album never really took off. It actually takes effort to listen and truly hear the musical arrangements. However, with that effort, you will hear a very well-written collection of songs.

My rating of three stars SHOULD have been four, but I had to take one away for the TERRIBLE mixing and cleanup of the sound. The album sounds like an old cassette tape. The bass is abnormally strong and messy, and some of the more important highs are drowned away. It's really a shame, because the record has huge potential to be one of Erasure's best.

Highlight tracks include the infectuous "Freedom", the melancholy "Alien", and the beautiful acoustic "Love Is The Rage", which is probably one of the best Erasure tracks I've ever heard.

I'd recommend this record for fans only. If you're unfamiliar with Erasure, check out The Best of, Chorus, I Say I Say I Say, Nightbird or The Innocents.

I know that I'm going against the grain in choosing this as one of the group's best--but I truly believe that it ranks with "Chorus" and "I Say, I Say, I Say." Others have docked this one points for its mixing, but on a good sound system it sounds just fine. People are not accustomed to the heavy bass and downplayed vocals, but the material here is well suited to this approach. The album was produced by Flood, who produced the first two Erasure albums with sparkling clarity, and who has produced many of the biggest names out there, including Depeche Mode and U2. The album sounds the way it was meant to.

Perhaps another reason for the lack of enthusiasm is that, other than "Freedom," there are no real Hi-NRG numbers, which were once the bread and butter of the group. It is a much more peaceful, pensive, and even melancholy record. I love nearly everything here, from the devastating "Mad As We Are," to the lovely "Alien," from the techno-blast of "Moon and the Sky" to the wistful romanticism of "Here in my Heart."

For me, this is the best Erasure album since "Erasure," far superior to "Cowboy" and "Other People's Songs," and more complex and interesting than "Nightbird."

No one saw this coming. In the wake of their previous album 'Cowboy', which had featured shimmering production and a very upbeat atmosphere, Erasure's 'Loveboat' docked with a resounding thud, both commercially and, more importantly, sonically. This album has the dubious honor of being Erasure's worst selling, and some would say worst-sounding album.

Although it continues the whimsical, computer-generated cover-art style of 'Cowboy', the similarities between the two records pretty much end there. The sound mix of 'Loveboat' is certainly the record's most infamous characteristic; producer Flood (with Erasure's cooperation) mixed this record down into a dubby, lo-fi, bass-heavy collection featuring dirty beats, hip-hop rhythms and a far-away, spacey atmosphere, which brought the record some critical acclaim (unusual for this band), but disastrous sales. It barely registered on the UK charts, and wasn't even released in the USA until 2003 (Maverick, their US label at the time, refused to release it without major remixing (and subsequently dropped them entirely), but finally Mute offered their own US release).

Despite its demo-like sound quality, 'Loveboat' does contain some outstanding tunes which, when taken on their own merit, rank among Erasure's best (and most uncharacteristic). Certainly the lead single "Freedom" would show up on most fan's 'best-of' lists, while the tender ballad "Mad As We Are" is a simply gorgeous track, building up from a dreamy start to a stratospheric conclusion. "Where in the World" is a melancholy masterpiece, "Love is the Rage" is a tuneful, guitar-based sing-along, and "Moon and the Sky" is an intense, dubby dance trip (the single version was drastically altered for commercial airplay). More traditional Erasure tracks "Here in My Heart" and "Catch 22" sound somewhat like 'Cowboy' outtakes, although they too have been mixed down into a lo-fi state. The tender ballad "Alien" is a standout, and the album's lovely closer "Surreal" ends the proceedings on a dreamy note, courtesy of Vince's atmospheric synths.

Indeed, Vince's synthetics throughout the record are heady and spacey, seeming to come out of nowhere at times. This gives 'Loveboat' an atmospheric ambience, and justifies its lo-fi mix. The entire record feels rough and underproduced, which, according to Vince, was the band's intention.

Most controversial among fans are the R&B-flavored tracks "Perchance to Dream" and "Crying in the Rain". Their hip-hop beats and altered vocals are uncharacteristic of the band (although traces of this style can be found on 'Cowboy'), and the bass lines literally take over the tracks. Erasure's charm had always stemmed from their bubbly, melodic songs that sounded superb ('Cowboy' in particular had been produced to a glistening sheen), so these tracks are rather jarring at first. In hindsight, "Perchance" would have made an excellent single, but slow album sales probably killed off any further single releases.

In some ways it is sad that 'Loveboat' is remembered mostly for its sound mix, since it contains so much interesting and adventuresome music. When taken on its own merits, 'Loveboat' offers an enjoyable cruise. It deserves a better reputation than it currently has, even among longtime fans.