a bit spotty

This one's a toss up for me. While it contains some of their best singles ever ( Blue Savannah, You Surround Me, and Star ) it also has the "is it camp or it is not camp?" of the song Gloria, with its ill-advised attempt at Latin rhythms. Also, Drama, while once one a favourite of mine, I now see as the overwrought expression it is. And the lyrics are just incredibly heavy-handed.( "The infinite complexities of life"....INDEED). 2,000 Miles and Brother and Sister are two more songs that reach for greatness but ultimately fail, due to the lyrics. Seeing as the best of the songs on this cd were released as singles, and therefore included on the POP! cd ( their first, and best, "BEST OF" ), I can't really see the necessity in owning this one.

Erasure branches out

Obviously tired of the confines of mere synthesizers, Vince Clark made "Wild!" into the most organic and lush sounding Erasure album to date. While not as instantly hook laden as "The Innocents," it has stood the test of time better than most of Erasure's catalog. As a songwriting team, Clark and Bell also managed to pen a trio of classic singles with "Drama!," "Star" and the magnificent "Blue Savannah."

They also began to test the limits of their lyrical concerns, as "Crown Of Thorns" takes a bitter look at the future of England before the album winds out with "Piano Song." Andy seems intrigued by the chance to perform a more expansive set of songs; save for "Chorus," this is the best sung of all the Erasure albums. Listen to the difference between the operatic campiness of "Drama!" as compared to the deeper coloration of "How Many Times." Not like all is changed, the dance grooves of "2000 Miles" and "Brother and Sister" cook. In fact, the only real dud here is "La Gloria," where the experiment in Latin rhythms misses the target.

Out of the many Erasure albums available, "Wild!" is one of the few I can recommend as a whole album.

One of my favorite albums

This along w/ Chorus are not only 2 of my favorite Erasure albums, but 2 of my favorite albums period! The only song I have to pass over is the oh so annoying La Gloria. The heavy handed lyrics as one put it are a bit overdone, but hello? It's Erasure we're talking about! Makes them more appealing in my opinion. Because they have so much talent they can get away w/ it. How many times is one of my favorite love ballads and totally different from anything else I have heard of Erasures. The whole album (except for La Gloria) is just gorgeous. Campy & over dramatic yes, but gorgeous nonetheless and that's their whole appeal.