A volte anche un netto ed evidente dietrofront può avere il suo appeal ed una valida ragion d'essere; il più delle volte succede che arrivato ad un certo punto e ad una certa fama un artista decide di cambiare direzione, con esiti più o meno buoni, i fans piagnucolano, la casa discografica brontola, le radio non lo passano più e alla fine l'artista torna indietro in un tripudio di proclami di "rinascita". Per gli Erasure non è andata esattamente così, la ricerca di un sound più elegante e (relativamente) meno garrulo inizia con "Chorus", probabilmente il loro disco di maggior successo, per poi perfezionarsi con i suoi immediati successori. Il crollo di vendite tra "Chorus" e "I Say, I Say, I Say" non è sicuramente dovuto a chissà quale cambiamento radicale e nè tantomeno ad un calo di ispirazione dato che l'album del 1994 è di ottimo livello, bensì ai soliti e facilmente intuibili motivi che francamente mi sono pure stufato di menzionare per l'ennesima volta; discorso a parte per "Erasure" del '95 con le sue lunghe, atmosferiche e poco radiofoniche ballads, che estremizzano (senza comunque stravolgerlo) lo stile messo a punto negli anni precedenti, mantenendo un feeling immediatamente riconoscibile e portando a termine un percorso graduale di crescita e maturità.
Per come la vedo io, arrivati a quel punto gli Erasure non avrebbero avuto poi molto da perdere continuando su questa direzione: la fase di grande splendore commerciale era ormai alle spalle e loro lo sapevano, specialmente il più navigato Vince Clarke, conquistare un gran numero di nuovi fans tra le nuove generazioni era un'impresa ai limiti dell'impossibile ma d'altro canto potevano contare su una solida fanbase costruita negli anni, che in larga parte aveva apprezzato questa svolta "alternativa". A quanto pare, "Erasure" viene considerato come una fuoriserie di impegnativa progettazione destinata a rimanere un esemplare unico, la chiusura di un ciclo piuttosto che un punto di partenza, ed è una scelta assolutamente rispettabile che dimostra umiltà ed autoconsapevolezza, soprattutto data la coerenza e la serietà con cui Andy e Vince hanno affrontato (e stanno ancora affrontando) la loro fase di "riflusso", che inizia ufficialmente con questo "Cowboy".
A due anni di distanza dal loro vertice artistico, gli Erasure ritornano a proporre un synth-pop fresco, gradevole e spensierato, e lo fanno con un disco veramente ben riuscito: semplice, lineare, assolutamente non pretenzioso, con melodie decisamente ispirate ed orecchiabili, un livello qualitativo ottimo ed uniforme ed un sound più snello rispetto a dischi come "The Innocents" e "Wild!", in linea con i tempi anche se inconfondibilmente personale. "Cowboy" trasmette entusiasmo e gioia di vivere da ogni singola nota, in episodi dinamici e frizzanti come "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me", "Have Me Darling" e "Rain" ed anche con midtempos più calmi ed equilibrati che a differenza di quanto si potrebbe pensare costituiscono la struttura portante dell'album, in particolare "Worlds On Fire", "In My Arms", "How Can I Say" e la pseudo-darkeggiante "Treasure".
Due ottime ballads come "Boy" e "Love Affair", perfettamente integrate nel contesto, completano un album nel suo genere assolutamente perfetto, un ascolto piacevole e divertente che riesce sempre a regalare un sorriso. Un pop semplice ed intelligente, ed in fin dei conti l'involuzione, se così la vogliamo chiamare, è netta ed evidente solo in rapporto ad "Erasure", un disco che fa un po' storia a sè, molto meno con le precedenti uscite discografiche. In un certo senso, "Cowboy" è quasi un fratello minore di "I Say, I Say, I Say", più sbarazzino ed informale ma con lo stesso stile inconfondibile; è un bel disco degli Erasure con tutte le garanzie e le certezze del caso, basta questo per descriverlo efficacemente.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Rain (04:10)
What is there to do? Only rain
Falling down from the sky
Only me and you fair and plain
Nothing lost and nothing gained
Only the love nothin more nothing
less comes between us
Tempretures rising my passion
is burning inside
My world in lines saving all as one
A love that no-one can deny
My one true light same for everyone
A love I dare you to defy
Only Rain
I once settled for less, but no regrets
Seeing myself in your own reflection
(seeing myself in your reflection)
Something in your eyes, that tells me why
I'm a fool for your own affection
Only the love nothing more nothing less
comes between us
Tempretures rising my passion
is burning inside
My world in lines saving all as one
A love that no-one can deny
(only Rain)
My one true light same for everyone
A love we dare you to defy
Only Rain
You are my, My one true
My world in lines
you are my, My one true
My world in lines
My world in lines saving all as one
The love wich no-one can deny
My one true light same for everyone
A love we dare you to defy
Only Rain
My world in lines saving all is one
A love we dare you to defy
Only Rain
02 Worlds on Fire (03:37)
Across the sea, the sea of love
and when it's dark i rise above
move slowly through the quiet air
i hear your voice, it takes me there
call my name aloud and i'll be there for you
there is no end to all the things that i would do
CHORUS
stop your crying and dry up your endless tears
don't you know you've got the key, love sets you free
worlds on fire, full of pain and endless fear
don't you know , open your eyes, love sets you free
i hold you tight, my mind is clear
true love in sight, hurt desappears
we are space, a lonely race
a speck of dust upon the face
you are magnificent, and i am here for you
there is no end to all the things that i would do
CHORUS
stop your crying and dry up your endless tears
don't you know, you've got the key, love sets you free
worlds on fire, full of pain and endless fear
don't you know, open your eyes, love sets you free
stop your crying and dry up your endless tears
don't you know, you've got the key, love sets you free
worlds on fire, full of pain and endless fear
don't you know, open your eyes, love sets you free
03 Reach Out (03:47)
Don't walk away
I need you more than words can say
I feel for you
This everlasting flame
My everlasting flame
I will wash away your tears
Through the pain and through the sorrow
Better days are still to come
If you would only turn around and
Reach out and touch me
Reach out and hold me
Reach out and touch me
You feel the rain
I feel the tear drops run down my face
You hide your fear
In everlasting shame
My everlasting flame
We have wasted so much time
So your saying now its over
Better days are still to come
Don't turn your back on me now darling
Reach out and touch me (reach out and touch me)
Reach out and hold me (reach out and hold me)
Reach out and touch me (reach out and touch me)
I will wash away your tears
Through the pain and through the sorrow
Better days are still to come (better days)
If you would only turn around and
Reach out and touch me (reach out and touch me)
Reach out and hold me (reach out and hold me)
Reach out and touch me (reach out and touch me)
Dont' walk away from me now darling
I need you now much more than ever
Don't you walk away from me now darling
04 In My Arms (03:28)
The deal is on the rise again.
The ship comes into shore.
They've been away to somewhere,
but life goes on no less.
Through the foreign oceans,
underneath the seas.
And walls come tumbling down;
we'll be forever calm.
And you'll be here in my arms,
I'll keep you away from harm.
I thought about you twice just then;
you get me everytime.
Keeps coming out of nowhere;
it cannot be defined.
Your colors are magnificent:
from magenta to bright blue.
And walls come tumbling down;
we'll be forever calm.
And you'll be here in my arms,
I'll keep you away from harm.
And walls come tumbling down;
we'll be forever calm.
And you'll be here in my arms,
I'll keep you away from harm.
07 Treasure (03:04)
I'm coming in, got the wood stove on
at the end of a treasured day
take off my hat and shoes
and i lay me down
lives been lost and fortunes won
a test of the will to survive
see where the shadow falls
and you stake your claim
CHORUS
I dream of trees and roads
i roam across the hills
the sky is big, the deepest blue,
the clouds like smoky trains
News coming in , goes nation wide
not a grain of truth to be heard
lie to an ancient tribe, in their mother tongue
wreaking havoc and wrecking lives
like a ball and chain to the skull
rise see the eagle fly
spirit can't be broken
I dream of trees and roads
i roam across the hills
the sky is big, the deepest blue,
the clouds like smoky trains
Bridge
I dream of trees and roads
i roam across the hills
the sky is big, the deepest blue,
the clouds like smoky trains
08 Boy (03:41)
Love you boy, till i fall
the child in me again, he plays the fool
Cry for joy, amen
for after all, it's only life
and the way you stir your coffee, like an angel in the morning
still you dare to change your mind
you'll be sorry when it's over
when you've had your taste of freedom
don't come crying on my shoulder
Save your tears, don't mean much
is the guilty party me? i don't think so
and it, it's no bed of roses lying here
tossing and turning
still you dare to change your mind
you'll be sorry when it's over
when you've had your taste of freedom
don't come crying on my shoulder
and these, these years of love and giving surely
must be something to you
10 Save Me Darling (04:01)
Why should it matter how i feel?
This old romantic down at heel
Then again if i'd known the outcome sure you'd win
Ellusion shattered made them real
A night of magic fate is sealed
ran a mock, and you knocked my tiny world for six
It wouldn't have made the slightest blindest bit of difference
All together now let's hear you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
I feel it deep down deep inside
can-not belive wer'e still alive
that is good coz I did not mean you harm my love
We took a shot at mascarade
Came crashing down on love's parade
We where young, where so full of teen emotion then
We couldn't have made the slightest blindest bit of difference
All together now lets hear you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
All together now lets hear you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
We couldn't have made the slightest blindest bit of difference
All together now lets hear you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
All together now lets hear you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
We couldn't have made the slightest blindest bit of difference
I'm all over save me darling
All together now lets see you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
All together now lets see you pray
Make it better now and savour the day
I'm all over save me darling
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