Ebb Tide

While there's nothing wrong with doing an album of covers, putting such a project together has its risks. For Erasure, the experiment yields mixed results. More often than not, they connect with the material in unexpected ways, and certainly with greater success than one might expect from other electronic groups. This is due largely to the fact that these guys have been around long enough to develop a sensitivity to music as being more than a beat and a hook. Their sense of humor leads them to revise "Video Killed the Radio Star" in a way that's not only highly amusing - it actually suits the message of the song. Plus, Andy Bell remains a very convincing singer, particularly on the softer material, where his choir-boy timbre glistens and shimmers…

Frank Sinatra's intimate 1958 opus, Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely, has been newly mixed in stereo for an expanded 60th Anniversary Edition to be released worldwide on October 19 by Capitol/UMe and Frank Sinatra Enterprises. 'Only The Lonely' (60th Anniversary Edition) will be released in a Deluxe 2CD package, in 180-gram 2LP vinyl and 1CD configurations, and in two digital album versions.

The two Martin Denny albums that gave the exotica style its name and popularized its sound, originally released circa 1957, are here combined onto one compact disc. The earlier album (featuring "Quiet Village") is jazzier and more boisterous than you might expect; Exotica, Vol. 2 is considerably mellower, and heavier on the cocktail lounge vibe.

The first-ever album from Henry Mancini - and a wonderfully spooky set! The style here is quite different than most of Hank's better-known film work and instrumental hits - as the record is very moody and laidback - cut with a slow-moving, dreamy sort of darkness that's really compelling! The instrumentation is very unusual - a mix of organ, accordion, and guitar by Laurindo Almeida - all stepped gently along with some spare electric bass bits by Bob Bain, who really knows how to preserve a sense of space in the set. There's a bit of wordless vocals from the lovely Lulu Jean Norman - almost in modes that would show up later in Italian soundtracks - and although there's a bit of an exotica feel to the record, it's very slight, given the lack of any percussion or drums - and instead comes off with a very spooky dream-like quality.