''Cowboy'' is the eighth studio album by English

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

duo

Erasure Erasure may refer to: Arts and media * Erasure (duo), an English pop group * ''Erasure'' (album), 1995, by the British group Erasure * Erasure poetry, a form of found poetry created by erasing words from an existing text * ''Erasure'' (novel), ...

, released on 31 March 1997 by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

. In the United States, it was released by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's former label

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...

. ''Cowboy'' was produced by Gareth Jones and

Neil McLellan Neil McLellan is an English record producer, composer and mix engineer. McLellan has worked with XL Recordings, Sony BMG Music Ent., Epic, Sire, Arista, Columbia, Maverick, Virgin, and Island Records to produce a string of No. 1 hits, as well ...

and marked the band's return to more simplistic three-minute synth-pop music. After disappointing sales and chart placing of their previous studio album, ''

'', ''Cowboy'' returned the duo to the top 10 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and it contains three singles (two of which hit the UK top 30). In the US, ''Cowboy'' greatly improved Erasure's ''Billboard'' 200 peak over their previous album, and first single " In My Arms" gave them another

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

entry. Sales also improved in Germany, where ''Cowboy'' peaked at number thirty-four. The album contains eleven

Vince Clarke Vincent John Martin (born 3 July 1960), known professionally as Vince Clarke, is an English synth-pop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been the main composer and musician of the band Erasure since its inception in 1985, and was previously ...

/ Andy Bell originals in its UK version. For its US release, the album artwork was changed slightly, the original version of "In My Arms" was replaced with a slightly different US mix and two bonus tracks were added: a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Blondie's "

Rapture The Rapture is an Christian eschatology, eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all dead Christian believers will be resurrected and, joined with Chr ...

" (with Clarke providing the rap); and a version of the

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

song "

Magic Moments "Magic Moments" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and written by Hal David, being one of the first songwriting collaborations by that duo. This song was recorded by Perry Como and released in 1957 as the B-side of his " Catch a Falli ...

" originally recorded by

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

that Erasure had contributed to the ''

Lord of Illusions ''Lord of Illusions'' is a 1995 American neo-noir supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, based on his own short story ''The Last Illusion'' published in 1985 in the anthology ''Books of Blood'' Volume 6. The same story intr ...

'' soundtrack. Erasure embarked on another major tour of the UK and US to promote this album, in their trademark style it contained elaborate stage settings and costumes (including Clarke dressed as a guitar-playing cactus).

Critical reception

Emma Cochrane of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' noted that, although Erasure were "stuck in the '80s" and provided the "same distinctive sound, mixing ballads and bouncy tunes", the album contained "polished, friendly, likeable, pure pop".

Track listing

2016 "Erasure 30" 30th anniversary BMG reissue LP

Subsequent to their acquisition of Erasure's back catalog, and in anticipation of the band's 30th anniversary, BMG commissioned reissues of all previously released UK editions of Erasure albums up to and including 2007's ''

Light at the End of the World ''Light at the End of the World'' is the thirteenth studio album by English synth-pop duo Erasure, released on 14 May 2007 by Mute Records. The album's release was announced on the band's website on 26 January 2007 in a video message from memb ...

''. All titles were pressed and distributed by Play It Again Sam on 180-gram vinyl and shrinkwrapped with a custom anniversary sticker.

Personnel

Tracy Ackerman Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, Tina ...

– vocals (background) *Jordan Bailey – vocals (background) * Andy Bell – lead vocals *Andy Caine – vocals (background) *

– multi instruments *Graham Dominy – assistant engineer *Larimie Garcia – design *Luke Gifford – engineer *George Holt – engineer * Gareth Jones – producer *

– producer *

Kevin Reagan Kevin Reagan is a three-time Grammy Award-winning graphic designer/art director, also honored by the AIGA, ''Print'', and ''Communication Arts''. He has created artwork for critically and commercially acclaimed albums by Madonna, The Foo Figh ...

– design *Sam Smith – vocals (background) *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran, ...

– mixing *Darren Tai – assistant engineer *Paul Walton – assistant engineer

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 albums Albums produced by Gareth Jones (music producer) Erasure (duo) albums Maverick Records albums Mute Records albums