Cowboy (album)
| Cowboy | ||||
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| Studio album by Erasure | ||||
| Released | 31 March 1997 (see Release history) |
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| Recorded | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 49:20 | |||
| Label | Mute Records, Maverick Records |
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| Producer | Neil McLellan, Gareth Jones | |||
| Erasure chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cowboy | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
Cowboy was the eighth studio album by Erasure, released in 1997 by Mute Records in the UK. In the U.S., it was released by Madonna's former label Maverick Records. Cowboy was produced by Gareth Jones and Neil McLellan and marked the band's return to more simplistic three-minute synthpop music.
After disappointing sales and chart placing of their last studio album Erasure, Cowboy returned the duo to the Top 10 of the UK album chart and it contained three singles (two of which hit the UK Top 30). In the U.S., Cowboy greatly improved Erasure's Billboard 200 peak over their previous album and first single "In My Arms" gave them another Hot 100 entry. Sales also improved in Germany, where Cowboy peaked at number thirty-four.
The album contained eleven Vince Clarke/Andy Bell originals in its UK version. For its U.S. 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 of Blondie's "Rapture" (with Clarke providing the rap); and a version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "Magic Moments" that Erasure had contributed to the Lord of Illusions soundtrack.
Erasure embarked on another major tour of the UK and U.S. to promote this album, in their trademark style it contained elaborate stage settings and costumes (including Clarke dressed as a guitar-playing cactus).
Track listing
All tracks written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, except where noted.
- "Rain" – 4:10
- "Worlds on Fire" – 3:37
- "Reach Out" – 3:47
- "In My Arms" – 3:28
- "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" – 3:46
- "Precious" – 3:31
- "Treasure" – 3:04
- "Boy" – 3:41
- "How Can I Say" – 3:17
- "Save Me Darling" – 4:01
- "Love Affair" – 3:39
- "Rapture" (Debbie Harry, Chris Stein) - 6:34 (US only bonus track)
- "Magic Moments" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 2:37 (US only bonus track)
Chart performance
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart[2] | 27 |
| Canadian Albums Chart[3][4] | 69 |
| Finnish Albums Chart[5] | 40 |
| German Albums Chart[6] | 34 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[7] | 19 |
| UK Albums Chart[8] | 10 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Chart[9] | 43 |
Personnel
- Tracie Ackerman – Vocals (background)
- Jordan Bailey – Vocals (background)
- Andy Bell – Voices
- Andy Caine – Vocals (background)
- Vince Clarke – Multi Instruments
- Graham Dominy – Assistant Engineer
- Larimie Garcia – Design
- Luke Gifford – Engineer
- George Holt – Engineer
- Gareth Jones – Producer
- Neil McLellan – Producer
- Kevin Reagan – Design
- Sam Smith – Vocals (background)
- Mark "Spike" Stent – Mixing
- Darren Tai – Assistant Engineer
- Paul Walton – Assistant Engineer
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 31 March 1997 |
| United States | 22 April 1997 |
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
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