Some Pop Music

The group Erasure formed in 1986 when Vince Clark, formerly of Depeche Mode and Yaz, advertised for a vocalist in the British music paper, Melody Maker and recruited Andy Bell (Hiltbrand 22). Between the synthesizer Europop sound of Vince Clark and the sensitive rendition of bittersweet love songs by Andy Bell, the group has been able to produce popular albums long after the 1980's synth-pop trend died away (Walters 61). Their most recent album, "Other Peoples' Songs" (2003), is actually a compilation of 12 cover songs ranging from "True Love Always" first recorded by Buddy Holly, to "Video Killed the Radio Star" recorded by The Buggles and including "Solsbury Hill," first recorded by Peter Gabriel in 1977.

The term "Cover Song" originated in the 1950s in the popular music industry to indicate that a particular song was recorded by performers other than the original recording artists, with the idea of reaching a different section of the music market (Witmer and Marks www.grovemusic.com). For example, when Elvis Presley recorded "Hound Dog" it reached a much wider audience than when it was originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton on a small regional la

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onal cover song, but also to do whole albums of cover songs. In fact, their most recent album, "Other People's Songs" (2003), is not the first such album that they have done. In 1992, Erasure released a small four-song album titled "Abba-Esque," which was their tribute to the Swedish group Abba. At that time, Erasure was able to use their synth-pop sensibilities to advantage with the former disco hits so that these dance covers remained popular long after what is normal (Brod 74; Walters 61). With the album, "Other Peoples' Songs," Erasure opens up with Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill," which was his declaration of independence after leaving the band Genesis in 1977 ("Peter Gabriel" www.rollingstone.com). In the 1977 version, Peter Gabriel uses guitar riffs to bring a sunny disposition to the tune of the song, set off against lyrics that demonstrate the stress and uncertainty of a future without his bandmates in Genesis. Since they had been together since 1966, and Genesis was on the brink of breaking into worldwide fame, breaking away from the band at just this moment was considered extremely risky and very foolish ("Peter Gabriel" www.rollingstone.com). This is demonstrated in the lines: "To keepin' silence I resigned/My
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Peter Gabriel, Solsbury Hill, Gabriel Lyricscom, Andy Bell, Crew Cuts, Accessed March, Covers Project, Cover Song, Abba Erasure, Cover Chains, peter gabriel, solsbury hill, accessed march, cover songs, gabriel lyricscom, peter gabriel lyricscom, peter gabriel wwwrollingstonecom, songs erasure, peoples' songs, gabriel wwwrollingstonecom, cover song, cover chains, witmer marks wwwgrovemusiccom, heart boom boom, accessed march 26,
Approximate Word count = 1230
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)