The Two Ring Circus

This album followed on the heels of Erasure's breakthrough album "The Circus," and consists of remixed and live versions of songs from "The Circus" and "Wonderland." Though the tracks here do not improve on the originals, they are often interesting reinterpretations. The best remix here is "Leave Me to Bleed," which was good in the original, but gains an extra layer of mystery and melancholy here. I think the orchestral versions tend toward the melodramatic--each of the orchestral tracks (8,9,10) was better in the original. The live versions display Andy Bell's still maturing voice, and some alternate arrangements of the songs. Remixes were always an essential part of Erasure's career, and have always informed my listenings of the originals, but they rarely improve on the original versions, so this is why only 3 stars here. Worth having, but not better than "The Circus" itself.