ALBUM REVIEW: ANDY BELL – Variance: The Torsten The Bareback Saint Remixes

8/10

ALBUM REVIEW: ANDY BELL – Variance: The Torsten The Bareback Saint Remixes

As Andy Bell embarks on another non-stop year, the flamboyant workaholic, who incidentally has just completed a solo string of gigs across South and Central America, releases the first of a number of Solo, Collaborative (with Dave Aude) and Erasure material that will take him up to the second installment of Barney Ashton Bullocks, Torsten installment. Torsten the Beautiful Libertine is set to make its London stage debut around March 2016 with Bell again taking up the stage guise of “Torsten” the semi- immortal poly-sexual, after the highly acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run of his Torsten the Bareback Saint in 2014.

Variance which ultimately is the Torsten the Bareback Saint Remixes Album, focuses mainly on the track from the original album Weston-Super-Mare, telling of a trip between “Torsten” and his then partner to the Somerset resort, which carries a radio mix and four further mixes, a rather improved mix of Bingo Hall Baby, two radio remixes of I Don’t Like, the sublime Fountain of Youth plus a promotional medley from Torsten the Bareback Saint album.

The radio and extended versions of Weston are plainly acoustic guitar/ piano based, but subtle in styling without any lavish addition defecting from the original, the difference emerges with the three further mixes, firstly the Dancing with Ruby mix which dare I say goes a bit Pet Shop Boys in its melancholy or Beloved “Sweet Harmony” around the Bassline which credits the remixer with the craft to turn a pretty decent track into a great one.

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Barnsley’s Mike Stanley AKA mOOger enhances the next version with a minimal but spacial effort that again enhances and does not diminish from the original. Donning echoed pads and punchy bass the quality of the mix is further enhanced with subtle effects on the last verse that makes for an augmented interpretation. Sampled voices greet the listener with distorted keys and abstract synths on the “Industrial Soundscape” mix which is pretty grim and out of place, if I have to be honest so when Bingo Hall Baby follows, albeit a bit of a party trick on the original album, credibility of this release returns. The interpretation is a pretty generic pop type mix that doesn’t offer much difference than most releases nowadays except the track itself and the construction of the lyrics throw it in a curve balled direction that sets this apart from the usual top 40 dross but transforms the “Cheeky Landan” piss take into Europop Elysium.

I Don’t Like and Fountain of Youth are condensed to radio mixes but neither lose the character or the assembly that the album versions bring. Both are strong tracks albeit sorrowful and pensive compared to what Mr Bell is renowned for with both Erasure and his previous solo offerings , but as strong as anything he has ever sang as a solo artist.
The Promotional Medley as the last track gives a flavour of the initial album/show which to be fair does highlight the acquired taste of the album but doesn’t try to mask the diversity that it contains.

Andy Bell has just celebrated 30 years with Erasure and with a possible release of the brilliant track True Original with Dave Aude and a 2015 “Sometimes” re-release in October mixed by Dave Wrench (Hot chip, Jamie XX, Caribou) followed by “Always- the Very best of Erasure”, he has a pretty hectic year in front of him, and that’s if rumours can be believed, he will commence writing with Vince Clarke on a new Erasure album as well as releasing a Fan Friendly Anthology Boxset and a series of 180gm Vinyl reissues.

Breath back!! He’s a busy very boy bearing in mind he hails from Florida now and not the UK, and credit where due, the front man of once Brit Awards, “Best British Group” still puts a shift in regardless of whether he’s on top of the world or just entertaining the nostalgic 80’s synth gang.

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