Having built up a strong fan base and back catalogue in just a couple of years, Erasure turned into a full-blown pop phenomenon thanks to The Innocents, winning the British equivalent of the Grammy for album of the year and spawning a big American hit single, “Chains of Love.” Stephen Hague took over as producer from Flood, perhaps smoothing out some points for a more general mainstream appeal but otherwise letting the strengths of the songs speak for themselves. It begins with another single and stone-cold classic, “A Little Respect,” with a charging beat/acoustic guitar/synth arrangement and a flat-out fantastic performance from Bell, especially on the ascending chorus. Guest performances help flesh out a number of songs quite well. Wheeler and others reappear on “Yahoo!,” a gospel-touched (musically and lyrically) number, while noted session performers the Kick Horns add just that to the “please come back” punch of “Heart of Stone.” On their own, though, the duo continues in the same general vein of earlier releases while the Erasure formula of dance/synth/soul was now clearly established through and through, thankfully the combination of slight variety and overall performance prevents the album from dragging. The Innocents’ ballads are perhaps a touch prettier than the lyrics would make them out to be, but if the sheen of songs like “Hallowed Ground” cuts away from the sometimes blunt images of poverty and hopelessness Bell calls up, the music still has a solid power. The CD version adds a fine original, “When I Needed You,” and a fun cover of the Phil Spector/Ike and Tina Turner classic “River Deep, Mountain High.” – Ned Raggett