This is the third Erasure CD-5 from Wild!, and they're maintaining a great average so far: three for three. "Star" is another one of those rip-roaring Clarke/Bell compositions that's as much fun for the ears as it is for the feet, and we get it here in a stupendous single mix, an extended mix... [+] Expand

This is the third Erasure CD-5 from Wild!, and they're maintaining a great average so far: three for three. "Star" is another one of those rip-roaring Clarke/Bell compositions that's as much fun for the ears as it is for the feet, and we get it here in a stupendous single mix, an extended mix that does good things with the tune and lets it carry a dance rhythm along with the infectious, cheerful, melody, and a version that, as is usual with these releases, takes the track off and hammers it into something entirely different -- here it's a version that sucks up '70s soul by the bucket load. The bad puppy in the litter, though, is the "Interstellar Mix," executed by William Orbit, whose bag of remix tricks seems to have been left at home. Here he kicks in a version of "Star" that pays homage to woodpeckers, and buries everything that's interesting about the song behind an overloaded and over-busy rhythm track. This is rare for Orbit, who has taken a number of songs and stretched them out and often improved on them (his versions of Prince's "Batdance" take sections of the number and develop them, for example, making them listenable in the process). The only other song gracing the CD-5 is "Dreamlike State," which was recorded in San Francisco. It's a beautiful ballad, sung with grace and style by Andy Bell, and it's a fine addition to the pantheon of love songs. The remix here lives and breathes, despite the arsenal of samplers and synthesizers carried around by Vince Clarke. Great work. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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