Released three years after
Chorus,
I Say I Say I Say found
Erasure for the first time fully interested in essentially staying in place. The album as a whole is at base an attractively redressed version of what the duo had already done, the occasional slight surprise notwithstanding. While
Clarke in particular shows some virtuosity with his performances, helped by
Human League/
Heaven 17 veteran
Martyn Ware's production,
I Say lacks any real novelty (certainly
Bell's singing isn't going to change any earlier perceptions, positive or negative). It's not as experimentally indulgent as the self-titled album or unfortunately unmemorable as
Cowboy, but it's still not quite the group at its sharp pop finest track for track. When it does succeed, though, it has plenty of the flash and verve of old. "Always," the wonderful ballad that was the album's lead single, with a slightly quirky opening, strong verses both musically and lyrically, and a flat-out brilliant chorus,
Bell's impassioned delivery one of his finest moments.
I Say's lead-off one/two combination is also a winner; "Take Me Back" also plays the sweeping, slow card effectively,
Bell in particular getting in some fine singing. "I Love Saturday," meanwhile, neatly balances pepped up energy on
Clarke's part with a lower-key delivery from
Bell, a striking combination that makes for a better result than the strident, full-on pep of "Run to the Sun." Other winners include "Man in the Moon," which has a delightful chorus with a sweetly silly pipe/synth melody, "So the Story Goes," and "Miracle," the last two of which feature the singing of a cathedral choir. It's a nice look ahead to the reach of the self-titled record, though, with more pop-friendly song lengths and two of
Bell's best, strongest performances on the album. ~ Ned Raggett