Cowboy (album)

Cowboy
Studio album by Erasure
Released	31 March 1997 (1997-03-31) (see Release history)
Recorded	1996
Genre	Synthpop
Length	49:20
Label	Mute Records, Maverick Records
Producer	Neil McLellan, Gareth Jones
Erasure chronology
Erasure (1995) Cowboy (1997) Loveboat (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Cowboy is an album recorded by Erasure in 1997 and released by Mute Records in the UK. In the U.S., it was released by Madonna's former label Maverick Records. Cowboy was produced by Gareth Jones and Neil McLellan and marked the band's return to more simplistic three-minute synthpop music.

After disappointing sales and chart placing of their last studio album Erasure, Cowboy returned the duo to the top ten of the UK album chart and it contained three singles (two of which hit the UK top thirty). In the U.S., Cowboy greatly improved Erasure's Billboard 200 peak over their previous album and first single "In My Arms" gave them another Hot 100 entry. Sales also improved in Germany, where Cowboy peaked at number thirty-four.

The album contained eleven Vince Clarke/Andy Bell originals in its UK version. For its U.S. release the album artwork was changed slightly and two bonus tracks were added: a cover version of Blondie's "Rapture" (with Clarke providing the rap); and a version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "Magic Moments" that Erasure had contributed to the Lord of Illusions soundtrack.

Erasure embarked on another major tour of the UK and U.S. to promote this album, in their trademark style it contained elaborate stage settings and costumes (including Clarke dressed as a guitar-playing cactus).

Track listing

1. "Rain" (Clarke/Bell) – 4:10
2. "Worlds on Fire" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:37
3. "Reach Out" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:47
4. "In My Arms" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:28
5. "Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:46
6. "Precious" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:31
7. "Treasure" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:04
8. "Boy" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:41
9. "How Can I Say" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:17
10. "Save Me Darling" (Clarke/Bell) – 4:01
11. "Love Affair" (Clarke/Bell) – 3:39
12. "Rapture" (Chris Stein/Deborah Harry) - 6:34 (US only)
13. "Magic Moments" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 2:37 (US only)

Chart performance

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart[2]	27
Canadian Albums Chart[3]	69
German Albums Chart[4]	34
Finnish Albums Chart[5]	40
Swedish Albums Chart[6]	19
UK Albums Chart[7]	10
US Billboard 200[8]	43

Personnel

• Tracie Ackerman – Vocals (bckgr)
• Jordan Bailey – Vocals (bckgr)
• Andy Bell – Voices
• Andy Caine – Vocals (bckgr)
• Vince Clarke – Multi Instruments
• Graham Dominy – Assistant Engineer
• Larimie Garcia – Design
• Luke Gifford – Engineer
• George Holt – Engineer
• Gareth Jones – Producer
• Neil McLellan – Producer
• Kevin Reagan – Design
• Sam Smith – Vocals (bckgr)
• Mark "Spike" Stent – Mixing
• Darren Tai – Assistant Engineer
• Paul Walton – Assistant Engineer

Release history

Region	Date
United Kingdom	31 March 1997 (1997-03-31)
United States	22 April 1997 (1997-04-22)

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ http://www.austriancharts.at/
3. ^ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/
4. ^ http://www.musicline.de/
5. ^ http://www.finnishcharts.com/
6. ^ http://www.swedishcharts.com/
7. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/
8. ^ http://www.billboard.com/