Erasure - On The Road To Nashville

What do you do with an English electro-rock band that expresses a wish to play in Nashville after two of its songs - "Piano Song" and "How Many Times?" are dubbed "pure Nashville Noir?" Putting them, their band and a crack crew of Nashville Cats in the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Old Opry, before the Opry moved to the plastic Opryland, is a good start. This is where Hank Williams played. This is where Jonathan Demme made his Neil Young film, "Heart Of Gold." This is where Neil Young played Hank Williams' original guitar and where a Katrina refugee I recently met in downtown San Mateo used to hang out as a kid with Minnie Pearl, Stringbean, Uncle Dave Macon and all those folks. She said Minnie Pearl did indeed hold her in her lap. But, more importantly, Elvis held her in his lap. She had toddled over to Graceland to give Gladys' boy and his entourage their paper. She also helped deliver that baby born on the Woodstock soundtrack, having been trained as a midwife from the age of three. But, that's another story. Vince Clarke, once of Depeche Mode and Yazoo, and his longtime singing partner, Andy Bell, essay over 20 years of hits, misses and their trademark vocal perfection here. These include the aforementioned "Nashville Noir" pieces, "Blue Savannah," "Chains Of Love," "Ship Of Fools" and many more. There's also a short film, "The Road To Union Street" on the first CD and a DVD of the complete Nashville concert. Steve Curry's pedal steel guitar and banjo and Richard Hammond's acoustic bass must be mentioned, as would all the others be if there were more room. That includes Steve Walsh on guitar and mandolin, because a Ryman concert sans a mandolin player wouldn't be a Ryman concert. A great concert, if out of left field. Maybe more English rock bands should take a stab at this "pure Nashville Noir." [www.erasureinfo.com]