Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Whatever you want to accuse Andy Bell of, being beige is not one of the indictments that should cross the bridge between the brain and the wagging tongue, being understated or not interesting should be considered taboo and foul of speech. If the words from the lips deny that he is own man and not attention grabbing then they should be forcibly whipped and sentenced to their own miserable existence in a cold heartless lexicon; for Andy Bell is if nothing else a performer who knows where and who to kick out at.
It is that interesting abode, the heaven sent and forbidden fruit that Andy Bell resides as he releases Torsten The Beautiful Libertine out into the world, the man of poly-amorous affection who finds a mutual understanding and gratifying arrangement with the one who sings his praises and adores his digressions.
This specially made sexually explicit opera, the movement into the world of dark shadows musical theatre is perhaps one that should not be surprising to find Erasure’s Andy Bell being beautifully outrageous within; the conventional arguably just too much of a entangled standard to be seen inhabiting. Instead the talented vocalist plays out a life of someone else’s choosing with calm and intelligent retrospective and glossy reward, sometimes shocking, but never dull, music.
Convention can go and blow at the end of the day, the life we all lead is nobody’s business except our own and those who we love and hopefully love us and as Torsten The Beautiful Libertine plays out with dynamic, vigorous vibrancy and potency, ignoring the story is impossible; once started it is only a matter of time before you realise just how influential the man is, just what he brings to the role and the lyrical narrative.
The album is a score of rebellion, a master class in bearing your soul in the medium of art and in each song it is possible to believe that the artist’s depth of character is mingling, blending and ultimately merging with that of the hedonistic Torsten.
In songs such as Loitering With Intent, The Slums We Loved, the vulnerability of Blow Jobs For Cocaine and Bond Street Catalogues, the album shifts perspectives with ease and allows the listener to bash the doors down of the straight and exceedingly narrow. When it comes to the art of the Libertine there is arguably few who can hold a candle to Andy Bell.
Dynamic, assured and with just the smallest touch of personal exposure to the music, Andy Bell has offered a moment in time which opens your eyes.
Ian D. Hall