Yaz (in the US, and known as Yazoo in the UK and abroad) has just released In Your Room, a box set of their entire and short-lived career. Both albums, Upstairs At Eric's and You And Me Both, are presented in remastered versions of their original UK running order as well as a bonus disc of B-sides and remixes, and a DVD that includes the band's promo videos, live performances, 5.1 album mixes and a half-hour interview retrospective
For those who might not be that familiar with the group, Yaz consisted of Vince Clarke on electronics -- after his departure from Depeche Mode and before his long-running stint with Erasure -- and Alison Moyet on vocals -- before her successful solo career in the UK.
Their sound was very progressive for the time, melding clever synth/pop arrangements with more soulful vocals, and much more than their contemporaries or successors helped to set the stage for even modern radio pop. Considering that Upstairs At Eric's came out in 1982 and its follow-up just a year later, it's remarkable that the sound and style of these records has held up as well as it has
Upstairs At Eric's has always been the strongest of the two releases and contains some of the duo's more diverse and polished output. Sandwiched between the dance floor seduction of "Don't Go" and "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)," are some excellent examples of pioneering pop synthesis. "Too Pieces" and "Bad Connection" sound as immediate and catchy as ever, and "Only You" is still a compelling single. The moodiness of "Winter Kills" is just timeless, and could have been released yesterday as easily as it was a quarter century ago. "I Before E Except After C", likewise, is just as oddly avant-garde and disturbingly compelling as it's always been.
You And Me Both is also a nice album, but it has not aged nearly as well as its predecessor. With a more obvious nod to sounds and styles of the '80s, it's a snapshot piece of the times and shows a group on its way out. But songs like "Nobody's Diary," "Mr. Blue" and "Ode to Boy" save it from being just that. There are enough strong tracks to balance out the weaker ones.
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