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Jase on Yaz

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YazI first heard Yaz (Yazoo in Europe) after the duo had already broken up. I "discovered" Yaz because I liked Erasure, the duo that Vince Clarke would form after Yaz. The song "Situation" seemed vaguely familiar; maybe I had heard it on the radio.

Vince Clarke and Alison "Alf" Moyet formed Yaz after Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode. Yaz's music is better than early Depeche Mode, but it sounds about the same. The combination of Moyet's soulful vocals and Clarke's mechanical synthesizers is an interesting combination.

The interesting thing about Yaz is that Moyet and Clarke didn't usually collaborate on songs. Most of the songs are written by one or the other. Both Vince and Alf's songwriting skills improved after Yaz broke up, but they did manage to contribute some good tunes together.

After the duo split and Vince was busy with Erasure, Alf went on to pursue a solo career. Vince did write a few songs for her after the split, but Yaz (as we know it) is over.

Reviews

CDs by Yaz in Jase's CD Collection:

  1. You and Me Both (1983)
  2. Upstairs at Eric's (1982)

Bootlegs:

  1. The Singles' Other Tracks (1997)
  2. Vince Clarke's "Rare and Remixed" (1997)

You and Me Both

Click here to buy it.
Album Info:Album Tracks:
  • Released in 1983
  • Label: Sire 9 23903-2
  • Produced by
    E.C. Radcliffe
    Yaz
  • Rating: B+
  1. Nobody's Diary
  2. Softly Over
  3. Sweet Thing
  4. Mr. Blue
  5. Good Times
  6. Walk Away From Love
  7. Ode to Boy
  8. Unmarked
  9. Anyone
  10. State Farm
  11. And On

This album is OK, but I like the first album better. You and Me Both does have a few good tracks on it, such as "Nobody's Diary" and "Ode to Boy" (which Alison Moyet would remake in 1994 for her Essex album.

Upstairs at Eric's

Click here to buy it.
Album Info:Album Tracks:
  • Released in 1982
  • Label: Sire 9 23737-2
  • Produced by E.C. Radcliffe, Yaz
  • Rating: A-
  1. Don't Go
  2. Too Pieces
  3. Bad Connection
  4. I Before E Except After C
  5. Midnight
  6. In My Room
  7. Only You
  8. Goodbye Seventies
  9. Situation
  10. Winter Kills
  11. Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)

This debut album (named for producer Eric Radcliffe's studio) features some pretty catchy songs, such as "Don't Go", "Only You", and "Situation". It also has the abysmal "I Before E Except After C". The album is mostly the same kind of simple pop à la Mode, but it's fun to listen to once in a while.

The Singles' Other Tracks (bootleg)

Album Info:Album Tracks:
  • Created in 1997
  • Rating: B
  1. Situation (2:26)
  2. Situation (5:20)
  3. Don't Go (4:06)
  4. Don't Go (4:22)
  5. The Other Side of Love (5:22)
  6. Nobody's Diary (3:59)
  7. State Farm (3:39)
  8. Nobody's Diary (6:10)
  9. State Farm (6:40)
  10. Situation (7:32)
  11. Situation (5:45)
  12. State Farm (3:19)
  13. Situation (6:33)
  14. Situation (4:57)

This compilaiton was put together for me by my English buddy Moose at Pigpen Digital. He took all the non-album versions of Yaz's songs and burned them onto one disc. He didn't identify the mix names, so I've indicated their length here. Most of the mixes are the standard 80s mix, but the gem here is "The Other Side of Love", a non-album single.

Vince Clarke's Rare and Remixed (bootleg)

Album Info:Album Tracks:
  • Created in 1997
  • Rating: A-
  1. Situation
  2. Too Pieces
  3. Goodbye Seventies
  4. Winter Kills
  5. Bad Connection
  6. Bring Your Love Down
  7. Midnight
  8. Chinese Detectives
  9. In My Room
  10. Don't Go
  11. The Other Side of Love
  12. Never Never
  13. Stop Start
  14. Never Never 12" Version
  15. Stop Start 12" Version
  16. One Day
  17. Song For
  18. One Day 12" Version
  19. Song For 12" Version

This is another Moose compilation. Tracks 1-11 are from a BBC broadcast of a Yaz concert. Tracks 12-15 are by the Assembly (Vince Clarke and Feargal Sharkey), and tracks 16-19 are by Vince Clarke and Paul Quinn. The sound quality of the BBC concert is remarkably good. The concert includes an exclusive instrumental, "Chinese Detectives".

I actually like this disc more for the between-Yaz-and-Erasure songs on the second half. They're interesting to listen to, but I'm glad that Vince ended up teaming up with Andy Bell.

Wish List

Here are some Yaz releases that I wish I had but haven't bought for some reason or another:

Related Artists in Jase's CD Collection

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