Customer Reviews

Best of Yaz

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Frankly, with the exception of the wretched "Goodbye Seventies", you can't fault the music here. Yazoo was a great band and the very fact that a "best-of" could be culled from just two albums says quite a bit about Alf and Vince's talent and ambitions. However, not only does this disc omit one of the duo's best and catchiest tunes, "Walk Away from Love", but it relies too heavily on remixes. Wouldn't it have been enough to have included just the original version of "Situation" or just a dance mix of "Don't Go"? Granted, these songs are eternal classics and could never wear out their welcome, but such a repetitious compilation is bad value. Unless you're desperate to own the otherwise unavailable "Tuesday", I'd suggest you pick up the pair of proper albums and a 12" or two. It might cost you more (and you WILL have to endure that horrific tape-loop thing on "Upstairs at Eric's") but only then will you get the whole picture of this fantastic and sadly short-lived outfit.

By the way, those impressed by this music will probably want to pick up Alison Moyet's great first album, on which she gets to unleash her pipes full-throttle, and the first couple of Erasure albums, on which Andy Bell uncannily reproduces her style and mannerisms almost verbatim.

This is NOT a fitting tribute to Yazoo, perhaps the best of the early eighties synth/vocal duos. Vince Clarke's brilliant pop songs married to the gorgeous voice of Alison Moyet added up to something far greater than the sum of its parts. Something magical that we will probably never see again ( Erasure is another story altogether, I won't go into that now. ) Yazoo's two releases are brilliant. End of story. But a really good best of from a duo with ( let's face it ) only TWO albums to their credit SHOULD have included more than the ( quite frankly ) done to death new style club mixes of old style club hits, like the ones presented here. Instead we US fans should have gotten either of the alternate versions of Situation ( the original UK 7" version or the re-recorded version from "The Other Side of Love" 12" single.) What we SHOULD have gotten instead of those few lousy new remixes are hard to find items, like the above mentioned UK only "Other Side of Love" single, or a few original 12" mixes of the singles. Such a shame, really, as the new remixes add nothing to the originals. They take up WAY too much time on the disc, time that should have been given to something that truly is WORTHY of inclusion on a Best Of compilation. I would have done it differently. ALl I can say is, buy Upstairs at Eric's or You and Me Both instead, and forget this.

I am a diehard fan of Yaz, but this cd failed to reflect all of the great and pure synth pop music this group offered. If you buy it, record it on a blank cd and take it back to the store as a used trade-in. Better yet, forget this production exists and buy yourself the only two releases from this awesome group: "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both." This production would had hit the mark if it had not included the poorly remixed "Situation" and "Don't Go." Club 69 has the reputation of making wonderful music a disgrace. Todd Terry can make some pretty good remixes, as he did with Everything But The Girl's "Missing," but Yazoo's "Don't Go" is a hit by itself with no further handling. For the horrific remixes by Club 69 and Richard Humpty Vission (I can forgive a flaw by Todd Terry)I give this compilation what it deserves: 2 stars. Don't waste your money.

and yes, Groundbreaking. the collaboration of Vincent Clarke synthetics and Alison Moyet's Bluesy Vocals was the first of it's kind. In a time where most Electronic driven bands were led by dead pan vocals and dark inspiration, They put emotion into the cold electronic pop movement.
If you're going to create a so called "Best Of", Shouldn't the collection contain the best? When I heard this album was being compiled, I was extatic! Yeah, they only had two albums but the american releases contained slightly different tracks then the releases in thier home country. I agree on the songs chosen but their are a few omissions that could have made the collection complete for the american audience. where is the single only release "other Side Of Love"? and though not one of the best songs, "happy people" which appeared on the UK release of You and Me Both. And do away with the remixes! Though the songs hold up nicely to today's bass driven dance mixes, these versions don't do the songs justice. The 1990 remix of "situation" blows these versions away.
Next time someone tries to compile a "best of" from a band that has it's followers, ask the fans their opinion, you can't go wrong and you just might come out with an appropriate album.

I take this every time I go on a trip. I love this album. I wish they would have made more music together. Thank goodness for erasure.

(Music: 4 1/2 Stars, Compilation: 3 1/2 Stars)

I had the 2 vinyl albums from the early 80s, but hadn't listened to Yazoo literally in years until I came onto this "Best of". The good news is that the music you find on here, is mostly terrific. Synth-wiz (and ex-Depeche Mode) Vince Clarke and singer Alison Moyet create upbeat, hard-to-resist-to-dance tracks (such as "Only You", "Situation", "State Farm") as well as achingly beautiful ballads ("Only You", "Ode to Boy", "Winter Kills").

Yet this compilation is flawed. Not only are some key tracks missing (including the single "The Other Side of Love"), the three 1999 remixes at the end are pointless, quite frankly. In the end, until the "ultimate" best-of is issued, we can enjoy this. Yazoo was short-lived (1982-83), but does leave a nice legacy.

PS: Did you know that Yazoo came about when Vince, just departed from Depeche Mode, responded to an ad from Alison in Melody Maker, looking for "rootsy blues musicians"? True story!

This album showcases some of Yaz's best work. Unfortunately it leaves out many great songs like "Softy Over" "Unmarked" "Sweet Thing" & "Didn't I Bring Your Love Down." It would have been nice if this album would have contained "The Other Side of Love." However, the addition of the previously unavailable "Tuesday" made this album worthwhile for me. This song is lavish in texture and pulls you into it. It's harsh realism combined with its well orchestrated sound makes it one of my favorite Yaz songs.

If you do not have Upstairs at Erics or You and Me Both, this album is for you. Though the songs presented are masterpieces, the few extra tracks would best be separated to a maxi single as the style is not representative of Yaz (other than the beautiful Only You strings version).

Buy this for the remastered music! Woah. A fantastic job done in remastering (1999) by Mike Marsh and Roland Brown (according to the liner notes). I would have never guessed much of this music was recorded in 1982 or 1983 because it sounds almost as good sound quality-wise as anything released today. The bass totally stands out and the beats are crisp! I was driving home from work today and was blown away at how good "Don't Go" sounded on my car stereo. Brilliant job guys! The remastering alone, in my opinion, is enough reason to pick this album up! I could go on and on about this, but I think you get the point!

I ordered 'The Best Of Yaz' really just out of curiosity after downloading "Only You." I can't really recall what encouraged me to download it (probably some review at Amazon.com), but I really liked the song. Since I already loved "Situation," I decided to give in and buy this "best of," imagining there had to be something else I would like. It turns out I really like most of the tracks here and ended up remembering such tunes as "Don't Go" and "State Farm" from somewhere! Both tracks make me want to dance!

A lot of the material really stands out from this time period! It's hard for me to believe that much of it was released in 1982 and 1983 (when I was only 1 or 2 years old!) Some of the tunes are really interesting, namely "Ode To Boy" which has this really cool laid-back groovy feel. I love this! "Winter Kills" is haunting. And I love the chorus in "Mr Blue." These are songs I don't ever remember hearing before and only in a few days I fell in love with them.

After doing a little research and reading other reviews of this title, I realized that there are a few key tracks missing, namely "Other Side Of Love" which was a #13 U.K. hit single in 1983. There's about 17 minutes extra space on this disc, so I don't understand why it wasn't filled to capacity with this song, along with a few other key album tracks.

As for those saying that it's better off just to buy their 2 albums, it's probably true. But I'm picky about sound quality, so I'll wait for remastered versions (hopefully with extended versions as bonus tracks)! Unfortunately, I don't see remastered albums coming anytime soon (considering this "best of" was released in 1999 and it's now 2004).

5 Stars for the remastering and 4 stars for the tracklisting. Overall, a solid collection of Yaz.

Overall, this is an excellent collection, albeit incomplete. What happened to the "missing" single The Other Side Of Love? It was a top twenty hit, shouldn't it be included here? A what about Happy People-another song never available in the U.S. With the exception of the new version of Only You, the remixes are pointless.