Customer Reviews

In Your Room (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yazoo were always more popular in the UK than the US, but their two albums spawned perennial club hits that still get played today. This box set collects the two albums, remastered at last, and finally with their tracklists matching their original UK counterparts.

Many US fans would be surprised to realize that two of the groups biggest club hits, "Situation" and "State Farm", were not originally on the UK versions of their respective albums. Both were B-Sides of singles, and were originally considered throwaway tracks by Clarke and Moyet. Savvy American execs saw the potential in "Situation" and hired Francois Kervorkian to remix the track, creating a dancefloor smash on both sides of the pond. When "Upstair's At Eric's" was released in America, the moody track "Tuesday" was dropped from the line-up to make room for the reworked "Situation", and "Tuesday" did not appear on an album in America until 1999's "Best Of Yaz" compilation CD.

On the American release of "You and Me Both", the track "Happy People" was dropped in favor of the single "State Farm". These decisions were perhaps understandable for the limited time available on vinyl albums, but why these missing tracks were not restored to the original American compact disc versions of the albums is a mystery ( In an odd twist of fate, the British CD release of "Upstairs At Eric"s" saw the US mix of "Situation" added as a bonus track - along with the single-only "The Other Side Of Love"- but this time the avant garde track "I Before E Except After C" was removed. strange, since there was still plenty of room on the disc for all of the tracks...curiouser and curiouser).

Fortunately, the box set restores both albums to their original tracklists and a third CD collects all the singles in their original and remixed/extended versions. Also included is a bonus DVD of television appearances, promotional video clips ( many of which were never shown in America ) and a terrific half hour documentary about the group which answers many questions, and should put to rest rumours about who disbanded the group and why, once for all. The television appearances are almost overkill, since all of them involve the duo onstage at various shows miming to their current hit ( and after you've seen them miming "Only You" once, you can pretty much predict what the next clips are going to look like ). Also included is a lovely booklet about the group which is chockful of pictures and history.

The remastering job is terrific and gives the songs more punch than ever before. There are also very good 5.1 mixes included on the companion DVD which sound great on a surround system.

All in all a great set celebrating the legacy of a short-lived but fondly remembered collaboration of two great talents, Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet.

Criminally overlooked in the United States, Yazoo (Yaz in the US) was a short lived collaboration between Vince Clarke (the founder of Depeche Mode and Erasure) and Alison Moyet. Two albums, four singles, and that was it. Fantastic early 80's electronic pop. The remastering on the re-issues is fantastic, and it sounds like it was recorded yesterday, very crisp and fresh sounding. Having all of the 12" singles digitized and cleaned up is fantastic treat as well, as my old vinyl 12" singles are a bit tired after all these years. The videos included on the DVD are a fun addition. I doubt the TV appearances will bear much repeated viewing, but it is fun to see just how young this dynamic duo looked back then. These are all lip-synched tv appearances, so it's purely enjoyable for the sake of the visuals, albeit with no live performances. The 5.1 surround mixes are done well, but I find very little use for these in general, as I'm usually not sitting still in front of my TV to listen to the perfect audio surround sound mix in the "sweet spot" (though I do appreciate their inclusion here.)

There is bit of disappointment with this otherwise well executed box set, however. Firstly, while it includes the video from the 1990 re-release of "Situation" and the 1999 re-release of "Only You", it doesn't include any of the fabulous remixes from either of these eras. Being a completist, I have all of them on other formats, but I think everyone would have appreciated representation of these remixes, especially the 1990 mixes of "State Farm" and "Situation". There were a ton of remixes released alongside the "Best of" collection in 1999 and it's a shame none of those are represented either. Most heartbreaking is the decision to leave out "Get Set," which is the Holy Grail to Yaz collectors as this gem of a song is, and sadly remains, completely unreleased. Written as the theme song for a BBC music tv program, Vince and Alison decided they didn't want it on this box set because, as Alison states, "We felt that it didn't fit in with our body of work." This box set was really our last hope for this song to see the light of day. It's really too bad... box sets are designed for rabid fans, collectors, and completists and this one falls achingly short of being truly complete.

As far as quality of material, the Yaz(oo) albums and bonus tracks included here are superior, and merit a five-star rating. The straight stereo remastering of the two albums and remixes is excellent--it really enrichens the sound--subtly, but noticeably. Most people buying this will have most of this material already, so you know how fabulous the songs are.

As for what's new--the documentary is interesting and informative, but it is the kind of thing you watch a few times at most. The real disappointment is in the 5.1 surround mixes. I will be charitable and say that they don't sound good. At all. They are interesting to a certain extent, as you can clearly identify the parts of the songs, but all of the richness has been drained. This could be due to the fact that the songs were so spare to begin with, and what sounds full coming through two channels seems thin through 5. In any case, these mixes are a failure.

It is nice to have the remixes on the bonus disc--I never replaced my vinyl of "State Farm" or "Don't Go," so it is nice to have them digitized. But there are some rarities missing--and it is a real shame that "Get Set" wasn't included--by the wishes of the artists, but it would have been nice to have. The videos from their BBC appearances are charming, but lip-synched per the standards of the day. I don't think I'll watch them repeatedly. And the booklet is nice.

So the bottom line--the best of what's here was already out there, though we do have it in remastered form. The new elements simply fall short. It is a must-have for die-hard fans like me, but not for everyone.

fascinating, timeless electro-pop gems that deserve a second listen after all these years. The two seminal artists have remained vital through the years and, as they so perfectly proved on their new tour, achieved something together truly memorable and so exciting.

They brought real emotion and vocal prowess to a genre that dangerously hovered near perpetual monotony and mechanized boredom. There is exceptional vitality and energy to these songs as the artists are visionaries who raised the bar very high.

Kudos to Andy Bell for sharing Vince's genius with the woman who kinda helped put them all on the map. Here's to the long-lasting future of all three - who brought us into their brilliant world and have kept us there delightfully for so many years.

Love the DVD that came with the set. You find out a lot of history tidbits. Also the single and b sides are cool. I was a fan before--more now!

You've probably already heard the music, but, here it is in remastered sound, 5.1 surround sound and includes remixes and b-sides. The packaging is great and the interviews are revealing. I was always under the impression that Yaz ended for other reasons. It is nice to hear how age and a different perspective can bring two very different people back together. Who knows what the future holds for Yaz? If anyone could record and write for two different bands it would be Vince Clarke. Many of the remixes on the discs I heard for the first time after this purchase and they are all great. The only song missing here is "Tuesday", which is on their greatest hits disc, but not on either of the studio albums.

I'm a big fan of Yaz but was this release really worth it? The two albums in remastered format have been out for a few years. The "remixes" CD wasn't anything to write home about, especially when compared to the remix EPs released in the UK which were significantly better. Then there is the DVD. That might be worth something but personally I watch those maybe once or twice. Overall I think this is a steep price to pay for what you actually get.

vince and alison released a good box set of the 2 albums they had and also a couple of mixes. I would like to see rare tracks on this cd.Like demo versions and one song that was written for a tv show like chinese detectives.Which is a great song.

Khalid

I been a fan of Yaz(oo) since the beginning - and have both Yaz albums and Allison Moyet discs. Not only was I thrilled to be able to buy some "new" Yaz material, but the quality of the remastered tracks, B Sides and videos was remarkable. To say they've stood the test of time is an understatement. To listen to the many tracks I love remastered in 5.1 surround sound was a special treat. Plus, I really enjoyed hearing Allison and Vince speaking about the group's history and their reunion tour. Plus, it was pretty cool to hear Andrew Fletcher (DM) and the other guy from Erasure send their good wishes as well. I had the great fortune of seeing Yaz live in 2008 (OC Fairgrounds)...three letters come to mind: OMG. They were so awesomely great it almost brought me to tears. At any rate, if you are an old time Yaz fan or are just getting into them, I highly recommend "In Your Room" as a definitive masterpiece of some of the best synthesizer music combined with stirring vocals that has ever existed and probably ever will.

Overall an awesome package, "In Your Room" really shines a light on the brilliance of Vince and Alf. The sheer dynamism of these songs will knock you over and Allison's voice...wow, it doesn't get more powerful than with this remastering job.

My only quibble is that they should have included more remixes (pick up the "Reconnected" EP for some new ones and the "Best of" disc for the others) and in some cases the 5.1 mixes are a bit rough --- "I Before E" really sounds a bit botched in that the center channel is WAY WAY louder than the rest...too bad too, what song was better made for 5.1?

But complaining about this set is a bit like whining about a fingerprint on the Mona Lisa. You simply don't get pop songs this sheerly brilliant anymore. But we can hope.