Yaz - The Best of Yaz

Yaz (Yazoo in England) released only two albums during their short but influential existence, so a "best-of" album seems rather farfetched. Still, Depeche Mode ex-patriot Vince Clarke's music was a major influence preceding synthpop's dominance in the '80s, and their deepening obscurity makes them a prime candidate for a well-done retrospective. If only this one qualified. There are a few happy inclusions, like the lovelorn "Midnight," with Alison Moyet's soulful croon waxing over Clarke's omnipresent, light-as-air keyboard programs. The sweetly wistful "Mr. Blue" will provoke whiplash nostalgia in many a twentysomething, its melancholic chorus reflecting the awkward yet hopeful qualities of adolescence. Overall, though, curious choices abound. "Goodbye Seventies" is so forced it's almost camp, a song that the talented Moyet would likely rather forget, given her undisciplined yelping during the chorus. It's a mystery why the inoffensive but uneventful "Tuesday" was included here, while the excellent "In My Room," a Yaz staple for good reason, was not. Even the remixes included here are less than stellar. While Todd Terry's interpretation of "Don't Go" rips out a decent groove, the latest version of the dance-floor staple "Situation" starts strong but runs out of steam as the source material gets sacrificed in favor of overtly cute DJ permutations. While it's to Yaz's credit that enough good material can be found in their two-album catalog to make a best-of album at all, sadly, this collection fails at the attempt. --Matthew Cooke Amazon.com

Buy the originals instead

Funny thing about best-ofs that are based around all of two albums: even with only a couple dozen songs from which to choose, they miss the mark surprisingly often. I would have to call this one of those.

This was a groundbreaking partnership. While Depeche Mode's debut "Speak and Spell" was fairly groundbreaking in its own right, Clarke decided to head out, and he and Alison Moyet found each other, and the rest was kismet.

If you're a fan, the remixes plus "Tuesday" may be worth the purchase price. But if you're just getting started, might I suggest spending a few bucks more and buying "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both" instead?

The song selections here are decent -- although "State Farm" still annoys me and "Goodbye Seventies" continues to tread on very thin ice -- but by no means do they tell the whole story. For just a few dollars more, you could also have "Too Pieces," "Softly Over," and the two haunting little numbers that define Yaz for me better than even the best tracks on this compilation: "In My Room" and "And On." June 16, 2007

A great groundbreaking Band Deserves More

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.
March 5, 2006

One hit wonder

I bought this cd for the first song on it, and it's a great song. But as a whole, this cd is terrible. February 23, 2006

Try to leave it home when you go on trips.

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. November 17, 2005

Terrible Compilation

Two albums and they couldn't even get things right with selecting the best material. They made the obvious choices of their three best songs, but after that everything is filler. Plus all those annoying remixes. I hate remixes as a rule and these even are worse than the ones I usually avoid. Who compiled this? They should be shot. June 14, 2005

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