Disco de Yazoo: “In Your Room”

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.

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!

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.

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.

This is such a good package-filled with anything a long time fan would need. With them touring last summer(which I hope they release on DVD)I am hoping that a new CD with all new material is released.

Lets pray on it!!!!