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Review Summary: Catchy and concise yet innovating and influential, it's quite possibly Vince Clarke's finest hour. Vince Clarke was never one for remaining static for very long, shifting from immediate success with Depeche Mode's first album (Speak & Spell) in 1981, to Yazoo (or 'Yaz' as the duo is known in the US, due to legal reasons), to a short lived project called 'The Assembly', before ultimately settling with Andy Bell to form 'Erasure' in 1985. Whichever formation garners the most pleasure from listeners is a matter of subjectivity, but when regarding objectivity, i.e. which of his projects, in hindsight, has produced the highest level of innovation and influence, Yazoo's debut (Upstairs at Eric's, 1982) makes for a very strong contender.
The Basildon boy with an obsession for analogue synthesisers made important groundwork with innovating Depeche singles like 'Just Can't Get Enough' and 'New Life', but for the most part 'Speak & Spell' sounded like a clumsy sonic experiment, ending in mixed results. Clarke's early toying around with synths finally came into full fruition on 'Upstairs at Eric's', and he managed to grow from rather awkward, misguided efforts like 'Boys Say Go!', into touching and observed, synth-pop ballads like 'Only You'.
'Only You' is a perfect summation of why 'Upstairs at Eric's' remains so acclaimed and adored, as it showcases the curious blend of danceable synth-pop and powerful, bluesy vocals the duo is remembered for. Alison Moyet's consistently sublime purr gives Clarke's robotic beats and rhythms a human touch, providing listeners with songs that are as equally danceable as they are heartfelt. On paper it doesn’t work, but in reality it's most definitely satisfying. Take, for example, the iconic opener 'Don't Go', beginning with what has to be one of the most memorable and infectious synth riffs of all time, it finds its sprightly electronic melody getting warmed up by Moyet's aggressive, emotional delivery.
There's an abundance of other concise, synth-pop classics on the album, including (on most versions) 'Situation' with its low, bubbling melody and 'Bad Connection' with its undeniably cheesy, but utterly charming chorus, "Can you hear me? Can you hear me at all? Gotta get the operator, make a telephone call" - it's just one of several instances of pure, synth-pop perfection to be heard on 'Upstairs at Eric's'. Clarke's love of experimenting with early synth technology finds it's home on the instrumental 'I Before E Except After C', whose 4 minutes and 43 seconds length is comprised of a repeated loop of a voice reading out the same 3 or 4 sentences, spliced with scarce blips and beeps in the background. 'Winter Kills' (one of Moyet's few lyrical efforts, the others being; the soulful 'Midnight', the energetic 'Goodbye 70's', and the anthem that should’ve been, 'Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)') changes the flavour, with an icy cold piano melody and airy wailing, floating behind Moyet's deliberate vocals.
Yazoo have influenced many in the years subsequent their 1983 break-up, evidenced by the astonishing amount of times tracks like 'Don’t Go' and 'Situation' have been remixed or referenced as an influence. After listening to 'Upstairs at Eric's' it's not difficult to understand why. Each track just nailed what it needed to achieve, producing songs that were perfectly accessible and hooky, whilst simultaneously managing to be contemporaneously groundbreaking and innovating. Yazoo would sadly call it a day a year later, and although it's expected (seeing as the restless Vince Clarke was at the helm) it's part of what makes this record so special. If Yaz carried on they'd inevitably become tiresome, but the point is they didn't. The duo only released 2 albums so they never had a chance to lose momentum, and Clarke's ideas and energy didn't get a chance to rest and become stale, leaving fans with an immediate blast of uncluttered and catchy synth-pop classics.
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Album Rating: 3.5
Nicely done. I agree that they probably would have become stale after a while; that's even evident in the follow-up to this, which I don't really rate (apart from Nobody's Diary, which is probably my favourite Yazoo song).
Vince offered Only You to Depeche right after he left; it would have been strange hearing Dave sing it (I think Martin might have pulled it off, though...)
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I've always wondered if Depeche kicked themselves after realising they missed out on chart topping song. I'm glad they passed on it, tbh, as if Depeche did Only You and scored a hit with it they might have never moved into that distinctive, dark sound i fell in love with them for.
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Oh, I don't know, I don't think it would have changed much. Martin was always going to write in a certain way, and Alan was always pushing them in a darker direction.
I think maybe their short-lived rivalry meant they were a bit pissed that Only You beat See You in the charts, but once they'd completed ABF, they'd sort of proved to themselves that they could go it alone. I think that was what was most important to them.
Are you planning on reviewing You and Me Both?
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if Depeche did Only You and scored a hit with it they might have never moved into that distinctive, dark sound i fell in love with them for.
Devil hides himself in the details, they say.
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Kaleid - Good point, See You did do well in UK charts and they still chose to go dark a few years later, i suppose you're right.
Yep, i'll probably do a review for You and Me Both. I agree with you that it's not as good as Eric's. I find it to be ironic in the sense that it sounds more dated than their debut, despite being a year younger.
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Voivod - It'd be fascinating to hear Depeche do Only You. It'd probably sound a great deal different because Vince wouldn't be there to focus the pop sound and Dave's voice is better suited to more aggressive, moody songs rather than gentle pop ballads. So i reckon it wouldn't be as good as the Yaz version, still an interesting thought, though...
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I always enjoyed Too Pieces, oddly.
Still stuck in the 80's I see, Tom? Haha, keep it up man.
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Yup, that's right, bloc. I'm on a bit of an 80's high at the moment, lol. I suppose someones gotta review this stuff and i'm happy to do so.
Too Pieces is a good little tune, but it's all about Don't Go for me: "Can't stop now, don't you know, I ain't never gonna let you go - don't go!" So bloody catchy.
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Yazoo - You And Me Both Review, is up: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/42555/Yazoo-You-and-Me-Both/
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pos
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This has grown on me haaaaaaaard
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Essential 80s
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Don't goooooooooooooo!
Didn't know the song belonged to these guys, was just checking the album randomly and it immediately came to mind.
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