YAZOO
- ONLY YAZOO - The Best Of It's hard to believe I was only about 12
/ 13 years old when Up Stairs At Eric's came out in the early '80's, only
a couple of years after my brother and I got into Kiss.
It feels like the other day and the songs are still as vivid and memorable as
then. The needle must've cut away quite a bit of vinyl on Upstairs At Eric's,
as it did with all the Kiss
albums. The sudden, out of the blue pop sound of Vince Clark and Alison Moyet
was a revelation. The 70's were gone and it was time for something fresh. Only
You, Situation and Don't Go are still brilliant songs, and Clark made
no mistake leaving his first founded group Depeche mode to pursue Yazoo
- the guys going on to break ground on their own. But it's hard to believe Vince
and Alison only released two albums and were together for just a few years. Those
years it felt so much longer because their songs were so damn good. Hearing them
again not only catapults you back in time, experiencing it's smells, tastes and
emotions, but seem untainted by the clock. Even if Clark's Erasure
wasn't a big success, the legacy left by the electronic/soulful mix of Yazoo
is more than some people accomplish in a lifetime. Yazoo
represents a great time in many people's lives. You'll find remixes of the abovementioned
three songs at the end, but in some way isn't all that necessary, as the originals
still hold their own. For a new generation I guess it's necessary to soup it up
a touch to grab their interest. And if it works, fine, because these songs deserve
to be appreciated by a whole new audience who were too young at the time and lost
out. Unless you own this already, just take my word for once, go and get it.
- PB 6 / A YIZO
YIZO - Original TV Soundtrack (Ghetto Ruff/EMI) This popular TV show
has now also spawned a popular soundtrack. It’s about time SA productions get
this treatment; in the past only Shaka
Zulu really rose to a big
TV soundtrack. Sure some Egoli
stars have brought out their cover version albums and so on, but we need some
best seller soundtracks. This might be the one as it caters for the wider population
with popular Kwaito acts like
E’Smile, Skeem and Kyllex.
There is also the likes of Ghetto
Luv, Kaybee (who fathered
the whole production) and Prophets
Of Da City. Collaborations
by Kyllex,
Mdu
& Too Short
as well as Ghetto Luv &
E’Smile
add to this upbeat collection of totally SA flavoured sounds. A good local slice,
even if you’re not a fan of the show. - PB 4 / B |