Disco de Yazoo: “You and Me Both [Australia]”

Many casual listeners, and even some Yaz fans, aren't as high on this album as their debut release, "Upstairs at Eric's," but it has its own charms, chief being Alison Moyet's beautiful vocals.

If there's one spot where this album isn't up to the bar set by "Upstairs," it is that there is no song to quite compete with "Only You," perhaps the most wistful, enchanting, haunted song of the decade. There are echoes in two songs: "Softly Over" and especially "Mr. Blue," but no song captures the essence of "Only You." "Mr. Blue" comes closest, in the verse beginning: "I come to you at night/When all the world is sleeping tight..."

There are however, one or two energetic songs which compete favorably with "Upstairs"'s other big hit, "Don't Go." The underrated "Sweet Thing" and fast-paced "Walk Away from Love" have engaging synth backings to match Moyet's impassioned singing.

Beyond the aforementioned "Mr. Blue" and "Softly Over," the ballads are solid, but not spectacular. "Nobody's Diary" is the best of the rest of the lot, although "Ode to Boy" comes close, with its half-spoken lyrics, and "Anyone" features two throaty wails from Moyet which can make the teeth chatter.

One small complaint: some backing synth arrangements begin to sound similar, to themselves and to ones used on "Upstairs at Eric's." Clarke would go on to more highly creative synth arranging with Erasure, and "Alf" Moyet started a solo career -- but Yaz and "You and Me Both" claim an important spot in the history of synth-pop, and should not be overshadowed by later solo work.

These comments apply to "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both" by Yaz:

Turned on to these albums in high school in a very interesting way (long story ... :->), I have not been able to get these albums out of my head. (The fact that later I was able to connect with one of my supervisors over these very albums is another very interesting story ....)

I bought the cassettes when they first came out, then later the CDs, and somewhere along the line lost the CDs and bought them again recently.

These albums are most excellent, with a classic late 1980s/ early 1990s feel with a slightly different twist. I like the beat that is indicative of the time, but the lyrics, the language, has a meat, a bite, with much more depth than a lot of the music of that same time.

To me, a music library is just not complete without these two albums, and now that I've verified my previously purchased CDs are not merely misplaced in a move but truly lost, I feel much more complete now that I've repurchased these albums and have them in my musical collection.

I could discuss each track in laborious detail - but suffice it to say, if you're even remotely a fan of late 1980's/early 1990's music, you'll love Yaz.

as a thirty-someething dood, whenever i look back on my defining teenage years, i realize that vince clark perhaps had a bigger impact than anyone else. it started with erasure in about 87, and i quickly discovered both depeche mode and yazoo -- it's not YAZ, either, people. YazOO. :) from age 14-18, i pretty much listened to all three bands non-stop. and now everytime i listen to a vince clarke incarnation, i can't help but look back fondly.

yazoo's second album, while not hugely different from 'upstairs at eric's' does represent a band's evolution. for one, alison moyet's presence is much more apparent. the album opener, 'nobody's diary,' might be the album standout--and that's no small compliment given vince's insanse proficiency at birthing high-quality tunes. secondly, the production on 'you and me both,' is much sparser, as is the instrumentation. much of vince's keyboard work feels restained and choppy, almost minimalistic. nothing on 'you and me both' is on par with synth classics like 'only you,' 'situation,' and 'the other side of love' (available only the import version of 'upstair's at eric's), but 'you and me both' is much more intimate album. it's almost as though vince and alison invited you over to tea. thirdly, it's a lot more experimental than 'upstairs.' songs like 'good times' and 'sweet thing' don't sound like anything off 'upstairs.' listen to 'sweet thing' and it's not hard to imagine prince singing it. fortunately, we don't have to because alison moyet was and is a first-rate vocalist. i wish more people were familiar with her work because you'd be hard-pressed to find a purer, more expressive voice. it's a compliment to her that blessed with those pipes she resists the tendency great vocalists have to over-sing and over utilize the vibrato (anyone who's watched 'american idol' lately knows what i'm talking about).

vince, for his part, experiments with sounds like he never had before upto that point. it's really quite something to hear him layer tiny synths bleeps and blips over faux-strings. and to think he was probaly 23 or 24 at the time is nothing short of amazing. when you take a look back at the vince clark canon, it's pretty remarkable. i doubt anyone has ever had more UK top 40 singles.

the real gem, however, of 'you and me both' is 'state farm.' i couldn't really get into it the first time i heard it. as i got little older, though, the song's brilliance really came shining throught. it's a funk-inspired stomper accented by alf's clever word play and spot-on delivery. and it's always fun to sing 'who buys the tickets and who buys the clothes, puts the liquor in his stomach and the powder up his nose.'

i always wonder what a third yazoo album might've sounded like. i like to imagine that they would continue to grow darker, more experimental, and more seductive. unfortunately we'll never know. fortunately, however, we'll always two stellar albums by one of the most underrated duos in history.

I've been familiar with Yaz's debut -"Upstairs At Eric's"- for quite some time now. I only recently purchased "You And Me Both" and in my understanding it wasn't nearly as successful or popular as Yaz's debut, which is too bad because it's very good in every regard.

As with Upstairs At Eric's, Clarke and Moyet each wrote about half of the songs. Once again the song-writing of both is very good. The mood of You And Me Both somewhat contrasts Upstairs At Eric's. While the latter is more upbeat and optimistic, the melodies and direction of the former are more melancholic and tranquil. The album cover art of You And Me Both represents the general mood very well: Wintery gray and blue. Notwithstanding it's contrast to Yaz's debut, You And Me Both doesn't have more ballads; it's every bit as danceable as Upstairs At Eric's. The synth tones that Clarke employs also seems a little different -though they're very similar to the first album- but I like them better in this album and think they're awesome. I love the synth tones so much that if I had my own band I would probably use the same synthesizer(s) that Clarke did even though they're over 20 years old. To me they don't sound even quasi-obsolete and probably never will.

My favorite tracks are "Nobody's Diary," "Sweet Thing," "Unmarked," and "Walk Away From Love." "Ode To Boy" and "Mister Blue" are very good slow songs that are reminiscent of "Winter Kills" (from Upstairs At Eric's). Like the debut, there are a few fillers but most of the album is great.

If you are familiar with Upstairs At Eric's and liked it, you shouldn't hesitate to purchase You And Me Both which is every bit as good. All fans of '80s new wave/synth pop should have both albums in their collection as Yaz is one of the first and, in my opinion, the best of the genre. They're my favorite group, in fact.

"You And Me Both" is the second (and final) CD from Yaz, before Alison Moyet went on to a solo career and Vince Clarke hooked up with Andy Bell to form Erasure.

Despite the fact that this album sold less well than "Upstairs at Eric's", it is equal in quality to the debut. Either the whims of pop culture made the Yaz sound less popular, or the album was just missed by a majority of the buying public (hey, it happens).

Standout tracks include "State Farm", "Nobody's Diary", "Walk Away From Love", and "Mr. Blue", which to me is Yaz's best song ever (with the possible exception of "Goodbye Seventies").

Any New Wave fan should have this CD in his or her collection.