Yazoo

With only two albums and a handful of singles released before they broke up, the '80s synth pop duo Yazoo -- or Yaz if you're outside the United States -- are in the "all or nothing" category when it comes to box sets. Save a couple remixes, Mute's 2008 set In Your Room is everything the duo -- instrumentalist and former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke along with the as yet unheard of vocalist Alison Moyet -- released in its short career, and then some. Disc one of this three-CD/one-DVD set features their debut 1982 album, Upstairs at Eric's, while disc two features the follow-up, You and Me Both, from a year later. Both are remastered splendidly -- giving the albums more depth and punch in the bass -- as are the remixes and B-sides that occupy disc three. The non-album tracks "State Farm" and "The Other Side of Love" both get a proper home on the third disc and sit next to a wealth of desirable extended mixes of club hits like "Situation" and "Don't Go." The DVD is a fan's dream with both albums remixed in impressive 5.1 Surround Sound plus all the official videos and appearances on the television show Top of the Pops as a bonus. The reasons to complain are the layout of the remixes, making disc three more of an archive than a disc to be listened to in one go, and the fact that the two albums could have fit on one disc since they both clock in at 40 minutes each, give or take a few seconds. Newcomers unfamiliar with Yazoo are best served by 1999's The Best of Yaz, which features the prime cuts plus some more modern remixes that aren't compiled here. Fans, however, will appreciate the vids, the rare tracks, the great sound, and a beautiful booklet that features archival photographs, articles, and images. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide