Editorial Review:

Album Description:
2008 digitally remastered reissue of the Synthpop duo's debut album coinciding with their reunion tour. Originally released in July '82, the album from former Depeche Mode songwriter Vince Clarke and vocalist Alison Moyet explored the pair's unusual potential to stunning effect. From the raunchy Synth Funk of 'Goodbye 70s' to the chilling darkness of 'Winter Kills', it was one of the most complete debut albums to have emerged throughout the decade as a whole, with the cover image of dismembered showroom dummies echoing the music's sense of dislocation from the standard pop formula. Features the hit singles 'Only You' and 'Don't Go'. Mute.

Amazon.com:
There was a time when you couldn't step into a dance club without hearing at least part of this recording booming over the sound system. The often over-played hit, 'Situation,' was a bubbling caldron of nasally synth noodlings, a whopping bass line, and drum machine wallops. Alison Moyet's looped laugh in the middle of the song ended up as a sample, over-used a thousand times over. Yaz was an interesting blend of Moyet's smoky blues and jazz tinged vocals with Vince Clarke's digital disco. Moyet's voice alone was instrument enough, and the melodies here perfectly showcased her incredible range. Upstairs easily moved between energetic dance floor exuberance ('Don't Go' and 'Good-bye Seventies'), blues-inspired wailers ('Midnight'), and icy electronic minimalism ('Winter Kills'). It was an explosion of a debut, touching upon '80s gay disco, synth pop, and diva-ism in one fell swoop. The CD closes with the overlooked 'Didn't I Bring Your Love Down,' an infectious barn burner with a call/response break that blows the roof off of Eric's little techno-pop room. --Steve Gdula









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Disc 1:

1. Don't Go - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
2. Too Pieces - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
3. Bad Connection - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
4. I Before E Except After C - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
5. Midnight - Yazoo, Moyet, Alison
6. In My Room - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
7. Only You - Yazoo, Clarke, Vince
8. Goodbye '70's - Yazoo, Moyet, Alison
9. Winter Kills - Yazoo, Moyet, Alison
10. Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I) - Yazoo, Moyet, Alison

Rating: - * Bring back the sound! ... I recently got into Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) after finding them on YouTube. I'm a sucker for that infectious, 80's, new wave, dance sound. After buying the CD, I only like about half of the songs, but the half that I do like I LOVE! "Situation", "Don't Go", "Goodbye 70's", and a few others are my faves. I enjoy cranking up Yazoo in the car and singing like crazy. Rating: - * This is Classic ... Yazoo (that the duo's real name) was a short lived act but both their albums "Upstairs at Eric's" and "You and Me Both" are classic 80's synthpop albums. It just didn't get better than this. These tracks will never get old. Rating: - * Perfect electronic pop brilliantly remastered ... What powerful music this was, and remains. Vince Clarke, the original composer/arranger behind Depeche Mode, teams up with blue-eyed soul singer Alison Moyet, and together they create some of the most memorable, path-breaking electronic pop music ever recorded. What makes this so powerful is that it's two consummate professionals fully bringing themselves to this project - each contributing powerful material, performing as equals. Clarke's arrangements are flawless and brilliant throughout; perfectly minimalist, hard and shiny electronica that makes the absolute most of the technology at his disposal in 1982. His isn't an accidental genius - in the sense that we might only recognize it today, since these analogue synth sounds have become so popular once again - but someone completely in charge of both music and technology. His arrangements are the pinnacle of economy and simplicity - just enough, never too much. Moyet's voice is an instrument of power, clarity and beauty. `Only You,' `Midnight' and `In My Room' ought to be heard by everybody who has even a passing love of pop music. This brand new remaster casts it all in a sheen of extra clarity. Rating: - * Timeless, ageless vintage album ... This is an amazing cd. Well ahead of its time. Still awesome today. Great original music, mixes and vocals. Well worth every penny. Rating: - * New Wave Classic ... I used to go to teen night clubs in Kansas City back in the 1980's where you would find new wave teenagers, a couple of punk rockers and maybe a preppie or two. Upon walking in there would be clouds of smoke, intellectual looks of those involved in the Thespians or Drama Club with the latest European fashion and much unlike today, everyone smoked at Under the Starz and Pogo's. Pumping out of the speakers one would typically hear "Don't Go" off the Upstairs at Eric's album by Yaz - one of the New Wave genre's finest. Yaz leaded by Alison Moyet's hearty voice with a soul-type sound coupled with her modern English accent and techno beat made for a truly impacting sound for the ultra-modern youth of the 1980's at Under the Starz and Pogo's. Upstairs at Eric's shaped a generation of the avante-garde youth from the 1980's, whether in Kansas City or elsewhere, thjs album is also packed with several other New Wave goodies aside from "Don't Go." "Situation," "Goodbye Seventies," "Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)" and "Winter Kills" are a few of my favorites. Most of the music is very dance rhythmic with the exception of "Winter Kills" which carries a much slower sound and very deep dramatic melody. Even today you can here "Situation" or "Don't Go" at a disco. It is truly a dance music fanatic's and New Wave fan collector item.