Yazoo – the classic synthpop duo of Alison Moyet and Vince Clarke that was christened Yaz in the U.S. – last month announced plans for a 4-disc box set collecting it two albums, plus remixes and BBC radio sessions, that was to be released only on heavyweight vinyl and digital formats.
But after outcry from fans, well-documented by our friends at SuperDeluxeEdition, the band’s label has opted to release the collection on CD, as well. The CD edition will include the same tracklisting as the vinyl and digital editions, though packaging has not yet been revealed.
And at the moment, only the vinyl edition is available for pre-order.
The first two discs consist of Yazoo’s two albums, 1982’s Upstairs at Eric’s and 1983’s You and Me Both. The third disc, dubbed Eight Remixes, contains, yes, eight remixes, including a previously unreleased remix of “Winter Kills” by Minute Taker. And Disc 4 features two separate BBC sessions recorded in 1982 for John Peel and David Jensen, most of which is previously unreleased.
The box set will be packaged in a hardback-book format, and will include four art prints, an Upstairs at Eric’s and You and Be Both double-sided poster, and a collection of six pocket-sized photos.
The collection is due out Oct. 26.
Below, check out the full tracklist.
Tracklist: Yazoo, Four Pieces
Disc 1: Upstairs at Eric’s
Side A
1. “Don’t Go”
2. “Too Pieces”
3. “Bad Connection”
4. “I Before E Except After C”
5. “Midnight”
6. “In My Room”
Side B
1. “Only You”
2. “Goodbye 70’s”
3. “Tuesday”
4. “Winter Kills”
5. “Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)”
Disc 2: You and Me Both
Side A
1. “Nobody’s Diary”
2. “Softly Over”
3. “Sweet Thing”
4. “Mr Blue”
5. “Good Times”
Side B
1. “Walk Away from Love”
2. “Ode to Boy”
3. “Unmarked”
4. “Anyone”
5. “Happy People”
6. “And On”
Disc 3: Eight Remixes
Side A
1. “Nobody’s Diary” (Extended Version)
2. “Situation” (Richard X Remix)
3. “Don’t Go” (Remix)
4. “Only You” (Orchestral Mix)
Side B
1. “Situation” (The Aggressive Attitude Mix)
2. “Don’t Go” (Tee’s TNT Radio Mix)
3. “State Farm” (Madhouse Mix Edit)
4. “Winter Kills” (Minute Taker Remix) *
Disc 4: Two BBC Sessions
Side A: John Peel, June 1982
1. “Don’t Go” *
2. “Midnight” *
3. “In My Room” *
4. “Winter Kills” *
Side B: David Jensen, September 1982
1. “Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)”
2. “In My Room”
3. “Situation” *
4. “Too Pieces” *
* Previously unreleased
Still doesn’t contain their complete catalog. While coming out on CD is good, I am going to have to pass.
I admittedly don’t understand the outcry for a CD version of the “Four Pieces” box. Yazoo released the “In Your Room” (3xCD + DVD) box set back in 2008. It contained both studio albums, all the original remixes and b-sides, videos, as well as 5.1 surround mixes. Granted it did not contain the radio sessions present on “Four Pieces” or the newer remixes (sorry, not a fan of the more modern remixes), but find the earlier box to be a much better overview of the duo’s original output. It’s out of print now of course. Fans should have, however, already been able to obtain a box set years ago in the CD format. From my recollection, it was priced rather advantageously too, in the $20 range. This new “Four Pieces” boxes was probably purposely targeted at the vinyl collectors, who did not get a vinyl box set back in 2008 when “In Your Room” was released.