Track Listing

1. Nobody's Diary
2. Softly Over
3. Sweet Thing
4. Mr Blue
5. Good Times
6. Walk Away From Love
7. Ode To Boy
8. Unmarked
9. Anyone
10. Happy People
11. And On

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83091 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-23
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Yazoo bowed out with superb second offering
Releasing a follow-up to any huge album is a big challenge to any band. Think of Ultravox and Rage In Eden: three months on a German farm crafting the sequel to Vienna only to have it slagged badly upon release. Likewise OMD's follow-up to 1981's masterpiece Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships. Being seen to live up to and maybe even top your biggest work is no small feat.

Did Yazoo do that with You & Me Both? By and large, yes, but the contrasts between this album and the stunning debut of 'Upstairs at Eric's' also bear exploration.

'You & Me Both' is a typically 'difficult' second album: Yazoo were slowly disintegrating during its writing and recording; neither Clarke nor Moyet could further reconcile their divergent musical passions, Moyet being all about the feeling and Clarke being captivated by the sound. This is an album born of dissent and frustration: the mood in the studio was indeed tense at times by all accounts. Two Essex musicians shouting at each other as the project they founded...err founded amid acrimony.

So what are the songs like? From the excellent final single 'Nobody's Diary' through 'Softly Over' to the conclusive, funeral-themed 'And On', the lyrical content is dominated by the break-up. It's amazing how such intense emotions can be framed so exquisitely by brilliantly-programmed electronics but such was the essence of Yazoo. Highlights for me: 'Mr Blue', the acute anti-war 'Unmarked' (written in the wake of the Falklands War the year before) and 'Anyone', a song about holding onto your self-worth when things are bleak. It's a song I've often related to:

"And in my darkest hour, when I can find no light/My goals are out of sight and nothing warms the night/I close my eyes and with such sweet surprise/I can be anywhere/I can be anything/I can be...anyone." It's powerfully delivered and totally disproves those who believed then (and maybe still do) that synth-based musics are cold and emotionless.

Buy this and contrast it with 'Upstairs...'. It's a pity they didn't stick around to produce more but we must be grateful they did create the two albums they did. Since the dark days of 1983, Vince and Alison are no longer at loggerheads. I'd love to see a Yazoo reunion...

So good, yet so often overlooked
'You & Me Both' is a meatier affair than its predecessor, 1982's 'Upstairs at Eric's'. Part of the reason is the inclusion, this time around, of more songs written by Alison Moyet. The runaway success of the duo's first album has left many people with the impression that all of the songwriting was done by Vince Clarke. Moyet was credited only for her fantastic voice, but little else. This album redresses that balance and showcases six of her own compostions. Two of her songs, the smash hit 'Nobody's Diary' and the sensuous 'Ode To Boy' are by far the best tracks here. However, Vince Clarke's 'Mr Blue' is quite a stealthy charmer too. The moody anti-war song, 'Unmarked', the dramatic 'Anyone' and 'Softly Over' are also highlights on this darker second album. Only the bubbly 'Walk Away From Love' and the electro-funk of 'Sweet Thing' hark back to the bouncier 'Upstairs At Eric's'.

The release of 'You & Me Both' coincided with an announcement that Yazoo was to split. Vince went on to become half of Erasure, scoring several huge hits. Alison became one of the UK's most popular solo singers in the '80s and then, in the '90s, evolved into a grittier, earthier artist. Her first two albums ('Alf' and 'Raindancing') are still available and will appeal to Yazoo fans. Her fantastic third and fourth albums ('Hoodoo' and 'Essex') are hard to find but her excellent 'Singles' compilation will help fill in some gaps....