Track Listing

1. Tied Up
2. Of Course I 'm Lying
3. 3rd Of June
4. Blazing Saddles
5. The Race
6. Alhambra
7. Otto Di Catania
8. Tied Up In Red
9. Tied Up In Gear
10. The Race
11. Wall Street Bongo
12. The Race

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9548 in Music
• Released on: 2005-10-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .15 pounds
• Running time: 71 minutes

CD Description
Yello jumped feet-first into Latin American waters with thezippy FLAG. Much of this recording is an epileptic rush of massed congas, shakers, thumping beat boxes, chorused voicesand, of course, Boris Blank's endless supply of electronics. Dieter Meier contributes the lion's share of voices--he has an incredible variety of them in store, alternating from fierce falsettos to throaty suggestiveness with ease, his abilities easily the equal of Blank's instrumental virtuosity.
Look to the cheeky guitar bits, fibrillating rhythms and massed horn samples on the single "Tied Up", and the hipster-doofus, Southwestern synth dance-pop of "Blazing Saddles", for key slices of Yello pie. But turn the tables (or flick your remote) slightly for indications of past glories on "3rdof June", which offers clacking rhythm guitars, Blank's scary, rushing wind synths, and even bursts of (semi) heavy metal. Wacky, weird, wild, and wonderful.

Customer Reviews

YELLO - FLAG
1988 brought Yello to the mainstream of the UK charts thanks to the smash hit 'The Race'. Although Yello had some small success in the UK, "Flag" brought them to the attention of a wider audience rather than an underground following. As far as experimental sampling, they were only second to one other group, The Art of Noise. This remastered version of the album is simply Yello at their best at the end of the 1980's and contains additional tracks such as the 12" of 'The Race', 'Wall Street Bongo' and 'The Race (Break Light Mix)'. Highlights on the album are the 3 parter 'Tied Up', 'The Race', the moody 'Of Course I'm Lying' & '3rd Of June'. The only downside is that the 12" of 'Blazing Saddles' isn't included. 'Flag' is like a soundtrack to a voyage around the world. If you like something a little offbeat and different from the norm then buy this album, then go and buy the rest of Yello's albums. You won't be dissapointed!

A slight dip but still good
Following on from the consistently excellent Stella and One Second, this can be a little disappointing. The tracks are comparatively samey, and although "The Race" was one of their most successful singles, it's not one of their greatest tracks. It also includes one (mercifully just one) track where Boris Blank sings - a serious error of judgement. But this is Yello we're talking about. There's more musicial invention in this one album than in the entire careers of some of musicians they've influenced. Just don't start with this if you're in the enviable position of discovering this wonderful band.

A mediocre album, badly remastered...
This is a loud and garish, mostly unimaginative album that has too many tracks which sound like "The Race". That said, it contains my all-time favourite Yello track, the haunting "Of Course I'm Lying", featuring backing vocals from the late Billy Mackenzie, plus one of the rare and welcome occasions where Boris Blank lends his voice to the equally stunning "Blazing Saddles". Shame he's treading water elsewhere.

If you have the original CD version of this album, you may want to hold on to it and not make the mistake of buying this 2005 edition - everything is far too compressed, trebly and reverb-drenched, the volume is cranked up to the max and there's even some distortion. Listening to this with headphones is a real torture, I thought my ears were starting to bleed.

It beggars belief that Blank was responsible for such a poor job. File under missed opportunity.