Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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The ambitious Swiss electronic duo Yello comprised vocalist/conceptualist Dieter Meier – a millionaire industrialist, professional gambler, and member of Switzerland's national golf team – and composer/arranger Boris Blank. Meier, a former solo artist who also spent time with the group Fresh Colour, began collaborating with Blank in 1979, and the duo bowed with the single "I.T. Splash." After signing with the Residents' label, Ralph Records, Yello issued their 1980 debut LP, Solid Pleasure, which spawned the dance hit "Bostitch."

With 1981's Claro Que Si, Yello made its first forays into music video; their clip for the single "Pinball Cha Cha," directed by Meier, garnered considerable acclaim and in 1985 was selected as one of 32 works included in the Museum of Modern Art's Music Video Exhibition. Visual accompaniment remained a pivotal component of the duo's work after they signed to Elektra in 1983 for the LP You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, as the videos for "I Love You" and "Lost and Found" received heavy airplay on MTV.

1985's Stella proved to be Yello's commercial breakthrough: while the singles and videos "Desire" and "Vicious Games" found success upon their initial release, the duo enjoyed a delayed hit with the album track "Oh Yeah," which reached the U.S. singles chart after being prominently featured in the films Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Secret of My Success. After the remix project 1980-1985: The New Mix in Go, Yello recruited diva Shirley Bassey and ex-Associate Billy McKenzie for 1987's One Second.

Despite the success of 1988's Flag, which contained the international hit "The Race," over the course of the next several years Yello grew increasingly involved with film projects: after scoring the comedy Nuns on the Run, Meier directed his own feature, 1990's Snowball. In 1991, the duo resurfaced with Baby, followed three years later by Zebra. 1995's Hands on Yello compiled reinterpretations of the group's songs by the likes of Moby, the Orb, and the Grid, while Pocket Universe, a collection of new material, appeared in 1997. Their tenth effort, Motion Picture, arrived only two years later, which was itself followed by 2003's The Eye, which featured Jade Davies on a number of tracks. Touch Yello, their 12th album, landed in 2009 and featured smooth jazz megastar Till Brönner on three selections. Incredibly the duo had never performed live in their long history, yet their 2016 album Toy was released amid news that they would undertake their first ever live performance in Berlin later in the same year.

Biography by Jason Ankeny, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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The most varied and accomplished of any synth pop debut, Yello's first album presents a few irresistible pop songs (the hit "Bostich," plus "Bimbo" and "Eternal Legs"), Boris Blank's synthesizer interpretations of several different forms of music ("Downtown Samba," "Bananas to the Beat," "Rock Stop," "Coast to Polka"), and even a three-song suite of atmospheric industrial music that functions as a miniature invisible soundtrack. The dark lyrical concerns and futurist electronics immediately lifted Yello above the rut of Kraftwerk imitators.

Review by John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Another leap in musical sophistication made Yello's second album another high point in the development of synth pop. The future of Euro-disco and dance-pop are easily audible from the opening "Daily Disco" and other tracks like "Pinball Cha Cha," "The Evening's Young," and "Cuad el Habib." Though Claro Que Si is slightly more pop-oriented than the group's debut, with Boris Blank's electronics just as innovative and obtuse as before, that's hardly a step backward.

Review by John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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The seeds of Euro-dance sown on Claro Que Si reached fruition on Yello's next record, naturally titled You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess. There are fewer novelty synth tracks than before, those being replaced by a series of sleazy, deep-throated vocals on "I Love You," "Lost Again," "Heavy Whispers," and the title track. There are also a few exercises in worldbeat synth pop, with heavy percussion on the title track as well as the closing number, "Salut Mayoumba." Though Blank's production doesn't sound as consistently innovative as on the first two Yello records, that's probably due more to other synth pop groups catching up than any comedown on his part.

Review by John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Yes, Stella is the album that includes Yello's biggest hit, "Oh Yeah." It's also their best single LP, an excellent production throughout by Boris Blank, from the theatric instrumentals "Stalakdrama" and "Ciel Ouvert" to the frenetic pitched percussion on "Let Me Cry." As well, Dieter Meier proves he's at his best vocally, whether it's the seamy side of life on "Desert Inn" or an exaggerated leer for "Koladi-ola." Both hit their peak on the same album, and Stella is a complete joy for fans of the vocal or production side of the group.

Review by John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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The New Mix in One Go: 80-'85 is a double-record set comprised of remixes and re-recordings of older songs, plus a handful of new material designed to entice collectors.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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One Second expands the Eurodisco approach of Stella, and while it's considerably less adventurous than Yello's earlier works, it's engaging dance music, highlighted by some clever uses of Latin rhythms and vocal cameos from Billy Mackenzie and Shirley Bassey.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Flag was a watershed album for the group. On one hand, it is a refinement of all the ideas the band had been following through the '80s, on the other, in the wake of their high-profile success with "Oh Yeah," Yello had reached the point where ideas turned into self-parody – the cover art of Deiter Meier and Boris Blank pulled together into a human knot is horrifically appropriate. Nothing is a surprise here, apart from how "The Race" is a Xerox of their own 1981 song "Bostich." Tracks like "Of Course I'm Lying" are empty exercises in suave, like late-period Roxy Music without the pedigree. Billy Mackenzie returns to provide backup vocals on the more romantic tunes. This isn't to say that the album is a dull listen – "Tied Up," repeated here three times on a nine-track album, is a fascinating collage of Afro-Cuban rhythms, rain storm effects, drums nicked from a Broadway revue, monkey chatter, basso-profundo lyrics, and screams. Similar thick, eclectic production dogs each track like cologne on a lounge lizard – too much of a good thing. Yello saw the decade out with Flag – they haven't found their way back since.

Review by Ted Mills, Allmusic.com

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Yello - Albums Collection: 1980-1991 (8CD) [Non-Remastered]

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The Swiss act Yello began as an avant-garde electronic trio, releasing two critically acclaimed albums (1980's Solid Pleasure and 1981's Claro Que Si) before scoring major U.S. club success (and MTV exposure) with 1983's more accessible You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess. Following the departure of Carlos Peron, founding members Boris Blank and Dieter Meier toned down the more experimental touches while successfully keeping Yello's quirky danceclub sensibilities intact. In 1985, Yello released the more pop-oriented Stella, which included the song that would be a major turning point in the group's career. "Oh Yeah" became a sensation, appearing in major motion pictures and countless commercials before belatedly hitting the U.S. pop chart in 1987. With the release of 1988's Flag, Yello achieved its greatest commercial and critical success. Baby, the 1991 follow-up to Flag, predictably sounds quite similar to its predecessor. With Flag, Yello began to heavily incorporate Latin rhythms into its signature sound, and Baby continues this approach, although with less success. Baby is not without its share of strong tracks, however. "Jungle Bill" and "Who's Gone" are as delightful as anything on Flag, and the wonderfully weird "Rubberbandman" proves Yello definitely has a sense of humor. With Baby, however, Yello faces the task of following its strongest album, and the material is too slight to scale the heights of the complex and often brilliant Flag. But Baby is, for the most part, frothy and fun, and definitely a worthy addition to the Yello catalog.

Review by William Cooper, Allmusic.com