When listening to classic oldies it's easy to forget how revolutionary

the songs sounded when they were first released. Such is the case with

Yaz, or Yazoo as they were known in their native UK.

In 1981, Vince Clarke quit Depeche Mode upon the release of that group's

first album. Tired already of stardom but keen to continue writing pop

songs on synthesizers, he took an unusual step for a newly wealthy star

and scoured the "musician wanted" ads of the music press. The lucky

recipient of his reverse searching was one Alison Moyet, whose voice

carried such a deep resonance that she had been nicknamed Alf. The couple's

first single as Yaz(oo), released in 1982, was called "Only You" (RealAudio

excerpt) and it was, quite simply, stunning. A deeply emotional

ballad, it was performed entirely on synthesizers — still considered

by some as the spawn of the devil at the time — and yet the voice

was that of classic blues. In its popularity, it forced many die-hard

purists to reevaluate their views regarding synth-pop.

Yaz followed up with the more Mode-like "Don't Go," which remains popular

on dance floors to this day. A somewhat experimental first album,

Upstairs at Eric's, gave way to a more mainstream second album,

You and Me Both, and a couple more hits, including "Nobody's

Diary" (RealAudio

excerpt), and then the duo's underlying differences forced them

apart. Moyet went on to a successful solo career for some years and

Clarke achieved even greater global success with Erasure.

The Best of Yaz contains all the duo's great pop moments (add

"Goodbye Seventies" and "Mr. Blue" to the aforementioned), but it also

has some of the bluesy ballads that seemed so daring at the time: "Winter

Kills," "Ode to Boy" and "Anyone" remain powerful listening at a time

when many of Yaz' contemporaries have been consigned to the bargain bins.

These timeless qualities have ensured periodical remixes over the years,

and this compilation brings a fresh assault. The collection rounds off

with a pumping Todd Terry remix of "Don't Go" (RealAudio

excerpt), a generic house Club 69 take on "Situation," and a fresh version of "Only You" that wisely avoids

putting beats under the ballad but does what one always knew could be

done: replaces the synthetic strings with real orchestral ones. It's so

logical that it's not even immediately noticeable. A better compliment

for a song's lasting qualities could not be made.