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Eighties’ best 100 redux: #83 [Tie] Yazoo “Only you” (1982) & The Flying Pickets “Only you” (1983)

<< #84    |    #82 >>

The #83 position on this Eighties’ best 100 (redo) list is occupied by two very different versions of the same song: Yazoo’s original synth-heavy New Wave hit and The Flying Pickets’ a capella cover of “Only you”.

Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode after the release of their debut album, “Speak & spell”, in 1981 and formed Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) with vocalist Alison Moyet. “Only you” was released as the duo’s first single and would later appear on Yazoo’s synth pop trailblazing debut “Upstairs at Eric’s” in 1982 but was actually written by Clarke back when he was still with Mode. Yazoo would only release one more album before calling it quits in 1983 when Clarke went on to form Erasure (another synthpop duo) with Andy Bell.

Though Yazoo’s “Only you” hit #2 on the UK singles chart, it was actually beaten by The Flying Pickets’ a capella cover version of the same song. They scored the coveted Christmas number one spot on the UK singles chart in 1983 when they recorded and released it as their debut single. The Flying Pickets started as a six piece group that specialized in a capella covers and were very active on the political left. They have never officially broken up but the members have changed so much over the years that not a single original member remains.

Both versions of the song bring me back to grade 10 music class because this is where I first heard the two of them. Ms. Harrison, the music teacher, brought in The Flying Pickets’ version to play for us and to show us an example of a capella singing. Many in the class liked the song so much that we listened to it again the next day, and the next, and it got to be almost a daily ritual at the end of each class. Finally, someone in the class or maybe it was Ms. Harrison again (my memory on this is a bit fuzzy – it was a few decades ago) brought in the original Yazoo version to bask in the differences in sound, feel, and emotion. To this day, though I am a much bigger Yazoo fan than I am of The Flying Pickets (can’t say I know any of their other songs), I love both versions of this tune equally.

Here is the original Yazoo version:

Here is a cappella cover by The Flying Pickets:

Original Eighties best 100 position: #83

Favourite lyric: “All i needed was the love you gave / all I needed for another day / and all I ever knew / only you.” Okay. Maybe I’m cheating here because this is the chorus but I do love singing along with it.

Where are they now?: Yazoo reformed for a tour in 2008 that brought them through Europe and the US but that was pretty much it. Erasure is still very much Clarke’s primary project. And as I mentioned already, Flying Pickets are still plugging away out there somewhere.

For the rest of the Eighties’ best 100 redux list, click here.

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100 best covers: #37 The National “Pretty in pink”

<< #38    |    #36 >>

I don’t know how the compilation, “Reprises Inrocks”, ever ended up in my Apple music library*, which song it was that led me to track down the two disc compilation, but it did. And I did. And though, I don’t listen to it all the way through all that often, there are some great tunes on there that are not available anywhere else.

It was released in 2007 by French music and culture magazine, Les Inrockuptibles, whose pages upon whom I have admittedly never glanced, though I have admired a few of their other compilations in the past, most notably the wicked Leonard Cohen and The Smiths tribute albums, “I’m your fan” and “The Smiths is dead”. The twenty five tracks on this one are all covers, some by bands I love and others not, and many are ones that may not seem like they could work on paper, but somehow do nonetheless. Examples include: Ray Lamontagne’s stripped down take on Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”, Jose Gonzalez’s unplugged version of Massive Attack’s “Teardrop”, Nina Gordon channelling Frente but doing NWA’s “Straight outta Compton”, and Calexico’s spanish guitar folk rendition of The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton”.

One of the few tracks that I knew would work from the very beginning was Cincinnati, Ohio’s The National taking a crack at The Psychedelic Fur’s classic, “Pretty in pink”. I was still relative new to The National at this point, having just delved into their fourth studio album, “The boxer”, but I was already hooked on their dark and atmospheric sound and completely sold on the rich vocals of frontman Matt Berninger. Even though his voice is quite different from that of Richard Butler, more lounge and laconic than rough and punk, it still feels exactly right for the song.

Originally written and released in 1981, “Pretty in pink” gained a greater following and notoriety when it was re-recorded a few years later for inclusion on the soundtrack for the John Hughes teen 80s film of the same name. Both Furs’ versions are hard to argue with, raw and more guitar heavy, and more upbeat than The National’s cover. The song is a post punk classic and likely a huge inspiration for a band who have long since penned a bunch of post punk revival classics of their own.

I think both of these recordings are incredible and full of life, one sunny and one rainy, but I have to go with the original here, mostly for the nostalgia factor for me.

Cover:

Original:

*It would’ve been iTunes way back then.

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2013: #19 Chvrches “Recover”

<< #20    |    #18 >>

Chvrches (or CHVRCHES) is a synthpop trio out of Glasgow, Scotland that formed back in 2011. Ian Cook and Martin Doherty were university friends and had performed in a bunch of failed bands together over the years and were almost ready to call it quits and get ‘real jobs’. However, Cook had taken an interest in electronic music and was messing around with synthesizers around the same time that he was doing some production work for another band and he found that he liked the sound of their vocalist’s style. Lauren Mayberry was intrigued by Cook’s invitation to work together on some material and after some exploratory sessions, the three musicians realized they were clicking and might have something to build off of. They chose their name, not because of any religious connotations, but because they liked the sound of it and played with the spelling as a nod to a certain esoteric indie subgenre of music.

“Recover” is the group’s second proper single and appears on their debut album, “The bones of what you believe”. It is the first track that I ever heard by the group and though it hooked me immediately, I haven’t been a fan everything they’ve done over the years. They tiptoe quite precariously on the tightrope between indie pop and outright dance pop. I can only tolerate the latter sound for short periods but they do the former so well that I will never outright dismiss them. I also respect their integrity, the way all three members contribute equally, and how frontwoman Mayberry has never allowed big money music to focus on her and use her sex appeal to sell their music.

“I’ll give you one more chance to say we can change our old ways
And you take what you need, and you know you don’t need me”

“Recover” is a blast of energy, lasers streaming and confetti flying. It is dancing in a sweaty and crowded hall while the strobe lights transform reality and melt your ability to properly perceive space and time. You’re tired and all the bodies writhing around you are tired and it is way past midnight and still hours before the sun comes up but the music won’t let you and any of your friends rest. The synths play alternatively like washes, handclaps, backing vocals, distorted bass. It’s all very retro futuristic, like robots made from 80s muscle car parts. And all the while, Mayberry is your guide and ringmaster, breathless herself in her high octave, childlike voice, commanding though, demanding you to live and experience the moment fully.

Wow.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2013 list, click here.