Yello

You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess (Reviewed by SurlyOne):

Austrian collective Yello have been creating groundbreaking electronic music for over 20 years. Their third album You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess remains their finest artistic achievement. This is an album that will take you on an eclectic journey...the perfect "headphones album." Yello created their own form of sampling by maniputaling tape machines and sound effects to create a breathtaking musical sound unparalleled in 1983. It's also one of the first "rock" albums to be recorded completely in digital, still a new technology back in those days. It's hard to really describe the sounds they make on this record. Most people familiar with their 1986 hit "Oh Yeah" have an inkling of what the band is capable of. Yello are truly in a class of their own.

This is the first album that honestly "blew my mind" upon first listen. "Lost Again" is a haunting song about a failed affair. "Swing" predicted the Brian Setzer/Cherry Poppin' Daddies revival 15 years prior. But some of the most awe-inducing music on the disc spans over two tracks: "Great Mission" and the title track. "Great Mission" starts as a hilarious story of a mythical encounter in the jungle with a glorious beast that segues into the next track, a mostly instrumental number with tribal drumming and rhythms that leaves the listener gob-smacked.

The one "hit" off the album is quirky first single "I Love You," featuring a call-and-response between man and woman in the chorus ("I Love You..." "...I Know!"). The interplay of voices, electronics and twisted samples was definitely an engineering feat for its time...and still sounds as fresh today as it did in 1983.

In the world of recorded music, there are hit singles, and there are albums with a couple of strong cuts coupled with a bunch of filler. Then there are the rare albums that can be enjoyed in parts, but really stand up as a complete work of art. You Gotta Say Yes To Another Excess is one such record. After 18 years, it still blows my mind.

Response to this review by wavemeister): Umm...Yello are Swiss, consisting of Dieter Meyer (vocals) and Boris Blank (electronics).
But, you are completely right on the rest - Yello definetly played in a league of it´s own.

Response to this review by SurlyOne): My mistake, I meant to say Zurich. Don't forget early member Carlos Peron, not to mention the contributions of Chico Hablas (guitar) and Beat Ash (drums). I own practically every record ever released by this band, and each one is brilliant.