This review is from: In Your Room (W/Dvd) (Audio CD) Yazoo were always more popular in the UK than the US, but their two albums spawned perennial club hits that still get played today. This box set collects the two albums, remastered at last, and finally with their tracklists matching their original UK counterparts.

Many US fans would be surprised to realize that two of the groups biggest club hits, "Situation" and "State Farm", were not originally on the UK versions of their respective albums. Both were B-Sides of singles, and were originally considered throwaway tracks by Clarke and Moyet. Savvy American execs saw the potential in "Situation" and hired Francois Kervorkian to remix the track, creating a dancefloor smash on both sides of the pond. When "Upstair's At Eric's" was released in America, the moody track "Tuesday" was dropped from the line-up to make room for the reworked "Situation", and "Tuesday" did not appear on an album in America until 1999's "Best Of Yaz" compilation CD.

On the American release of "You and Me Both", the track "Happy People" was dropped in favor of the single "State Farm". These decisions were perhaps understandable for the limited time available on vinyl albums, but why these missing tracks were not restored to the original American compact disc versions of the albums is a mystery ( In an odd twist of fate, the British CD release of "Upstairs At Eric"s" saw the US mix of "Situation" added as a bonus track - along with the single-only "The Other Side Of Love"- but this time the avant garde track "I Before E Except After C" was removed. strange, since there was still plenty of room on the disc for all of the trackscuriouser and curiouser).

Fortunately, the box set restores both albums to their original tracklists and a third CD collects all the singles in their original and remixed/extended versions. Also included is a bonus DVD of television appearances, promotional video clips ( many of which were never shown in America ) and a terrific half hour documentary about the group which answers many questions, and should put to rest rumours about who disbanded the group and why, once for all. The television appearances are almost overkill, since all of them involve the duo onstage at various shows miming to their current hit ( and after you've seen them miming "Only You" once, you can pretty much predict what the next clips are going to look like ). Also included is a lovely booklet about the group which is chockful of pictures and history.

The remastering job is terrific and gives the songs more punch than ever before. There are also very good 5.1 mixes included on the companion DVD which sound great on a surround system.

All in all a great set celebrating the legacy of a short-lived but fondly remembered collaboration of two great talents, Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet.