Yazoo's "Don't Go" hasn't really left the radio in the thirty seven (!) years since its initial release. What seemed radical at the time (full throated, bluesy synth pop) turned out to be an idea with some legs. Strip away the vocals, and "Upstairs at Eric's" isn't too different from Depeche Mode's "Speak and Spell", released just one year earlier. "Upstairs at Eric's" has richer basslines and cuts back on the twinkly kiddie melody lines, but it's clear that it's the work of the same songwriter.
"Speak and Spell" has long been one of my favourite DM albums. It exudes fun and positivity, it's dripping with catchy melodies, and there's rarely a time when I wouldn't feel up to listening to it. Half of DM's output is dark, sinister stuff that you have to get in a mood for, but "Just Can't Get Enough" or "Photographic" requires no preparation. My US version of the album even includes "Dreaming of Me", one of the all time great, brighten-my-days tunes. However, it must be said that besides the aforementioned gems, "Speak and Spell" also contains some of the worst dreck DM ever recorded. Out of the worst ten DM songs, probably five of them appear on their first two albums (so you can split the blame between Vince Clarke and Martin Gore equally). Today, DM are the elder statesmen of the era, one of the few UK synth-pop acts that gained popularity as the decade went on, became equally or more popular in the US, and boast a critically and popularly acclaimed catalogue of anthems. But at the time, they were a boy band, reviled by many harbingers of good taste, and not expected to have any career longevity. "Speak and Spell" is music by kids and for kids, which is what DM were at the time. Clarke was the elder statesman of the group at the time, at the ripe old age of 21.
Once you add Moyet's amazing voice to Clarke's synths, suddenly the combination becomes a bluesy, wise beyond their years, more complete package. Make no mistake, Moyet is the reason these songs can sound so great decades later. Her pleading and her pain are the consistent focus in these songs. When was a teenager, "Situation" was a hot club jam, backed by a number of notable remixes. I didn't know at the time that it was a US single only, that the duo strongly disapproved of. I can't understand their mode of thinking, because "Situation" really stands apart from anything else on "Upstairs at Eric's". It has more in common with electro and breakbeat than early 80's synth pop. It's genre-straddling, forward thinking nature is undoubtedly why it stayed relevant in clubs for the next decade.
