Artist: Yello | Album: Flag | Released: 1988 | Genre: Synth Pop

Flag was a watershed album for the group. On one hand, it is a refinement of all the ideas the band had been following through the ’80s, on the other, in the wake of their high-profile success with “Oh Yeah,” Yello had reached the point where ideas turned into self-parody — the cover art of Deiter Meier and Boris Blank pulled together into a human knot is horrifically appropriate. Nothing is a surprise here, apart from how “The Race” is a Xerox of their own 1981 song “Bostich.” Tracks like “Of Course I’m Lying” are empty exercises in suave, like late-period Roxy Music without the pedigree. Billy Mackenzie returns to provide backup vocals on the more romantic tunes. This isn’t to say that the album is a dull listen — “Tied Up,” repeated here three times on a nine-track album, is a fascinating collage of Afro-Cuban rhythms, rain storm effects, drums nicked from a Broadway revue, monkey chatter, basso-profundo lyrics, and screams. Similar thick, eclectic production dogs each track like cologne on a lounge lizard — too much of a good thing. Yello saw the decade out with Flag — they haven’t found their way back since.

Tracklisting:

01. Tied Up [6:13]
02. Of Course I’m Lying [5:59]
03. 3rd of June [4:56]
04. Blazing Saddles [3:57]
05. The Race [8:15]
06. Alhambra [3:40]
07. Oto Di Catania [3:22]
08. Tied Up in Gear [4:01]

Single download
Yello – Tied Up 6:13
Yello – Of Course I’m Lying 5:59
Yello – 3rd of June 4:56
Yello – Blazing Saddles 3:57
Yello – The Race 8:15
Yello – Alhambra 3:40
Yello – Oto Di Catania 3:22
Yello – Tied Up in Gear 4:01

Category:Synth Pop
Main catalog

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