My Big Fat Excitement
Woot!
A little less then six years fans like my self have been waiting for a new album from Yello (not counting Progress and Perfection). Yello is my all time favorite duo. Pioneers in dance beats that made the club scene what it is, but always full of tastes of jazz, blues, rock, salsa, African beats and much, much more. Yello's music is timeless whether on the dance floor or driving down the highway. Every album Yello has ever put out, in fact every song they've ever put out, manages to be true to form but new, creative, fresh and ever evolving. Touch Yello meets that standard and does not disappoint as it takes you from the modern to ancient. I'll do a play by play of the songs next, but my overall opinion is a resounding "Woot!" for this album. The first song The Expert samples the Ruberband Man, lyrics and beat, but adds more modern elements including some beatboxing. You Better Hide, sung by Heidi Happy, is my second favorite song on the album. The song is classy with that smokey, sexy James Bond feel. You could say it's on par with The Rhythm Divine (sung by Shirley Bassey), but better in my opinion. Out Of The Dawn also has some sampling from an older Yello song, Suite 909, and like The Expert is a solid and typical Yello song. Bostich Reflected is a remix of the original Bostich song from Yello's first album. It's a great remix and does justice to the original while bringing a lot great new elements to it. Till Tomorrow, with trumpet by Till Bronner, is an instrumental piece. It's wonderfully moody with a classic blues feel. Tangier Blue is a a smooth jazz club scene with a 1940's gangster feel to it. Part Love is pure 70's funk and samples Yello's Drive Driven and Heavy Whispers (and another song I can't put my finger on yet). Friday Smile is all new and comes with a cool daddy-o feel. Kiss In Blue, with Heidie Happy singing, has that great blues club feel, but is a bit more late 50's and swinging. Vertical Vision, instrumental with Till Bronner on trumpet, gave me the feel of a hard boiled 40's detective movie like The Big Sleep, I loved it. Trackless Deep I can't really place stylistically, but it was the least impressive on the album. Stay, sung by Heidi Happy, is modern, mellow and hypnotic. The song reminded me of Eisley's Marvelous Things kinda of dreamy but sad too. Electric Frame, with Till Bronner on trumpet, is upbeat bluesy-jazz with delicate electronic musical touches, nicely done. Takla Makan, instrumental with Dorothee Oberlinger on recorder, is the last song and my favorite. This is Yello at it's best. Exotic, , deeply soulful, mystically ancient and powerful this song will give you visions. You can an almost see the haunting beauty of the Taklamakan Desert and it's people as you listen to Oberlinger's haunting and skillfull playing on the recorder. Thank you Borris Blank and Dieter Meier you've done it again. To buy the album or check out videos from the album check out Yello's website here. If you've never heard of Yello then check out the album below and move forward.