One record at a time: 483. Yello - The Eye

In 2003 Yello released "The Eye". I originally bought the album on compact disc, but I acquired this double LP when it was released in 2021. As with all of the Yello re-pressings from the period, the sound quality here is excellent and the packaging is of a high standard.

The album opens with “Planet Dada”, where Boris and Dieter aim for avant-garde experimentation with impenetrable lyrics, yet they inadvertently deliver a masterful piece of electronic music. “Nervous” follows, evoking the classic Yello sound and a faint promise that the duo could be reconnecting with their roots on this album.

Boris’s fascination with Latin rhythms resurfaces on “Don Turbulento”, but the detached vocals of Jade Davies (aka Heidi Pfau) feel mismatched and dampen my hopes for the album. Jade’s pop-oriented vocals also feature on “Junior B” which closes out the first side, but again, they don’t quite fit the band’s signature style.

"Tiger Dust" offers us yet another example of Boris sampling various phonemes and sprinkling them over a clever dance beat— though the concept remains underdeveloped. Unfortunately, Jade Davies returns on “Distant Solution” and “Time Palace” but her vocals increasingly clash with the prevailing bossa nova beats. The side concludes with the uninspired jazz of “Hipster’s Delay”, marking a disappointing end to side B.

The second disc offers “Indigo Bay”, a percussion-driven instrumental that’s pleasant but unremarkable. After one final vocal appearance from Jade on “Unreal”, the album regains momentum with the slick instrumental “Bougainville”. At this point, Dieter’s absence becomes noticeable, raising questions about his role in the latter half of the album. The penultimate track, “Star Breath” is forgettable, but the closing remix of “Planet Dada” brings Dieter back into the spotlight, ending the album on a high note. 2/5