Stories of Johnny
Artist: Marc Almond & the Willing Sinners

Making his first label jump since signing to Mercury in the early Soft Cell days, Stories continues the drive towards a brighter commercial sound, with Hedges once again producing and the Sinners line-up in perfect sync and well-versed in everything from lush Euro-disco to nightclub jazz and smouldering ballads (add some extra credit for the... Read More

Open All Night
Artist: Marc Almond

This is the album that Marc Almond has been trying to make since leaving Soft Cell. He has managed to fuse together all of his influences: pop, disco, dance, electronic, R&B and cabaret all thrown into the mix to produce this incredibly diverse and entertaining album. Perhaps it was the freedom of recording and releasing the CD as a... Read More

The Very Best of the Human League - ARK 21
Artist: The Human League
Community Score: 10.00

In the summer of 1998, the Human League set out on tour with the reunited Culture Club, both bands hoping to capitalize on the new wave nostalgia that was slowly sweeping the country. The tour naturally provided an ideal opportunity for a new hits collection, The Very Best Of. Essentially, it's a slightly reworked version of Greatest Hits,... Read More

The Singles
Artist: Japan
Community Score: 8.00
Twelve Years of Tears
Artist: Marc Almond

While Almond's tours during the early nineties had mostly consisted of performances backed only by the piano of Martin Watkins - both dramatic and admittedly cost-effective! - a lengthy mega-splash of a retrospective evening at London's Royal Albert Hall was staged in late 1992, consisting of three hours, costume changes galore, dancers,... Read More

You and Me Both
Artist: Yaz
Community Score: 4.75

Perhaps a more consistent collection overall than the first album, this one demonstrates that the duo was anything but played out. While both have gone on to successful careers, you can't help regretting that this is the end of Yaz. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide Read More

Upstairs at Eric's
Artist: Yaz
Community Score: 4.75

Vince Clarke can claim involvement in two stunning debuts in only two years: Depeche Mode's Speak and Spell and Yaz's Upstairs at Eric's. While Speak and Spell is, by far, the more consistent record, Upstairs at Eric's is wholly more satisfying, beating the Depeche record on substance and ambition, and is light years ahead in emotion. "Don't Go"... Read More

Memorabilia
Artist: Marc Almond

Memorabilia is a fine, but far from perfect, overview of Marc Almond's entire career, from Soft Cell to his solo recordings. Concentrating primarily on accessible, pop-oriented material, the collection overlooks some of his most ambitious material, but that makes the record a good introduction for the curious. However, they should be forewarned... Read More

Singles: 1984-1987
Artist: Marc Almond

A classic "act leaves the label, repackage the singles" move, collecting every single from the Vermin in Ermine days through Mother Fist, with the one added bonus being the title track to his covers EP, an attractive version of the Judy Garland song "A Woman's Story." Not really necessary for the heavy-duty fan, but as an introduction to... Read More

Best of Yaz
Artist: Yaz
Community Score: 6.00

The Best of Yaz does an excellent job of summarizing the synth-pop duo's singles, containing such hits as "Only You," "Ode to Boy," "Nobody's Diary," "Midnight," "Don't Go," "Mr. Blue," "Tuesday," "Winter Kills," and "Goodbye Seventies," plus a couple of rarities -- the American 12" mix of "Situation" and Richard Stannard's 1999 remix of "Only... Read More