Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs believes that mastering systems should be neutral and transparent. The essential idea is to unveil all the detailed musical information on the original master recording without adding deterioration, coloration or other sonic artefacts.
With proprietary innovations such as GAIN 2™, general music enthusiasts and audiophiles alike have reaped the benefit of a higher consumer audio standard without investing in costly new hardware.
A1: Don't Go
A2: Too Pieces
A3: Bad Connection
A4: I Before E Except After C
A5: Midnight
A6: In My Room
B1: Only You
B2: Goodbye 70's
B3: Situation
B4: Winter Kills
B5: Bring Your Love Down (Didn't I)
The 1980s will forever be remembered for electropop sensations, yet few, if any, are quite as sensational as Yaz's Upstairs at Eric's. A standard-setting mélange of smoky blues singing, jazzy arrangements, disco-tinged beats, and dancefloor vibes, the smash debut fits equally as well at a late-night club as it does in a living room, where the record's complexity and exoticism takes listeners hostage. No wonder the 1982 landmark remains one of the decade's most essential albums.
This numbered edition Silver Label LP breathes with a decongested openness, textural richness, and tonal palette never before experienced on previous analogue or digital editions. Alison Moyet's inimitable vocals, such a huge part of the record's appeal, are dramatically enhanced, her sensual timbre, bittersweet crooning, and knockout range now encompassing the full frequency spectrum and projecting outward in a way that traverses the flatness of the original pressings.
Indeed, her bluesy deliveries are at once elegant and exuberant, and give collaborative partner Vince Clarke free range to construct beat architectures that encompass freewheeling disco, house music, uptempo dance, and chilled-out pop. The former Depeche Mode member also layers on elegant keyboard melodies, establishing contagious hooks and electronic-laced landscapes that preceded the techno explosion and do so with a cooler elegance. Tape loops, random field-noise dialogues, and synth-stroked bass notes add to what's nothing less than a perfect collusion of moody paranoia and soulful warmth.
While a cousin to synth-pop LPs by the likes of the Eurythmics, Soft Cell, OMD, and Depeche Mode, Yaz's Upstairs at Eric's is singular for its chemistry between Moyet and Clarke - and an insouciant batch of songs high on emotion, style, and substance.
GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's founding fathers - Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL's most heralded past releases.
The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customised reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)
First and foremost, Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs only utilise first generation original master recordings as source material for their releases. MFSL then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master's sonic information. The lacquers are then plated in a specialised process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). MFSL further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors' items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.
Produced by E.C. Radcliffe, Yazoo
Producer (Additional): Daniel Miller
Engineered by E.C. Radcliffe, J. Fryer
Assistant Engineers: Barry Harris, Bruce Buckhalter, Michael Sommers-Abbott
Mixed by Hugh Padgham
Mastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on the GAIN 2 ULTRA ANALOG SYSTEM.
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, MOFI 1-020
Series: Silver Label Vinyl Series
Format: Vinyl LP, Limited Edition, Numbered, Remastered
Country: US
Released: Jul 2012
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Mobile Fidelity records are typically supplied in a thin plastic wrap with a perforated edge. Unfortunately, during normal handling, it's very easy for this perforated edge to pop open. Rather than ship your record exposed to the elements, if this outer wrap pops open, we carefully replace it with a proper sealable outer record sleeve in order to keep your record safe. Trust us, it's for the better! Have no doubt that your record is brand new and ready to add to your collection!
| Model Number | LMFS020 |
|---|---|
| RRP | 65.00 |
