January 15, 2020

20,000 vinyl LPs 201: Yello ~ Solid Pleasure & Boris Blank

~           
 date & photographer unknown


Today is the birthday of Boris Blank who was born on January 15, 1952,  in Zurich, Switzerland, and was one of the founding members of the VERY avant-garde group, Yello.      

In 1981 I discovered his group when I was snagged by this VERY strange album cover. How could anyone pass up a cover like this?


vinyl LP front cover 
photo of album cover by Styrous®


I found Solid Pleasure, their first album release, and their second, Claro Que Si, at the same time. Each album is a doozy in totally different ways! More on Claro Que Si in a future article. The group's style is heavy on electronic based rhythms and melodies all over-laid with the erotically sinister baritone/bass vocals of Dieter Meier.              


vinyl LP back cover
back cover design by Nick Urbaniak 
photo of album back cover by Styrous®

      
Yello was formed by Boris Blank (keyboards, sampling, percussion, backing vocals) and Carlos Perón (tapes) in the late 1970s. After Solid Pleasure was released, Perón left the group. Dieter Meier (vocals, lyrics), a millionaire industrialist and gambler, was brought in when the two founders realised that they needed a singer. The new band name, Yello, was chosen as a neologism based on a comment made by Meier, "a yelled Hello". No credit is given for the front cover design but credit for the back cover is given to Nick Urbaniak.      


vinyl LP back cover  detail
back cover design by Nick Urbaniak 
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®

The music ranges from semi-disco to extremely trippy! Bimbo is bouncy and jivey, with complicated rhythm layers. It is a great non-disco dance song as is Night Flanger which is fast from the very beginning with no into and lots of electronic effects and great lyrics!

Reverse Lion is a very fast instrumental but in spite of its speed it is delightfully trippy with an extremely sharp end. Magneto is slow, dreamy and VERY trippy with a heartbeat feeling to it. Massage fits into the trippy category as well with an almost religious feeling to it; it goes right into Assistant's Cry which is also trippy but VERY scary! This goes into Bostich which is VERY fast and trippy.     

Downtown Samba, is true to its name: a very fast samba that is great to dance to with its Brazilian feel that has nothing what-so-ever to do with Brazil and is VERY "Downtown".    


vinyl LP back cover  detail
back cover design by Nick Urbaniak 
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®


Rock Stop is a great medium speed dance song with a clapping synthesizer effect joined by a boingy one that gives the song a fun, joyous feeling. It is followed by an equally fun feeling instrumental with an almost tuba-like sound, Coast To Polka, which has the speed of a runaway freight train.   

Blue Green starts with a "flash" that goes into a very quiet but fast gallop beat. It is basically an instrumental but has a non-verbal male chorus. This song features a quietly beautiful guitar played by Chico Hablas. It is an incredible trip song!     

Eternal Legs starts suddenly; it is a fast, almost disco dance song with a male chorus and great lyrics. The electronic effects are terrific and it is a lot of fun to dance to it! I remember dancing to an extended DJ version of it at one of the discos in San Francisco. It mixes right into Stanztrigger which is fast but quietly trippy.       

Bananas To The Beatis a fun and silly dance song with fun lyrics; it is also a samba and a nice palate changer.      
    

vinyl LP back cover  detail
back cover design by Nick Urbaniak 
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®


Blank composes and produces solo music, under the name Avant Garden, which is intended for licensing to the film and TV production industry. This music is handled by Extreme Music.   
        

vinyl LP, side 1
photos by Styrous®






vinyl LP, side 2
photos by Styrous®

   
Tracklist:

Side 1: A1 - Bimbo    
A2 - Night Flanger    
A3 - Reverse Lion    
A4 - Downtown Samba    
A5 - Magneto    
A6 - Massage    
A7 - Assistant's Cry    
A8 - Bostich    

Side 2:

B1 - Rock Stop    
B2 - Coast To Polka    
B3 - Blue Green    
B4 - Eternal Legs    
B5 - Stanztrigger    
B6 - Bananas To The Beat    

Companies, etc.

    Copyright (c) – Cryptic Corporation
    Phonographic Copyright (p) – Cryptic Corporation
    Recorded At – Yello Studio
    Recorded At – Platinum One Studio
    Lacquer Cut At – Sonic Arts
    Mastered At – Greg Lee Processing – L-3035
    Manufactured By – Ralph Records
    Published By – Pale Pachyderm Publishing

Credits:

    Composed By – Boris Blank, Blank* (tracks: A7, B3, B5), Peron* (tracks: A7, B3, B5)
    Design [Back Cover] – Nick Urbaniak (2)
    Drums – Felix Haug, Walt Kaiser*
    Effects, Tape – Carlos Perón
    Electronics – Boris Blank
    Guitar – Chico Hablas
    Lacquer Cut By – LKIKS*
    Lyrics By – Dieter Meier
    Producer, Engineer – Ursli Weber, Yello
    Vocals – Dieter Meier

Notes:

Issued with generic Ralph Records "Official Buy Or Die Innersleeve."

Recorded 1980 at Yello Studio and Platinum One Studio.

℗ © 1980, The Cryptic Corporation
Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Runout side A): [Etched] LKIKS [Stamped] ⊏◯⊐ [Etched] YL 8059-L-A L-3035
    Matrix / Runout (Runout side B): [Etched] LK [Stamped] ⊏◯⊐ [Etched] YL 8059L / B L-3035-X
    Rights Society: BMI

Yello ‎– Solid Pleasure
Label: Ralph Records ‎– YL 8059-L
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 15 Oct 1980
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

     
       
        
Viewfinder links:       
     
Boris Blank         
Yello        
        
Net links:       
      
The Guardian ~ America thought we were black guys rapping 
Official Charts ~ Yello chart list     
Solid Pleasure lyrics ~    
           Bimbo     
           Night Flanger         
           Downtown Samba        
           Assistant's Cry         
           Rock Stop        
           Eternal Legs         
           Bananas To The Beat         
Yello website     
    
YouTube links:       
     
Bimbo         
Night Flanger        
Reverse Lion       
Downtown Samba                 
Magneto       
Massage                 
Assistant's Cry     
Bostich     
Rock Stop     
Coast To Polka     
Blue Green       
Eternal Legs     
Stanztrigger
              
     
   
Happy Birthday, Boris, & 
thanks for decades of listening pleasure!
     
        
                 
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, January 15, 2020      
     










No comments:

Post a Comment

PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.

Thank you.