Yo - I Meant To Tell You
Yo - Sun and Moon
From the Restless/Deadbeat Records LP Once In a Blue Moon, 1986
Gary Lucy reminded me of this oddball LP from my year in the dormitory. Once In a Blue Moon has held up quite well; though the strongest track might be the cover of Cat Steven's "Hard-Headed Woman" (which our legal counsel has advised us against posting), I count at least five others that appeared on mix tapes in my angsty early 20s. Yo were a San Francisco band who had some 7" action which you can sample on Hyped To Death's Homework series, plus at least two long players. Starting with some fine songs written by singer Bruce Rayburn, they added elements of trad folk and a healthy punk roar, as well as a dash of the then de rigueur "new sincerity" sound (see The Wild Seeds, Zeitgeist) to create something that was rather unique, well-crafted, and roundly ignored outside the Bay Area.
