[Go West] [on Various: Now That's What I Call Music 26] CD: 1993 UK (EMI; CD NOW 26) [on Various: Now that's what I call music 1993 "the millennium series"] CD: 1993 UK (EMI; 7243-5-20292-2 8) 4:18 Go West [original mark stent mix] From PSB - catalogue online.
Thank you! Funny how the wrong title will get you nowhere on Discogs. Here's the details for anyone interested: http://www.discogs.com/Pet-Shop-Boys-The-Pet-Shop-Boys-Compiled/release/1573982 The sad thing is I had a stack of those Go West US 2 track promo CDs but sold them off long ago for cheap. Didn't realize there was a unique edit on there.
The Mark Stent 7" mix is not on the US 2-track promo cd. It was limited to UK promo 12" and studio cassette only.
That makes sense since the US promo came out way after the track was initially going to be released in the Mark Stent form. So, I guess the other version on the US promo is just an edit of the 7" or album mix then.
I have a message in to a friend who has the promo cd. I think it's the Brothers in Rhythm edit. Discogs says the disc itself has the wrong time listed on it. This mix was sort of "mythological" to collectors for a long time, and there was a frenzy when the Party cd came out. If it had been on the [comparatively easy to obtain] promo cd, it would have made the rounds and appeared on bootlegs way before Party arrived.
Reminds me of depeche mode's the best of promo cd, it has four unique edits not found anywhere else. The edits/mixes arent identified as such and looks like the standard release except for promotional use only.
PSB have always had a way with titles, but 'Very' is the pinnacle of that - it is exactly what is described on the case, a Very Pet Shop Boys album. So much has been said about it already, but some thoughts from me: It's an album I like (a lot) but don't love. I'm not sure what it is, but I've never embraced it as fully as a lot of the fan base has. The packaging and overall presentation of the entire era is pretty much perfect, and there's not necessarily a dud on the album, but I guess I think it's a little long for what it is. Was it a more compact 10-track album would I rate it higher? Perhaps. Much like 'Introspective', I can't say exactly why it's not a Top Shelf PSB album for me, it just isn't. But there's so much greatness here. The five singles - released in alphabetical order, for what it's worth - are five of their very best. The album tracks are all great, but I think that's part of my issue - they're all clearly album tracks. There's no "WHY WASN'T THIS A SINGLE?!?" like "This must be the place I waited years to leave" or "I'm not scared" or "Hit music" on previous albums. There is, of course, one hidden away in the b-sides. All are top notch, and the pairing of each b-side to match the feel of the a-side was a nice touch, but it all comes down to "Shameless". Had I to pick a single song that is their finest moment, it's "Shameless". First off, it's a banger and a half and is an absolute blast to listen to. Second, it's lyrical content works on SO many levels - you could make a case that it predicted the shameless media culture we live in today, but it also pokes a bit of fun at themselves. (Neil as called some of their promo ploys shameless over the years.) As far as a five minute pop song goes, it's really hard to ask for anything more than "Shameless" delivers...so, of course, it was a b-side. (It was considered for single release to promote 'Alternative' but since it backed 'Go West', which hit #2, they figured everyone who wanted it already had it and went with "Paninaro '95" instead, but we'll get to that.) They brought it live to the 'Nightlife' tour but hopefully they'll revive it again on a future tour. Remix wise, a total mixed bag. Third party remixers really start to take over here and they're largely aimed at the clubs. A few stand out to me - Rollo's "Can you forgive her?" is wonderful, as is Jam & Spoon's "Yesterday when I was mad" and the full Beatmasters "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing". I always give a special nod to E-Smoove's "Liberation", contender for the most hated track in the entire PSB catalog - there's literally not a shred of "Liberation" left in the 12" version so it's essentially an E-Smoove track inspired by "Liberation" than a remix of it, but I think it works for what it is. (There's pieces of the verse in the 7" mix but I've always thought it made it worse to have them in.) Has anyone mentioned "Absolutely Fabulous" yet? Talk about shameless, Neil mentions in the Further listening liners that they essentially did it to have lunch with Jennifer and Joanna. They were wise to do it for Comic Relief to they could write it off as a piece of fun, but as a single it works and is another favorite of mine; the generic Eurohouse backing track is exactly the type of stuff Patsy & Edina would listen to and, lyrically being a series of quotes anyways, it's endlessly quotable. Another shout out to the not very much liked Dull Soulless Dance Music Mix, which is exactly what it says. Well played. 'Relentless' is a good time as well but, as at least one other has mentioned, I've never understood why it's so loved. I do completely covet the 3xcolored LP pressing, though I'd never spend the asking price for it. Album ranking: Actually Please Behaviour Very Introspective with 2-4 being very, very close to each other.
Anyone think Miserablism is one of the best purely electronic songs they have done? Its one of the first on every compilation i make. Your Funny Uncle is great too. It conjures up images of English "kitchen sink" dramas. Dreary grey days and cups of tea in a sitting room after the funeral has taken place. It would compliment It Couldnt Happen Here. I wonder if Morrissey has heard it?
I like the fact they named the debut "please", so people could walk into the record shop and say "pet shop boys, please"
Yes discogs is correct , The promo 2 track "radio version" clocks at 4:21 not 4:09 as it states on the cd Edit: Just listened to it, been awhile, sounds like a straight edit of the album version, nothing special, now I'm really curious about that Stent mix
Love this track. If you locate the "Hot Tracks" remix of this track, it works just like an extended version. Highly recommended.
Besides, we all know that New Order wipes the floor with both bands!!!! Just trying to add some Saturday night humor.
Wrong. "Always On My Mind" was a Top-10 hit in '88. Beyond that, here's what I actually said: "PSB broke thru as the genre was dying on the US charts in '86 and continued having several Top-1o and Top-20 hits - plus Platinum albums - thru '88, keeping synth pop relevant on the US charts." Introspective went Platinum in '88 or '89. "Domino Dancing" hit #18 in late '88 (or maybe it was early '89 - anyhow, that certainly qualifies as Top-20). So there's nothing to "knock off" my list, which includes the period of '86 - '88. Wait . . . where I did I say they had multiple hits per-year each of those years? I said they continued having Top-20 hits and Platinum albums thru '88, which is (obviously) true. Look, if you can't argue with someone without consistently misrepresenting what they've said, you clearly don't have much of an argument. That's rich, given what you've just been shown doing. Um, where exactly did I "claim" that? Can you provide a quote? If by "faded" you mean a Platinum album and two Top-20 singles (one of which went into the Top-5), then that's not much of a fade. And, like I said, they kept UK synth pop in the Top-20 at a time when it had largely vanished apart from them, which undoubtedly kept some promotional money flowing to UK synth pop acts in the US (labels always chase after proven successes). The Innocents certainly received promotion in the US, or it would never have spawned two Top-20 hits (their highest charting here at #12). The videos got quite a bit of play on MTV during a period where UK acts had pretty much vanished from that channel (apart from PSB and occasionally Duran Duran), and I recall seeing seeing promo material for the album at several record stores in Phoenix where I grew up (and was somewhat surprised by the push). Depeche Mode also started getting promo material in the record stores for Music For The Masses about a year earlier - I hadn't seen anything about them in a couple of years and had just assumed they'd broken up. Again, it's unlikely any of that money would have been spent promoting UK synth pop acts if the Boys hadn't been consistent sellers in the US. "Chains of Love" got to #12 and "A Little Respect" got to #14. That's two songs, not one. Again, this stuff is easy to research.
I'm not a huge fan of "A Different Point Of View" off Very - although the lyric is pretty good - but I noticed the other day the melody of the chorus made me recall Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind" of all things (the "I never thought I could act this way...the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back" passage). Curiously, Duran Duran apparently did use the melody of "If You Could Read My Mind" directly in "Hungry Like The Wolf" for the "do do do" sequences of the song. The chorus of "Save A Prayer" was apparently also inspired by "If You Could Read My Mind". Somebody owes Gord a lot of money...
Also, surprised to see a lot of people don't care for "Can You Forgive Her?". One person complained about the orchestra hits, and another said it didn't sound much like a PSB song. I thought the orchestra hits harked back to their cover of "Always On My Mind", and that it was a song that could have only come from Pet Shop Boys. In fact it owed a lot to "This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave" I always thought, and also "It's A Sin". It was certainly the gayest single they'd ever released up to that point, and launches the album on a pretty high note. Remember when you were more easily led behind the cricket pavilion and the bicycle shed Trembling as your dreams came true you looked right into those blue eyes and knew it was love That lyric always cracks me up. The song practically sneers from one end to the other, in a way only PSB did. The whole record has an overt sense of humor that they hadn't quite exhibited prior to this record.
CYFH - great track although in Australia CD2 was released first so we got the rollo remixes. I didnt mind it at the time.
I thought CYFH was a marvellous comeback. My female flatmate (not a fan) giggled at the bicycle shed line, as well as the ones about 'you dance to disco and you don't like rock' and 'said she was gonna get herself a real man instead'. I thought the music was interesting as it wasn't in 4/4 time. 6/8, I believe. The flatmate then heard the whole of Go West before me, with the video, and told me how funny it was. I remember thinking how 'funny' wasn't the first adjective that popped into my head whenever I heard a new PSB choon, and started to worry slightly. I know how N&C have since stated that It's A Sin was the first of their 'funny, silly' records but it certainly didn't feel that way or was particularly obvious at the time. Post Very post-rationalisation, perhaps? I loved and still love Very, but it was the start of PSB becoming a caricature of themselves, and of pop generally. I loathed the video for IWNDTKOT, and music preferred the album version of the song and YWIWM anyway. Something got kinda lost along the way...
Count me in as another that likes the song. In fact, discussing the orchestra hits reminds me of the big-band rendition "Swing Version" of CYFH that made an appearance as a B-side on one of the "Yesterday When I Was Mad" singles. There's something about hearing it in a West End/Broadway style that really brings out its tongue-in-cheek humor.
Bilingual 1996 Produced by PSB, Chris Porter, Danny Tenaglia After the massive success of 1993's "Very", Neil and Chris went back in the studio armed with the knowledge that grand, layered arrangements brimming with large sounding vocals works very well. Add to that all the Latin rhythms flowing through their minds as a result of a pretty successful romp through South America and the result is the surprisingly good "Bilingual". At first I was a little skeptical about how "World Music" would translate via Pet Shop Boys' brand of synth pop but I should have known that when you have the talent and brilliant pop instincts of Neil and Chris that they can pretty much make anything sound pretty good. I've gone back and listened a few times and this one started to sound like a winner within the first few tracks and only got better with each listen. PSB saw fit to release a very good "Further Listening" edition as well and I'd say the remaster was done fairly well as opposed to the mess that was "Behavior". Very worthwhile. "Discoteca" "Single" "Metamorphosis" "Electricity" "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" "It Always Comes as a Surprise" "A Red Letter Day" "Up Against It" "The Survivors" "Before" "To Step Aside" "Saturday Night Forever"
Bilingual has some excellent moments, and probably their best lyrics ever, but much of the album felt like a bit of a let-down to me. I don't the faux-latin sounds really worked, and the singles didn't impress me much. "Before" was bland and forgettable (in all fairness, just like most popular dance music at the time) and "Se a Vida é" didn't quite reach the heights it was meant to. For me, the biggest highlights on this are the captivating ballad "It Always Comes As A Surprise" and the life-affirming "The Survivors". "To Step Aside" is a decent enough song, but the lyrics are fantastic. And perhaps it was just my own (mis)interpretation, but I always thought there was a very dark angle to the closing track "Saturday Night Forever", with Neil repeating "forever, forever". As usual, some of the best material was tucked away on b-sides: "The Truck Driver And His Mate" is gleefully homoerotic, and "Delusions of Grandeur" had an over-the-top energy which the a-side "A Red Letter Day" sorely lacked. This album marked the start of PSB switching labels in the US every album or two, a practice which they have continued ever since. Oh, and here's a somewhat amusing thing: I bought a US enhanced CD single of "Before" which had both audio tracks and multimedia content in the form of a Quicktime video. It seems the multimedia portion isn't usable on any computer made in this century, which led to a discussion on discogs as to whether the disc actually had any such content on it at all. Turns out current Windows machines won't even show the data partition. OSX does, but I'm pretty sure it can't be accessed as Macs made in 1995 used both a different operating system and CPU architecture.
