Julian Mendelsohn's Full Horror remix is a masterpiece but I also went bonkers over the Arthur Baker remix that was originally issued on a US promo 12" at the time. I don't think it was ever officially released on CD but it's on several boots. I'd love to be proven wrong though... The 10" mix of West End Girls was another hard to find but excellent remix but that ended up on a CD given away with a UK newspaper if I remember correctly.
Well said! I have to admit that I had to learn to like this album, too. I guess, when it came out, the melancholy tone was immediately noticeable, which is why those who adored Behaviour wanted this album to be some kind of Behavior Vol. 2. Of course, in direct comparison with this masterpiece, Elysium falls short of answering such expectations, which is perhaps its biggest problem. I really like "Give It A Go"; it's a very positive and uplifting song! "Winner", "Ego Music" and "Hold On" are obvious skip candidates, IMO, but the rest is quite enjoyable.
The Grum mix of "West End Girls", which was released as a bonus track with the 2010 "Together" single to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of "West End Girls" by EMI, is a nice one, too.
I still find it hard to believe that a compilation as brilliant as Discography, actually spawns only the first seven years of their career. I agree that they continued to make good music afterwards quite consistently, but the ten years of Discography + Very are simply too strong when compared to the following 20 years.
I have it on CD-R / I think my brother used to have all the singles from this era and made me a comp. There is an ok version of "Red Letter Day" too.
Baffling that even after two double-discs of b-sides, six Further Listenig discs, several bonus discs of Limited Editions, and myriads of Single- and Maxi-CDs, there are still official mixes that have never been released on CD. Would be nice to see these some day on another compilation or on iTunes ...
I read an interview a few years ago - I totally forget where so I'd never be able to pull it up now - where Neil said that at one point they were seriously planning a series of CD single box sets like the Depeche Mode sets but with absolutely everything they could find (promo mixes, weird foreign mixes, etc.) but the cost of researching and assembling sets would make the price point of the final product too high to Parlophone pulled the plug on the project. A total bummer, but I do appreciate the "we're going to do it right or we're not going to do it at all" mindset.
No, but how could it be?!? I like it as a b-side though and it is a nice change of pace to put it in an iTunes playlist. That's a shame, and reinforces why it was so important for DM to be with Mute. Even Erasure got some singles boxes being with that label.
Never legitimately issued on CD. The only official release was a now-rather-expensive US promo 12". A few years ago I was trying to find a copy and would've spent up to $100, but couldn't locate one from a reputable seller. In what is probably the single greatest crate-digging score of my life, I found a copy in great condition for only $1. The same shop had a trashed copy of the regular US 12" (not at all rare, and all tracks widely available on CD) and they wanted $8 for it...
A great find for $1! I got mine brand new when it was released for $3 from a DJ I knew. He did not play PSB or the usual Top 40 stuff so he would sell these brand new promo releases for $3 each. So much great stuff!
Not sure if it's ok to post a link here, but any PSB fan should be acquainted with DJ Paul and his excellent vinyl rips of 80s 12" singles. The Arthur Baker remix of "Suburbia" is on his blog.
Been following him for a few years now, he's a great resource for me when deciding on what 12 inchers i'm buying, I can get an idea of what they sound like
Aaaannnddddd...here is a link to GWAR covering "West End Girls": http://www.avclub.com/video/gwar-covers-pet-shop-boys-211000 I'll just leave that right there.
I love this version! I believe it's from the 2002 tour, which I caught at Universal Amphitheater. Fantastic show...my fave of the three PSB tours I've seen.