Pet shop boys reissues

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by fozl1986, Feb 7, 2015.

  1. dustybooks

    dustybooks rabbit advocate

    Location:
    Wilmington, NC
    I'm enjoying all the discussion on "To Step Aside"; that was the song that got me into PSB -- I was a teenager (no 'net in my room yet) and completely unaware of their prior '80s success, and in the fall of 1996 that song got played on a weird nightly show on my local modern rock station that generally put on album tracks and obscure artists and the like -- I found it really dramatic and gripping and strange and it struck a chord right away. (I caught the "Single-Bilingual" video at some point and loved its visuals as well, which mattered in those days.) I guess Atlantic decided to briefly try and push PSB to the alternative rock crowd!? Anyway, it worked for at least one kid. I got Bilingual, which perplexed me a bit at first (had no knowledge of synthpop or dance music yet) but just after I got it my older sister, a child of the '80s, moved in and showed me a bunch of her old videotapes filled with MTV circa 1986-88, so through her I got to know the hits. They've been with me ever since, and these days I think Bilingual is a masterpiece.
     
  2. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    Your post bought a smile to my face, Thank You :D
     
    dustybooks likes this.
  3. Scottb

    Scottb Senior Member

    Location:
    Nanuet, NY, USA
    Bilingual is fantastic. I just am not crazy about Electricity as it ruins the flow of the album and I think the song isn't on par with the tracks on the rest of the CD. 'The Survivors' is also an amazing track.
     
  4. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    Fun fact of the day: The Saturday Girls in the lyrics of The Survivors were real, they were 3 girls who worked at Smash Hits magazine with Neil in the early 1980's and formed a group called Saturday Girls. Neil also wrote a song for them, which they didnt record, but years later the song evolved into Dont Drop Bombs, recored by Liza Minnelli.
     
    jamesc, Scottb and c-eling like this.
  5. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Man, Bilingual and Nightlife gave us some great B-sides as well. It was for those that I pretty much bought the singles at release, not necessarily for the mixes or the actual single :laugh:
    Still a favorite-
     
    Kemosabi1, 3Dman, sunspot42 and 2 others like this.
  6. Dave 81828384

    Dave 81828384 Unremarkable Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Just realized I've never listened to Bilingual or Nighlife... With everything being said here I think I will. :)
     
  7. Scottb

    Scottb Senior Member

    Location:
    Nanuet, NY, USA
    Excellent. Hit and Miss is also pure bliss.
     
    3Dman and portlandjulian like this.
  8. kiefer2

    kiefer2 Eastern European knockoff Mr. Potato Head

    Location:
    Brookhaven, Pa.
    I think Bilingual and Very are my 2 favorite PSB albums-but I think the edge goes to Bilingual.
     
    LivingForever and dustybooks like this.
  9. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    Those were the days, they spoiled us with their B Sides at that time and still do. That was one of the great things about them, loads of amazing tracks as B Sides. The B sides Album called Format is a good place to start.

    Format

    Disc one: 1996–2002
    No.
    Title Featured on Length
    1. "The Truck-Driver and His Mate" "Before", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 3:34
    2. "Hit and Miss" "Before", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 4:07
    3. "In the Night (1995)" "Before", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 4:16
    4. "Betrayed" "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)",Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 5:19
    5. "How I Learned to Hate Rock-and-Roll" "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)",Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 4:38
    6. "Discoteca" (new version) "Single-Bilingual", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 3:43
    7. "The Calm Before the Storm" "Single-Bilingual", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997, "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" 2:46
    8. "Confidential" (Demo for Tina Turner) "Single-Bilingual", Very: Further Listening 1992–1994 4:47
    9. "The Boy Who Couldn't Keep His Clothes On (International Club Mix)" "A Red Letter Day", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997, Bilingual Special Edition 6:05
    10. "Delusions of Grandeur" "A Red Letter Day", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 5:04
    11. "The View from Your Balcony" "Somewhere", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 3:45
    12. "Disco Potential" "Somewhere", Bilingual: Further Listening 1995–1997 4:07
    13. "Silver Age" "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More", bonus USA Nightlifedisc 3:33
    14. "Screaming" "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More", bonus USA Nightlifedisc, Mini 4:56
    15. "The Ghost of Myself" "New York City Boy", bonus USA Nightlifedisc 4:03
    16. "Casting a Shadow" "New York City Boy", bonus USA Nightlifedisc 4:37
    17. "Lies" "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk", Mini 4:39
    18. "Sexy Northerner" "Home and Dry", bonus USA Releasedisc 3:42

    Disc two: 2002–2009
    No.
    Title Featured on Length
    1. "Always" "Home and Dry", bonus USA Release disc 5:03
    2. "Nightlife" "Home and Dry", bonus USA Release disc 3:53
    3. "Searching for the Face of Jesus" "I Get Along" 3:27
    4. "Between Two Islands" "I Get Along" 5:06
    5. "Friendly Fire" "I Get Along", bonus USA Release disc 3:23
    6. "We're the Pet Shop Boys" "Miracles" 4:55
    7. "Transparent" "Miracles" 3:51
    8. "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today" "Flamboyant" 3:37
    9. "The Resurrectionist" "I'm with Stupid" 3:10
    10. "Girls Don't Cry" "I'm with Stupid" 2:34
    11. "In Private" (7-inch mix; duet with Elton John) "Minimal" 4:11
    12. "Blue on Blue" "Minimal" 3:12
    13. "No Time for Tears" (7-inch mix) "Minimal", original on Battleship Potemkin 3:35
    14. "Bright Young Things" "Numb" 4:55
    15. "Party Song" "Numb" 3:40
    16. "We're All Criminals Now" "Love etc." 3:55
    17. "Gin and Jag" "Love etc." 4:29
    18. "After the Event" "Did You See Me Coming?" 5:16
    19. "The Former Enfant Terrible" "Did You See Me Coming?" 2:51
    20. "Up and Down" "Did You See Me Coming?" 3:43
     
    jsayers, c-eling and davers like this.
  10. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    And I could also recommend the first B Sides Album called Alternative, for the earlier B Sides.

    Alternative

    Disc one
    No.
    Title Writer(s) Featured on Length
    1. "In the Night" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1985 release) 4:50
    2. "A Man Could Get Arrested" (12" Mix) "West End Girls" 4:19
    3. "That's My Impression" (disco mix) "Love Comes Quickly" 5:18
    4. "Was That What It Was?" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1986 release) 5:14
    5. "Paninaro" "Suburbia" 4:40
    6. "Jack the Lad" "Suburbia" 4:31
    7. "You Know Where You Went Wrong" "It's a Sin" 5:51
    8. "A New Life" Tennant, Lowe, Helena Springs "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" 4:56
    9. "I Want a Dog" "Rent" 4:58
    10. "Do I Have To?" "Always on My Mind" 5:14
    11. "I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)" "Heart" 4:54
    12. "Don Juan" "Domino Dancing" 3:54
    13. "The Sound of the Atom Splitting"(extended version) Tennant, Lowe, Steve Lipson,Trevor Horn "Left to My Own Devices" 5:12
    14. "One of the Crowd" "It's Alright" 3:55
    15. "Your Funny Uncle" "It's Alright" 2:16

    Disc two

    1. "It Must Be Obvious" "So Hard" 4:24
    2. "We All Feel Better in the Dark" "Being Boring" 4:00
    3. "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend" "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)" 4:28
    4. "Losing My Mind" Stephen Sondheim "Jealousy" 4:34
    5. "Music for Boys" "DJ Culture" 3:36
    6. "Miserablism" "Was It Worth It?" 4:10
    7. "Hey, Headmaster" "Can You Forgive Her?" 3:06
    8. "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill "Can You Forgive Her?" 3:24
    9. "Shameless" "Go West" 5:02
    10. "Too Many People" "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" 4:17
    11. "Violence" (Haçienda Version) "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" 4:58
    12. "Decadence" "Liberation" 3:56
    13. "If Love Were All" Noël Coward "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" 2:59
    14. "Euroboy" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" 4:27
    15. "Some Speculation" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" 6:34
    16. "Girls & Boys" (live in Rio) (Blur cover, Japanese edition bonus track) "Paninaro '95" 5:03
     
  11. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I have an original 12"'of "Nothing Has Been Proved". That's all I have of theirs.

    Where should I start, if I wanted to listen to entire album?
     
  12. sunspot42

    sunspot42 Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Francisco
    I think Alternative is much better than Format - in fact I think it's better than all of their records post-Very apart from Yes - but Format does have its moments.
     
  13. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    I would start with the fans favorite Behavior or Behaviour outside of the USA. It was released in 1990 at the height of the rave scene in the UK and the album was anything but like a rave album. Harold Faltermeyer produced the album Because they were dissatisfied with the available digital synthesisers and samples, the Pet Shop Boys wanted to use analogue synthesisers. Faltermeyer was a good choice for producer as he happened to be an expert on analogue equipment.

    It has the single Being Boring on it possibly their finest song to date and also contains the single called Jealously which was the first ever complete song that Neil and Chris had written. Whether it's the devastation of AIDS, the outcomes of greed, infidelity, and promiscuity, the poses of pop stardom, or the virtual collapse of communism, in one song after another the album details the sense of loss and confusion wrought by individual and collective behavior gone awry.

    If you want a more upbeat album try Very or Yes or try Introspective for more of an all out dance album, :D
     
  14. Pim

    Pim Forum Resident

    Integral is an amazing track. The rest of the album is great too ofcourse. Just got the vinyl a couple of weeks ago for a good price. Some amazing singles as well. Minimal is extremely catchy.
     
  15. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    If you have never heard any of their albums before, I suggest starting at the beginning like some if us did with Please.

    Then work your way forward to hear their development. "West End Girls" blew me away at first listen and the debut album didn't disappoint with several other great singles.

    I do happen to think Behavior is the best album so Julian's suggestion has merit.
     
  16. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    I'm a big fan of early Pet Shop Boys but lost track along the way as I thought they were kind of repeating themselves. One of the suggestions above was to listen to Fundamental and I did this morning. I should say I immediately liked the first track, as it sounded as an interesting combination of Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and Pet Shop Boys. But with track 2 we safely return to oldskool PSB territory. And although the rest of the album was nice, it's not interesting enough for me to really care. After finishing Fundamental I listened to Disco and to me that's the album to beat. Still awesome after all these years.

    BTW, did anyone notice the track Brick England on Jean Michel Jarre's recent Electronica 2 album? It's a collaboration with Pet Shop Boys and I like it a lot.
     
    Dave 81828384 likes this.
  17. bob60

    bob60 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London UK
    I think everyone thinks Behavior is their best album. Like George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice which was released at the same time, it was just so different to everything else at that time, in the UK anyway. Both are classic career best albums.
     
  18. Yost

    Yost “It’s only impossible until it’s not”

    I don't think that Behaviour is their best. :shh:

    I like Disco, Actually and Please better. Disco is probably cheating a bit, because it's a compilation/remix album. But I think it's hard to find a remix album that really improves the original studio version for every track, and Disco succeeds brilliantly in doing just that. Both Actually and Please sound more varied to me than more recent releases. Behaviour e.g. is a fine album, but to my ears all the tracks sound the same after a while.
     
    MarkusGermany and c-eling like this.
  19. portlandjulian

    portlandjulian Forum Resident

    Thats what my second suggestion would have been, to start at the beginning. I remember purchasing it the week of release and asking for the new Pet Shop Boys album, Please. I recall them saying that they liked the idea of the public being polite and saying can I have the new Pet Shop Boys album, Please :D

    To me the strength of the album at the time was the last 3 tracks that kinda told a mini story, I Want a Lover, Later Tonight and Why Don't We Live Together.

    And the album cover has become a classic now.
     
    Scottb, JeffMo and c-eling like this.
  20. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I agree Jeff. Just be warned, every pre-remaster compact disc has pre-emphasis, except for the later Japan TOCP
    Picked up the cassette with my lawn mowing money back in 86 :laugh:
     
  21. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Hurts did a little ode for their Happiness album which I thought was pretty cool, good album
    [​IMG]
     
    portlandjulian likes this.
  22. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    I don't think I have a favorite Joost, as a album whole I like the way Actually flows
     
  23. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    I think my brother actually bought the cassette that summer, but I certainly borrowed (and dubbed) it!

    When Actually came out in '87 my cassette (that I bought this time, since home taping is killing the industry LOL) came with the "Always On My Mind" bonus cassingle, in a long box, as you reminded me Cory.
     
    c-eling likes this.
  24. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    Thing that ticked me off was they released it after the initial album release, it was expensive if I recall. I wasn't going to buy it again for the single :laugh:
     
    Dave 81828384 likes this.
  25. JeffMo

    JeffMo Format Agnostic

    Location:
    New England
    And at the other end of the spectrum is the inexcusable Disco 2, the nadir of the PSB catalog by a wide margin.

    What were they thinking?!?
     
    LivingForever, davers, Yost and 4 others like this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine