Don't expect me to go on about the merits of the Fairlight vs the Moog, I have no idea. This is clear evidence that the Pet Shop Boys sprang fully formed from the forehead of the god of electro-pop. Side 1 is effectively a 'Best of Pop' for 1986. 'West End Girls', 'Opportunities', 'Love Comes Quickly', 'Suburbia' - it's all pretty much perfect stuff. The opening track is 'Two Divided by Zero', which nods immediately to Kraftwerk with the repeated spoken refrain. We all know the farty keyboard sound of WEG and the lyrics are probably imprinted on everyone's brain who was there at the time. Never quite sure about "From Lake Geneva to the Finland Station" though? I think my favourite track is 'Opportunities' which has complex and interesting changes of pace. They're also much more political than you might expect and are spot on in capturing the mood of the mid-eighties. Side 2 is less familiar. Highlights are 'Violence' with backing vocals reminiscent of Floyd's 'Great Gig' and 'I Want A Lover' which reminded me of 'Spacer' by Sheila B Devotion.
ACTUALLY (1987)
Bit of a play on words with the title - 'Pet Shop Boys, actually'. Lowe stares, Tennant yawns in the cover picture.Two albums into their career and their pop-classic hit rate is unparalleled. Both PSBs and The Smiths took on a sixties chanteuse as their muse in the eighties, Dusty Springfield for Tennant and Lowe and Sandie Shaw for Mozza and co. I can't help feeling that Dusty was the better choice, her distinctive tones grace 'What Have I Done To Deserve This' and fit beautifully with Tennants own light voice. I've always liked 'Shopping', it seems to encompass the way they can take the humdrum events of life and make them ever so slightly poetic. I also noticed the somewhat robotic nature of the song, a comment on the prime directive of consumerism that has stayed with us since the eighties? 'Rent' is probably my favourite PSBs song of all. It's melancholy but really interesting lyrically, apart from the ambiguity of the title and it's associations with the seamier side of life, It also shows Tennant's skill with words, for example, it talks about 'the currency we've spent'. Currency? Why not 'money'? It would still scan (just), but 'currency' raises questions about meaning and makes you think deeper. At this time they did their movie 'It Couldn't Happen Here' which included 'You Were Always On My Mind' (not on this album but released as a single) and featured Joss Ackland being weird in the back of a cab in the video taken from it. 'It's A Sin' was a mahoosive hit and rightly so. Didn't Jonathan King try to diss it by suggesting it was a rip-off of Cat Stevens' 'Wide World'? There's a hint of the same structure to the verses perhaps and the chorus certainly did feature the words 'It's a', but the wonky-mouthed creepy one was showing his usual complete lack of any rational judgement. I remember reading once that Tennant felt 'So I look back upon my life...' as being a bit of a weak line, but I think we can forgive him. Last single on the record is 'Heart', yet another irresistible pop song, and also, lyrically, quite a straightforward declaration of love. 
So the idea is, apparently, that the album contains the songs in the form that the band want them (effectively 12" versions) and then the single releases were much shorter. This is a mixed blessing, but let's take a look. 'First is Left To My Own Devices', which is great. One of their best lyrics is 'Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat'.Tennant sort of chants the lyrics throughout. The intriguingly titled 'I Want A Dog' has a slow hypnotic beat and, on one listen at least, does seem to be about the desire for a canine companion, specifically a Chihuahua. Domino Dancing has me bopping in the kitchen while I prepare Sunday dinner - Jamie's Salmon al forno since you ask - with it's gentle salsa beat and guitar flourishes (the song, not the dinner). Nice bit of trumpet too. Unfortunately there's a horrible bit with broken beats about two-thirds through which was mercifully left out of the single version and threatens to ruin it here. 'I'm Not Scared' was a big hit for Patsy Kensit and Eighth Wonder - I think PSBs produced it and as a result the version we know is not significantly different from what we hear here. I actually think Kensit did a decent job with it (See her on Top of The Pops introduced by 'Woo' Gary Davies here.).Always On My Mind starts in the manner familiar from the single but then breaks into a rap section with Tennant's voice being speeded up and slowed down in a distracting fashion. I know it makes it interesting for them but PSBs strength has always been the 3 minute pop song (btw worst 12" remix crime of all time could well be Bruce's Dancing In The Dark).Having said all that, this is a triumph because it takes the original Elvis song, retains enough of it to make it recognizable but is also completely unlike it.'It's Alright' goes on about how music will overcome all of our problems - if you say so lads. I don't think the extra length adds anything to these tracks and sometimes detracts from them. Not sure whether they tried it again, but I shall find out.
BEHAVIOUR (1990)Is this Pet Shop Boys - The Viz Tribute? 'Being Boring' - Mr. Logic, 'Only The Wind' - Johnny Fartpants and 'So Hard' - Finbarr Saunders (and his double entendres). Thank god they didn't do one about an unspeakable parrot belonging to Bertie Blunt. 'This Must Be The Place', which I assume was in the film of the same name got me expecting 'Love Of The Common People' when it started (ah-ay-e-ay). 'To Face The Truth' is a much softer sound than they usually go for, more at the Vangelis, rather than Kraftwerk end of the synth-spectrum.I really liked 'How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously' (classic PSBs song title) with it's rock guitar riff in the chorus. There's a hint of Isaac Hayes and Shaft about 'My October Symphony'. 'So Hard' is head and shoulders above anything else on the album. Top lyric has to be 'We've both given up smoking, cos it's fatal, so whose matches are those?'. It finishes with 'Jealousy' which is sad and thoughtful. I'll be honest, I struggled a bit with this one. 'So Hard' is just great, but the rest is a bit bog-standard really. 'Being Boring' is an audacious song title and is lyrically interesting, but the overall impression is that they are well within their comfort zone.Sorry.
Spotify portrays a plain orange cover, but didn't it actually have a CD-shelf-neatness confounding Lego style textured box (see picture)? They'd pretty much released an album a year before this one came after a 3-year hiatus so it was quite a big deal. Covering Village People's 'Go West' also raised some eyebrows as well I recall. I had forgotten about 'Can You Forgive Her?' which is fantastic. Tennant on fine lyrical form, even with the taunting 'childish, so childish'.That's followed by the equally excellent 'I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing' where he asserts he will take 'all his clothes off and dance to the rite of Spring'. Dreaming of the Queen is an odd thing which sees the protagonist (Tennant we assume) having a conversation with the Queen and Lady Di about the lack of lovers in the world. The whole album is much more dancey than previous efforts and is a lot of fun. It closes with the aforementioned Go West - male voice choir, soul singer locked in the cupboard and all. It has that weird (but good) breakdown near the end where it goes all trance. Ooh, ooh there's a hidden track (Go West is 8:24 mins long, so it's the old lots of silence as a filler trick). It's short and sounds like it might be Chris Lowe singing about how he believes in ecstasy. Nice.
BILINGUAL (1996)I'm missing out Alternative, which is all previously released B sides. I found this one a bit of a mixed bag. As I was listening to it, the title-ish track 'Single - Bilingual' seemed a bit repetitive and dull, but ever since I have realised that it is one of the most pernicious earworms ever written. 'Metamorphosis' has a tish-boom beat straight out of the Stock, Aitken and Waterman starter kit. Most recognizable track here is 'Sa a Vide e', whiich is also horribly catchy. 'It Always Comes As A Surprise' features an extremely smoky saxopohone and 'Red Letter Day' starts with a Male Voice Choir that reprises Go West. My favourtite track was 'To Step Aside', which includes a weird but compelling snatch of female/child/alien vocal throughout.
NIGHTLIFE (1999)This starts with a much more clubby sound, perhaps a reflection of the title. Tennant adopts quite a high register, even for him, on a number of tracks. PSBs seemed to be in transition from a chart to an album act at this time there was no significant single action that I remember from this period. The best known track is 'You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk' which I think encompasses PSBs genius in coming up with song titles. 'If you've got a good line, then use it', seems to be their philosophy. 'You Only Tell Me You Love Me' or even 'Drunk' might have worked as titles, but they don't mind giving the single sleeve designer a problem. It's wistful and sad and on closer listening is not quite as tender as it seems.'Happiness is an Option' has Tennant semi-whispering a rapped lyric. 'Boy Strange' has clear 'Space Oddity' influences from the strummed guitar to the piano parts. Kylie makes a welcome appearance in 'In Denial' a tale of coming out. 'New York City Boy' is a full on Village People pastiche, although I cannot find out who does the vocal, it can't be Neil Tennant. I really liked this, and the cover is good too, the two of them (I assume) in Johnny Rotten wigs and sharp suits, sitting on a train.
RELEASE (2002)Bit of an oo-er missis title. There is a generally acoustic feel. 'I Get Along' definitely has a 70's MOR anthem feel to it. I want to say it reminds me of Crosby, Stills and Nash, but I'm not quite sure. Having said all that, there is the occasional vocoder in evidence and me no likey, Tennant doesn't need it and it doesn't add anything.'Samurai In Autumn' is an almost-instrumental - quite pleasant. 'Love Is A Catastrophe' is something I can best describe as Electro-Jazz-Blues. The sort of thing I guess Jeff Beck might come up with if chained to a synth. The most curious track must be 'The Night I Fell In Love', which recounts the protagonist's encounter with Eminem after one of his shows and their subsequent night spent together. Remember this was the early noughties where he was still riding a Daily Mail ragging wave of notoriety and was best known for off-colour opinions about homosexuals. They're obviously having a go, but then again he does get awarded a 9/10. Maybe he did a response song a la Michael Jackson's Billie Jean and Superstar by Lydia Murdock (thanks Wikipedia).
FUNDAMENTAL (2006)This has a 'none more black' cover - almost, the pair of them can just be seen. I love this album. It starts with 'Psychological' which is Kraftwerk with an English sensibility. Neil Tennant's lyrics are off the wall and delivered in a way that manages to be deadpan and yet full of hidden meaning at the same time. Then we get 'The Sodom and Gomorrah Show', an exultant high tempo song that bears no small resemblance to their own version of 'Where the Streets Have No Name'. 'I Made My Excuses And Left' - a phrase redolent of News of the World vice exposes of the past is a touching account of walking in on a perceived infidelity and maintains the lyrical excellence ('awkward as an elephant'). 'Minimal' is good fun with it's spelling-bee chorus.
Now, 'Numb'. This was released in the summer of 2006. At the time J's mum had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and, although she and I didn't know it at the time, only had a couple of months left. In the middle of that, my Dad died suddenly on holiday in France. Numb was being played fairly regularly on the radio at the time and summed up perfectly how we both felt. (take away all the madness, take away all the pain....for a little while I want to be numb). It was actually written by queen of the power ballad, Diane Warren and you've got to love a kettle drum. Not sure what 'Luna Park' is all about but I like it all the same. 'I'm With Stupid', I think, is about a relationship which, to the onlooker at least is based on looks alone and 'Casanova in Hell' seems to be the tale of an older man who is rejected/fails to perform and so takes his revenge in print. All the tracks are great but the closer, 'Integral' sees the PSBs in full pomp, all layered vocals and crashing synth sounds. 'Sterile, Immaculate, Rational, Perfect' indeed.
YES (2009)A pleasant surprise when I started this one. I had no idea that 'Love etc' was the song that it turned out to be. I know it well but never knew the title. It's poppy and boppy and the type of tune you'd swear you'd heard before, even the first time. 'All Over The World' borrows from a really famous piece of classical music but I can't nail it down. Wikipedia indicates that it is Tchaikovsky and it has also been used on a reasonably well know boogie-woogie (or is it honky-tonk?) track. It's driving me up the wall and I can't think of a Google search that'll nail it down for me. I found some of the tracks a bit 'meh' but really liked 'Beautiful People' which would have suited Dusty down to the ground. 'Building A Wall' is good too. It has a very flatly delivered Tennant talky bit in the middle where he goes on about 'sand in the sandwiches and wasps in the tea'. There's also some fairly worrying Chris Lowe backing vocals to contend with. Legacy has some interesting bits, including a discordant French section. Stellar in parts but overall, I'm not convinced.
ELYSIUM (2012)Getting to the end now, but they have been unusually prolific in the last 2 years with two albums. The opening 'Leaving' is a smooth, pleasant, but ultimately quite unremarkable song. It is quite groovy I suppose. 'Invisible' is dull and plodding. Then we get 'Winner'. It's obviously an attempt at a cheesy 'Olympic' song, but I don't think it was created in any 'official' capacity. It's kind of their 'Eye of the Tiger'. 'Your Early Stuff' is a bit too self referential (dare I say 'Introspective'?)- they're better off leaving this kind of thing to Loudon Wainwright III. I quite liked the refrain - "You've been around but you don't look too rough and I still quite like some of your early stuff". In a similar vein, but much funnier is 'Ego Music', which is Neil Tennant taking the rise out of the overly earnest new generation of popstars. It made me laugh out loud and is pretty catchy too. PSBs can get away with this because they've always maintained a distinction between their po-faced performances and their off-stage attitude, which always seems to be open and honest. 'Give It A Go' has a fun little squeezebox section and 'Memory Of the Future' must be a good catchy song because J, who is ambivalent about the boys was humming along on the first hearing. It closes with 'Requiem in Denim and Leopardskin' which is a fabulous title and I guess is some kind of further reflection on the music industry and the people in it.
ELECTRIC (2013)Before I even start I'm intrigued by the inclusion of a Bruce Springsteen track - 'Last To Die' from Magic. Few Bruce fans would put it in their top ten and it's a fairly straightforward rocker, so it will be interesting to see what they do with it. But before that...We begin with Axis - Electro-Disco I'd say, probably a bit Daft Punk-y and too frenetic for my liking. The Euro-influence continues with Bolshy, which again owes much to those uber-electro-robotmen Kraftwerk. The chorus - "Bolshy-Bolshy-Bolshy-O" is quite engaging. OK, there's another borrowing from the classics on 'Love is a Bourgeois Construct - Wikipedia says it's Purcell. It's almost irritating. Nice to hear the lyric 'drinking tea like Tony Benn', I'm sure the old Trot is gyrating in his grave. It has some moments that remind me of that scene in The Wrath of Khan - you know the bit where Chekhov and his new captain have been captured by Khan and he gets out a pair or forceps and extracts a nasty looking bug from underneath the sand in a pot and drops it in their helmets before putting them back on their heads. I imagine that Pavel had a similar eardrum unfriendly experience to that inflicted by the PSBs in parts of this song. 'Fluorescent' has hints of Visage's 'Fade to Grey'. 'Inside A Dream' is fairly standard fare. Then we get 'Last To Die'. I suspect that this only proves that the Pet Shop Boys could take pretty much any song and make it sound like it was always a PSBs song. It IS recognizable from the original, but I'm struggling to see the point.'Shouting in the Evening' is a bit too Techno-Techno-Techno-Techno heavy for me. 'Thursday' is a collaboration with one of those young, up and coming hip-hop stars by the name of 'Example' - not his given name I'm betting but these days you never know. It's rather good actually, a decent pop song. Mr Example does a rap midway through which doesn't spoil it, so you can't complain. Last track is vocal, which I think has a slightly too harsh sound to it.
So that brings me up to date, here are some pictures of a Moog and a Korg (I think) for all you synth-nerds out there.
And here we have - currently in stock with the Pet Shop Boys:
Fluffy Bunny - It's Alright (Introspective)
Faithful Friend - It's a Sin (Actually)
Catty - Ego Music (Elysium)
Cold Blooded Lizard - Being Boring (Behaviour)
Queer Fish - The Night I Fell In Love (Release)
Repetitive Parrot - Bolshy (Electric)
...and here is a selection of the best/most interesting tracks IMHO Pet Shop Boys Spotify playlist
SUPER (2016)
"I am H.A.P.P.Y; I am H.A.P.P.Y; I know I am I'm sure I am; I am H.A.P.P.Y". Thus begins PSBs latest offering (sort of). I was all ready to criticize them for being unoriginal and reverting back to an earlier style with this, but I've listened to it a lot and now realize that it would be like criticizing Alex Ferguson for continuing to the win the league by virtue of being a great manager. I was very unsure about first single 'The Pop Kids' since in the early nineties they were clearly not trendy students but instead were packaging their product in Lego and road-testing streamlined cycle helmets as stage-wear. I thought the lyrics were a bit arch, even for Tennant, the arch-archmeister. But of course, this is all part of PSBs genius, they are story-tellers, not autobiographers. Going back to the opening 'Happiness', it's got a Western/line-dancing feel to it. Tennant's repeated "It's a long way to happiness...." liyric is delivered in the lightest western drawl, kind of like a cool version of Steps doing '5,6,7,8'. This is very much a pop album though. 'Groovy' could be a Kylie track, but whereas we would all agree that Ms. Minogue really means it when singing "Look at me, I'm just so groovy", you have to take Tennant and Lowe with a pinch of salt. Tennant chucks in some weird low key introspection with 'The Dictator Decides', apparently a commentary on Kim Jong Un (I'll admit here that the recent Radio 'documentary' series has helped me understand some of the nuance of this album). 'Pazzo!' is in the tradition of Daft Punk and Giorgio Moroder. I assume that the deep throated interjections of 'You're crazy' is a distorted version of Tennant's voice, like he's been on 200 Marlboro a day for the last 30 years. 'Inner Sanctum' feels like a continuation, but the religiosity of the idea comes through in Tennant's whispered choral vocal. As I sit in bed on a wet Saturday morning writing this, it sends me into a brief Big-Fish-Small Fish-Cardboard Box dance. Weird pronunciation news. Tennant says "want" so that it rhymes with 'ant'. Listen to 'Say It To Me' Still, it's better than ex-Prime Minister John Major, who rhymed it with the c-word. The penultimate 'Burn' is very rave-y. What is it about discos that brings out the arsonist in everyone? The closing 'Into Thin Air' is a bit disjointed, but I'm happy to report that The Pet Shop Boys (I noticed a tendency to drop the definite article in the aforemention radio doc) are at the top of their game.
Released 20th January 2020
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are of the opinion that they ain't broke, and so repairs have not been attempted. You certainly won't mistake this for the latest offering from Black Sabbath. You get crashing synth PSBs - 'Will-o-the-Wisp'; wistful PSBs - 'Hoping For A Miracle'; and insanely catchy pop PSBs - 'I Don't Wanna'. On this last Tennant uses pronunciation that only means it can be him when 'dancing' becomes 'dinsing'.
The Years and Years collaboration that was out last year is good energetic fun although perhaps there's not enough contrast between Tennant and Olly Alexander's vocals? Mrs R.O. alleges that latest single 'Monkey Business' owes a lot to The Shamen's Ebeneezer Goode. To be honest it never occurred to me, but I guess there is something about he bippy-synth and the strident, semi-rapped vocal (not to mention its general nonsensical nature.
'Burning The Heather' strikes you as another piece of PSBs whimsy but then they start going on about "Sheepdogs running hell for leather" and "bread-heads, always pounds, shillings and pence-ing". So maybe it's a Brexit commentary, most things are these days after all. One benefit though, it urged me to listen to Judas Priest's 'Hell Bent For Leather' immediately afterward.
At the end they up the cheese-factor with 'Wedding In Berlin'. It may be an attempt to create the ultimate wedding song, so involves effectively mashing up Mendelssohn's Wedding March and The Macarena. Does it work? Nearly and it's impossible to not like its good-nature.
I'm tempted to say its a serviceable Pet Shop Boys album. It's not groundbreaking, but it is a lot of fun, and even average PSB albums are worth most people's time.
Will-o-the-Wisp
You Are The One
Happy People
Dreamland
Hoping For A Miracle
I Don't Wanna
Monkey Business
Only The Dark
Burning The Heather
Wedding In Berlin
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