Record Collector - May 2024

[Patrick Bateman]

When Nightlife was released, John Earls reviewed it for Planet Sound, and he gave it something like 8/10. As I’ve never really been a fan of this album, this review has always been a reminder, not to get too excited when a good album review is given by a PSB fan.

Really? That's pretty funny. Tbh I take reviews in general with a pinch of salt: it's one person's subjective opinion at a specific point in time, often with a deadline to meet.

[Parkol]

Metamorphosis doesn't sound flat on Bilingual for sure.
Probably the best mixing and mastering on the album, but this is also due to the unique combination of instruments.

[PopKid78]

When Nightlife was released, John Earls reviewed it for Planet Sound, and he gave it something like 8/10. As I’ve never really been a fan of this album, this review has always been a reminder, not to get too excited when a good album review is given by a PSB fan.

Really? That's pretty funny. Tbh I take reviews in general with a pinch of salt: it's one person's subjective opinion at a specific point in time, often with a deadline to meet.

Funnily enough, that is something I also tell myself when an upcoming PSB album gets a bad review


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[jasonjohn]

a reminder, not to get too excited when a good album review is given by a PSB fan.

Well that's true of course, and I feel the same way about Electric and Super

Hotspot is my preference in the Price trilogy, kinda opposite to RC's ranking here.

[oakey]

Interesting read, thanks very much (in a way more revealing than the Imagine docu ). In the aftermath of the documentary and the upcoming release, I have listened to all their albums back-to-back, which made it clear to me again how strong their discography is. Having said that, the discussion on what a dud is and what not is also an interesting one. The ranking of the Record Collector is much in line with many 'professional' critics' rankings of the PSB backcatalogue. I always find it remarkable that their first 2 albums get high rankings, but not the highest. To me personally though, these 2 albums are the Ultimate Pet Shop Boys: everything is perfect: the production, the uptempo vs ballads, the placing of the songs in the track list, the songwriting. While later albums also include iconic PSB songs, the albums as a whole rarely reach the peak of those first two IMO. I do agree with the critics that their imperial phase was from 1985-1988, but I would extend their royal phase until 1997, so including Bilingual. Songwriting and production of their first 6 studio albums is top notch, with only an occasional filler. After 1998 though, things become more mixed IMO: still great songs (sometimes even iconic), but fillers come with the deal (Footsteps, Radiophonic, Wedding in Berlin) or tracks and singles that are simply not great (songs like Psychological, a single like Love etc., Burning the heather).

So after listening to all albums again, I list my own ratings here with a one-line motivation. It's my ranking of albums as a whole, also based on how much pleasure I get listening to the full album. It's also a relative ranking: what I rank as 1.5 stars for a PSB album may still be much superior to albums by other artists I love (Duran Duran Pop Trash anyone?):

Please ★★★★★ Everyhting is near-perfect on this album for me
Actually ★★★★★ Here, the songs and production are even better, but a 5-star album cannot be surpassed in stars
Introspective ★★★★ I love 12" mixes but Disco is much much better to my ears; I do not like the Always in my house mix (yes I get it, 'house' is that new and hip dance trend) and not a fan of It's alright
Behaviour ★★★½ Probably get slaughtered for this but this is not their best album; it has grown on me over the years though
Very ★★★★½ Almost back to Please/Actually quality, add Relentless and you have a 5-star double album
Bilingual ★★★★ Iconic, brings me back to that period in my life instantly
Nightlife ★★★ The first 'dud'; the singles are excellent, but half of it is filler (and I do like the musical!)
Release ★★ Oasis territory. Not bad, but not great either. One of their albums with the least number of great songs on it
Fundamental ★★★½ A bit like Nightlife but less filler; Minimal, Indefinite leave and Integral stand out
Yes ★★★ Did you see me coming? is the track I really love and a few others are lovely, but there are too many mid-tempo songs that are plodding along for my taste
Elysium ★½ No bangers = no Pet Shop Boys album; a collection of mediocre B-sides to me, my least favourite as I revisit it even less than Release
Electric ★★★★½ Wow, this was (and is) such a return to form
Super ★★★★★ Most rank it lower than Electric, but I prefer Super slightly more
Hotspot ★★★ Veering dangerously into Release/Elysium direction on some tracks, and Wedding is awful, but still very enjoyable as a whole
Nonetheless ★★★½ The singles did not overwhelm me, based on the first listens so far I rate it slightly higher than Hotspot, but again too many Release/Elysium type of stuff

And then there's the Discos:
Disco ★★★★★ Ultimate PSB, I'm with Start Price here; still spin it every week, never get tired of it
Disco 2 ★★★½ Unlike most, I do like the megamix, it was never intended as a collection of the individual mixes
Disco 3 ★★★½ A bit uneven as an album, but great songs; Release should have been the Relentless to this main album
Disco 4 ★★★★ Even though its not them performing most tracks, I love the concept and the collection works great

[edited to include my rating of Nonetheless]

[jasonjohn]

Well, RC has at once said PSB can't produce a dud album, and also that Nightlife is rated at 40%, a fail far below a pass.

I find this contradiction quite silly, not least because Nightlife is brim full of interesting idea, textures, and terrific POP.

Sure, *some* people barf at Footsteps. But others get it, they love the intertwined love and chaos of "nightlife". The party-goer returning home after a huge night and finding him or herself alone, sad, ears-ringing, and listening for their partners footsteps. To some: this *works*.

And yeah, Wedding is such a throwaway boisterous affair, I couldn't help doing a double take - did they intend this? And the answer is - of course they did! Hotspot is different to the others, and PSB always approach their albums with a freshness.

They still care about albums as an artistic work. Hotspot ending on a splash of giddy colour is kinda perfect in some ways.

If it disappoints the Imperialist fans, who can only imagine Neil walking through the West End streets with his nose in the air, then good! That was decades ago, and they change with every album

[oakey]

Of course they intentionally make their albums as they are. That does not mean it works out well all the time.
I am sure there are fans who rate Footsteps, Hold On, Wedding in Berlin, E-Mail or the Agenda EP among their greatest work. I don't. Even if the lyrics are great (and I do 'get' them) the songs do not always work for me (Your Early Stuff or Footsteps, to some extent even Being Boring). I am not listening to poetry set on music, I am listening to pop songs where the music is as important as the lyrics.

Luckily there's always enough to please all their fans. Apart from Elysium

[Pinhead44]

Well, RC has at once said PSB can't produce a dud album, and also that Nightlife is rated at 40%, a fail far below a pass.

I find this contradiction quite silly, not least because Nightlife is brim full of interesting idea, textures, and terrific POP.

Sure, *some* people barf at Footsteps. But others get it, they love the intertwined love and chaos of "nightlife". The party-goer returning home after a huge night and finding him or herself alone, sad, ears-ringing, and listening for their partners footsteps. To some: this *works*.

And yeah, Wedding is such a throwaway boisterous affair, I couldn't help doing a double take - did they intend this? And the answer is - of course they did! Hotspot is different to the others, and PSB always approach their albums with a freshness.

They still care about albums as an artistic work. Hotspot ending on a splash of giddy colour is kinda perfect in some ways.

If it disappoints the Imperialist fans, who can only imagine Neil walking through the West End streets with his nose in the air, then good! That was decades ago, and they change with every album

I'm not keen on Wedding or Footsteps but I certainly don't think of myself therefore as an 'imperialist" only fan. I love nearly all the songs on Release (yes even the night I fell in love), sometimes it is just as simple as what you like or don't like.

Hotspot has some amazing songs on it Willo, Burning, Monkey Business , but it is also, for me, the one out of the three trilogy albums that feels more like a collection of songs rather than a set musical theme to it, like the first two have. Neil said himself that it was an album of songs that all could be singles and that's how it feels. Take each track individually and it is a very enjoyable album, but as a collective, continuous album , it feels disjointed.

I think the other issue for me with Hotspot, is when they said it was their Berlin album I (wrightly or wrongly) thought of a darker, more techno album, and then Dreamland and Burning the Heather were released, and I thought these were both the complete opposite to what I was expecting.

Then they threw the curve-ball of Will-o-the-Wisp in at the start and that was exactly what I hoped the album was going to be. Then they follow that with The One, and it just felt like a complete comedown. I think the album would have flown much better with Happy People at track 2

Bilingual and Nightlife also (for me) suffer from tracks being put I'm the wrong order, and having a mix of theming, although Bilingual has some of my favourite individual tracks on.

[telys]

I think there are parallels between 90's and 10's
Very = Electric
Bilingual = Super
Nightlife = Hotspot
Hopefully Nontheless is not a new Release but rather the alternative reality Release (the superior electro album that could have been)

[Patrick Bateman]

What's particularly interesting about that article is them talking about hanging out in the Groucho Club during the Britpop years. No coincidence that it coincides with their artistic nadir and the birth of Showbiz Neil. Was it Disco Potential that was recorded after a session at Chris Evans's house? I really should have disowned them at that point.