Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[TallThinMan]

I'd like to show some love for Andy Richards. I have the stems for 'It's a Sin'. His Fairlight and keyboard programming on 'Actually' is flawless. Those thunderclaps on 'It's a Sin' are not samples, he made them using a Roland Jupiter-8 synth.

[leesmapman]

This is the song that cemented my love for PSB's music. I was a big fan of Frankie goes to Hollywood but when they split up, I had to find another band. When this song premiered on the radio show I listened to every day (Avondspits), the DJ (Frits Spits) introduced the song with "looks like PSB listened to Trevor Horn/FGTH when they recorded this song".

The extended mix is fantastic. It was played at another radio show I listed to every week and I played it to death.

[Towa]

I'd like to show some love for Andy Richards. I have the stems for 'It's a Sin'. His Fairlight and keyboard programming on 'Actually' is flawless. Those thunderclaps on 'It's a Sin' are not samples, he made them using a Roland Jupiter-8 synth.

This!

Andy Richards was/is amazing. My favourite synth sound-designer and player of all time. His Jupiter 8, Fairlight CMI III and PPG Wave 2.3/Waveterm programming is top notch and an integral part of Actually but also of Trevor Horn productions back then such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood ("Relax" also features excellent Jupiter 8 playing and sound design by Andy, he also wrote the chords to "Relax" (prior to his additions, "Relax" was a chord-less chant)) and Propaganda (ok, mostly produced by Lippo, but Andy was the main keyboard guy on ASW).

I think that "Actually" was one of his first projects using the then new Fairlight Series III, and it changed his sound to a more percussive and "hi-fi" sound – very "Actually". In earlier projects (for example FGTH, Propaganda and "Power Windows" by Rush), it was more big chords and massive pad sounds from the jupiter and the PPG.

"It's a sin" showcases both his new Fairlght skills and his "old" Jupiter 8 and PPG mastery.

[leesmapman]

I'd like to show some love for Andy Richards. I have the stems for 'It's a Sin'. His Fairlight and keyboard programming on 'Actually' is flawless. Those thunderclaps on 'It's a Sin' are not samples, he made them using a Roland Jupiter-8 synth.

This!

Andy Richards was/is amazing. My favourite synth sound-designer and player of all time. His Jupiter 8, Fairlight CMI III and PPG Wave 2.3/Waveterm programming is top notch and an integral part of Actually but also of Trevor Horn productions back then such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood ("Relax" also features excellent Jupiter 8 playing and sound design by Andy, he also wrote the chords to "Relax" (prior to his additions, "Relax" was a chord-less chant)) and Propaganda (ok, mostly produced by Lippo, but Andy was the main keyboard guy on ASW).

I think that "Actually" was one of his first projects using the then new Fairlight Series III, and it changed his sound to a more percussive and "hi-fi" sound – very "Actually". In earlier projects (for example FGTH, Propaganda and "Power Windows" by Rush), it was more big chords and massive pad sounds from the jupiter and the PPG.

"It's a sin" showcases both his new Fairlght skills and his "old" Jupiter 8 and PPG mastery.

Also, Fuzzbox' Big Bang! album is great, he produced that album.

[TallThinMan]

I'd like to show some love for Andy Richards. I have the stems for 'It's a Sin'. His Fairlight and keyboard programming on 'Actually' is flawless. Those thunderclaps on 'It's a Sin' are not samples, he made them using a Roland Jupiter-8 synth.

This!

Andy Richards was/is amazing. My favourite synth sound-designer and player of all time. His Jupiter 8, Fairlight CMI III and PPG Wave 2.3/Waveterm programming is top notch and an integral part of Actually but also of Trevor Horn productions back then such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood ("Relax" also features excellent Jupiter 8 playing and sound design by Andy, he also wrote the chords to "Relax" (prior to his additions, "Relax" was a chord-less chant)) and Propaganda (ok, mostly produced by Lippo, but Andy was the main keyboard guy on ASW).

I think that "Actually" was one of his first projects using the then new Fairlight Series III, and it changed his sound to a more percussive and "hi-fi" sound – very "Actually". In earlier projects (for example FGTH, Propaganda and "Power Windows" by Rush), it was more big chords and massive pad sounds from the jupiter and the PPG.

"It's a sin" showcases both his new Fairlght skills and his "old" Jupiter 8 and PPG mastery.

There’s a great video from Steve Lipson on YouTube where’s he’s soloing the ‘Relax’ parts. Suffice to say, the stuff I always assumed was sequenced because it’s so tight was played by hand by Andy Richards.

I think to this day, ‘Actually’ is still my favourite album of theirs sonically. They really did have the best people in the industry working on it.

[Pinhead44]

It's A Sin

PET SHOP BOYS POP PERFECTION !

Epic and exhilarating, this is just a monster of a track ! All the team that worked to get this track to this level deserve immense credit !

Love that we don't get any radio edits, the single is glorious across it's full 5 minutes.

Then, just when you thought the single couldn't be improved, the 12" (Disco Mix on FL disc) adds another 3 minutes of glory. The build up to that epic explosion of music up to and just after 2 minute mark, remains one of the best bits of remixing ever !

The Ian Levine Remix that was released is also great. whilst losing some of musical majesty, it brings to the front some of the other great musical elements of the track, and has the most amazing final 30 seconds, where the 'Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti vobis...' spoken words by Neil get's turned up in the mix, and then you just get the synthesised violin / viola sequence (for want of a better phrase !) that goes on it's own little magical mystery tour for the last 10 seconds, before we finish with the 'zero'. Again one of my all time favourite bit of re-mixing !

Still gives me goosebumps when the play it live, and glad they put it back to being the last song before the encore on the Dreamworld tour.

Apart from all that, I'm not really that fussed about it ! (10/10)

[telys]

Perdoname padre, traté de no hacerlo. LO que me enseňastes no lo creí...
The miami mix is a favourite.

[D.J.]

It's a Sin was a track that made me an instant PSB hardcore fan when it came on the radio back in 1987, when I was only 11. I've never heard anything similar to it before. In the decades since, I haven't played it as much as many other songs on Actually, but it is a really a masterpiece. It is over the top music-wise, but the vocals are so sincere. Like other fans, I also love Disco mix. I've always loved the stripped-down part in that mix with just a beat and that violin riff.

[rashomon]

What can be said about It's a sin that hasn't been said already? Not much I can add here. Ground breaking and huge sounding and It's definitely an absolute stone cold classic no doubt ... but I do think I've heard it too often and that has reduced the power of it for me. It doesn't feature in my top 10 or even top 20 PSB tracks.

Having said that, all the enthusiasm shown in the comments above for the remixes ... I may give these a reappraisal.

[Spittingcat]

In a way, everything the Pet Shop Boys do is in these two songs. Still happy for them to do more of both…

[drunk14]

The nickname's favourite song.

[BugBoy]

Perdoname padre, traté de no hacerlo. LO que me enseňastes no lo creí...
The miami mix is a favourite.

When I first heard these mixes, a few years after the single release, I thought they had sampled Micheal Jackson for the additional spoken word parts, and to this day it still spoils the mix for me! Overall, sonically it's certainly a second rate version, like a stock/aitken/waterman demo version.

[leesmapman]

Now that the Nonetheless dust has settled, let's talk actually again.

Track 24: I want to wake up

Chronology: Actually, Track 8

My least favourite track from the album, but an interesting track nonetheless. Full of references in the lyrics (Tainted Love and Love is Strange) and musically (New Order's Temptation). I do like Neil's voice on this.

[spacewalker]

"I want to wake up... with you" - that's a nice twist in the end. Love this song.
Isn't it the only song Johnny Marr has ever remixed in his career?

[oakey]

Listened to Hotspot again today after having listened a lot to Nonetheless. Even though the Price albums are a trilogy according to the Boys, in terms of songwriting and look and feel, I consider Electric/Super a pair and Hotspot/Nonetheless too, despite having different producers