How was Introspective received by fans?

[Ramzy]

Hello hello,

I've got a question for those of you lucky enough to remember Introspective being released. It's simple enough - the album is now pretty iconic, with some of their best known songs, a spirit of experimentation that they never really matched, and that fantastic sleeve. But I can remember being ten or eleven years old when I bought the LP in the late 90s and being slightly baffled by it.

So my question is: how was Introspective received by fans when it came out? Six songs isn't many, and petheads would already have known four of them in some form - five if they were familiar with the original Sterling Void version of It's Alright. That only leaves one fully new song for those buying the album in October 1988. Was Introspective therefore disappointing? Or did it feel the way it feels to me now, like the idea of what constitutes a studio album is being tested - like Neil and Chris want us to question where remix becomes composition, repetition becomes originality, dance becomes pop?

So if you bought Introspective in those early days, can you remember your first impressions? Did you think it was genius? Lazy? Disappointing? Thrilling? Did you even think it was an album? And was there any sort of consensus about these things in whatever fan circles you were part of?

Yours curiously,
Ramzy

[Gabby]

Ooh that's digging back in my memory. I remember a few things. Domino Dancing was already out, loved it, and so was up to speed on my 12" mixes there. Devices was new, but don't recall being blown away by it - my friends thought it sounded like a biography of me which was not even remotely close, but kind of funny. I was quite familiar with "...dog" and I seem to recall thinking the remix was rather plodding compared to the original (mea culpa!).

I LOVED the new take on "I'm Not Scared" and still do. I liked the Eighth Wonder release but this was just something else - so like having a new song. Blew me away. Always on my Mind I remember liking, although iirc it took a few goes to wrap my head around the In My House part. I was not a fan of "It's Alright". Found it a bit too lengthy and repetitive, and still do to some extent - prefer the single and associated remixes there even now.

I think I viewed it at first in the same vein as "Disco", but maybe couldn't quite understand why they'd release the remixes ahead of the singles!

I also clearly remember WHERE I bought it. I was visiting at my grandparents in Lancing, Surrey, and was at a shop there (pretty sure it was Woolworths) and it was either playing or I just spotted it on a display. I didn't even realise it was out, so picked it up (cassette only for me at the time) on the spot.

I also clearly remember WHERE I picked up the 3x12" vinyl with the obi-strip. It was an HMV in York. We were on a school trip, and left to meander around the city (we were probably meant to go to Yorvik or the cathedral, but no, I b-lined for the shops!). If I recall correctly I also picked up a 12" of Love Comes Quickly on the same day - the dumbest reason to remember is because the b-side was That's My Impression and one of my friends made a joke about the title on the bus ride home.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Like you, I was about 10 or 11 when I bought it... but for me that lined up with its original release. To me, in that context, the only song I knew of as an "existing" song was Always On My Mind. If I was at all baffled, it was simply that the real version of Always On My Mind never appeared on any album, despite being released before Heart, which was.

In short, I absolutely adored it and have since.

Retro.

[leesmapman]

For me, it was a continuation of Disco: a six track album with 12" mixes. It had a few new tracks, a few old ones, which made it an odd release for me, as if it was a hurried release or something. It was not a compilation, nor was it a new album.

Working with Trevor Horn was for me a big yes, because I am a big fan of his work and a collaboration between them was just logical.

At first I was a bit disappointed in the lack of new materialen, but it all worked very well on the album and it became a favourite.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A528B met Tapatalk

[joe stalin]

For me, I was 16 at the time. It was an amazing time. Only time I’ve ever been asked to share the cassette with a school friend as he heard it was cool. He loved it.

Highlights. Left to my own devices. I inhaled this track. Every single nano-second. The music. The lyrics. My favourite bit…‘it’s not a crime when you look the way you do, the way I like to picture you’. That couplet meant so much to me. In my a level English class I read the lyrics to the class. I was so proud to stand up and read something that meant more to me than the English texts I was supposed to read. I got a D in English literature: probably reading the wrong texts helped my failure.

I’m not scared. The background to this track: it was two tracks merged into one. Sounded so simply but executed to perfection. The ‘if I was you’ bit never fails to move me. I’ll never understand why Stuart price always cut this bit short for live versions. It was a criminal act.

Otherwise, I want a dog was nice but obviously wasn’t Chris on keyboards. Domino dancing still is meh. In my house is fun, especially the train bit. Interesting to hear Phil Harding’s take on the final album edit. Sounded like a bit of a challenge but worth the effort. It’s alright. Ok but nothing special.

Overall, I think the highs are so intense to outweigh any lows. I loved it then and still do now. I’m not scared is still in my top 10 all time PSB compositions and very under rated imho.

[Patrick Bateman]

For me, it was all about Left to my own devices, which is their A Day in the Life. If you think, the other tracks were all old in some way (even if they were effectively new). I also remember being intrigued by the inner sleeve pictures of them in their yellow T-shirts holding Kevin (?) and Neil's Botticellian curls (their last hurrah). Have a strong memory of walking into town during my lunch break and buying it, then pacing across the rugby pitch looking at it as I came back while This Must Be the Place I've Waited Years To Leave played, though that could be the Mandela effect.

[Eleven]

I was 11 , honestly for a young boy it was bittersweet, I was a fan with Rent just a year before and my family gift me Actually for my birthday. Then Always on my mind was released but you couldnt find that anywhere except on radios and tv, and then when Introspective is released the version included has just bits of what you heard for months...all songs are at least 7 minutes long..I was liking all the stuff but hating how long and rare for a 11 year old boy was like for the first time hearing extended versions. Some other mates at class were commenting this same thing, buying songs played on the radio that werent the same on the album made some feel down...
I always imagined a 10 songs regular album would have made me happier then but in perspective that made me a real fan, listening over and over trying to understand what I was into. You cant say its a bad move I think its their most selling album, but if it was a 10 song album with their 7" edit versions would have been better or worst is something its up to our imagination.

[MartinWright66]

In the post.

[Vintage Youth]

. I also remember being intrigued by the inner sleeve pictures of them in their yellow T-shirts holding Kevin (?) and Neil's Botticellian curls (their last hurrah).

Booblies (The Bravest). Owned by a friend. When they plugged Devices on Going Live they brought him along and he tried to kill Gordon the Gopher as Sarah tried to hold it together. The clip was on YouTube until quite recently but was taken down last time I checked.

#DogGeek

[scousepsbfan]

Introspective was the first album I ever bought with my own money. I was 16 and my family had bought me every PSB release until then for Christmas and birthdays. I was in 6th form and sneaked off my last lesson of the day to get it on my way home. I remember not being able to find it at first in Woolworth's because I was convinced it would have a white cover. I remember being disappointed that it only had 6 tracks but after a few listens, I was addicted. Devices is still an absolute classic for me. The rawness of the analog synths on the album mix is fantastic. They were great days. Mind you, I still got the same rush of excitement for Nonetheless and now I'm 52!

[Leonidas]

Highlights. Left to my own devices. I inhaled this track. Every single nano-second. The music. The lyrics. My favourite bit…‘it’s not a crime when you look the way you do, the way I like to picture you’. That couplet meant so much to me. In my a level English class I read the lyrics to the class. I was so proud to stand up and read something that meant more to me than the English texts I was supposed to read. I got a D in English literature: probably reading the wrong texts helped my failure.

I’m not scared. The background to this track: it was two tracks merged into one. Sounded so simply but executed to perfection. The ‘if I was you’ bit never fails to move me. I’ll never understand why Stuart price always cut this bit short for live versions. It was a criminal act.

[Leonidas]

This is the MOST intriguing PSB album and the most euphoric for me. Also 2nd best behind actually.

It’s a great post and love reading the above comments!

I tend to prefer the longer versions on Disco and Introspective rather than the standard ones.

[Leonidas]

It’s like a jigsaw puzzle put together with old/redesigned and new work. Which for me makes it Disco 2.

[Silver Age]

It annoyed Patsy.

[Patrick Bateman]

Booblies (The Bravest). Owned by a friend. When they plugged Devices on Going Live they brought him along and he tried to kill Gordon the Gopher as Sarah tried to hold it together. The clip was on YouTube until quite recently but was taken down last time I checked.

#DogGeek

Oh yes. Probably flagged Schofield as a wrong 'un.