Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[Drico One]

Track 79: Too Many People

Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 6

What a fantastic b-side: perky, poppy, hooky, disposable, literate, endearing and replete with a compelling cast of characters that a box of chocolates would struggle to match in terms of variety. I think I preferred this to its a-side, and it will always place me at a happy, exciting, and confusing point in time: December 1993, 21 years old, studying economics at college. Maybe it helped to be young, but the concept of "role strain" was as apposite then as it ever would be later in life. The combination of slightly old-school orchestral stabs and voguish techno accompaniment added to the drama and appeal, and underlined the contrast between the identities in question.

If the best b-sides are those that thrill whilst leaving you in no doubt that they are precisely where they should be - on the flipside - then this is close to flawless.

Drico.

[telys]

That kind of b-side that is so good it makes you lament that PSB don't put out more albums or double albums instead of tucking away perfect songs on b-sides.

[markus]

Too Many People: a perfect catchy pop song by the book. Maybe it came a bit too late, right in the change from the 80s to the 90s, when New Order and PSB needed to move on from True Faith and Paninaro.
Also it sounds like a demo. You can’t help thinking what a proper remix could have done. It feels like a waste, because the lyrics are really good — universal and easy to relate to — much more so than the singles they actually released.

[leesmapman]

What a great song. Wouldn't be surprised if this will be played at the Obscure concerts

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[Drico One]

Track 80: Falling (Demo for Kylie)

Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 9

A hidden gem. Sparkly, sassy, and achingly earnest, this has a cracking bassline and a really melodic chorus, let down by plodding lyrics. The Kylie version is an atrocity.

Drico.

[markus]

I first heard Falling when I bought all the PSB reissue albums in 2001, without hesitation. I wasn’t expecting much after hearing Kylie’s weak, meaningless attempt at a song, but this infectious demo — full of PSB’s true passion for pop — kept me listening for years.
They caught Kylie at the wrong moment. She was trying to reinvent herself chasing “credibility,” while PSB clearly meant Better the Devil You Know. If they had saved Falling for her Light Years album, it would have fit perfectly alongside On a Night Like This — shamelessly unapologetic, and irresistibly catchy in its original form.

[petshopgrrl]

Track 79: Too Many People

Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 6

What a fantastic b-side: perky, poppy, hooky, disposable, literate, endearing and replete with a compelling cast of characters that a box of chocolates would struggle to match in terms of variety. .... Maybe it helped to be young, but the concept of "role strain" was as apposite then as it ever would be later in life. The combination of slightly old-school orchestral stabs and voguish techno accompaniment added to the drama and appeal, and underlined the contrast between the identities in question.

Aww, shoot, nearly missed this one! This is such a great dance-like-no-one's-watching number and one of my favorite PSB synth riffs. I hope this one does make the cut at the Obscure shows. I think it helped that I first heard this as an old fart ( ) because I could appreciate the stresses of code switching. Excellent lyric, although I'm having trouble imagining Neil as a wicked uncle who doesn't give a damn!

Track 80: Falling (Demo for Kylie)

Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 9

A hidden gem. Sparkly, sassy, and achingly earnest, this has a cracking bassline and a really melodic chorus, let down by plodding lyrics. The Kylie version is an atrocity.

This one's catchy but a little too frothy for me. I don't feel like it's plodding though - maybe more simplistic than what we're used to!

[jasonjohn]

Too Many People has the delightful in-house production vibe that we love them for. A little raw and very electric. It also has a nice jingly riff on the fade-out, which makes me think it could have had an extended version.

[Drico One]

Track 81: Decadence

Chronology: Very, Further Listening, Track 10

One of their superior b-sides, but aren't they all in this era? Smooth, silky, and serene, this wafts effortlessly into your consciousness, straining falsetto notwithstanding. The slightly abridged drive into "you better change for the better" in the last verse - eschewing the extra verbiage of earlier verses - is minor genius, proof that Neil never let a word get in the way of a perfect melody even if he liked to shoe-horn in some hilariously misjudged, but rhyming, French-language pretentiousness as he went.

Tom Watkins never sounded so interesting.

Drico.

[Capsigrany]

A very good song but sadly, in my opinion, Neil’s falsetto spoils it. But it is a very good song, another top b-side.

[NOBODY75]

An extraordinary melody.
One of her songs that I'd love to hear sung by a good female voice. I think it would reach an even higher level, as I believe happens with "Nothing Has Been Proved."

[leesmapman]

Yes, the Very b-sides are very(!) good. This one immediately clicked with me. I liked the unplugged version too (unplugged was the thing at that time), but I prefer the plugged version.

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[petshopgrrl]

Very eloquent, Drico, couldn't have said it better.

Stop this caprice / You’ve got to cease / this fin-de-si’cle pretence

is my most favoritest gloriously pretentious PSB line in the world. Does your lyricist write stuff like this? Does he? Huh? HUH??

Ackchewerly, now I've grabbed this from the official lyric page, this is the first time I've noticed that apostrophe in there. Seems rather redundant, considering Neil's ability to cram syllables into places most other syllables wouldn't dare go.

[markus]

As a teenager, I used to lie in bed at night listening to Alternative on my (very expensive) Sennheiser headphones. It’s amazing how the album just keeps getting better the further it goes. When “Decadence” came on, I got shivers — talk about an elevated state.
What’s also striking is how CD2 works almost like a perfectly sequenced playlist, even though the tracks are simply in chronological order. What other band hides some of their very best songs like Easter eggs on a b-sides collection like this?

[NotInvisible]

Alternative beats most groups' Greatest Hits collections into a cocked hat.

Decadence is brilliant. There's not really anything else to say about it. Just brilliant.