Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[Bucky Goldstein]

For me, the Pink Noise mix of Se A Vida E is up there as one of their best remixes.. Quite trippy...

It's a great remix. One of my friends (who was a fairweather PSB fan) really liked it.

I much prefer it to the original. It’s blissed-out feel complements the song better than the bombastic Obvious Child cadging production of the main mix.

[NOBODY75]

For me, the Pink Noise mix of Se A Vida E is up there as one of their best remixes.. Quite trippy...

It's a great remix. One of my friends (who was a fairweather PSB fan) really liked it.

I much prefer it to the original. It’s blissed-out feel complements the song better than the bombastic Obvious Child cadging production of the main mix.

The Pink Noise remix is ​​really good. It's one of the tracks I included on a CD I made with Pets songs, mostly remixes, in a chill-out style.
On the other hand, his last song for a wider audience was New York City Boy. I also think Love Etc. had a bigger impact than the rest of his 21st-century singles in the UK and Germany.

[telys]

"Sé a vida e" is such a great tune and song, a classic, happy and sad, great example of the PSB Happysad format. But, I cannot make it one of my favourite PSB songs, no matter how hard I try. Strange feeling.

[Drico One]

Talking of which... are we just skipping over the whole of Relentless? Where is it gonna fit in this timeline?

Good point. Did we collectively drop the ball on that or are we waiting until the later release?!

We'll do it as the reissue. Further Listenings until Electric, then we'll follow the release pattern including reissues.

[Disco.]

Se a vida e’ is a lovely song, and a big European radio hit.

[Patrick Bateman]

Track 93: "It Always Comes as a Surprise"

Chronology: Bilingual, Track 6

Another strong song. If we exclude tracks 3 and 4, this would be a fantastic album so far. A very romantic song - Neil is clearly in love - which suits the somnolent, sun-kissed vibe and tempo. In some respects, you can see PSB slowing down too - and why people are no longer buying their records. Bilingual is a mature record. If Please was about f*cking, Bilingual is about sitting on a balcony drinking wine. I like that but I can also understand why a pop group doing that can be misinterpreted as being boring.

[NOBODY75]

Although I don't think it's single material at all, for me it's the best song on the album

[Too Many Shadows]

Core curriculum PSB, with top-notch use of nonchalant. The whole thing is like one big, long sigh of contentment.

The sample's a corker! I wonder who's idea it was to pinch Corcovado?

[petshopgrrl]

Core curriculum PSB, with top-notch use of nonchalant. The whole thing is like one big, long sigh of contentment.

The sample's a corker! I wonder who's idea it was to pinch Corcovado?

I don't know, but give them a gold star and a Blue Peter badge! I love the use of nonchalant here too. Also the lines

So just relax / don't question why / for calculated facts / will not apply

Neil's crisp enunciation of "question" always tickles me.

I think this one is just absolutely gorgeous. This is the song of someone who is blissfully happy, incredibly grateful and can't believe their luck. So... have any of you lot used this as a first dance at your wedding?

I'm flipping through the Bilingual FL booklet again and there's a lovely exchange between the pair of them:

Neil: There's loads of bottom end.

Chris: I don't know why we don't have lots of bottom end all the time.

[Disco.]

It’s just a great song one of the highlights from the album.

[Patrick Bateman]

Although I don't think it's single material at all, for me it's the best song on the album

What's interesting is how many tracks from Bilingual they considered (or commissioned remixes/pressed promos for) as singles. I saw one from Brazil that Zeus on the Loose has with It Always Comes as a Surprise. It shows a real uncertainty about their place in the pop firmament.

[psbnyc]

I have always loved this song and although we didn’t dance to it at our wedding, we included it (and a few other PSB songs) on the cd that we made for all our guests!

[markus]

Not a big fan. It’s sometimes a delight after not hearing it for a long time, mainly because it differs from all their other songs. But George Michael did it better, writing the album Older about his beloved Anselmo — which, by the way, might be the cutest name anyone can have. If I ever get a cat, it’ll be called Anselmo. Jesus to a Child and It Always Comes as a Surprise feel like twins in a strange way.

[petshopgrrl]

I have always loved this song and although we didn’t dance to it at our wedding, we included it (and a few other PSB songs) on the cd that we made for all our guests!

That's a nice souvenir!

[MikeyC]

I have always loved this song and although we didn’t dance to it at our wedding, we included it (and a few other PSB songs) on the cd that we made for all our guests!

Wedding in Berlin! x