Track-by-Track: From Please to Nonetheless

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Whilst it was nice to temporarily escape the Nightlife era, let's get back to ploughing through it...

Track 128 : Nightlife
Chronology: Nightlife, FL-CD1:08

In my mind, I tend to associate this song with Saturday Night Forever, the closing track from Bilingual. Both seem like really weak disco homages - terribly fey and mediocre.

They're clearly trying to do something a bit different from their imperial phase, but these tracks are just not hitting the mark. Perhaps an italo-disco homage might have been a better way of playing to their strengths? An italo-disco sound palette would definitely have been a welcome reprieve from the Pete Gleadall curated sounds of this era, if nothing else.

Nightlife gets a bit of a free-pass compared to Saturday Night Forever though, as it doesn't impose itself on any of their albums, it's pleasant enough, and is apt to be tucked away as a bonus track.

In short, yet another inessential song from an uninspiring era of works.

Retro.

[leesmapman]

Elton reading this thread

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[Lleonard Pler]

Nightlife (song) is a Bee Gees nacho reheat that falls flat. Even Neil's falsetto sounds weak. At least they were smart enough to keep it as a bonus track, unlike Saturday Night Forever.

I remember feeling excited when I read the title of the bside. And then I played it and it was... That.

[Towa]

Haha, yes the best thing about it is that they did not include it on the album

It’s not much of a song, is it? And that can be just fine if the production compensates for it, but that’s not the case here. Btw, I think that Saturday night forever is much, much better (but not very good)

[MikeyC]

Elton reading this thread
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It’s not enough to succeed
others must fail
There is your mantra
bitter and stale

[rathound]

I like the Madness cover from the Xmas EP. It was done for the Dainton thing at Heaven wasn't it? The Coldplay cover was crap obviously, don't even need to listen to it to know that

'Nightlife' - alright I guess. pleasant enough song, don't mind it. One of the better bonus tracks of the time

[Gabby]

Greetings,

Whilst it was nice to temporarily escape the Nightlife era, let's get back to ploughing through it...

Track 128 : Nightlife
Chronology: Nightlife, FL-CD1:08

In my mind, I tend to associate this song with Saturday Night Forever, the closing track from Bilingual. Both seem like really weak disco homages - terribly fey and mediocre.

They're clearly trying to do something a bit different from their imperial phase, but these tracks are just not hitting the mark. Perhaps an italo-disco homage might have been a better way of playing to their strengths? An italo-disco sound palette would definitely have been a welcome reprieve from the Pete Gleadall curated sounds of this era, if nothing else.

Nightlife gets a bit of a free-pass compared to Saturday Night Forever though, as it doesn't impose itself on any of their albums, it's pleasant enough, and is apt to be tucked away as a bonus track.

In short, yet another inessential song from an uninspiring era of works.

Retro.

Yep, same SNF association here. And similar feelings towards the song too. It's a fluff piece at best although I probably would have preferred it as the album closer to SNF if I'm honest. But that's not saying much...

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

Track 129 : Playing In The Streets
Chronology: Nightlife, FL-CD1:09

Previously unreleased until it first appeared on the Nightlife Further Listening discs, this mostly instrumental track (with occasionally interspersed vocoder) recorded prior to the Radiophonic demo, and thus prior to Nightlife in 1999, is quite unlike anything we'd heard from Pet Shop Boys in that decade.

To me it sounds like they were toying with apocalyptic soundscapes, and whilst this track is nothing to write home about, this was certainly the sort of experimentation and learning they needed to undertake in order to prime themselves for delivering the Battleship Potemkin soundtrack.

As such, it's a nice curio to hear as a part of their journey that had not been revealed to us at the time.

Retro.

[Patrick Bateman]

If PSB were frozen in aspic for 18 years the whole endeavor would be pointless. IDOSAC 2009 is joyous - a jazz trumpet solo, from Pet Shop Boys? I've always loved this track, even if the chorus riff does sound a bit like the old Folger's jingle. Not sure how cosy the Madness cover is. It's quite different from the original, and Neil singing about his girl is pretty funny. I love imperial era PSB as much as anyone, but they've acquitted themselves well in the latter half of their career. The key difference, as always, being that I"m not a teenager anymore.

It's not about being frozen in aspic, more being compared with a near perfect phase of their career. I wouldn't go as far as saying post-Very was the equivalent of Zombie Simpsons as they've done lots of amazing stuff in that period, but it's the same principle.

[Lleonard Pler]

As a Bowie fan, his duet with Mick Jagger Dancing in the streets is tacky and horrendous. I skip it every time.

So the title Playing in the streets reminded me of that hideous song and I never listened to it until today. It's an experimental track that doesn't go nowhere but yes, exercises like this
were necessary for their future soundtrack adventures.

[telys]

Playing in the streets would've been a fine album track paired with Radiophonic. As I said before, neither Nightlife, CTH nor Release were daring enough. This was a phase were they could've widened their scope instead of having 12 regular songs on Nightlife... and put some instrumental on it. That's why I like Bilingual, within the context of that album the more experimental songs really work.

[rathound]

an interesting enough track - not amazing in itself but as mentioned a chance for them to move in a different direction

[NotInvisible]

As I said before, neither Nightlife, CTH nor Release were daring enough. This was a phase were they could've widened their scope

Cackling at the idea that Release didn't widen their scope...

[ahafan02]

As I said before, neither Nightlife, CTH nor Release were daring enough. This was a phase were they could've widened their scope

Cackling at the idea that Release didn't widen their scope...

It didn't, it was bland and uninspired with exception of a couple of songs/

[telys]

As I said before, neither Nightlife, CTH nor Release were daring enough. This was a phase were they could've widened their scope

Cackling at the idea that Release didn't widen their scope...

Why is it so hard do grasp that Chris didn't understand the importance of live drums, a proper drummer. The fact that they only used programmed drums is proof that they didn't widen their scope enough, that they didn't dare enough and therefore was left with something half-arsed, an inferior product.