Pet Shop Boys Community

Psychological

Was blown away by it, through good headphones.

Come to think about it, still their best album they've done this century.

leesmapman wrote: Mon 01 Apr 2024, 10:24 am I thought The Survivors was a pretty forgettable track on Bilingual, skipping it most of the time. Until I heard the 2012 live version and then it clicked.

Same! I thought it was absolutely CRINGE when I heard it aged 18. Didn't get it at all. Then I grew up. It's a favourite now.

I don't know that I can say I REALLY like it, but Before was one I simply couldn't abide for a long time, but have since grown to enjoy (and not press the skip button for).

Metamorphosis

Up against it

You choose

Leaving

Do I Have to?

I made my excuses and left

Miracles

petshopgrrl wrote: Tue 09 Apr 2024, 8:46 am [quote=daveid post_id=631064 time=1712001991

two beauts on Format: Always and Bright Young Things.

Two of my faves on format.

Pod wrote: Tue 09 Apr 2024, 8:00 pm Metamorphosis
Up against it
You choose
Leaving
Do I Have to?
I made my excuses and left
Miracles

Wow, how tastes are different. Those are songs I love from the very first. Leaving would be on my top ten. Up Against It on my tip 20. The other are superb, although the Release-production hampers You Choose somewhat.

The whole of Behaviour, for similar reasons Harrry has mentioned in his earlier post on Release.

I was 15 when Behaviour was released, and at that age, I was still wanting the PSB 'bangers' that had come before it, and they just weren't there on this album. I thought it was just OK at the time.

Now it in my top 3 faves along with Very and Electric.

Also, I didn't get where I am today.

Harry wrote: Tue 09 Apr 2024, 12:43 pm Release came out a month before my 18th birthday. I had been away at boarding school for the release of Nightlife, and had missed the tour, so felt like I had missed the era. I needed to reacquaint myself with the Pet Shop Boys, now I was home, happier to live my own identity and it was easier to be a FAN.

I was keen for a new sound, but Release wasn't what I wanted at that age. I would have enjoyed Electric or Super much more. I enjoyed the graphic design, the photos, the B-sides, I went to the tour in Oxford (with my Mum), I read the tour programme like a religious text, but the album itself left that teenager cold. Of course, they had been around for a long time, it felt to my young self that they might be close to retirement. It was Miracles that brought me back on board and gave me that thrill again. If only I had known I'd still be getting that thrill more than 20 years later.

Now, 40 in a month, I love Release. I appreciate what it is supposed to be and enjoy the sound. It might be my imagination, but I do think the 2017 remaster gave it a bit more punch. I know some people see Release as a blip in their catalogue, but I like it. I have now collected all four colours of the foil cases too!

I loved reading this thanks for sharing.

I like what I like initially and I hate what I hate passionately Either I fell in love or hate at the first listen.

The only big exception is Can You Forgive Her. Even then, I did not hate it. I did not feel anything about it. When Go West was released, I said: Yes this the Boys I love. Then after some years, I started to appreciate Can you forgive her? better than anything in Very, including Go West.

But there are some songs which I initially overlook in favour of some other bombastic ones or singles.

I used to skip I Want A Dog in Introspective, directly jumping from Left to my own devices to Doming Dancing. Now I sometimes particularly want to hear it. I never skip it anymore.

Another late disçovered treasury is Up Against It in Bilingual. I tended to skip it to quickly move to To Step Aside but it is now one of my favourites.

I Get Excited...I did not hate it but was surprised to hear some people finding it better than Heart. I usually dismissed it. But now I see (sorry, hear lol) its merits.

I hate Please version of Violance but am in love with its Hacienda version.

Other than these, I still do not like West End girls, Love Comes Quickly and more than half of Behaviour. That said, I still remember the unearthly joy I felt when I first heard Suburbia, Always on my mind, Opportunuties, It Couldn't Happen Here, This Must be the Place..., Hit and Miss and Minimal, and most recently, Sense of Time etc etc.

Double post

I tend to go through phases with what I would consider 'second tier" songs.

So whereas my absolute favourites tend to be fairly constant it's others that go up and down. Spent years avoiding New York City Boy, for instance, but then started to actively pick that from the playlist when listening to PSB.

As a kid whose first PSB album was Discography I much preferred the first dozen or so tracks over the last half dozen but Being Boring is obviously a classic which I love now and Streets... takes on a whole new level of greatness once you realise it's skewing the pompus rock of U2.

^ similarly to the above poster, Where the Streets Have No Name would be the obvious one for me. I didn't hate it so much as I didn't get what they were trying to do, it just seemed weird to me. When I 'got' it, it made sense and I now love the track.

By contrast, I really liked their take on Always on My Mind from the get-go. TBH, at this point I prefer the PSB's versions of both songs to the originals, and I like both U2 and Elvis.

King of Rome
Indefinite leave to remain (hi dVtb)

Being Boring.
On my first few listens, I had to be woken up before I got to the end of this track. I just found it, well, incredibly boring. I know. The irony. However, I appreciate it’s a fan favourite so I preserved, bought the 12”extended mix and played and played. It sunk in and now I LOVE it. I understand it better and it’s become a favourite. Just goes to show, feelings and thoughts can be turned around!