Pet Shop Boys Community

I guess I could do without New York city boy too, it kind of has that Go west feel to it.

The almighty mix of New York city boy is fantastic though, replete with fantastic bongos and police sirens at beginning. I;ve always loved the drop down in the vocal for 'you'll never have a bored day' at the end.
I'm aware I'm in a minority though. I'd rather hear New York city boy at the end of gigs in place of Go West

Tom Angel wrote:The almighty mix of New York city boy is fantastic though, replete with fantastic bongos and police sirens at beginning. I;ve always loved the drop down in the vocal for 'you'll never have a bored day' at the end.
I'm aware I'm in a minority though. I'd rather hear New York city boy at the end of gigs in place of Go West

I loved the version of New York city boy they used to do during the release tour and 2004 summer tour days, it was great and very different from the original one. I also love the almighty definitive mix!

I'd rather listen to a medley of Party Song And In Private (Tomcraft mix) than sodding Go West

leesmapman wrote:Everything except "The Only One", probably the worst song they ever made.

Yup!

raggatwin wrote:i think Nightlife is one of their best albums. It blends synthpop, dub and house in an almost seamless way.

Phew, thought I was the only one (pun vaguely intended) for a second. Nightlife is a strange beast - I think it has its flaws: lyrically it's a bit banal in places and lacks the personal touch of other albums (Neil has admitted as much, obviously due to the musical); they probably should have stuck to one producer; and there are two songs - Radiophonic and New York city boy - that I've never really cared for.

And yet... somehow I think the album flows beautifully. I've always found it an incredibly compelling listen, from start to finish, and I love the blend of classical strings, pianos, beats and electronic stabs. Plus, for me there are some incredibly underrated songs on there, particularly the moving Boy Strange, which I think is probably PSB's most off-the-wall song after West End Girls, and Footsteps, which is a beautiful climax - probably my favourite closing track after Kings Cross.

Overall I'd rate the album second after Actually. My only real complaint is that they got the singles horribly wrong.

I remember being massively disapointed with Nightlife when it came out. However, over the years it has grown on me an awful lot and I listen to it more than lots of other PSB releases.

I think the whole 'campaign' for the album was a mess though, and that didn't help. The moment the media dubbed their new 'look' as "wigs with dresses" we were on to a loser. It made PSB looks desperate for a hit single. Then the fact that I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more, whilst a good album track, made for a terrible first single didn't help. This was compounded by the fact that it was released in July. It was simply not a summer sounding song and ended up looking drab alongside all of the Latino hits that were big that summer (1999 was the summer of Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez).

The second single, New York city boy, was percieved then as just way too camp (I personally like the song now but at the time I thought it was one of their biggest mistakes). It also wasn't terribly reflective of the album...They should have released entirely different singles- a revamped Closer to Heaven, followed by For your own good followed by Radiophonic might have worked better. Drunk then maybe as a fourth and final single.

The basic idea for Nightlife- electronic music with strings- was a good one. However, the album could have been much better if they had stuck to this. New York city boy, Boy strange and Happiness is an option diverted from the original idea and it served to make the album feel disjointed. I also think Closer to Heaven was a wasted opportunity- huge potential that never quite delivered.

Some of the ballads on the album are real highlights though- The only one, Drunk, Footsteps, In denial. I realise these tracks are always slagged off by people but I think they give the album a warmth that contrasts with the sparser, more electronic and emotionally cold songs such as Vampires, For your own good and Closer to Heaven.

All in all, Nightlife is a good record. It's not one of PSB's finest but it has some brilliant moments and I feel it has stood the test of time much better than some of their other albums. I also think that the Zaha Hadid designed tour was very cool indeed!

When it first came out I could'nt stop listening to it for like 6 months after the tour.

Sound a little dated now for me for some reason, probably reminds me of the period it was released 1999 and the tour, meeting them for the first time and also events going on in my life, i honestly can say i have'nt listened to the album by itself since early 2000.

I love Boy Strange it has such a David Bowie feel to it.

FYOG is great, New York city boy like the Lange Mix and the Morales one that has that nice Disco second half.

Will try to put in on in the next few days to see what I think after all this time.

singysingysingy wrote:..."Radiophonic", "For your own good" ...

My favourite ones, too!

I'm really into "For your own good" at the moment. Neil's voice has a really nice effect there.

I listened to "Nightlife" for the first time in years recently. I don't understand people complaining about "I don't know what you want but I can't give it any more" as the first single choice. It immediatly stood out to me as the highlight of the album. "Closer To Heaven" on the other hand left me cold even though I used to like it very much. I would have release "FYOG" as the third single though instead of "Drunk"

I remember being disappointed that the Pets were doing the whole wigs and costumes thing again for Nightlife. It worked for Very because it was such an unusual idea, but to do it again just seemed odd.