Pet Shop Boys Community

'Q' review - 2 May '06
The latest issue of 'Q', a leading UK music magazine, includes one of the first reviews of the new PSB album.
"...Fundamental is much like 1987's Actually or 1990's Behaviour (i.e. it sits right alongside the duo's very best work)."
"Britain's great pop group? Absolutely."
The June issue of 'Q' is on sale now.

We've all read it. You're almost a week out of date.

But the review hated' Numb.' They call it a 'misfire'. I don't normally agree with most reviews but he's hit the nail on the hit there.

Syncratic wrote:We've all read it. You're almost a week out of date.

But the review hated' Numb.' They call it a 'misfire'. I don't normally agree with most reviews but he's hit the nail on the hit there.

Me and the official website

I hadn't read it.

In a strange way including Numb on the album is vindication that PSB can still write quality pop songs, as Numb is, both musically and lyrically, one of the weakest tracks on the album. Basically Casanova in Hell pisses on it from a great height.

its all subjective but I think its a great song. I am sure had aerosmith or celine dion recorded it ,it would have been a hit as its the same set up to previous hits for warren/aerosmith cryin or crazy. but I feel some fans have a snob mentality and inability to relax and enjoy a song simply because it has *hit factory diane warren* on it.

it also doesnt escape my notice they contacted her.

Are you guys kidding me? I think Numb is great.

glennjridge wrote:I feel some fans have a snob mentality and inability to relax and enjoy a song simply because it has *hit factory diane warren* on it.

No, it's not that. The people who hate Warren, myself included, have grown to hate her because of her songs: the vacuos lyrics, the self-important bombast, the horrible artists she has helped to have hits. Therefore we are bound to dislike Numb too, because it's such a typical Warren song. If it was sung by Steven Tyler or Christina Aquilera, it would be downright horrible, now because of Neil's singing that always strikes a chord with me it's just dull, generic and pointless.

I just wonder if they wanted to contact a hitmaker, why not have called Linda Perry then? Unlike Warren, she is clearly at home with dance and synthpop, as her songs for Kelly Osbourne, Pink and Fischerspooner among others have proven.

Having now heard the sublime The Resurrectionist, I can't but help wondering why they didn't replace Numb with it. The album would then have been all Tennant/Lowe and easier to sequence, since Resurrectionist is the one extra stomper that the album needs.

glennjridge wrote:its all subjective but I think its a great song. I am sure had aerosmith or celine dion recorded it ,it would have been a hit as its the same set up to previous hits for warren/aerosmith cryin or crazy. but I feel some fans have a snob mentality and inability to relax and enjoy a song simply because it has *hit factory diane warren* on it.

it also doesnt escape my notice they contacted her.

Nah..I actually like Diane Warren. I confess to love songs like "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", "I Lied To You And That's The Truth", "How Do I Live" and so on. I just think "Numb" is substandard Warren-fare - an Aerosmith reject. I don't think it suits Neils voice either AND it sounds totally out of place on Fundamental.

Having said that, I am warming slightly to the track, or maybe I'm just in a good mood today.

I love the song "If you ask me to", one of the best ballads I have heard in all my life. Really good song.

She is a good songwriter and Chris Lowe loves her songs. Numb is a good song too and it gives to this album a different point of view (which I think is one of the best things of Fundamental, diverse kind of songs).

Warren has never produced a good track and the problem is that like Eldritch points out she has worked with some hideous "artists" over the years. I don't see PSB fitting in with the artists she has worked with (maybe the general public who don't really know PSB would disagree) and they aren't going to be praised in the respected music press for working with her. I mean what next, Warren writes a track for the forthcoming Arcade Fire album .

I really like 'Don't Turn Around' by Aswad.

Maverick wrote:Are you guys kidding me? I think Numb is great.

So do I

? not sure abouyt this!

Nickname, you'll be pleased to know that both Mojo and Uncut have slaughtered Fundamental (three stars and two stars respectively). Just trying to keep the balance here. We wouldn't like to become the Erasure forum, now, would we?

Drico.

Drico One wrote:Nickname, you'll be pleased to know that both Mojo and Uncut have slaughtered Fundamental (three stars and two stars respectively). Just trying to keep the balance here. We wouldn't like to become the Erasure forum, now, would we?

Drico.

Ooh, what did they say?