Pet Shop Boys Community

Does anyone like the PSB cover version of "Somewhere" from Bernstein's West Side Story?

I really don't think it works at all.

They put it on PopArt so they presumably reckon it significant.

Views?

Not one of their best.
The quality threshold slipped that day.

I like the orchestral arrangement and....er... that's about it. Played it very recently and was surprised at how relatively poor it was.

It's fun. And the orchestral arrangement sounds epic. They have worse songs than 'Somewhere'.

The whole thing was a desperate ploy to try to save the flailing "Bilingual".

So what do you do when you can't write another hit to promote your album? You make a dodgy cover version of a song from a musical.

Oh and in typical PSB style it's not included on the album it was recorded to promote.

Somewhere was an entirely unimaginative choice of cover version, a rerun of the lyrical theme from Go West. It's a PSB cover-by-numbers. I like Neil's "I'm so pretty" at the end though.

kimphilby wrote:The quality threshold slipped that decade.

Fixed that for you.

CroMagnon wrote: I like Neil's "I'm so pretty" at the end though.

Ugh. That's gay gay gay! I've always liked their version of this song. But "I'm so pretty", ugh. I spit on it PTUH!

Slap & Tickle wrote: Oh and in typical PSB style it's not included on the album it was recorded to promote.

It was included on the Further Listening cd and also on the two-disc special edition of Bilingual that came out with the nice frosted cover.

The extended mix is one of my favourite PSB tracks I must confess. I know it shouldn't be but I can't help it.

It is, without a doubt, one of Neil and Chris' most self-indulgent moments.

By the way, can anyone tell me if the Italian vinyl of this is rare. I picked it up on ebay for about £8 a couple of years ago. In fact I'm sure I paid more for the p&p from the States.....

It's terrible. The production is a mess of the highest order and I've never liked to song much to begin with.

PSB can definitely be forgiven for indulging in project like this. I applaud experiments on their behalf. Making it a single was a huge mistake though.

the introduction is fantastic and huge, but when the song comes in it feels too electronic and small given the introduction. I would have liked it better if they did it in a kind of "you only tell me you love me when your drunk" ie upbeat with more strings,horns and acoustic guitars and lightened up on the electronica.

I like it it's not great but I guess it's OK. Best version IMHO is the Extended mix from Bilingual remixed.

LoveComesQuickly wrote:Does anyone like the PSB cover version of "Somewhere" from Bernstein's West Side Story?

I really don't think it works at all.

They put it on PopArt so they presumably reckon it significant.

Views?

I rather like it - it's very Pet Shop Boys. Since all but one of their singles was on PopArt, I don't think you can conclude much from that though.

didnt like it when i first heard it

but dont mind it now

tied in nicely with the Somewhere show... so not just a Bilingual lifesaver