Pet Shop Boys Community

The “short version” of Pet Shop Boys’ The way through the woods is included on a new digital compilation which is out today.

EMMI AID is a compilation by the initiative EMMAUSWALD BLEIBT!

57 musicians and bands have contributed original or previously unreleased songs to support the Emmauswald, which is threatened by deforestation — a musical wake-up call to save Berlin-Neukölln’s largest woodland.

This is the first time the short version of The way through the woods has appeared on streaming services.

I LOVE this song, and what a great use for it! I wish they'd done more of that poetry-to-music project.

New Order also have a contribution in there.

https://www.junodownload.com/products/e ... 9UVdX8uptb

Good find Dog.

That Bernard Sumner track is dire though.

Retro.

How can the artist for that Bernard Sumner track possibly be "Bernard Sumner, Joy Division, New Order"?!

Bernard Sumner once again proving that New Order was greater than the sum of their parts.

Greetings,

TwizzleUK wrote: Fri 31 Oct 2025, 8:22 am How can the artist for that Bernard Sumner track possibly be "Bernard Sumner, Joy Division, New Order"?!

I can only imagine that Bernard took some old Joy Division out-take, AI'ed Hooky out of it, got his replacement to add some bass, and then recorded vocals over the top. The keyboards are so out of place, and the lyrics so lame. Truly awful.

Retro.

Harsh. Both tracks fit the compilation well. The PSB one happens to fit because of Kipling's words... a good selection (and good choice for a video). But the Sumner one sounds like he sat down one evening and wrote and recorded something specific to the cause... and as such is of much more interest to me, and will do a better job of informing and interesting people in the point of the compilation. It does sound "old", and as such perhaps "demo like" rather than polished... as if bashed out in rehearsals... I quite like it because rather than despite of that though. Quick and raw.

Better previewing of tracks here:
https://boomkat.com/products/emmi-aid-emmauswald-bleibt

The entire compilation is already on YouTube?

Dog wrote: Fri 31 Oct 2025, 6:00 am The “short version” of Pet Shop Boys’ The way through the woods is included on a new digital compilation which is out today.

Is it the short version from the Japanese edition of Elysium, or is it a NEW previously unreleased short version?

To my ears, it is the same short version released on the Japanese edition of Elysium, but the official PSB website states "previously unreleased short version of the PSB song"

VRIDD wrote:

Dog wrote: Fri 31 Oct 2025, 6:00 am The “short version” of Pet Shop Boys’ The way through the woods is included on a new digital compilation which is out today.

Is it the short version from the Japanese edition of Elysium, or is it a NEW previously unreleased short version?

To my ears, it is the same short version released on the Japanese edition of Elysium, but the official PSB website states "previously unreleased short version of the PSB song"

Pretty sure it’s the same as the Japanese version.

I would almost bet on that without having heard it!

The video is rather lovely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eesDHjwDlyQ

As it is officially endorsed and it has its own video, should we now consider this song a single?