You Only Tell Me You Like Me When I'm Remastered: the new PSB re-issues

Pet Shop Boys re-issue three more of their albums today following in the remaster plus 'Further Listening' bonus material Catalogue series. The three albums Nightlife (1999), Release (2002) come in bumper 3 disc editions while Fundamental (2006) is a two-disc item.

As I never really took to either Release or Fundamental, Nightlife is perhaps the last PSB album I ever fully appreciated. Listening to it on Spottyfly (where not all of the bonus tracks are available - never quite understood why that sometimes happens) this morning it still sounded sounded good even though I was already used to a pristine sounding 1999 CD. But I'm sure they've added bits and stuff on some tracks. Little synth parts on the opening For Your Own Good and Closer to Heaven were unexpected. Singles I Don't Know What You Want... and You Only Tell Me You Love Me.. aside, Radiophonic and Footsteps remain favourites.

The wee Radiophonic video I made for youtube was taken down last  year for 'copyright' reasons, so here's one with Spanish subtitles which is obviously perfectly acceptable and does not infringe any copyright at all.

Details and tracklistings on Superdeluxeedition.

Spotted on Spotify: Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls (1984)

Pet Shop Boys are very much in vogue again at the moment what with a new album and no less than 30 years of pop music making under their collective belts. Radio 2 dedicated a special documentary series to them in fact.

On a warm spring day in 1984 I remember, as a student, going into a record shop in Morecambe Lancs., and fishing out a 12" single from the bargain bin. It was the first release by Pet Shop Boys entitled West End Girls - an extended mix by Bobby Orlando on the A side and another song, appropriately called Pet Shop Boys, on the flip. I'd heard of them via Smash Hits - Neil Tennant was famously a former journalist on the fortnightly mag - so I bought it, took it home and listened to it quite a lot. That record, together with Shannon's Let the Music Play and Depeche Mode's People Are people were on heavy rotation during those warm early summer days indoors.

It wasn't until a few months later that pet Shop boys had a hit with the song West End Girls, although it was in a radically remixed form with beefier drums, trumpet and a female backing vocal, which gave it a bit of extra oomph and indeed got them to number one.

I've jealously kept hold of my original West End Girls 12" over the years especially as I'd noticed that it had never been re-released on CD or in digital formats.

Until now. I just noticed that there are two versions of their somewhat obscure and half-forgotten debut (though still not the one I've got!) on Spotify, where PSB are extremely well represented both with albums and singles. Enjoy the original West End Girls and an early version of  One More Chance here on Spotify - also available on digital download platforms.

Box set boys

I've noticed how very expensive box set editions of new albums seem to be cropping up more and more. Is it newly revived, or is just that artists and music who gain my attention have recently caught on to this medium? Anyways not since my mate at school got Mike Oldfield's aptly named Boxed box set - went green with envy - have they been more attractive.

Anyway a quick round up of box sets, in order of apprearance:

1. John Foxx - Cinemascope

- the least pricey of the bunch but also perhaps the most 'economically' made. Features 5 albums forn the grandaddy of electro-rock, plus a DVD of his Cathedral Oceans music/image project and six 'small art prints' by Foxx himself. Strongly recommended for those who want to catch up with the man's work as it features albums originally issued from 2003 - 2006 both in the electronica and ambient style. Discs come in cardboard sleeves. It's art.
Get it from Townsend Records a real bargain at £19.99

2. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight

- not their best album but certianly their most expensive issue to date at around 40 - 45 quid for their box. You get quite a lot for your money though with said box containing:
1. 6 x Jukebox 7" singles of the album
2. The album on CD (plus an album of dub mixes on CD).
3. A DVD containing a forty min documentary of the making of the album.
4. 4 filmed live performances.
5. A 24 page hardback booklet featuring photos & lyrics.
6. A dink to play the 7"s on standard record players.
A must for fans, especially the dink.
source: recordStore.uk

3. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
- apart from the standard CD, download etc. there's also a double CD edition with dub tracks and an exclusive recording 'The Used to Be the Future' featuring Phil Oakey on vocals. Quite hard to come by, apparently, so why not plump for the special box set containing, among other things, "11 super heavyweight 200-gram vinyl records pressed on the classic EMI 1400, each featuring ‘Yes’ album track plus exclusive b-side instrumental version" plus so much other stuff, ...actually. Just as well as it costs a whopping £300.00 (say, three hundred pounds). I wouldn't normally buy this kind of thing.
Ships from 27th April - order at the vinyl factory

4. Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe
- yes the dizzy Deps are back again this year with new album and a 'tour of the universe' no less and home by Christmas! While pirate copies of the album begin to circulate, snub the common-or-garden CD, and order your "Deluxe 4 disc" 'SOTU' box set now to ensure your copy and get 3CDs plus a DVD. "Bonus songs and remixes, as well as 14 exclusive demos..." are promised together with "Two 84-page hardback books" to leave lying around on your coffee table. Impress friends and become popular! Prices from £56.79 on amazon and others (choose country or planet here).










Mike Oldfield: he started it.

Got the Human League in to inspire 'em

Pet Shop Boys have announced that their new album 'Yes' out on 23rd March will also be available with a special second disc 'Yes etc.' with dub versions of selected tracks off Yes plus a new track "This used to be the future" featuring guest vocals by Phil Oakey of The Human League.
Although pioneers of the 'remix' album themselves (see Disco 1 - 2 - 3) the PSBs state that "the inspiration for this bonus album came from The Human League's 1982 dub album, "Love and Dancing" (issued under the name of The League Unlimited Orchestra....actually).

PSB's "Love etc." is Record of the Week on BBC Radio 2 this week.










Phil Oakey: "one day all hair will be cut this way.."

Smokin'!

80s revival of the day no. 2:
Well we mentioned it over eight months ago in here and now the song has finally made it...And thankfully,a s if we were in any doubt, it is done in exceedingly good taste.

Ladies and Gentleman.....Pet Shop Boys and Sam Taylor Wood cover the Passions 'I'm in Love with a German Film Star ' :