One record at a time: 377. Pet Shop Boys - Abbey Road Demos

This is a terrible bootleg that gathers together a seemingly random selection of unfinished mixes and demos. Not only is the sound quality pretty poor but the record needs to be played with the pitch down by about -6 to sound anything like it should. The source for these recordings is clearly a cassette that has been duplicated repeatedly and the muffled sound reproduction has absolutely no dynamics. 

Of the music itself we hear a slightly different mix of hit single "It's A Sin" and early mixes of "Rent", "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" and "You Know Where You Went Wrong". Despite being tagged as demos, I think these are actually alternate mixes created as part of the recording process for the finished product - we know that there were initial attempts at mixing both "It's A Sin" and "What Have I Done To Deserve This" that were rejected, so these could be those first versions.

Also featured is the "Breakdown Mix" of "I Want To Wake Up" and the short version of "One More Chance" that would go on to be officially released on the "Further Listening" disc that accompanied the remastered version of "Actually" in 2001.

To my mind the only genuine demos on this disc are "It Couldn't Happen Here" and "James Bond #1" (the latter being an early version of "This must be the place I waited years to leave"). Whilst it is possible that these two demos were made at Abbey Road, I think most of the material on this record was created as part of recording sessions at Advision or Sarm West studios and the title is misleading. 1/5

One record at a time: 376. Pet Shop Boys - Heaven

On 15th October 1991 Pet Shop Boys performed at Heaven nightclub in London as part of the launch party for the Derek Jarman film "Edward II". This event was billed as a benefit to raise funds for AIDS research at St. Mary’s Hospital in London and saw the boys play a short set of eight songs alongside guitarist J.J.Belle and three backing singers.

This record is a bootleg recording of the show and was released sometime in the early nineties. I seem to think I acquired this particular copy from a record shop in Manchester about ten years ago. People will try to sell you this record online for crazy prices as it is relatively rare, but it is not official and the sound quality isn't very good.

For this show Pet Shop Boys decided to play for about forty minutes and concentrated on, “Good dance tracks, so people could jump around a bit.” Despite wearing costumes from "Performance" on the sleeve of this record, only two songs from that tour were played and the nightclub atmosphere lends itself nicely to newer pieces like "Music for Boys" and "DJ Culture".

This concert also seems to have been the premier of the new song "Was It Worth It?" and footage form this performance was even worked into the subsequent video for the single release. Unfortunately the sequencers seemed to break down during "It's Alright" and it can be no coincidence that programmer Lawrence Cedar doesn't seem to have worked with the Pet Shop Boys since. 2/5

One record at a time: 375. Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless

At the time of writing "Nonetheless" is the Pet Shop Boys latest album. Here we have two copies of the clear vinyl, the double white vinyl (with a signed postcard), the grey vinyl (signed on the sleeve), the numbered zoetrope picture disc and the triple vinyl 'expanded edition'. I haven't bought the standard common or garden black LP. Yet. I also have the standard black vinyl too but it isn't pictured.

When it was released I was very impressed by this album and that feeling hasn't waned. I still think this is the best record Neil and Chris have made since "Yes" in 2009 and I am delighted they have moved away from producer Stuart Price.

Ironically the first two singles that were released to promote the album, "Loneliness" and "Dancing Star", are fairly average but "Feel" is a big favourite of mine. I was less impressed with the idea of "A New Bohemia" being a single but it has grown on me to the point that today I regard it as one of the highlights of the album.

Songs that had the potential to sound cheesy such as "The Secret of Happiness" or "New London Boy" are brilliantly realised by producer James Ford and there are no horrors on the scale of "Wedding In Berlin" or "Hold On" here. If you don't understand the genre you might miss the point of "The Schlager hit parade" and "Why am I dancing?" can be a little repetitive, but I still enjoy both. In fact I can sit and listen to this album all the way through quite happily. Oh and the clear vinyl edition sounds terrific. 4/5

One record at a time: 374. Pet Shop Boys - Smash

When vinyl enthusiasts went looking for a Pet Shop Boys compilation, their attention invariably fell on the album "Discography". Not only was this release  relatively easy to find, but it also gathered together the singles from the band's commercial peak.

However, by 2023 this LP had been out of print for over thirty years and second hand prices were on the rise. Having noted this demand, Warner Music approached Neil and Chris for permission to repress "Discography" and fill a gap in the market.

Rather than grant this rather simple request, the boys elected to release a brand new box set called "Smash" instead. I'm not really sure a comprehensive six disc collection that retails for over £100 is what either the record company or the music buying public wanted; but it's what we got. How very Pet Shop Boys.

Here we have the limited edition version pressed on white vinyl and the standard black vinyl edition that were both released in 2023. The records are pressed by Optimal media and sound great, but the paper stock used for the inner sleeves feels very cheap and unsatisfactory. The less said about the graphic design the better, and the title is so bad it is laughable; but thankfully the music is the main attraction here.

The content of the first three discs in this set largely mirror that of "PopArt", but the correct mixes are used this time around. As you might expect, the remaining records collect together all of the singles Pet Shop Boys released between 2004 and 2020. Highlights for me are "Memory of the Future", "Vocal" and "Did you see me coming?" but there's a lot of other great material on here too. My disappointment is chiefly reserved for "Numb", "Leaving" and the single that should never have been: "I don't wanna".

Normally I wouldn't sit and listen all the way through a six disc box set that contains fifty five tracks, but I can make an exception for the Pet Shop Boys. If you are less inclined to persevere with such a marathon it is fairly easy to dip in and out of this compilation as the tracks are presented chronologically. As a comprehensive history of the Pet Shop Boys singles, "Smash" can't be beaten. Those looking for a more concise introduction would be better served by simply paying for a second hand copy of "Discography" and pocketing the difference. 4/5

One record at a time: 373. Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot

By the time "Hotspot" was released it felt like the seemingly arbitrary commitment to make a trilogy of albums with producer Stuart Price was a mistake. This record sounds like everyone involved had run out of ideas and the finished album is a ramshackle effort that I simply cannot warm to.

When it was released I decided to forget the quality of the music and simply find comfort in the fact that my favourite group were still around and releasing new material. I acknowledge this was rather cold comfort.

It's fairly easy to summarise this album as, "poor title, poor artwork and poor music". I don't like any of the songs here and a few of them I dislike intensely. 

"You're the one" is syrupy nonsense that is far too repetitive, "Only the dark" is out of tune, "Hoping for a miracle" sounds like a reject for a musical and the lyrics to "Wedding in Berlin" are simply awful (just to be clear I have absolutely no issue with the subject matter of "Wedding in Berlin", but the lyrics read like a poem created by a 14 year old).

There is a real lack of attention to detail everywhere but a good example is the fact that the introduction for "Wedding in Berlin" shows signs it once followed "Happy People" in the running order. Rather than modify the transition when the track listing was revised, the boys just chopped things up and said, "That will do". This is the same band that devoted a considerable amount of time adding an almost inaudible thunder clap between songs on "Introspective" - how times change.

If we were honest we would have to say much of this album only just gets over the quality threshold. This is a real shame as the boys made some brilliant tracks in this era but they chose to use them as additional tracks for singles rather than include them on the album. "An Open Mind" and "Decide" were thrown away, but they are better than anything heard here.

I was in a pretty bad mood with the Pet Shop Boys at this stage in their career. This was a band I had loved since 1985 and suddenly it felt like the wheel was spinning but the hamster was dead. I must admit, it began to enter my head that if "Hotspot" was the best they could muster, then boys might as well pack it in. 1/5

One record at a time: 372. Pet Shop Boys - Super

"Super" came out in 2016 and is the second album the Pet Shop Boys made with producer Stuart Price. When it was released I wrote a rather scathing review that dismissed it as "camp disco nonsense" and I haven't really changed my mind.

For me "Super" is insubstantial and sounded outdated from the outset. The first single to be released was "The Pop Kids" and it immediately gave me cause for concern due to its cringe worthy lyrics and antiquated backing track.

Large parts of the parent album are taken up with instrumental dance tracks such as "Groovy", "Inner Sanctum" and "Pazzo" which are rather superficial and leave little impression. I have a particular dislike of the ponderous "The Dictator Decides" as it lacks any of the subtly and guile I associate with Neil's lyrics. "Burn" features the time-worn lyrical sentiment: "We're gonna burn this disco down before the morning comes". Truly uninspiring stuff.

I am not really sure why I ended up with two copes of this record but I suspect I made an assumption that the white vinyl would be available in limited quantities and ordered from more than one website. As you might imagine I don't play either of these records and only the single "Say It To Me" get the occasional outing via digital files. I don't hate this album, but certainly have no love for it either. 1/5

One record at a time: 371. Pet Shop Boys - Electric

There's an apocryphal tale that Neil Tennant read a critical review of the album "Elysium" on iTunes and resolved to make the next Pet Shop Boys record "more banging with lasers".  Whilst this story isn't entirely true, there is no doubt that 2013's "Electric" is squarely aimed at the dance-floor and is the polar opposite to its predecessor.

On the day the standard LP was released a special edition "Electric Box" was announced that would contain five 12" singles in a florescent acrylic box and was limited to 350 copies. This set cost a ridiculous £500 and would be released on 7th October 2013. However, much like the "Very" box set, the finished product was much delayed and didn't turn up until the middle of December. As you might imagine, I will be playing one of the two standard double vinyl sets I own for this review and keeping the box set out of harm's way. 

I was quite gushing about this album when it was released as it seemed to banish the doldrums and allowed the Pet Shop Boys to reclaim their crown as the kings of dance driven synth-pop. Yet, my enthusiasm is somewhat tempered today as I feel "Electric" set the boys off on a road that ended in something of a cul-de-sac. 

Things start promisingly enough with the track "Axis" that was used as a teaser single. Aside from some occasional hoarse vocals repeating the phrase "Turn it on" this is an instrumental piece that doesn't conform to a conventional pop song template. At first, the lack of structure in these songs worried me as I thought it might detract from the credibility of the album. However, I reconciled this with the thought that this isn't a traditional pop album and nobody questions the structure of  "Blue Monday", "Numbers"  or "Moments in Love". 

The single "Love Is A Bourgeois Construct" is a little more traditional in approach but I am not a fan of the Henry Purcell motif or the monotonous verses. Another single "Thursday" seemed quite contemporary and even features a rap by Example. Stuart Price is a good producer and I enjoyed his work as Les Rythmes Digitales long before he became associated with the boys, but sometimes it sounds like he is being held back a little. "Vocal" is the final track on the album as is one of my favourite songs by the Pet Shop Boys. Yet, when I hear it I have a nagging feeling that there is something missing. Would it have been better with a TB-303 style riff and some TR-909 hit hats? It certainly would have had a sound closer to that of the rave scene it references and I would have liked that.

I think if you had asked me to score this album back in 2013, I would have given it full marks. Today I am forced to consider the fact that it sounds a little dated and some of the tracks haven't proved to have enduring appeal. I've disappointed myself here. 3.5/5 Happy New Year.