Pet Shop Boys Rate. Part 1: 1985-1991. Winner.
- Thread starter Ray
- Start date
Ha! Synchronicity.
I hate, hate, hate YouTube uploaders who crop or (even worse) stretch 4:3 videos so that they appear 'widescreen'. Removing part of the picture or distorting it is not an improvement; I really don't understand how anyone can think it is. Nor is upscaling SD (especially when it's already YouTube-compressed, as this appears to be - i.e. they've nicked someone else's SD upload and upscaled it) to "HD".
I've got a clean official VHS copy of the video I could upload.
edit - but the video uses an edit of the track which is about 15-20 seconds shorter than the LP version. Does anyone have it? I'd like to re-do the audio first, if I upload it... message me if you can help with sourcing it (maybe @anfunny2003 ). The video I have is about 7 seconds longer than the other YouTube upload, though some of that is just black screen.
Last edited:
F
Former member 330
I have all Inga's releases on CD - Do I Have To [Radio Edit] is 3:41. The album version is 4:06. I'll PM @ohnoitisnathan later today.
33.
33. One More Chance
7.6013888889
Top Hit-Parade Single, later re-recorded for the album, actually.
Highest score: 10 (@tylerc904, @ohnoitisnathan, @Eric Generic, @slurmjunkie, @SmashHitter, @Jóga, @Farnaby)
Lowest score: 4 (@Peer_Gynt10, @Sally_Harper)
Chris: This was originally recorded with Bobby 'O'. He had this old Divine backing track and suggested we write something over it. We were very excited, getting an old Divine backing track.
Neil: There was a vocal on the tape – it was called 'Rock Me'. I don't know why it wasn't released because it sounded quite good, but I think Divine hadn't thought of any other words for it apart from 'rock me'. [...] It's about being in New York at night. The idea of being chased by someone – the mafia are after you, like you're the patsy or something – and at the same time you're looking for your love. There's a desperation. It's really Eighties paranoia [...] The Bobby 'O' version was our second single, in 1984, though it was only released in America and Belgium.
We only put in the middle section bit when we re-recorded it for Actually. Chris wrote the chords. Andy Richards said he thought it needed a middle bit, and it was like Chris and I showing off really – we wrote it in about two minutes. I'd already had the words – it was originally 'you're so extreme/your silk-screened life shot through with bullets', but then I thought that was too over the top. The song is sort of masochistic – you're pleading, but maybe you quite like being chased because, after all, it's exciting. Chris used to have these dreams of being chased and he told me he was scared but he liked it ["I want it, I want it, you know I really want it" – Chris Lowe]
We did a normal seven inch version with Julian Mendelsohn for the album, and we also thought it would be a single. Then we weren't quite happy with the mix so we got Julian to do a twelve-inch mix and we liked that so much we put that on the album instead. The seven-inch was never released.
Chris: There's another one of our car crashes in it.
Neil: Driving through the night was still exciting.
Ray: And then they moved on to October symphonies and sending e-mails to say "I love you", obviously. It suddenly dawned on me why they are not fond of "Heart" – it's too pop for this album. I love that they start the album with a twelve-inch mix, which I suppose is easy to guess seeing as my favourite PSB album is Introspective.
Let's start with comments using the word "opener".
@Jóga: Possibly their best opener.
@Peer_Gynt10: the weakest album opener in the competition
@DominoDancing: I know Neil and Chris are very proud of opening the album with a 12" mix. But to be honest, I've always thought the song itself was a bit of a non-event, in both its 12" and 7" form. The lyrics are basic and have none of the emotional depth or cleverness Neil is capable of delivering. Musically, it's obvious that this is a leftover from the Bobby O days, and the two-note chorus is not that great. [Just saying – "West End Girls" is also a leftover from the Bobby 'O' days, same as "Rent", "It's A Sin" and "Jealousy"...]
@Future Lover: This took a while to get used to as an opener. I immediately heard that it's a remixed mess, but the song beneath shone through eventually. The 7'' mix they later released on the FL really helped me out with this one.
Good. Let's move on to screaming when being pushed in a corner.
@One Stop Candy Shop: Anthem of screaming when being pushed in a corner. Good song, but I think Heart would've been a better album opener.
@ohnoitisnathan: Could have been a single (obviously after some editing). "Push me in a corner and I'll scream" makes me laugh.
Unfortunately the rest of the comments don't follow any particular template, which makes it difficult for me to be ironic and deadpan.
@Mikey1701: There is something about this that leaves me cold. Perhaps it’s the fact that the album version takes forever to get properly going. Thank god the back half gives me life, because when it does finally go off, it’s frenetic and exactly what I need. Just a shame that the first half is such a let down. Compounding matters is that within 30 seconds of listening to the original single mixes from 1984 I can’t remember a single thing about them. [Well, the original single mixes are kind of... not so divine really.]
@etienne: I find this song quite irritating (actually)
@Bleu Noir: difficulty scoring this one - 6!
@Sally_Harper: This is, for the most part, not enjoyable, but at 3.20ish there’s about 30 seconds that are good.
@Heaven on Earth: This would be a ten, especially for the way they sing “One more chance,” but the continual “Give it!” background vocals prevent me from really enjoying the song. It’s distracting when I know if it was just contained to the intro, it’d be a favorite.
@TrendyMüller: Very curious where this ends in the rate. [At #33 – Ray] The summoned cinematic „noir-ness“ via Italo-Disco never really worked for me (although this sounds amazing on paper).
MCMXCsomething tour:
Electric tour: Axis/One More Chance/Face Like That (sorry about the quality)
Possibly their best opener
the weakest album opener
the weakest album opener
33. One More Chance
7.6013888889
Top Hit-Parade Single, later re-recorded for the album, actually.
Highest score: 10 (@tylerc904, @ohnoitisnathan, @Eric Generic, @slurmjunkie, @SmashHitter, @Jóga, @Farnaby)
Lowest score: 4 (@Peer_Gynt10, @Sally_Harper)
Chris: This was originally recorded with Bobby 'O'. He had this old Divine backing track and suggested we write something over it. We were very excited, getting an old Divine backing track.
Neil: There was a vocal on the tape – it was called 'Rock Me'. I don't know why it wasn't released because it sounded quite good, but I think Divine hadn't thought of any other words for it apart from 'rock me'. [...] It's about being in New York at night. The idea of being chased by someone – the mafia are after you, like you're the patsy or something – and at the same time you're looking for your love. There's a desperation. It's really Eighties paranoia [...] The Bobby 'O' version was our second single, in 1984, though it was only released in America and Belgium.
We only put in the middle section bit when we re-recorded it for Actually. Chris wrote the chords. Andy Richards said he thought it needed a middle bit, and it was like Chris and I showing off really – we wrote it in about two minutes. I'd already had the words – it was originally 'you're so extreme/your silk-screened life shot through with bullets', but then I thought that was too over the top. The song is sort of masochistic – you're pleading, but maybe you quite like being chased because, after all, it's exciting. Chris used to have these dreams of being chased and he told me he was scared but he liked it ["I want it, I want it, you know I really want it" – Chris Lowe]
We did a normal seven inch version with Julian Mendelsohn for the album, and we also thought it would be a single. Then we weren't quite happy with the mix so we got Julian to do a twelve-inch mix and we liked that so much we put that on the album instead. The seven-inch was never released.
Chris: There's another one of our car crashes in it.
Neil: Driving through the night was still exciting.
Ray: And then they moved on to October symphonies and sending e-mails to say "I love you", obviously. It suddenly dawned on me why they are not fond of "Heart" – it's too pop for this album. I love that they start the album with a twelve-inch mix, which I suppose is easy to guess seeing as my favourite PSB album is Introspective.
Let's start with comments using the word "opener".
@Jóga: Possibly their best opener.
@Peer_Gynt10: the weakest album opener in the competition
@DominoDancing: I know Neil and Chris are very proud of opening the album with a 12" mix. But to be honest, I've always thought the song itself was a bit of a non-event, in both its 12" and 7" form. The lyrics are basic and have none of the emotional depth or cleverness Neil is capable of delivering. Musically, it's obvious that this is a leftover from the Bobby O days, and the two-note chorus is not that great. [Just saying – "West End Girls" is also a leftover from the Bobby 'O' days, same as "Rent", "It's A Sin" and "Jealousy"...]
@Future Lover: This took a while to get used to as an opener. I immediately heard that it's a remixed mess, but the song beneath shone through eventually. The 7'' mix they later released on the FL really helped me out with this one.
Good. Let's move on to screaming when being pushed in a corner.
@One Stop Candy Shop: Anthem of screaming when being pushed in a corner. Good song, but I think Heart would've been a better album opener.
@ohnoitisnathan: Could have been a single (obviously after some editing). "Push me in a corner and I'll scream" makes me laugh.
Unfortunately the rest of the comments don't follow any particular template, which makes it difficult for me to be ironic and deadpan.
@Mikey1701: There is something about this that leaves me cold. Perhaps it’s the fact that the album version takes forever to get properly going. Thank god the back half gives me life, because when it does finally go off, it’s frenetic and exactly what I need. Just a shame that the first half is such a let down. Compounding matters is that within 30 seconds of listening to the original single mixes from 1984 I can’t remember a single thing about them. [Well, the original single mixes are kind of... not so divine really.]
@etienne: I find this song quite irritating (actually)
@Bleu Noir: difficulty scoring this one - 6!
@Sally_Harper: This is, for the most part, not enjoyable, but at 3.20ish there’s about 30 seconds that are good.
@Heaven on Earth: This would be a ten, especially for the way they sing “One more chance,” but the continual “Give it!” background vocals prevent me from really enjoying the song. It’s distracting when I know if it was just contained to the intro, it’d be a favorite.
@TrendyMüller: Very curious where this ends in the rate. [At #33 – Ray] The summoned cinematic „noir-ness“ via Italo-Disco never really worked for me (although this sounds amazing on paper).
MCMXCsomething tour:
Electric tour: Axis/One More Chance/Face Like That (sorry about the quality)
I love One More Chance. In retrospect I should have given it a 10 but I gave it a 9 as I was trying to be strict about differentiating between them. Until doing this rate I had no idea that there were so many different versions of so many of their songs.
I really want to hear the Divine demo now - him growling "rock me" over that backing track would be enough for me!
I really want to hear the Divine demo now - him growling "rock me" over that backing track would be enough for me!
Yes, that´s problematic, isn´t it...Bobby O. tracks that don´t have a faux-I-Feel-Love-octave-bass tend to be a bit shit.
I actually like the 84 7" version quite a bit for its trashy energy. And boy does it have sync-problems with the drums.
Strangely I always prefer the 7" mixes of every OMC version. The old 12" totally loses its plot in the second half, even Divine would have a hard time saving it. The "new" version is just too empty and doesn´t have enough energy and "song" to justify its length.
The 1984 version had another problem that stopped me from taking them seriously back then: Neils shoes!
Those were shoes of the enemy!
It doesn't look like you were too shocked with "One More Chance" going home to stand in the corner and scream. What about...
32.
pretty brilliant, isn’t it?
unnecessary and messy single release
32. Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
7.6402777778
A-side of the A/AA-side release "Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"/"How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?" backed by b-side "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend". Casually referred to as "all the words in the dictionary" or just "Pet Shop Boys, wordy."
Highest score: 10 (@ohnoitisnathan, @Eric Generic, @slurmjunkie, @chris4862, @Ray, @SmashHitter), 9.8 (@TrendyMüller)
Lowest score: 2 (@etienne)
Neil: 'Being Boring' hadn't been a big hit and we needed a big hit. It was absolutely shameless. Ages ago we'd had the idea of doing U2's 'Where The Streets Have No Name' as a medley with 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', which we knew best as a high energy record by The Boystown Gang, because one day, when we were recording 'I'm Not Scared' with Patsy Kensit, Chris came in and said you could sing the one going into the other.
And we also thought the guitar on U2's record sounded like a sequencer. Our original idea was to do this with Patsy Kensit – it was going to be the follow-up to 'I'm Not Scared'.
Chris: Then we had the idea of doing a whole EP ourselves of rock classics to a high energy disco beat. 'Stairway To Heaven'... 'She's climbing! She's climbing!'
Neil: '...a stairway! To heaven!' And we were going to do 'Like A Rolling Stone'. Then we just decided to do 'Where The Streets...'. The extended mix really sounds like ZZ Top, I think. [...] We had J. J. Belle playing rock guitar. When the single version came out, Bono said 'what have we done to deserve this?' And who can blame him?
Ray: Bono denies having ever said this, but I don't care, it's too good not to be true. Also, I want to hear 'A stairway! To heaven!' I love this, well, I love the entire package – this, 'Seriously?', 'Girlfriend', even the Marshall Jefferson mix of 'Being Boring' on the American CD single. Essential, all of it.
@Farnaby: Pet Shop Boys is not a good cover band. One sublime one* for 10 bad ones. *Go West of course. [Get him, @Eric Generic.]
@One Stop Candy Shop: Anthem of U2 and Frankie Valli juxtapostion. I like it. Fun fact: as I was just googling "I can't take my eyes off you", one of Google's suggestions was "I can't take my tampon out it hurts". That's not a very PSB title. [Tell me where it hurts, to hell with everybody else, all I care about is... nevermind]
@DominoDancing: I know Neil and Chris wanted to make a point to Bono with this...but next time please make it on your own time and don't clutter up an otherwise flawless Discography with it? I don't even think it's a point well made, since the I Can't Take My Eyes Off You mashup is clunky and I actually do prefer U2's version in the end. Sorry 'bout it. [HEATHEN. No, wait, I am a heathen. CATHOLIC.]
@Bleu Noir: a little too academic
@Future Lover: Not a very good idea, this. Such an unnecessary and messy single release. Justice for the single remix of HCYETBTS!!!! [This would make a fab AA-side to the superior 'Seriously?'. Sigh.]
@Mikey1701: I love this! Essentially it’s a giant middle finger to Bono (an even bigger one if you consider it was released alongside a song that tears down pretentious rock stars blathering on about giving to the third world). They took what was a straight-faced rock anthem and turned it into a stomping synthpop disco banger and then mashed it together with a camp 60s classic. The moral of the story: the only way to make U2 palatable is to turn their crap rock into poppers o’clock dance bangers. Perhaps the most savage diss in music? Katy and Taylor could never!
@KingBruno: That transition is pretty brilliant, isn’t it? [Yes. Oh, yes.]
@ohnoitisnathan: Completely over the top.
@Sally_Harper: This kind of makes me want a PSB Covers album where they take crap songs and PSB-ify them until they’re a) unrecognisable and b) actually good. They could call it Improvise or Portrayal or something like that.
@Peer_Gynt10: some extra points for sticking it to U2 and Bono’s holier-than-though attitude
@TrendyMüller: It makes me so happy that Bono hates this.
Note: the sped up version of 'Seriously?' video is used as "intro" for this this, which leads me to believing 'Seriously?' was originally planned as the A-side and this as AA-side. Not that it really matters. I'm just still triggered. (Wait till we actually GET to 'Seriously?'...)
Extended mix:
Performance version WITH 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. The rights have not been cleared for the VHS release of Performance, leading to the entire 'Can't Take My Eyes...' section being removed. Vocals, synth riffs, etc. Seeing it on the DVD with the section restored was a surreal experience to me. Unfortunately the VHS rip is not on YouTube, but if anybody has the link please let me know and I will add it. I don't even have a VHS player anymore *sigh*
Rather awful Cubism version:
32.
pretty brilliant, isn’t it?
unnecessary and messy single release
32. Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
7.6402777778
A-side of the A/AA-side release "Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"/"How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?" backed by b-side "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend". Casually referred to as "all the words in the dictionary" or just "Pet Shop Boys, wordy."
Highest score: 10 (@ohnoitisnathan, @Eric Generic, @slurmjunkie, @chris4862, @Ray, @SmashHitter), 9.8 (@TrendyMüller)
Lowest score: 2 (@etienne)
Neil: 'Being Boring' hadn't been a big hit and we needed a big hit. It was absolutely shameless. Ages ago we'd had the idea of doing U2's 'Where The Streets Have No Name' as a medley with 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', which we knew best as a high energy record by The Boystown Gang, because one day, when we were recording 'I'm Not Scared' with Patsy Kensit, Chris came in and said you could sing the one going into the other.
And we also thought the guitar on U2's record sounded like a sequencer. Our original idea was to do this with Patsy Kensit – it was going to be the follow-up to 'I'm Not Scared'.
Chris: Then we had the idea of doing a whole EP ourselves of rock classics to a high energy disco beat. 'Stairway To Heaven'... 'She's climbing! She's climbing!'
Neil: '...a stairway! To heaven!' And we were going to do 'Like A Rolling Stone'. Then we just decided to do 'Where The Streets...'. The extended mix really sounds like ZZ Top, I think. [...] We had J. J. Belle playing rock guitar. When the single version came out, Bono said 'what have we done to deserve this?' And who can blame him?
Ray: Bono denies having ever said this, but I don't care, it's too good not to be true. Also, I want to hear 'A stairway! To heaven!' I love this, well, I love the entire package – this, 'Seriously?', 'Girlfriend', even the Marshall Jefferson mix of 'Being Boring' on the American CD single. Essential, all of it.
@Farnaby: Pet Shop Boys is not a good cover band. One sublime one* for 10 bad ones. *Go West of course. [Get him, @Eric Generic.]
@One Stop Candy Shop: Anthem of U2 and Frankie Valli juxtapostion. I like it. Fun fact: as I was just googling "I can't take my eyes off you", one of Google's suggestions was "I can't take my tampon out it hurts". That's not a very PSB title. [Tell me where it hurts, to hell with everybody else, all I care about is... nevermind]
@DominoDancing: I know Neil and Chris wanted to make a point to Bono with this...but next time please make it on your own time and don't clutter up an otherwise flawless Discography with it? I don't even think it's a point well made, since the I Can't Take My Eyes Off You mashup is clunky and I actually do prefer U2's version in the end. Sorry 'bout it. [HEATHEN. No, wait, I am a heathen. CATHOLIC.]
@Bleu Noir: a little too academic
@Future Lover: Not a very good idea, this. Such an unnecessary and messy single release. Justice for the single remix of HCYETBTS!!!! [This would make a fab AA-side to the superior 'Seriously?'. Sigh.]
@Mikey1701: I love this! Essentially it’s a giant middle finger to Bono (an even bigger one if you consider it was released alongside a song that tears down pretentious rock stars blathering on about giving to the third world). They took what was a straight-faced rock anthem and turned it into a stomping synthpop disco banger and then mashed it together with a camp 60s classic. The moral of the story: the only way to make U2 palatable is to turn their crap rock into poppers o’clock dance bangers. Perhaps the most savage diss in music? Katy and Taylor could never!
@KingBruno: That transition is pretty brilliant, isn’t it? [Yes. Oh, yes.]
@ohnoitisnathan: Completely over the top.
@Sally_Harper: This kind of makes me want a PSB Covers album where they take crap songs and PSB-ify them until they’re a) unrecognisable and b) actually good. They could call it Improvise or Portrayal or something like that.
@Peer_Gynt10: some extra points for sticking it to U2 and Bono’s holier-than-though attitude
@TrendyMüller: It makes me so happy that Bono hates this.
Note: the sped up version of 'Seriously?' video is used as "intro" for this this, which leads me to believing 'Seriously?' was originally planned as the A-side and this as AA-side. Not that it really matters. I'm just still triggered. (Wait till we actually GET to 'Seriously?'...)
Extended mix:
Performance version WITH 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You'. The rights have not been cleared for the VHS release of Performance, leading to the entire 'Can't Take My Eyes...' section being removed. Vocals, synth riffs, etc. Seeing it on the DVD with the section restored was a surreal experience to me. Unfortunately the VHS rip is not on YouTube, but if anybody has the link please let me know and I will add it. I don't even have a VHS player anymore *sigh*
Rather awful Cubism version:
Bye bye! Pretty certain this was my lowest rated single, so I'm not going to miss it.
4.75 from you. Ouch.
One More Chance is great, but sounds like it belongs on the debut (unsurprisingly). They were brave to put an edit of the 12" on the album, as the opening track, and mix it so the "intro" feels like the song's already started a while ago but the volume's only just been turned up.
Where The Streets was inspired because the song lends itself so perfectly to that electronic rhythm, and then Neil pricks the pretentiousness and earnestness of the original by segueing into a camp disco classic. It just works. Whereas Go West, Somewhere and whatever other shit they've covered in the last 20 years hasn't.
Where The Streets was inspired because the song lends itself so perfectly to that electronic rhythm, and then Neil pricks the pretentiousness and earnestness of the original by segueing into a camp disco classic. It just works. Whereas Go West, Somewhere and whatever other shit they've covered in the last 20 years hasn't.
My favourite bit (among many) in Streets is that thin and almost limp "ahaa" after the title. It actually made me lough out lout when I heard it for the first time. The music is so frantic and actually pretty hard to dance to (could this be mixed with a Drum ´n Bass beat?).
I also love the vocoder bits in the coda of the 12".
I really, really like this...and you have to admit, that there is a bloody good song underneath it all.
In case you need some more true disco in your life and you wonder what Boys Town Gang were up to: Get you Disoc Kicks! The video is amazing with all its Studio 54 images. The better version of Disco Kicks however is the 1982 remix. This thing goes OFF!
Oh, @Sally_Harper wouldn´t BETTER be an amazing title for a Pet Shop Boys cover album?!?
I also love the vocoder bits in the coda of the 12".
I really, really like this...and you have to admit, that there is a bloody good song underneath it all.
In case you need some more true disco in your life and you wonder what Boys Town Gang were up to: Get you Disoc Kicks! The video is amazing with all its Studio 54 images. The better version of Disco Kicks however is the 1982 remix. This thing goes OFF!
Oh, @Sally_Harper wouldn´t BETTER be an amazing title for a Pet Shop Boys cover album?!?
Everyone is forgetting about their brilliant (and non-ironic) cover of Springsteen's "The Last To Die". Not to mention "We're The Pet Shop Boys".
I've never heard this. I'm so far behind. Flop fan.