Pet Shop Boys Rate. Part 1: 1985-1991. Winner.

etcetera

etcetera

I agree with many others, the Eighth Wonder version of I'm Not Scared is much better. It's one of my favourite songs ever.

In The Night and Paninaro are my two favourite b-sides. Happy to see they both did well here! I hadn't realized that the Pet Shop Boys b-sides were so good until I got Disco. My fandom basically started for real when I heard that album.
 
RaggedTiger

RaggedTiger

I'm pleased I'm not Scared has reached this far. I had 3 contenders for my 11, this was one of them along with Devices that both sadly lost out. Just glad my 11 is still in even though I doubt it will make the top 10.

Oh and I'm in the minority who thinks the PSB original of I'm not scared pisses over the eight wonder cover. Has so much more going for it.
 
TrendyMüller

TrendyMüller

I know I´m contradicting myself when I say that I don´t really like Patsy´s voice and then wish that Princess Stephanie would have recorded it.
It´s just that for me Patsy is missing the camp-factor that this song needs and Stephanie or SANDRA would (unknowingly) deliver camp in spades. Patsy sounds calculated/calculating.

edit: I knew nothing about La Kensit and just read her Wiki...can I assume that I´m not totally wrong with hearing her as calculating?
 
slurmjunkie

slurmjunkie

TrendyMüller said:
I tend to not like songs very much that have a strong instrumental melody that is then sung in the same melody OVER the instrumental. Jealousy does that. It also sounds like a Musical number and that´s always a big "-" for me.
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I never noticed that but that may explain why I didn't give Jealousy full marks either. But I still gave it 9 points.
 
slurmjunkie

slurmjunkie

Sweet Music said:
This Must Be The Place I Waited Years To Leave would have made a great single if they had removed the final verse.
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Yes, they should have released this as a single (in addition to the others). They already had a great extended mix ready. Though according to Further Listening and its booklet, they seem to have forgotten it exists (just like the single and extended mixes of ... Seriously?). Which is especially baffling as Neil wishes the (sublime) Johnny Marr riff during the fade-out would go on longer. It does on the extended mixes, Neil!
 
slurmjunkie

slurmjunkie

Ray said:
I'm sure @slurmjunkie will give us her comment soon as well – looking forward.
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As I usually don't think it's possible for me to come up with just one favourite song from one of my favourite artists, I thought it would be really tough to pick an 11 for this rate - especially the first part. Imagine my surprise that I found it really easy. I had a few other contenders (such as I'm Not Scared, It Couldn't Happen Here and Left To My Own Devices), but I settled on this masterpiece pretty soon. This is the perfect combination of what I love about the Pet Shop Boys: it has extraordinary lyrics (about unusual subject matter expressed in an intelligent way), it has a unique mix of melancholy and elation through its blending of electronic beats (and additional vocoder rhythm by Chris) with a string-enhanced ballad, magnificent guitar parts from both Neil and Johnny Marr, and it enduces goosebumps (even though I luckily don't have to identify with its narrator). Plus it has one of the last brilliant regular extended mixes before a lot of the singles were ruined by outside remixers a few years later. And I actually mean the shorter of the extended mixes (on the Jealousy release), because the other one (regardless of how rare it is) really is too long and only adds a pointless and grating repetitive bit of the Russian sample that totally ruins the atmosphere. But the other mix is essential because the song doesn't have the rushed fade-out and both the guitar riff and the strings get to shine a little longer.
 
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slurmjunkie

slurmjunkie

Ray said:
@Mikey1701: This is definitely a step up from Being Boring, with a bit more ‘oomph’ about it- but just like its predecessor, it’s simply too long. In its defence, the production is lovely, with some genuinely great flourishes here and there. Ultimately, if this was 4:30 long, I’d have given it a 7. [I am surprised by how many 6s this song got.]
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Sorry, this is sacrilege. There is enough musical variation to merit the running time of the 7:25 version - unlike My October Symphony, which puts me to sleep and is what 6s were made for.
 
slurmjunkie

slurmjunkie

Vive Indifference said:
it just goes on and on without reaching any kind of high or emotional response ...

To rate higher than My October Symphony is just a nonsense (and that’s me applying group logic rather than my personal favourites) …
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That is so ironic because My October Symphony just goes on and on without reaching any kind of high or emotional response.
 
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