They Made Lots Of Money... (Discography: The Complete Singles Collection - Pet Shop Boys)

Name: stoffy

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Product:	Discography: The Complete Singles Collection - Pet Shop Boys
Date:	27/10/01 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: wide range and number of hits

Disadvantages: an acquired taste

Question. What connects Kate ‘Rent-a-quote’ Thornton with Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys? Is it a) they’re both double jointed, b) they are both allergic to anchovies or c) they both used to edit ‘Smash Hits’? Well, yes, it is true. They were both once the top cheeses at the institution that has been downgraded in my eyes from ‘pop bible’ to ‘pop also-ran’ as teenybopper-targeted ‘acts’ continue their assault on the Top 40. Either that, or I’m just too old and cynical to be interested in the latest Tom Watkins managed ‘next big thing’…

The Pet Shop Boys have enjoyed 17 years of success in the charts. Although in recent years their songs have become as unmemorable as they have been obscure (‘I Don’t Know What You Want, But I Can’t Give It To You Anymore’ anyone?), their initial Greatest Hits compilation ‘Discography’ reminds everyone that they really did do a lot of very good pop songs. And not a ‘I love you baby yeeeeeeah’ in sight.

The album starts off with their most memorable song, ‘West End Girls’. A last-minute call from ‘Top Of The Pops’ one week saw the Boys’ profile raised immensely, and the track reached the top spot, and became one of the biggest sellers of 1986. It also earned Tennant and Chris Lowe a Brit award. Despite it later covered by East 17 (officially #3 in the ‘most sacrilegious cover version’ chart of all time), it still remains an 80’s classic. It was Tennant’s deadpan delivery of songs dripping in irony that caught the public’s attention, as well as the non-involvement of Lowe. Despite their initial aesthetic deficiencies, they later went on to produce some of the most spectacular live shows ever seen, even if they sometimes fell on the wrong side of the fine line between ‘quirky’ and ‘insaneR
17;.

The next track, ‘Loves Comes Quickly’ is somewhat less well known, but is still one of the best songs that the duo ever produced. This is followed by the 80’s anthem ‘Opportunities’ complete with its yuppie-mocking refrain. ‘Suburbia’ and their second chart-topper ‘It’s A Sin’ completes a strong first quintet of tracks on the album.

Next comes the Dusty Springfield duet, ‘What have I Done To Deserve This’. Despite its inherent cheesiness, it’s my favourite track off the album after ‘West End Girls’. This is followed up by ‘Rent’, and their other two #1’s, ‘Always On My Mind’ and ‘Heart’.

After this track, they enjoyed four more Top 10 hits, ‘Domino Dancing’, ‘Left To My Own Devices’, ‘It’s Alright’ and ‘So Hard’. As the 90’s rolled in, their public appeal waned a little. ‘Being Boring’, one of the weaker tracks of this album, failed to reach the top 10.

Perhaps the most bizarre track on the album, is ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, which is basically two songs rolled into one, one of which is the lounge-anthem ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ (you know, the one off the hilarious advert for the BT answer phone service…). This is followed up by the bitter song ‘Jealousy’ and the two dance tracks ‘DJ Culture’ and ‘Was It Worth It’, which are slightly below the standard of the rest of the album.

Although the Pet Shop Boys are a bit of an acquired taste, and most people’s experiences of them recently may not be too favourable, the Discography is definitely worth a look, especially as it can now be purchased for a cut price in many chain stores. After all, where else are you going to find lyrics like ‘Che Guevara and Debussy to a di
sco beat’? No-one that’s ever likely to be featured in ‘Smash Hits’ again, that’s for sure…

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