The First Step On A Continuing Journey (Please - Pet Shop Boys)

Member Name: SkyscraperFanClu

Product:	Please - Pet Shop Boys
Date:	17/04/09 (13 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Timeless lyrical quality, creative, innovative .

Disadvantages: Constrained by musical limitations, aged a little .

Listening to the Pet Shop Boys 1985 debut album in a modern context is an interesting experience. Its classic eighties styling are thoroughly retro nowadays, and yet still it stands apart from its contemporaries - always one step ahead of Soft Cell, New Order, Eurythmics et. al. For the strong qualities it exhibits it remains one of those 'must-have' albums for any music aficionado, even if in other respects it has been greatly surpassed by the rest of the pet Shop Boys work.
The opening track "Two Divided By Zero" is characterised by the monotone computer voice which provides a hollow refrain to the main lyric. On Jacques Lu Cont's recently released concept album "Blueprint" the excellent "Rewind! (DMX Crew Remix)" features this exact same technique designed to recreate that classic eighties sound, only on "Please", of course, it is entirely authentic and put to good use.

Perhaps the most famous Pet Shop Boys song ever was their first number one "West End Girls", which is ubiquitous to the point of not being worth describing. It, like "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)" that follows it, sharply defines the earlier political edge of the Pet Shop Boys - the despondent reaction to Thatcherism. These were the Pet Shop Boys first two single releases, and they flopped prior to the success of the re-released "West End Girls", though the original version of "Opportunities" is not present here, merely echoed in a brief reprise which forms the sixth track on the album.
"Love Comes Quickly", to the unknowing public the classic 'ill-fated second single', remains a particular favourite of mine. It is the classic Pet Shop Boys paradox - why is the song so happy when the music is so sad? The melancholy melody gives the otherwise uplifting lyrics a sound of desperation.

The albums final single, "Suburbia", returns to the urban sound of "West End Girls." Interestingly enough, "Suburbia" is present in its original form, not the highly polished single version to which most people are accustomed. The rawness of the synths almost grates, but the intelligence and slightly prosaic quality to the lyrics give it a sophistication over and above its occasional musical shortcomings.
Some years after "Please" was written "Tonight Is Forever" would be used to open the Pet Shop Boys hugely successful 1994 World Tour "Discovery." The original version, like so much of "Please", has strong lyrical quality but is let down by the primitive range of electronic sounds available at the time. The same can be said of the closing track "Why Don't We Live Together?"

"Violence" explains this point well - on "Please" it is a good track, emotional and slightly dark. But the new version written by the Pet Shop Boys in the early nineties (which features on the B-side compilation "Alternative") excels it in every way - making the song deeper, more bleak and powerful. The march of technological progress in music since the time of "Please" has allowed the Pet Shop Boys to express themselves better, and "Please" as a result is all about them defining their style and refining their sound.
Which is partly why the general quality blips on occasions - notably with the awkward "Later Tonight", which thankfully is kept to a brief 2m46s. "I Want A Lover", though, is the Pet Shop Boys as we know them best - depressing and ever-so-slightly-dark.

As if to prove the point that the pet Shop Boys were defining and understanding themselves with this first album, the inlay card comprises 72 different shots of the Pet Shop Boys in various poses, usually looking melancholy and detached. This is the duo that the defined the stereotypical one bloke singing, one bloke bashing a keyboard approach to musical performances.
There's almost a touch of arrogance to it, such is their unblinkered dismissal of convention. Everything is there through design and control - even the album was titled Please in the hope that it would refine manners, with also those wishing to buy it walking into record shops and asking, "Can I have the new Pet Shop Boys album, Please?"

As a whole "Please" to modern listeners has a rough, raw quality which some will find charming and fun in a retro kind of way, and which others will be repelled by. Its lyrical quality sets it apart from contemporary albums as has always been the case with the Pet Shop Boys. It remains a quality album, if not as accessible as it once was, and somewhat restricted by the technology of the time.

Summary: The First Step On A Continuing Journey