Stop me if you've heard this one before, but I'm an opinionated student who needs money. I've been a...
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but I'm an opinionated student who needs money. I've been a bit annoyed about two things recently:
1) People taking my opinions way too seriously and leaving long-winded irate comments in response.
2) People...
Member since:11.11.2000
Reviews:110
Members who trust:9
This album is very much 'one for the fans,' not something I would recommend as the best introduction to the Pet Shop Boys. That said, there are some gems on here that everyone can enjoy.
'Alternative' is a collection of B-Sides from Pet Shop Boys' singles from the first release of 'Opportunities,' up to the 1993/4 singles from the album 'Very.' Across these 2CDs (30 tracks) are a couple of songs of particular interest. 'Paninaro,' which was released as an A-side single in Italy (and eventually remixed and released over here in 1995), is a brilliant mid-eighties dance song. 'In The Night' is better known as the old music from 'The Clothes Show.' 'We All Feel Better In The Dark' is an absolute masterpiece, and, along with I want a dog, is one of a very small number (about 2 or 3) of Pet Shop Boys' songs to feature keyboardist Chris Lowe on vocals.
As most of these songs are about 15 years old there is a strongly eighties feel to this album, though not to the ridiculous length of artists like 'Les Rhythmes Digitales.' The simple eighties is, of course, genuine, as that is when most of the songs were written. In this respect 'Alternative' sounds like a cross-section of their albums from 'Please' to 'Very'.
Even for the most committed fans, though, there is some less accessible and impressive material on 'Alternative' - though, quite remarkably for an album of B-sides, it is largely good quality. As Neil Tennant notes himself, some of it is a little pretensious, notably '"Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend" and "Jack The Lad." A lot of the more experimental tracks are also inaccessible at first, but fascinating after a while. "The Sound Of The Atom Splitting" reflects this - it's a bizarre, ad-libbed journey through prototype acid house, verging on unlistenable, but deeply compelling.
'Alternative,' then, is quite a mixed bag really. There are some brilliant tracks, some less great, and some plain weird. As a window in to the darker side of the already-quite-dark-thankyou-very-much world of the Pet Shop Boys, it can't be bettered. But there are some who might not want to look so close.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I liked your opinon, particularly the way it served as a warning label at its conclusion. Pet Shop Boys have always said that the B-side is their carte blanche track for them to used to experiment and have a giggle and generally, they reflect that. Personally, I can't wait for an Alternative2, some of those B-Sides from Bilingual, Nightlife and Release (including material from Closer to Heaven and Disco 3) were top notch.
EnglishPatient 29.01.2001 01:32
Another great PSB op..you know your stuff. I actually (oops) feel this is *more* PSB than Discography in some ways, highlighting a broader specturm of their ideas and styles. Their B-sides are always intruiging, and this has most of them.
Disc 1 In The Night A Man Could Get Arrested That's My Impression Was That What It Was? ... more
Paninaro Jack The Lad You Know Where You Went Wrong A New Life I Want A Dog Do I Have To? I Get Excited Don Juan The Sound Of The Atom Splitting One Of The Crowd Yo...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
very helpful by (100%):
![River Is Wide, The [Remastered] - Forum (The)](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/251/prod_small-6006251.jpg)
