Discography (The Complete Singles Collection) - Pet Shop Boys

Advantages: PSB, of course
Disadvantages: Should be a two-disc set

If you were only going to have one PSB album (and who would have only one??) this would be the one. When it was released, it was the "complete singles" edition, although even then it wasn't -- the limitations of CDs meant they had to make a few choices about what to include and what to leave out, if they were going to keep it to one disc. They should have opted for the extended version, but they didn't. However, all the big hits, those songs for ...
...Of course their first international smash hit was "West End Girls" and that song remains the big standard for them. It wasn't really their first song or first attempt at a single, but it is the first major song. The songs on this album come from the albums "Please" (which includes "West in Girls" and "Opportunities"), "Actually" (including "It's a Sin" and their partnership with Dusty Springfield for "What Have I Done to Deserve This") and "Behavior" ... Read review

Advantages: large variety of songs
Disadvantages: may be too 'ironic' for some

...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 disco beat’? No-one that’s ever likely to be featured in ‘Smash Hits’ again, that’s for sure… ... Read review

Advantages: Every Pet Shop Boys' A-Side, 1983-91...
Disadvantages: ...except for two.

'Discography' is best described as the rough guide to the first eight years of the Pet Shop Boys, at it simply compiles 18 of their singles in chronological order. Surprisingly, the album fails even in the basic task of bringing the appropriate tracks together - as two obvious choices are missed. The Pet Shop Boys' first single, 'Opportunities (Original 7" Version)' is not to be found, only the remixed, re-released 1986 version. The second version ...
...original is disappointing. Worse is the omission of 'How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?', one half of a double a-side pairing with 'Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)'. This is an excellent song, satyrically lampooning the pretentions of modern pop stars (think of the video to Blink 182's 'All The Small Things'). The album sorely misses this brilliant song. It would be a little picky of me to make a case for the ... Read review

Advantages: See Text
Disadvantages: See Text

Think of early 80’s and you will have landed right in the middle of my favourite musical era, from the days of Duran Duran and Soft Cell, Erasure and the hugely successful Pet Shop Boys, did you see the Top Ten on Channel 4 last night (07/04/2001)? It was great wasn’t it? Any way those giants are just whom this review is about, well not them directly but their brilliant greatest hits album Discography. This album reminds me so much of being a teenager ...
.../ euro pop as we know and love it today. The Pet Shop Boys are Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe and they burst into the UK charts with their first hit single West End Girls, which was a massive, number 1 hit on both side of the Atlantic, here is my album run down. West End Girls – This was surely the single that was to put the Pet shop Boys firmly on the UK pop scene, it lingered in the charts for over 15 weeks here and in the USA it was a number 1 ... Read review

Advantages: They made some great records
Disadvantages: None

During the eighties one of my favourite bands was The Pet Shop Boys, I loved all the synthesisers, and the way they looked so cool when they were singing. The Pet Shop Boys began in 1981 they consisted of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. In 1984 they issued "West End Girls", which passed by unnoticed, by the public. They were then dropped by their record company Epic Records, they were then taken on by EMI/Parlaphone. They brought out a record called ...
...flop. They re-recorded "West End Girls" which topped the charts both here and in America, by 1987 they had their second hit single with "Its A Sin". There next number one was a cover version of Elvis Presleys "Always On My Mind". They featured in a film along side Barbara Winsor the Carry On Actress, but sadly it got the cold shower by the press and media, but they only saw this as a small hiccup in the fortunes, they soon had their fourth number ... Read review