PET SHOP BOYS “Nightlife / Further Listening 1996-2000” /Ltd. Slipcase 3CD Box Set/

Remastered re-release of the seventh full-length album + demos, remixes, bonus tracks and previously unreleased material by legendary British Electro/Synth-Pop band.
"Nightlife" is the darkly orchestrated collaboration with producers Rollo, Craig Armstrong and David Morales, originally released in 1999. This Box Set features a brand new 2017 remaster of the original album. The album re-released with two "Further Listening" CDs, including exclusive, rare, unreleased tracks such as "Playing in the Streets", "Tall Thin Men" and "For All of Us", as well as demo versions of "Vampires", "Call Me Old-Fashioned" and "Radiophonic".
"Nightlife" is a loose concept album about nightlife, a collection of moods and themes, from love to loneliness. In that sense, it's not that different from most Pet Shop Boys albums, and, musically, the album is very much of a piece with Very and Bilingual, which is to say that it relies more on craft than on innovation. Depending on your point of view, this may not be such a bad thing, since Pet Shop Boys specialize in subtle craft and masterful understatement. Such skills serve them well when they're essentially following familiar musical territory, which they are on "Nightlife". At its core, the record is very much like Very - a clever, skillful updating of classic Disco, highlighted by small contemporary dance flourishes, and infused with a true sense of wit, sophistication, and intelligence. Pet Shop Boys do this music better than anyone else ever has, and they're at the top of their form here, but it's hard to shake the initial impression that they've done this before. Each individual song works beautifully, from the wistfully dejected "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More" to the exhilarating Village People homage "New York City Boy," but as a whole, "Nightlife" seems less than the sum of its parts.
Unsurprisingly, the 100 minutes of "Further Listening 1996-2000" are equally varied, surprising, and sometimes just as good. Look beyond the demo versions of "Nightlife" tracks for quirky curiosities like the jazzy "Tall Thin Men" and seismically industrial "Playing in the Streets", and such forgotten gems as the shapeshifting instrumental "Casting a Shadow" and impossibly daring "Screaming" that sounds like nothing else from 1999!
If you overlooked Pet Shop Boys' mid-career albums, this, along with "Release" and "Fundamental" are worth a revisit – great value CD packages with loads of interesting and obscure stuff, including three rather strange ringtones that they produced!!
Box Set includes 42-page booklet with exclusive interviews, sleeve notes, and pictures.
Pet Shop Boys Partnership Ltd./Parlophone Records Ltd., 1999/2017 (0190295921132). Made in Germany. First press.

Tracklist:

CD 1: Nightlife 
1. For Your Own Good 5:15 
2. Closer To Heaven 4:08 
3. I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More 5:11 
4. Happiness Is An Option 3:50 
5. You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk 3:13 
6. Vampires 4:45 
7. Radiophonic 3:33 
8. The Only One 4:23 
9. Boy Strange 5:11 
10. In Denial (Duet With Kylie Minoguue) 3:22 
11. New York City Boy 5:17 
12. Footsteps 4:16

CD 2: Further Listening 1996-2000 Vol. 1
1. Vampires (Demo) 4:03 
2. For All Of Us (Demo) 4:21 
3. Call Me Old-Fashioned (Demo) 3:59 
4. Friendly Fire 3:23 
5. Believe/Song For Guy (Feat. Elton John) 2:59 
6. Sail Away 4:34 
7. It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas (Fan Club Mix0 3:56 
8. Nightlife 3:54 
9. Playing In The Streets 3:23 
10. Tail Thin Men 2:14 
11. Radiophonic (Demo) 5:15

CD 3: Further Listening 1996-2000 Vol. 2
1. Somebody Else's Business 3:31 
2. Silver Age 3:32 
3. Screaming 4:55 
4. For All Of Us 4:23 
5. The Ghost Of Myself 4:03 
6. Casting A Shadow 4:37 
7. I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Anymore (The Psb Extension) 8:40 
8. Was It Worth It? 3:06 
9. Lies 4:41 
10. Paris City Boy (Full French) 5:18 
11. Positive Role Model 4:03 
12. Somebody Else's Business (Extended Mix) 5:34

Total playing time: 150:48 min.