PET SHOP BOYS

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.

The debut full-length studio album by legendary British Synth-Pop band.
Immaculately crafted and seamlessly produced synthesized Dance-Pop, "Please" sketches out the basic elements of the duo's sound. At first listen, most of the songs come off as mere excuses for the dance-floor, driven by cold, melodic keyboard riffs and pulsing drum machines. However, the songcraft that the beats support is surprisingly strong, featuring catchy melodies that appear slight because of Neil Tennant's thin voice.
Tennant's lyrics were still in their formative stages, with half of the record failing to transcend the formulaic constraints of Dance-Pop.
The songs that do break free, the intentionally crass "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)", the lulling "Suburbia", and the hypnotic "West End Girls", are not only classic Dance Singles, they're classic Pop Singles.
EMI Records Ltd./Parlophone/The Gramophone Company Of India Ltd., 1986 (PCS 7303). Made in India. First press. Used (cover/disc): G/VG+.


Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Two Divided By Zero  3:33
2. West End Girls  4:47
3. Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money)  3:44
4. Love Comes Quickly  4:18
5. Suburbia  5:07

Side 2
6. Tonight Is Forever  5:04
7. Violence  4:28
8. I Want A Lover  4:05
9. Later Tonight  2:46
10. Why Don't We Live Together?  4:44

Total playing time: 42:36 min.