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In 1984, Bobby O produced "West End Girls," which did not do as well as its rerecording in 1985. I also hope you buy it someday. They shared some food at a restaraunt called Apple Jack, where Bobby O wanted to make a record with Neil and Chris, after Neil showed him a demo tape. And now it can be in your home.
After a few more successful singles, "Please," their debut LP, was released on Parlophone Records. Just buy it from Amazon and have it shipped to your house. They began by calling themselves West End after their love of London's West End. Trust me, you won't regret it. Neil and Chris fell in love with a bunch of Hi-NRG records made by Bobby O. They figured out they both loved dance music and worked on some new material together.
The new and final name--Pet Shop Boys--came from two friends of their's who worked at a pet shop. Neil was determined to have lunch with Bobby O, and so he did. After three more overly successful LPs, their singles collection, "Discography," was released. Below I have rated the 18 songs:WEST END GIRLS: 5/5 STARSLOVE COMES QUICKLY: 4.5/5 STARSOPPURTUNITIES (LET'S MAKE LOTS OF MONEY): 4.5/5 STARSSUBURBIA: 5/5 STARSIT'S A SIN: 5/5 STARSWHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS.: 5/5 STARSRENT: 4/5 STARSALWAYS ON MY MIND: 5/5 STARSHEART: 5/5 STARSDOMINO DANCING: 5/5 STARSLEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES: 4.5/5 STARSIT'S ALRIGHT: 5/5 STARSSO HARD: 5/5 STARSBEING BORING: 4.5/5 STARSWHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME (I CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU): 5/5 STARSJEALOUSY: 5/5 STARSDJ CULTURE: 4.5/5 STARSWAS IT WORTH IT.: 4.5/5 STARSThere you have it: my ratings for all 18 classic PSB tunes featured on "Discography." I hope this review helps. The Pet Shop Boys started their electrifying career in 1981 when singer Neil Tennant met keyboardist Chris Lowe at an electronics shop on Kings Road in Chelsea, London. In August 1983, Neil was assigned by SMASH HITS to interview The Police in New York.
It featured 16 classic PSB singles along with two new ones: "DJ Culture" and "Was It Worth It." "Discography" earned a 5-star rating from Allmusic and and 'A' from American music reviewer Robert Christgau.
I can actually listen to every track and not worry about listening to a song I don't like. But still, if you like The Pet Shop Boys you definitly want to pick this jewel up before they are gone. I Love this cd so much I bought two of them so if one disc got damaged, I would have another to back it up. This was also before I dicovered burning them into my library on my computer. ONE OF THEIR VERY BEST CD'S.
It's classic '80s from beginning to end, danceable at every track. If you are a fan of synthpop, then this is the disc for you. Great for parties and works as a pick-me-up too.
Great music CD, all the hits that I wanted to hear are on the CD, prompt delivery.
Perhaps it was their very dry British sensibilities, maybe it was homo-phobia, but listening to this set from start to finish really does make you wonder why these great singles failed to find a home on American Radio.Granted, the early singles are the epitome of what made new-wave radio in the 80's a blast to listen to, and "What Have I Done To Deserve This" is both a classic song AND resurrected the late Dusty Springfield's career, but you can hear Pet Shop Boys growing in sophistication from the snide ennui of "Opportunities" (from the debut, Please) to Behavior's look back of "Being Boring." They were bold enough to try all sorts of styles (from Trevor Horn's bombast on the great "Left to My Own Devices" to the heartbreak of "Being Boring") and were certainly not without their sense of humor. The songs here all stand the tests of time. Functioning exactly as its title promises, "Discography" covers the singles released by The Pet Shop Boys in the span from 1985's "West End Girls" to 1991's "Was It Worth It." While in England, they ran up a string of hits worthy of superstar status, in the US, their run of chart luck ended with 1988's "Domino Dancing" (from Introspective). Despite constantly being labeled as dry or droll, making a medley out of Frankie Valli and U2 ("Where the Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes off of You") makes not only for a smashing dance record, but for a darn good musical in-joke.Although "Discography" has since been updated to Pop Art: The Hits and includes songs from the PSB masterpiece Very on, this single disc retrospective is as essential to understanding 80's pop as would be The Best of New Order or Duran Duran's Greatest.
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