Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect Pop. , 5 April 2009
Some reviews have suggested that while this is indeed PSB back on form, musically Yes doesn't break new ground. I disagree. After 10 studio albums and much more besides, there is an awesome back catalogue of material with which to compare these 11 new tracks, and some here are truly unlike anything we've heard before - which could only be described as innovation.
The Xenomania influence in Love etc, More than a Dream and The Way it Used to Be has resulted in lush new soundscapes, song structures and sentiments that you would just not hear from a purely Tennant/Lowe written/produced track - indisputably new musical territory that's a joy to get your head around.
Xenomania songwriting influence aside, take the epic All Over the World - yes, while they've mined chord changes from the classics before (Red Letter Day, Delusions of Grandeur), and sampled them too (I'm not Scared) - this still sounds completely fresh. Or Legacy, which musically suggests a Battleship Potemkin influence - again, not something we've heard on a studio album until now.
And for the rest - they've taken the essence of previous albums and distilled them here in irresistible shiny pop perfection - King of Rome (the wistful elegance of Behaviour), Did you see me coming and Pandemonium (the upbeat love-fest of Very), Beautiful People (the guitar influence of Release), Building a Wall (Fundamental's political agenda) and Vulnerable (Nightlife's brooding reflection).
What you get from Yes is the best of the Pet Shop Boys - everything that's good about their last 25 years of music, and something subtly new that you probably wouldn't have expected 25 years on. It's classic, it's innovative, it's perfect.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A tick in the box for Neil and Chris., 18 April 2009
I have been a die hard fan of the Pet Shop Boys for 23 years and know all their stuff pretty well. When Actually came out in the 1980s the boys were at their height of their popularity and then when they became more experimental their popularity waned. I think this is because they decided to produce music in a far more mature and intellectual style, something which I think is very unusual in pop. The advent of Yes takes Neil and Chris to new and different level of expression. The style is upbeat and catchy yet still retains its intellectual stamp - it's just more disguised on this album than on ones like Behaviour, for example. I think the special edition is far more preferable to the basic white album because the remixes on the second disk are excellent.
The Way it Used to Be, All Over the World, and Love Etc. are the best and most catchy tunes on the album. The remixes of these are very good, especially The Way it Used to Be, which is one of the best tracks the PSB have produced in a long time in my view. This song has a really intense thoughtfulness about it that really appeals but it is placed within an electro-pop genre, a unique mix that I think only the PSB can do.
One thing I wish Neil and Chris would do is to let go a bit more, they are sometimes restrained in their remixes - and I think they could go a lot further with the dance/electro element and when they have done so, it can sometimes be too hard and not soft enough. They are certainly capable of this and I'd really like to see them do that. I'm disappointed that they didn't record The Loving Kind (which they did for Girls Aloud). They often record songs they did for other people - perhaps it will come later on. I think they gave away a too-good one there.
Overall, very good album, three songs are absolutely top class. If you are a fan you are unlikely to be disappointed. If you are new to the PSB, this is an excellent album to start you off on! You will get alot more out of the PSB if you read about their work, they are very, very clever if you look below the surface.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Any good? Affirmative., 31 Mar 2009
Well I have to say I stand firmly in the positive camp on this one. Like the majority of reviewers here I am a Pet Head of long standing and therefore will buy anything they release automatically. As a British institution the lads are now free to record what they want how they want, without worrying about having to develop or be radical. Ultimately, that sums this album up beautifully; the balance of tracks lies in favour of Hi Energy pop nuggets, as opposed to Fundamental's mellower feel. This is no bad thing as that is what Neil and Chris do best; I enjoyed this album more than any since 'Behaviour'; whilst it is lyrically weaker than either 'Nightlife' or 'Fundamental' it is more fun and less spiky than either of those two. Wisely opening the album with the bouncy and energetic Love Etc. they keep up the tempo with the sweeping Beautiful People - reminiscent of Divine Comedy I thought - then the barnstorming 'Did You See me Coming' and the sublime pop of 'Vulnerable' which had the feel of early 90s effort 'Behaviour' to it. 'More than a Dream' is a perfectly pleasant 'PSB by numbers' effort whilst Neil deadpans comparisons between Jesus and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on 'Building a Wall'. 'Pandemonium' is as near to the previous album's material as this CD gets and 'King of Rome' is a lilting synth-driven track that also reminded me of 'Behaviour'.
The second disc in this Limited Edition set contains energetic dub mixes of several tracks from the album, plus a new collaboration with Human League's Phil Oakey, that whilst fairly ordinary in itself is dead exciting for those of us who watched PSB steal the League's crown in the mid 1980s as kings of electronic pop.
Basically the band have delivered a solid if unspectacular package that will please faithful fans; job done.
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