Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is no alternative..., 21 Sep 2003
At one point shortly after the release of Discography, my friend Monty and I were discussing the problem that we had, living in midwestern America, of being able to find the latest offerings of the Pet Shop Boys. While I had never experienced a problem of getting the latest albums, CDs, and videos in London, New York, or on the West Coast, living in middle America put me at a distinct disadvantage. While the albums were always available, the singles most often were not available. This was important because so many good items came only on the singles -- often the b-side and extra tracks contained on the singles were better than additional album tracks. And, of course, these songs were not available on albums. For any avid collector, this was a problem (these were the days before on-line shopping, when Amazon.com and other on-line vendors where not even in the planning stages). I speculated that it would be wonderful if the Pet Shop Boys would put together an album that contained all of these wonderful extra tracks. I was certain it would be popular, at least among the die-hard fans.Not long after this conversation, it was rumoured that just such an album was in the planning stages. Shortly after the release of Very and the singles from that album, Alternative was released. This was the one that I had been waiting for. Alternative is a two-CD set, produced originally as a special edition with a holographic front, and later press runs having a more conventional covering. All press runs, however, have contained the special book which includes an extensive interview with the Pet Shop Boys in which they talk about each of the 30 songs on these CDs in turn, discussing meaning as well as production issues around these tracks. 'This is the record that we fans have been waiting for: the collection that finally pulls together all those great songs tucked away on b-sides, double-packs, obscure formats. Whereas an a-side will require strict commercial and production standards, and the courage to act them out in front of millions, here you'll find the real Pet Shop Boys: dropping their guard, finding themselves free to experiment, to explore their obsessions and their own lives.' Given the long-term nature of this collection, these songs represent an historical record of the Pet Shop Boys; as a companion piece to Discography, the official 'greatest hits' collection of the Pet Shop Boys, Alternative serves to show another side, side-by-side, with the more popular front of the Pet Shop Boys. These are the songs that were released with the hits. These songs also show the development of musical tone and complexity, technical as well as lyrical, over the course of the first decade of the Pet Shop Boys' career. 'You could say that these 30 songs embody the changing nature of music software, as the seven-inch and 12-inch vinyl formats move to CD, then to remixes, then to double-packs, and son on. A variety of formats demands a variety of aesthetic responses, if you're not just going to hand everything over to a remixer.' In these songs, one will find a lot of the personal experiences of the Pet Shop Boys. In songs like A man could get arrested, Hey, Headmaster, and Your funny uncle, glimpses of experiences from the lives of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and some of their friends, are highlighted. Particularly, Your funny uncle shows a scene from life, from when Tennant had to organise the funeral for a friend, and met the relatives of his friend, who came from another social world. Sometimes humourous, sometimes poignant, the lyrics in these are reminiscent of Betjeman and Coward. Speaking of Coward, there are several songs in this collection which are remakes from other composers -- If love were all, by Noel Coward and Losing my mind by Sondheim are examples, the latter of which was done for Liza Minnelli, but here remade by the Pet Shop Boys themselves. Many of these are strong songs -- A new life and I get excited could be standard disco releases on their own. Others have a certain quirkiness about them. In the night highlights the possible experience of a Zazou, a French opter-out during the German occupation in World War II; Don Juan is an allegorical song with a great deal of history woven into the lyrics (try to decipher them without the liner notes!). Experimental music in songs such as The sound of the atom splitting reminds one of the experimental cinematic direction of Derek Jarman, a friend of the Pet Shop Boys. Philosophy and politics are highlighted in songs such as Miserablism and What keeps mankind alive. Through all of the songs, the electronic, sample-filled instrumentation, the rhythms and (for most) the dance aspect of the tunes comes through as classic Europop and Pet Shop Boys all the way. This is an unconventional album, and perhaps cannot be called an album in the true sense, for how many albums have had every track released as a single, yet none of them as the primary single for any release? This is a must-have for any fan of the Pet Shop Boys.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is no alternative..., 28 Sep 2003
At one point shortly after the release of Discography, my friend Monty and I were discussing the problem that we had, living in midwestern America, of being able to find the latest offerings of the Pet Shop Boys. While I had never experienced a problem of getting the latest albums, CDs, and videos in London, New York, or on the West Coast, living in middle America put me at a distinct disadvantage. While the albums were always available, the singles most often were not available. This was important because so many good items came only on the singles -- often the b-side and extra tracks contained on the singles were better than additional album tracks. And, of course, these songs were not available on albums. For any avid collector, this was a problem (these were the days before on-line shopping, when Amazon.com and other on-line vendors where not even in the planning stages). I speculated that it would be wonderful if the Pet Shop Boys would put together an album that contained all of these wonderful extra tracks. I was certain it would be popular, at least among the die-hard fans.Not long after this conversation, it was rumoured that just such an album was in the planning stages. Shortly after the release of Very and the singles from that album, Alternative was released. This was the one that I had been waiting for. Alternative is a two-CD set, produced originally as a special edition with a holographic front, and later press runs having a more conventional covering. All press runs, however, have contained the special book which includes an extensive interview with the Pet Shop Boys in which they talk about each of the 30 songs on these CDs in turn, discussing meaning as well as production issues around these tracks. 'This is the record that we fans have been waiting for: the collection that finally pulls together all those great songs tucked away on b-sides, double-packs, obscure formats. Whereas an a-side will require strict commercial and production standards, and the courage to act them out in front of millions, here you'll find the real Pet Shop Boys: dropping their guard, finding themselves free to experiment, to explore their obsessions and their own lives.' Given the long-term nature of this collection, these songs represent an historical record of the Pet Shop Boys; as a companion piece to Discography, the official 'greatest hits' collection of the Pet Shop Boys, Alternative serves to show another side, side-by-side, with the more popular front of the Pet Shop Boys. These are the songs that were released with the hits. These songs also show the development of musical tone and complexity, technical as well as lyrical, over the course of the first decade of the Pet Shop Boys' career. 'You could say that these 30 songs embody the changing nature of music software, as the seven-inch and 12-inch vinyl formats move to CD, then to remixes, then to double-packs, and son on. A variety of formats demands a variety of aesthetic responses, if you're not just going to hand everything over to a remixer.' In these songs, one will find a lot of the personal experiences of the Pet Shop Boys. In songs like A man could get arrested, Hey, Headmaster, and Your funny uncle, glimpses of experiences from the lives of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, and some of their friends, are highlighted. Particularly, Your funny uncle shows a scene from life, from when Tennant had to organise the funeral for a friend, and met the relatives of his friend, who came from another social world. Sometimes humourous, sometimes poignant, the lyrics in these are reminiscent of Betjeman and Coward. Speaking of Coward, there are several songs in this collection which are remakes from other composers -- If love were all, by Noel Coward and Losing my mind by Sondheim are examples, the latter of which was done for Liza Minnelli, but here remade by the Pet Shop Boys themselves. Many of these are strong songs -- A new life and I get excited could be standard disco releases on their own. Others have a certain quirkiness about them. In the night highlights the possible experience of a Zazou, a French opter-out during the German occupation in World War II; Don Juan is an allegorical song with a great deal of history woven into the lyrics (try to decipher them without the liner notes!). Experimental music in songs such as The sound of the atom splitting reminds one of the experimental cinematic direction of Derek Jarman, a friend of the Pet Shop Boys. Philosophy and politics are highlighted in songs such as Miserablism and What keeps mankind alive. Through all of the songs, the electronic, sample-filled instrumentation, the rhythms and (for most) the dance aspect of the tunes comes through as classic Europop and Pet Shop Boys all the way. This is an unconventional album, and perhaps cannot be called an album in the true sense, for how many albums have had every track released as a single, yet none of them as the primary single for any release? This is a must-have for any fan of the Pet Shop Boys.
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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pet Shop Boys: Less charty, more arty, 6 Dec 2006
The Pet Shop Boys always paid close attention to their album titles, and "Alternative" is an apt descriptor of this album. It's a collection of their B-sides and "other" tunes (once Cd singles became more like EPs), and as such is a less "pop" experience to listen to than "Discography" (note the word "disco" in there). If "Discography" is the PSB's scrubbing well and showing their best face to the world, then "Alternative" is them as they are, for good or for bad!
Thus the lyrics, atmosphere and themes are far more personal. Some are straightforwardly autobiographical, as in "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend", which has a nice send-up of the young Neil Tennant as "shy and dry and verging on ugly", and "A Man Could Get Arrested", about a scene of violence they witnessed. There's a fascination with subcultures (appropriate for a former "Smash Hits" editor), signalled with "Paninaro" (an Italian equivalent of Mods), and the (gay) clubbing tracks "Music For Boys" and "Euroboy". Relationships, especially the gay variety, also feature. These often have very dark sinister atmosphere, suited to soundtracking the downside to a hedonistic lifestyle - "Some Speculation" is a masterpiece of paranoia, whereas "Do I Have To?" is yearning and idealistic. Then there's PSB obsessions and interests - pets ("I Want A Dog"), Parisian opt-outs during WWII ("In The Night"), Noel Coward-a-likes ("Decadence", "Your Funny Uncle"), and ironic, Oscar Wilde-esque frivolity ("Losing My Mind", "Shamesless").
Musically there's quite a range, within the confines of electronic music - only rarely do they use a piano, or a guitar. Lowe is fantastic on old-school synthesisers (think of their appearance of TOTP with the good old Roland 303!), never getting into sheer mindless dum-dum-dum. There's Italian house ("That's My Impression"), mad sinister electronica ("Euroboy"), torch songs ("If Love Were All") and acid-house ("The Sound Of The Atom Splitting").
But this variety suggests the overall weakness of the zlbum, which is inevitbaly that the quality is variable. As other reviewers have pointed out, some tracks are strong enough to be excellent singles, especially "Do I Have To?" and "A Man Could Get Arrested". But some are decidedly ropy, especially on disk 2 - "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" is dreadful, and I never really like their outre gay moments as in "Shameless".
All the same, this is excellent, testament to the songwriting skill and craft of the Pet Shop Boys. Better than many of their albums.
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