Ask people what their favourite Pet Shop Boys album is, and their answers will vary--but ask people what the most important Pet Shop Boys album is, and 9 out of 10 West End girls will say Very. The snide ambiguities that churned behind prior PSB posturings were ripped away on this release, with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe finally pulling more than punches. Self-awareness is one of the major themes on Very, with "Yesterday When I Was Mad", showing the band could send up themselves as well as their friends and lovers; meanwhile, "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Type of Thing" both carries one of the Boys' best melody lines and serves as one of their most literal confessions. There's also a more threatening, foreboding tone to the record as set by the opening "Can You Forgive Her" and the closing Village People cover, "Go West". Originally an anthem leading gay men to San Francisco's promised land, the Pet Shop Boys' version is delivered from the beleaguered trenches in the war against AIDS. The results are as ominous as they are brilliant. --Steve Gdula

CD Description

BEHAVIOUR was the Pet Shop Boys' first truly mature album, but its follow-up, 1993's VERY, proved to be their masterpiece. On the surface, VERY is the duo's most carefree album, amodern dance-floor update of the kitchen-sink production and swelling melodies of a classic ABBA album. Just barely underneath, Neil Tennant's lyrics keep their layers of mordant wit, but drop the self-protective irony in favour of writingtruthfully about the lives of gay men in the early '90s, regrouping in the face of AIDS.
To that end, the album starts with "Can You Forgive Her?", a drop-dead-gorgeous song directed to a closeted young man whose "girlfriend" wants to call off her part in the charade, and it wraps up with a completely heartfelt and unironic version of the Village People's "Go West" that views the unfettered hedonism of the original with a palpable sense of regret. In between, "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" and "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" are among the duo's finest singles.

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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing....., 24 Mar 2005

By	"hex17" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very (Audio CD)

But it's worth it for this album.
This was the PSB's definitive album. At once futuristic dance, evocative melancholy and wonderful composition, this work has everything for the discerning PSB fan.
The moment that Neil bursts forth with the line "remember when we were so easily led, behind the cricket pavilion and the bicycle shed" during the stomping opener "Can You Forgive Her?" you know that you are in for something truly special. There isn't really a weak track, but the real outstanding moments come with the dramatic and thought provoking "The Theatre" and the smash hit dance extravaganza "Go West".
If you love elctropop, high camp and impossible drama then this is one for the collection. On the other hand, if you have any Dire Straits albums in your collection then you should probably give it a miss.
Enjoy

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best just got very much better, 10 May 2001

By	phill822974@aol.com (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very (Audio CD)

Very is by far the greatest pop moment of the Pet Shop Boys career and now it is coupled with a second CD of fantastic rare and previously unavailable tracks making this CD highly collectable for the fanatic or casual listener alike. Highlights of the bonus disc include a previously unreleased 12" mix of the number 2 hit Go West and a demo of "Falling" which the duo wrote for Kylie Minogue. Go on treat yourself its worth every penny for CD1 but CD2 should throw you right over the edge.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best just got better!, 5 Jun 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Very (Audio CD)

This is one of the best PSB albums but it wasn't until I got all 6 of their rereleased albums that I realised how excellent they all are! This new packaging and new CD with plenty of unreleased or unreleased on CD tracks takes the biscuit. For all those people out there who reckon the PSB have been off the scene for many a year, you'd do well to revisit all their old material, and bring yourself bang up to date. They are one of the most successful bands in the UK even now. They may not make a song and dance about it, but then, they never did!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars One of their best albums.
When I first heard it, I didn't like it that much because I was regreting the "old" pet shop boys sound but today I realise that this new sound was exactly what they needed to do... Read more

Published 21 months ago by dneaeade

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest pop albums of all time...
An absolute pop masterpiece, the Boys combine energetic production alongside carefully crafted lyrics. Read more

Published on 9 Aug 2007 by Callum

3.0 out of 5 stars Very good in parts
I was at the time, and still am disappointed with this album, coming as it did after the brilliant behaviour. Read more

Published on 3 April 2007 by M. Clarke

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very much
I'm writing a review of this album because I'm so tired of reading that this is the greatest PSB album, or that 'Fundamental is their best work since Very' etc. Read more

Published on 3 May 2006 by Stig

5.0 out of 5 stars One of THE great pop albums....
Pet Shop Boys have released many great albums. Very is their greatest. From the great opening shot of Can You Forgive Her? Read more

Published on 11 Aug 2005 by John David Charles Hilton

5.0 out of 5 stars So very very...
This album, Very and its much more rare companion, Very Relentless, can be summed up in the Pet Shop Boys' own words (one of the lyrics taken from the song Yesterday When I was... Read more

Published on 12 Oct 2003 by Kurt Messick

4.0 out of 5 stars What happened to the angst?
Disarming for those who know PSB as a soul-searching, mournful duo, this astoundingly cheerful album eschews irony for a literal - dare we say it? - happy approach. Read more

Published on 12 April 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop shop boys
The poppiest upbeatest veryiest album imaginable a must for the PSB fan a must for the steps fan, find out what pop is all about and try not to laugh at yesterday when i was mad

Published on 7 Jan 2000 by popjunky

4.0 out of 5 stars Dance music with a brain (and a heart)
This is a fine album, from one of the most literate pop bands recording today. Neil Tenant is probably the best living English lyricist, Jarvis Cocker being the only competition... Read more

Published on 7 Dec 1999 by A. I. Mackenzie

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