The Pet Shop Boys eighth studio album Release, though by no means the rock album they threatened, has certainly got enough guitar (courtesy of Johnny Marr) to raise a few snooty eyebrows among synth purists. But that's no bad thing; the duo has never really been an electronic band as such, and the guitars and percussion combine with the keyboards to create a sound that's as sumptuous as it may be unexpected. Neil's voice is far less nasal than it's often been, and the occasional application of that now ubiquitous vocal-wobbling effect (thanks, Cher) actually works very well; the trademark introspective lyrics, while occasionally straying into tweeness, are as poignant as ever. Though--with the exception of the Beatles-esque "I Get Along"--there are no big sing-along anthems here, and nothing that jumps out and screams "single", almost all of the 10 tracks are the kind of song that many better-selling artists would kill their grannies for. Release is a real return to the form that went slightly iffy somewhere between Behaviour and Nightlife; it deserves to catapult Pet Shop Boys back to the top of the album charts for a very long time, though it probably won't. --Rikki Price

CD Description

'Release' is the London electro-pop duo's follow up projectto 2001's 'Closer To Heaven' West End show. The album has been described by critics as a return to the simple song structures with which they found success in the 1980's. The single, 'Home And Dry', is included.

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Customer Reviews

42 Reviews

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4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (42 customer reviews)

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34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their Greatest Release, 7 Feb 2002

By	Bruce Robertson (Scotland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These are strange times for Pet Shop Boys. Since the success of their No.1 album "Very", PSBs have seen sales figures decline and top-10 hits hard to come by. This decline in no way reflects the quality of music they have produced over this last decade, and with "Release", their first album of the new millenium and eighth to date, they prove that they are still a mighty force to be reckoned with. Release shows the PSBs taking their music in a direction far removed from the high energy of Nightlife and has more common with 1990's Behaviour, with 9 of the 10 tracks building around guitar played by ex-Smith and long-time PSB collaborater Johnny Marr. The album opens with lead-off single Home and Dry, and within the opening seconds the new direction is set. This is an album concerned with separation and loss, and this opener - reminisant of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" - concerns someone separated from their lover and longing for them to return "home and dry". "I Get Along", the arguable highlight of the set, deals with the feelings of someone whose broken up with their lover, "London" describes the adventure of two Russian's in a foreign land, while "E-mail" closes the first half of the album as a beautiful ballad returning to the themes of "Home and Dry". The second half begins with a more familiar PSBs sound with "The Samurai In Autumn", dealing with the theme of with being past the prime of life. The set moves through the bitter rock-ballad of "Love Is A Catastrophe" to the gorgeous "Here", and then to "The Night I Fell In Love". This song is classic PSBs, a story told in five minutes which is both funny and thought-provoking. The album closes with "You Choose", a song which concludes the album saying that you must accept responsibility the hurt you feel through loss: if you don't want to get hurt, then don't fall in love.
Release is an album of 10 songs, each beautifully crafted, both lyrically and musically, each a Pet Shop Boys classic. This is truely their greatest album to date. It bubbles with emotion and never disappoints. Halfway through the album Neil Tennant muses, "It's not as easy as it was, or as difficult as it could be" which may be seen as a sound judgement of the Pet Shop Boys ability to achieve chart success, but in terms of musical achievement and artist creativity, these words couldn't be further from the truth. This is truely the Pet Shop Boys greatest release.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars They're getting more romantic in their "old age", 13 April 2002

By	bosmac5@aol.com (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

I recently ordered this album from Amazon UK, because I didn't want to wait for the US release. I have been a PSB fan for nearly 20 years and I love it! The album as a whole is a nice mixture of the old and new, acoustic and electronic. Not many pre-packaged dance hits here, although there are some potential chart climbers. The album includes Home and dry and Here, both poppy, sentimental odes to the love and safety of "home". Other tracks explore love, security, and hope. All of the tracks sound more mature both lyrically and musically. Could it be the Pet Shop Boys are growing up? Considering their reputation as dance floor, techno-pop icons, this album is truly a "Release".

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PSB RELEASE, 24 Feb 2002

By	knowthelogo@aol.com (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Release (Audio CD)

The Pet Shop Boys are back, with a different sounding album. This album requires more listening and is not as instant as other albums, but there are some immediate sounding hits.
First single 'Home and Dry' and one of their catchiest songs since 'Its a Sin' - 'I Get Along'.
'London', 'Here ' and 'E-mail' are classic Pet Shop Boys, mixed in with some rockier, slower, tracks as well as the sythscape that is 'Samurai in Autumn'.
Simple, thoughtful and a definate grower. The Pets always give value for money and food for thought - dont miss 'Release' !

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars 80s Zeitgeist for modern times
It's been a long time since I've really enjoyed a Pet Shop boys album. I grew up listening to them in the 80s after a friend lent me his 'Disco' album on cassette. Read more

Published on 27 May 2007 by Will

4.0 out of 5 stars a real grower
i bought this album when it first came out, gave it a listen and then put it away for a couple of years. Read more

Published on 23 April 2006 by Hambletta-Maud

4.0 out of 5 stars It shouldn't work, but...
I don't like guitars.

Well, actually I don't like guitars in chart music. In classical music, in jazz music, they work, but they usually don't in chart music. Read more

Published on 18 Nov 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars It's not as easy as it was for PSB
I have to agree with the remarks of a former reviewer. The sexually repressed days of PSB certainly produced better music but I think the decline in ability is also a matter of... Read more

Published on 23 Feb 2003 by J. I. De Beresford

1.0 out of 5 stars Highly disappointing. Give this one a miss.
Having followed the music of the PSB since the very beginning there have been moments of joy interspersed with episodes of supreme boredom. Read more

Published on 21 May 2002 by sarah.thompson@btopenworld.com

2.0 out of 5 stars Oh dear...
This album is the final proof that the Pets have permanently abandoned their electro/pop roots. I bought this and have only played it twice as it is simply not "them". Read more

Published on 30 April 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, warm, mature pop music.
After the iffy Bilingual, Nightlife-their last album-was a real return to form, and I think Release is probably even better. Read more

Published on 27 April 2002 by croppedSteve

4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than Home and Dry suggested
The Pet Shop Boys' commercial fortunes may have declined gradually since Go West, but with Nightlife, Closer to Heaven and now Release, their creativity shows no sign of doing the... Read more

Published on 23 April 2002 by Young Offender

4.0 out of 5 stars possibly not their best album, but with some great tracks
I have become a massive fan of the pets within the last two years, and so eagerly expected Release, and to compare it with it's previous two. Read more

Published on 19 April 2002 by David Trevenen (davidtrevenen@...

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucid
THE word to describe this album. The clarity of the stripped down synths and 'lyrical lyrics' definitely make this their best foot forward in capturing the essence of today.

Published on 16 April 2002 by disco_teca@hotmail.com

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