The Pet Shop Boys were a cornerstone of pop music in the 1980s and '90s. Starting with “West End Girls,” the duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have written a blueprint for pop music, including clean vocals and electronic backing that is still very prevalent today. Many think of Pet Shop Boys as a nostalgia act, but like many veteran acts that have been written off as “'80s bands” or (the far more dreaded) “one hit wonders,” Pet Shiop Boys have continued to write that blueprint long after the American public’s short attention span drifted away from them. Indeeed, Lowe and Tennant have sold over 100 million records worldwide, and are listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful duo in UK music history.
For the American fans that have stuck by the duo, they were recently rewarded with a pair of long-bootlegged releases from Pet Shop Boys. The band’s first live show, Concrete, as well as their soundtrack, Battleship Potemkin, have now been made officially available for US audiences, and both records provide another aspect of a band that is one of the bigger victims of being pigeonholed.
Concrete in and of itself is interesting, as it was recorded on May 8, 2006, at London’s Mermaid Theatre with a live orchestra. Because of the orchestra’s presence, the band strayed away from the big hits (with the exception of “West End Girls” and “It’s A Sin”) and stuck to songs that were originally written or later rearranged for orchestral accompaniment. The performance and album were produced by longtime cohort Trevor Horn.
Much of the recording — due in part to Horn’s trademark pristine production and in part to the fact that the Pet Shop Boys sound already lends itself well to that — sounds wonderful. This makes a strong case for one of the best-sounding live albums ever, as every note, instrument and nuance are loud and crystal clear. In terms of clarity, Metallica’s S&M may come close but it still doesn’t quite reach this plateau.
The songs themselves are worked to great effect as well. Whether it’s Tennant (who still sounds remarkable some 30 years on) or other guests (such as Rufus Wainwright singing “Casanova In Hell” or Robbie Williams on “Jealousy”), the vocals are an even match for the added power the orchestra brings to the table. Even songs like “Rent,” which aren’t originally theirs but tracks the band made their name on nonetheless, shine with a different arrangement and understated — or very powerful — tone, depending on what the track calls for. Those work especially well on something like “After All (The Odessa Staircase),” which was written as pieces of a film score.
Article comments
1 - PSBfan
"Even songs like “Rent,” which aren’t originally theirs but tracks the band made their name on nonetheless"
Correction: "Rent" is a Tennant/Lowe original song. Perhaps you're thinking of their cover of "Always on My Mind"?
2 - derekbd
"For the American fans that have stuck by the duo, they were recently rewarded with a pair of long-bootlegged releases"
American PSB fans have long been buying imports, not bootlegs.