Very

“Very” by Pet Shop Boys (1993) Never heard this album or this group. Commercial disco synth-pop. And I mean VERY commercial. What is entertaining about this album is the modestly creative tapestry of synthetic sounds, recorded over mechanically steady rhythms. I found myself ignoring the inelegant drum and bass lines, eager to hear what’s innovative in the melody, ‘orchestration’, and lyrics. I was generally disappointed. Eventually every musical aspect of the sound fell into the background, so that nothing at all stood in the foreground. The compositions are generally repetitive. The third track, “Liberation” seems to be the most ‘produced’ cut on the album, but the orchestral backing is uninspired. The lyrics sometimes try to be profound but the silliness of the sound gets in the way. For example, “Dreaming of the Queen”, a reflection on the plausibility imagined despondency of Princess Diana, could have been quite moving had it been arranged with acoustic guitar with backing vocals and strings, but instead we get canned pop. Diet pop at that. There is one track worth a serious listen. “The Theatre” is a song I actually backed up and played several times with volume turned up. You see, a ‘theatre’ is where fictional second-tier realities are played off one another. And we get to decide which of those realities we will choose to elevate to the top tier. This song compels the listener to do exactly that. It’s in the class of the disco elements in Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”. Yes, it’s that good. Anne Dudley’s orchestration is excellent—reminiscent of Hans Zimmer (although I would have boosted the trombones and timpani in the mix). Internal chord and key transitions closely track the development of the lyrics. The first chord of the chorus gave me goosebumps. Then a sob. Then flat out weeping. It shows they have the ability. This song made me stop and consider the obvious, but also whether “Phantom of the Opera” is art. It also made me reassess my admiration of the haut bourgeois (and wannabe) patrons of, say, Luciano Pavarotti. But come on, Pet Shop Boys, I can’t imagine actually dancing to this song. How would I feel as I left the discotheque? (That’s the point, dude.) I had to listen to it several more times. Then I bought the track on iTunes. But overall, “Very” is very—mediocre. On this album, The Bee Gees take Yes out to dinner and a movie, and agree never to date again. 2/5

No idea why anyone would listen to one of these guys albums never mind two

I can't think of a better album if you want to dance and cry at the same time. Recommended season: Spring

This is guilty pleasure music but I simply don't care. Queer 80s-90s dance bops with a nostalgic, wistful sadness... love it.

It was a good thing when the Pet Shop Boys left their imperial phase and were free to experiment with pop. This album takes the techno trends of the early 90s and mixes it up with songs that tell very queer stories. At the time, I remember how the Boys' cover of "Go West" had given it a melancholic twist in the era of HIV - but with modern antivirals, the song now grabs back a bit of the original joyousness. "Can You Forgive" her is an almighty dramatic pop track and a stonking opener.

Oh this is so awesome. Very special. Wii Music. Just listened to "It's A Sin" and "Always On My Mind" for the first time a week ago or something. This is really nice. For some reason the chords just all speak to me. Guess I'm gay now. I love the vibe, my new guilty pleasure. One and One Make 5

Only listened to a few songs. Not very inspiring but good background sound.

This was my first listen to this album. The music was fine, but I don't see myself listening to it again, a firm 3 for me. I don't see myself listening to any of the individual tracks again either. "Go West" is the only track on this album that I remember hearing before, but it was hard to miss if you were around in he early 90s.

While I can listen to a few songs I don't usually enjoy synth-pop. This album was too repetitive and electronic for my taste but probably someone who likes the genre might enjoy it. At least the voice is chill enough.

I sure hope that the PSB's previous four albums appear on this list because they are all superior than this one. My favourite was their debut, Please which spawned 4 killer singles, including the iconic West End Girls. Wiki tells me that this album was their first album to go to No. 1 on the UK charts, so I guess that's telling. I really didn’t enjoy this "new" commercial sound that they adopted for this album. Not a single banger on the entire album.

Excellent wogging album!

Just listened to another Pet Shop Boys album from this list yesterday. The same holds true: I like the Pet Shop Boys a lot, but I'm not sure why this album was chosen specifically since it doesn't contain my favorite songs by them (top two: It's A Sin and Heart). But compared to the other album which was a 4 for me, this one seems to have a bolder, fuller sound. I enjoyed listening to it a lot and if there happens to be a third Pet Shop Boys album on this list, I surely won't mind.

I am so excited to see this album come up. It has been such a big part of my life. I loved it from the moment I handled that awesome CD case. Lost on me at the time was the backstory… that it followed the downbeat album BEHAVIOR released at the height of the AIDS pandemic. Its release also closely coincided with Neil Tennant’s coming out. All the more special now to know that now. I had no idea then. I love this album through and through… every song. Picking a favorite is very challenging and is highly subject to change. I started listing the best songs but that is basically was copying the track listing for me. So… How about the relentless “Can You Forgive Her?”… the cinematic swells in “Dreaming of the Queen”… the exuberant cover of “Go West”… the dramatic shimmering “The Theatre”… the melancholic “To Speak Is A Sin”… the abandon of “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing”…? Every song on VERY has had a place for me since its release. I love this album from beginning to end. The Pet Shop Boys create incredible electronic dance music with melancholy just below the surface and melancholic music that dances just below the surface… and VERY has some of the best examples of this. An absolutely fabulous album!

when multiple albums of an artist are on this list, we truly get a chance to hear the artist's musical progression. i previously listened to and adored their earlier album actually, and i was subsequently nervous that i wouldn't enjoy very on the same level. well, i shouldn't have been concerned! i absolutely love their music, end of sentence. the pet shop boys' usual synth pop sound is present here, but they've expanded. there's a techno-like sound on "a different point of view"--there's even a smidge of a smooth jazz in "to speak is a sin". and multiple songs here keep them on the disco train. this album is a great balance of pet shop boys staying synth but exploring other genres. i get some of the same vibes from actually, but very is able to stand on its own and be appreciated for itself. they've kept their heart on this album, too. the hidden track "postscript" is so tender despite its length. a good way to describe pet shop boys, i think, is beautifully melancholy. "dreaming of the queen" and "the theatre" follow that description. somehow, psb manage to use synth and disco to make music with such feeling. i definitely want to mention neil tennant's sexuality. i have always admired pet shop boys' gender neutral love songs; most artists just do not go that route. i believe it allows any gender, any sexuality to enjoy any song. i do think tennant's sexuality encourages him and chris lowe to write their songs in such a way. but really, only a queer person could write "liberation": "take my hand/don't think of obligations/now, right now/your love is liberation."

I wasn’t a huge fan of Behavior, but I really enjoyed this one. Synthy, dancey, and campy. Pet Shop Boys vocals in the past have grated on me a little bit, but I find them much more enjoyable on this record. The hooks are all really sticky, the dance grooves are fun and bouncy, and each song feels like it brings a different vibe to the album without it feeling all over the place. Definitely coming back to this.

All killer, no filler. In context, this album being released around the time one member of PSB came out publicly adds heavy weight to the lyrics of many songs. Yet the music remains upbeat and bright throughout. Hard to pick a favorite, but I’ll say “To Speak Is a Sin.” 5/5

Really digging the vibes on this album. Romantic and a bit cheesy but relatable and catchy af. Lots of great synth work.

Music to an intergalactic masquerade dance party.

Very gay for sure. And very cheesy. Yet very memorable lyrics. And very witty one-liners. Also, very sophisticated chord progressions. Yet very unnecessary inclusion in the original list when there's already *actually* in it (and also, I think, *Behaviour*). Very bummed to say so. 3/5 for the purposes of this very list. Which translates to a 8/10 grade for more very general puuposes (5 + 3). Number of albums left to review: 384 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 280 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 146 Albums from the list I won't include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 196 (including this one)

Very begins with a passable song then dives deep in the pop style that will be overly used a decade later by all the boys-bands. Every songs sound the same as the previous with the same musical backs and poor-written lyrics. It has no memorable aspect and even in background, while doing something else, Very is boring. Its presence in this list is incomprehensible and absolutely not deserved.

Really loved the earlier pet shop boys albums but this one just isn't very good. The most known song, go west always annoyed me and the others all sound like Stock A and Waterman even though I know it isn't. Very disappointing and I am a huge fan of this band so it stings.

Entirely forgettable, and best forgotten.

No like

It's like they took everything good from something like Depeche Mode and corrupted it, twisted and soiled it until it became a soulless shell of bubblegum synth pop that was all style and no substance. It is like an uncanny valley of musical nightmares, so close to good ideas but so debased.

'Knowing' pop is the worst kind of pop. Spend the time on better tunes rather than tipping the wink to irony and worrying about not seeming 'cool'. Probably a different audience, but St Etienne do this kind of thing SO much better. The start of the second (and third) track sounds like daytime tv show intro music. I have never 'got' Pet Shop Boys and this very much reinforced that feeling.

false

Pop perfection

very cool album, mostly due to cutting edge for its time production.

I wasn’t a big enough fan of Pet Shop Boys to invest time or money in an album way back when. I now know that I really missed out. This is a great album. So bright sounding and 90’s dance-y. It was a blast to listen to today!!! Also, I love the orange cover!

I wouldn’t normally do this kind of thing Ask me when I’ll say it started when I met you

Was very excited to buy this when it came out - did not disappoint, ribbed plastic box, secret bonus track and all! Still sounds fabulous today, all killer no filler. Great to hear it again

It's the perfect PSB album. Where the with and the music match up - if I Wouldn't Normally Do This Lind of Thing isn't the perfect evocation of that giddy feeling at the start of a relationship then love is a myth and we should all give up. Go West is iconic. It's all ace

This is one of the better recent ones

Did I love this? Or am I just so used to listening to stuff I don't care for that anything I actually like, I feel very enthusiastic about? Either way, this was a fun listen. I've been ambivalent towards the Pet Shop Boys in the past but I dig them doing 90s pop. If anyone reading this likes this album and wants to hear something similar, this reminded me a lot of Sparks' album Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins. Go for the deluxe 3hr edition as it has all the best songs within the bonus tracks section.

I know that this isn't anything special for a lot of people, but I loved this. I've heard a few Pet Shop Boys songs before and I really like those, so I was excited for this album. Rightly so, apparently, because I'm giving this album a high rating. It may be generic or cheesy to some, but it's very up my alley. I'm not gonna act like it's anything more than what it is. Still, it's getting a 5. I like his voice; it's kind of soft. It can be a little whiny at points, but I don't really mind that here. It's pretty hard to pick favourite songs, but I believe my favourite songs are Liberation, Can You Forgive Her?, and Young Offender.

I adore this album!

Sounds like someone making tunes on FL Studio quite literally in the closet.

I loved this album it feels like a predecessor to all of the 90s and early 2000s techno music that I grew up on and it has a lot of elements that very much lead me to believe that it influenced them heavily.

An entire album of hits. From the first to the last song. One of the best Pet Shop Boys albums. And it's also worth knowing the album Relentless that came out with Very in a special edition.

Camper and poppier than before, and getting the hits they deserved. A very very very good album.

A lot of fun to listen to. Upbeat dancey pop with a bit of camp and a dash of melancholy. I liked it a lot.

Oh yes, this is absolutely what I want out of a Pet Shop Boys album. Lyrically as serious as Behaviour, Very goes back to the Pet Shop Boys synth heavy sounds, but with a more dance-heavy sound. Each song here is a winner, bookended by the strong "Can You Forgive Her?" and the gentle "Go West." The Pet Shop Boys are masters of synth pop, and this album shows that they were far from being done with their musical ingenuity, even as the world of music changed at rapid fire pace around them. I absolutely loved listening to this, and I can't wait to the third and final Pet Shop Boys album on this list.

pet shop boys eh 5*

"Very" is the fifth studio album by Pet Shop Boys. It was a shift from the subdued electronic pop of their previous album "Behaviour" to richly instrumented dance arrangements. Pet Shop Boys are Neil Tennant (vocals) and Chris Lowe (keyboards. Vocals). This is known as Tennant "coming out" album as he publicly discussed his homosexuality. The Pet Shop Boys produced the album and, commercially, it became their most successful album reaching #1 in the UK. A loud synth open begins "Can You Forgive Her?" Horn sounds, a pop beat, a synth catchy melody. Tennant with forceful lyrics. It's a about a young man's humiliation when a girlfriend accuses him of being in love with someone from his childhood. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" has a piano and more of a dance beat. Another catchy melody. An event in a person's life opens him up. "Liberation" is lush with horn sounds. It's a dreamy dance ballad. A Carribean beat of sorts. This album is off to a great start..three for three with great songs. Piano keys and a spacey synth begin "Yesterday When I Was Mad." It then changes with a faster, busier pace and electronic beats. This is different. The stresses of touring and being away from loved ones. A nice job of the music capturing the lyrical theme. "The Theatre" starts out in a majestic way with string sounds. Just beautiful and lush. About snobdom. Maybe my favorite song on the album. The album closes with a Village People cover "Go West." Electronic beat. Smooth. Creative background vocals mimicking the Village People. This reinterpretation is like a theatrical production and a lot of fun. This is an excellent album. It's extremely well-constructed and crafted....great production and pop of the highest order. No bad songs or filler. There's a variety of beats with mutliple sounding instruments including horns, piano, strings and synths. Lush is a apt description. An album that apparently got lost in the US with all the grunge at the time. One worth going back for.

Awesome synth pop!! Maintains a consistent feel while changing tone and progression to make it engaging and interesting throughout.

Prefer their older stuff, still banging

i put off listening to this because i thought it was the beastie boys lol but this is delicious

An album I hadn´t listned to in full in many years and I had forgotten how much I love it. There is not one bad track on this. It´s probably the most solid album Pet Shop Boys have made.

I had never really listened to them before despite their popularity. Very much enjoyed it. A continuation of the 80s new wave and dance that rivals the best of New Order.

Great - supegreat piece of pop art.

Loved this album! It's so fun.

cool

I love this album, and I have absolutely no reason why this should be. I still remember buying the CD in it's orange case with the lego look and feel. I know this album is a big thing in the queer community, and I can see why, but my love of this album is really not affected by that. I guess I just grew up with this album, and heard it at the right time to have it leave a lasting mark on me. I absolutely hate the impact "go west" had on media for years, but at the same time I absolutely love the track. To me this the absolute picture of early european EDM. It is the sound of thousands and thousands of poor people dancing their issues away on any given weekend. The upbeat sadness propably didn't start with this album, but it provided a blueprint for how it would build for the next 20 years.

Very 90s video game music with decent pop accessibility and some solid drama.

Yep. Enjoyed this one a lot, too. There's a specific kind of '80s pop I am into.

Só conhecia uma música ou outra do Pet Shop Boys, ouvir um álbum inteiro foi uma ótima experiência, e concretizar como uma ótima banda pra mim.

Discão. Pra mim "Go West" deles é melhor que a original.

It’s the PSB!!

Some fun tunes in this album. Never heard of these guys before but enjoyed the retro feel

Not bad!

Can You Forgive Her?" Released: 31 May 1993 "Go West" Released: 6 September 1993 "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" Released: 29 November 1993 "Liberation" Released: 4 April 1994 "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" Released: 29 August 1994

Solid pop exceptionalism

Liked all the songs, and it was just varied enough to keep my attention. Much better songwriting than The Human League. Good stuff!

Emotivos. Grandes canciones. Seguramente su mejor disco.

Pretty good dance album. It has slow chill tracks and quick drive songs. The track «Go West» the best.

В своё время натыкался в рамках классического A-One на клипчанский Go West, фронтмен своим немного манерным поведением и вокалом спровоцировал ассоциации с ЛГБТ, посему немного оттолкнул. Но клипак в душу запал, так что годами опосля уже гуглил, не приснилась ли мне эта дичь. Трек то неплох. И альбом неплох. Снова, как и в случае с It’s a Sin потребовалось привыкание некоторое, но как снова въехал - прокачался. Треки крепкие, разве что Dreaming Of The Queen и Young Offender скучными показались. Но и того, ради чего в ближайшем будущем специально возвращаться захочется, вроде особо нет. Вроде бы даже на It’s a Sin с этим лучше было. Вот вроде бы могу поныть, что в рамках 1001 мне ничего не заходит, чтоб прям хорошечно, а средняя оценка у меня ведь 3,5 превышает. Ну да похуй, ещё завезут мадон на единицы. А Very - хороший альбом.

ну как сказать. пока что худший их альбом из того, что слышал. сам по себе неплохой, но ни хитовости и экспериментов Actually, ни душевности и продуманности Behavior не завезли. Go West мне вообще не сильно когда-то нравилась как песня (хотя хитовый потенциал сложно отрицать все-таки). все остальное - довольно середняковые ПШБ песни, особо для себя выделил только открывашку и Theater. но напряжения тоже не вызывает, лёгкий, немного бодрящий альбомчик с наивной лиричкой (рифма you-true уже подзаебала, постоянно в их творчестве встречается). имеет право быть, где-то 7/10

Lush, disco relaxation music

Not really catchy 3.5/5 Last song is catchy

deze was leuk, zo wat vanalles.

I loved the upbeat quality, smooth vocals, decent lyrics, and all-around good balance. Wish there were more individual standout songs though

some very catchy synth pop

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Can you forgive her, Go west

Who wants to be in my band Tamagotchi Store Girls? Anybody? Anyone? I’m either square, in a weird mood, or both because I really quite liked this. My wife walked in and said one of the songs sounds like the melody of a Eurythmics tune. Surprised she pulled that out of thin air, but she was right. There’s probably a lot of familiar melodies on this record, but I like the dude’s voice and here we are.

On par with behavior

Good

Although vocally, they never stray far, the melodies and lyrics are great. They're music has aged well, and their brand new 2021 album of new music in their usual style shows that.

I kind of like the beats a lot actually; not really paying too much attention to the lyrics specifically.

Really solid and consistent from start to finish

This was a very enjoyable listen. The disco beat and interesting lyrics provided a great soundtrack to my cold, wet, gloomy walk today. Top-notch exuberance!

That feeling you get when it's the first appearance of one of your all time favorite bands...but your fifth favorite album. I bought this CD with its weird orange case in 1993 and vividly remember wondering why it continued spinning in my crappy portable (but not movable-during-play) CD player after "Go West" ended. I don't remember how long it took me to discover the "hidden" track, but who didn't love the novelty at the time of hearing Chris Lowe singing? However, it quickly got to be an annoyance when I got to the point of having a CD shuffler, and later when I chose not to rip my favorite song from the album for my iPod, because of its ball and chain of 2 minutes of silence. (A ball and chain that still exists on the digital platform.) Perhaps because this album was lower on my list, I spent some time today rediscovering it and reconnecting to some favorite songs. The two songs that I did rip for my new iPod nano circa 2005 were "Can You Forgive Her?" and "A Different Point of View." Today I would keep the former, and swap the latter for "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing." I always liked "Dreaming of the Queen," but especially because of the way Neil Tennant sings "For I was in the nyude/ The old Queen disapproved." That one gets added too. Also maybe because it's already enough of a museum piece to be the plot of the upcoming season of "The Crown." "Go West," with its backing chorus, elevating the sound of the disco original to a majestic anthem, continues to be the one song that I love well above the rest. In any case, I really enjoyed my time with the Pet Shop Boys today. This is a good, solid album, but the connection wasn't as strong as with some of their others.

Нормальный поп, не дать не взять.

Nice

Nice

Passionate yet austere. Fantastically arranged and while it can sometimes fall into the same-iness factor that edm/electronica is prone too, each track has a firm separate identity.

Ahhh. Like a warm bath.

Lot of Casio keyboard sounds but honestly I had fun with this album. 7/10

Really enjoyed this dance pop adventure 4/5

Enjoyed the album, interesting electronica, chill vibes

I don't give Pet Shop Boys the credit they deserve. I think "West End Girls" just made me immediately disqualify them as something I'd like. The front four were good but it was "Dreaming of the Queen" that really pulled me in. "To Speak Is a Sin" was also a great track. "Go West" is a fun song to listen to waiting for the bonus track was not as fun. I'm surprised at how highly I am rating this album based on my preconceptions, but that really is the beauty of listening to all of these albums.

Agradable. No es mi favorito, pero le doy un 4 por Go West. Estos chicos se lo merecen.

4.5……always enjoyed their music

1st June 2022 Listened on the way in and out of the office. Did a bit of cleaning and moving things into the front room then watched stranger things. Camp and bouncy, popping drums and lounging synths. Great fun.

Ein af uppáhalds PSB plötunum. Þeir eru bara sér deild út af fyrir sig.

6/8/2022 - ALBUM #132 Today's Album: "Very" by Pet Shop Boys - This generator has been slowly introducing me to the world of new-wave and synth-pop with a records like that Brian Eno project or parts of that Cafe Bleu record, but this feels like a true introduction to what makes this genre so likeable and fun. I think if I am to comment on anything first, it would be the production. There way these powerful, yet ethereal synth chords pair with the super melodic bass, a quiet guitar playing these really funky lines, and a straightforward piano make these really amazing soundscapes for the auxiliary percussion and leading synths to just have fun over. There are also a lot of random synths throughout the mix that add to this really funky robotic feeling throughout the project. The vocal performance at first seemed like it worked well for the vibe of the project but I didn't see it as very impressive. However, once I looked up the members of the band and found out the lead singer is a guy, it became obvious how impressive the chops on this vocalist were. I think overall, though, it's the songwriting that really get me to love this album. Each song has this really tight structure to it and although it makes it sound very commercial at some points, I think it overall leads to very memorable songs. It helps that the choruses are EXTREMELY catchy and that the lyricism is very unique (holding up very well today in my opinion). Yes it's cheesy at moments; yes it's pretty overtly queer, but it stay's in this sweet spot of feeling relatable and doesn't take itself very seriously in the best way. I think there are good handful of tracks here that don't hold up as well as others in terms of the song writing overall, but I still enjoy what's going on throughout those tracks musically and sonically. The flow of the album is also really good, making it feel less like an album purely for radio and more like something they made intentionally. Overall, this is an album with a fantastic vibe overall and a ton of great songs, just with a few songs that bog things down a fair bit. Give this one a listen if you like ear candy and love a good synth sound. Highlights: Can You Forgive Her?, I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing, Liberation, A Different Point of View, Dreaming Of The Queen, The Theatre, To Speak Is a Sin, Go West Score: 7.5/10 Very fun synth-pop record

This is a good collection of dance/pop songs, but I much prefer the Pet Shop Boys' earlier albums. True: There are some heavy hitters like Can You Forgive Her, Liberation, I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing, and - of course - Go West. But some of the other songs dont't quite feel up to par here. Plus, the sound is heavily anchored in the early 90s. Still, a good effort, and probably the last album I would count as belonging to the classic PSB era. 4/5

A priori, no semblava que els '90 anessin a ser una bona década pels Pet Shop Boys. 'Behaviour', l'any 1990, semblava un comiat en ple estat de forma, més que una benvinguda a la nova década. El seu to nostàlgic i més pausat que els seus anteriors llargs no feia més que reforçar aquesta idea. Per això que 3 anys després sortissin amb 'Very', a l'alçada dels seus millors treballs, va sorprendre. 'Go West', el primer single i gran éxit a l'época, és el tema més anecdòtic. El material propi és excel.lent. Sempre el tindré vinculat a l'hivern de 1993, de tantes vegades que el vaig escoltar aquells mesos. Per això se'm fa fins i tot estrany posar-me'l a l'estiu. Estaven per venir més de deu anys de decadència artística per la banda, però amb 'Very' van tancar un quintet de discos amb nom propi a la història del pop

Fast paced synth pop and catchy songs, over 50 minutes the Pet Shop Boys never fail to entertain

The Pet Shop Boys really are very good - uplifting melodies, a lovely interplay between major and minor keys, Neil Tennant's ethereal voice. Good listen.

Can You Forgive Her still hits so hard