The last we heard from long-running British synth pop duo Pet Shop Boys, they were working on a ballet adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Most Incredible Thing. While they're busy with that, EMI Catalogue will be releasing a new best-of compilation, Ultimate Pet Shop Boys.
The career-spanning collection, due out in the UK on November 1, contains 19 songs on one disc. Given the group's lengthy career - ten albums over almost 30 years - the compilation has its share of omissions. As Slicing Up Eyeballs points out, tracks like "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" and "Rent" are notably absent.
In addition to past hits like "West End Girls" and "It's a Sin," the collection has one new tune, "Together," which was reportedly written and recorded this month.
As an added incentive, EMI will be releasing a special edition of the album that contains a bonus DVD. It has 27 live performances, the majority of them taken from Top of the Pops. It will also include their performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival.
Pet Shop Boys appear to have mixed feelings about the release. Last week, the band tweeted, "It's really aimed at the casual or impulse buyer who'd quite like one CD of the PSB's hits. Do such people exist? EMI think so." On the other hand, they added, "The DVD content on the special edition is pretty amazing and never before released on DVD."
The group's Twitter feed also contained one more tasty bit of info: "We are however planning to release in March next year a 2CD of our ballet score (which may not appeal to the casual buyer)."
Ultimate Pet Shop Boys: Special Edition:
CD:
1. "West End Girls"
2. "Suburbia"
3. "It's a Sin"
4. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
5. "Always On My Mind"
6. "Heart"
7. "Domino Dancing"
8. "Left To My Own Devices"
9. "Being Boring"
10. "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
11. "Go West"
12. "Before"
13. "Se a Vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"
14. "New York City Boy"
15. "Home and Dry"
16. "Miracles"
17. "I'm With Stupid"
18. "Love Etc."
19. "Together"
DVD:
1. "West End Girls" (Top of the Pops, 12/15/85)
2. "Love Comes Quickly" (Top of the Pops, 3/20/86)
3. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (Whistle Test, 4/29/86)
4. "Suburbia" (Top of the Pops, 10/2/86)
5. "It's a Sin" (Top of the Pops, 6/25/87)
6. "Rent" (Top of the Pops, 10/22/87)
7. "Always On My Mind" (Top of the Pops, 12/10/87)
8. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (Brit Awards, 2/8/88)
9. "Heart" (Wogan, 3/30/88)
10. "Domino Dancing" (Top of the Pops, 9/22/88)
11. "Left To My Own Devices" (Top of the Pops, 12/1/88)
12. "So Hard" (Wogan, 9/28/90)
13. "Being Boring" (Top of the Pops, 11/29/90)
14. "Can You Forgive Her?" (Top of the Pops, 6/10/93)
15. "Liberation" (Top of the Pops, 4/7/94)
16. "Paninaro '95″ (Top of the Pops, 8/3/95)
17. "Se a Vida é" (Top of the Pops 2, (12/2/03)
18. "A Red Letter Day" (Top of the Pops, 3/28/97)
19. "Somewhere" (Top of the Pops, 7/4/97)
20. "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More" (Top of the Pops, 7/30/99)
21. "New York City Boy" (Top of the Pops, 10/8/99)
22. "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" (Top of the Pops, 1/14/00)
23. "Home and Dry" (Top of the Pops, 3/29/02)
24. "I Get Along" (Top of the Pops 2, 4/17/02)
25. "Miracles" (Top of the Pops, 11/14/03)
26. "Flamboyant" (Top of the Pops, 3/19/04)
27. "I'm With Stupid" (Top of the Pops, 4/23/06)
28. Complete Glastonbury 2010 set
The career-spanning collection, due out in the UK on November 1, contains 19 songs on one disc. Given the group's lengthy career - ten albums over almost 30 years - the compilation has its share of omissions. As Slicing Up Eyeballs points out, tracks like "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" and "Rent" are notably absent.
In addition to past hits like "West End Girls" and "It's a Sin," the collection has one new tune, "Together," which was reportedly written and recorded this month.
As an added incentive, EMI will be releasing a special edition of the album that contains a bonus DVD. It has 27 live performances, the majority of them taken from Top of the Pops. It will also include their performance at this year's Glastonbury Festival.
Pet Shop Boys appear to have mixed feelings about the release. Last week, the band tweeted, "It's really aimed at the casual or impulse buyer who'd quite like one CD of the PSB's hits. Do such people exist? EMI think so." On the other hand, they added, "The DVD content on the special edition is pretty amazing and never before released on DVD."
The group's Twitter feed also contained one more tasty bit of info: "We are however planning to release in March next year a 2CD of our ballet score (which may not appeal to the casual buyer)."
Ultimate Pet Shop Boys: Special Edition:
CD:
1. "West End Girls"
2. "Suburbia"
3. "It's a Sin"
4. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
5. "Always On My Mind"
6. "Heart"
7. "Domino Dancing"
8. "Left To My Own Devices"
9. "Being Boring"
10. "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)"
11. "Go West"
12. "Before"
13. "Se a Vida é (That's the Way Life Is)"
14. "New York City Boy"
15. "Home and Dry"
16. "Miracles"
17. "I'm With Stupid"
18. "Love Etc."
19. "Together"
DVD:
1. "West End Girls" (Top of the Pops, 12/15/85)
2. "Love Comes Quickly" (Top of the Pops, 3/20/86)
3. "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (Whistle Test, 4/29/86)
4. "Suburbia" (Top of the Pops, 10/2/86)
5. "It's a Sin" (Top of the Pops, 6/25/87)
6. "Rent" (Top of the Pops, 10/22/87)
7. "Always On My Mind" (Top of the Pops, 12/10/87)
8. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (Brit Awards, 2/8/88)
9. "Heart" (Wogan, 3/30/88)
10. "Domino Dancing" (Top of the Pops, 9/22/88)
11. "Left To My Own Devices" (Top of the Pops, 12/1/88)
12. "So Hard" (Wogan, 9/28/90)
13. "Being Boring" (Top of the Pops, 11/29/90)
14. "Can You Forgive Her?" (Top of the Pops, 6/10/93)
15. "Liberation" (Top of the Pops, 4/7/94)
16. "Paninaro '95″ (Top of the Pops, 8/3/95)
17. "Se a Vida é" (Top of the Pops 2, (12/2/03)
18. "A Red Letter Day" (Top of the Pops, 3/28/97)
19. "Somewhere" (Top of the Pops, 7/4/97)
20. "I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More" (Top of the Pops, 7/30/99)
21. "New York City Boy" (Top of the Pops, 10/8/99)
22. "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk" (Top of the Pops, 1/14/00)
23. "Home and Dry" (Top of the Pops, 3/29/02)
24. "I Get Along" (Top of the Pops 2, 4/17/02)
25. "Miracles" (Top of the Pops, 11/14/03)
26. "Flamboyant" (Top of the Pops, 3/19/04)
27. "I'm With Stupid" (Top of the Pops, 4/23/06)
28. Complete Glastonbury 2010 set
