What Are You Listening To?

[bob_32_116]

^^
nice review bob
keep them coming

OK....

Listening now to:

Pet Shop Boys - Yes


I love this album. The only reason I ended up buying it was because it was one of the albums available on the KLM in-flight entertainment system when I flew to Europe in 2009. Sitting in an aircraft is an excellent opportunity to hear and appraise several albums during the flight, and this is one of two albums that I heard on that flight and subsequently purchased. (The other was Coldplay - Viva la Vida etc.)

Some people are likely to say well, you either like the Pet Shop Boys or you don't. I think there is more to it than that, because I heard both of the subsequent PSB albums and did not like either one nearly as much Elysium wasn't too bad; Electric seemed to be an album of uninspiring dance club tracks, with the best track, oddly, being a cover ("The Last to Die", written by Bruce Springsteen).

But back to Yes:

It's mostly very bright and poppy, but that's not something I have a problem with if the tunes are decent, and these are. The more I listen to this album, the more I think of George Michael; I'm sure there is more than a little influence flowing back and forth between George and PSB. Songs like "Did You See Me Coming" "Vulnerable" and "The Way It Used to Be" would sit perfectly well along such Michael numbers as "Amazing", "The Strangest Thing" and "Precious Box". for those familiar with GM's output.

There is one track on the album that is very different from the rest. The closing track, "Legacy" is not a dance track at all; it is quite slow and brooding, though it builds to a kind of climax. It sounds as though it should be part of some kind of movie. I am buggered if I can make out what statement the lyrics are trying to put across, with the repetition of the phrase "You'll get over it"; maybe it's just one of those "stream of consciousness" songs. Either way, for me it works, though it's definitely not what you expect to hear from the Pet Shop Boys.

Worst track:
There is nothing really bad here. "All Over the World" gets a slap on the wrist for an uncredited use of a sample from Tchaikovsky.

Best track:
I'm tempted to say Legacy, otherwise it would be Vulnerable or The Way It Used to Be.

Overall rating: 9/10