I've never hidden my love for Pet Shop Boys, an act that I reckon are as important as any other that have emerged in the UK over the past 40 years. Wikipedia advises that they have now released 10 studio albums, 2 live albums, 4 compilation albums, 1 EP and a staggering 55 singles.
I don't actually have all that much of their stuff on vinyl, but I did find this a while back in a charity shop and willingly paid £2 for it, even though I already had the main track on two 'best ofs' and an extended version on a parent LP:-
mp3 : Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices
mp3 : Pet Shop Boys - The Sound Of The Atom Splitting
Released in November 1988, this climbed to #4 in the UK singles charts.
Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have since said that they played a rough demo of the track to producer Trevor Horn who was well-known for spending months on a track until he felt he'd nailed it. However, for this one, Horn suggested commissioning an orchestral arrangement, programming the synths and recording the song all in one day which PSB leapt at, and so signed a deal.
It took six months to finish Left To My Own Devices.......
But in a way that is hardly surprising giving how rich and powerful the sound is. Even today, some 22 and a bit years on, it remains one of the most popular songs in the back catalogue and one that PSB often play live. What's it all about?? Again, over to Neil Tennant....
"This person goes through life always doing what he wanted to do. I liked the idea of writing a really up pop song about being left alone. This song is a day in the life of someone, so it starts off with getting out of bed and being on the phone and drinking tea and all the rest of it, and it ends up with coming home. By this time I was making the words very exaggerated and camp, though writing a book and going on stage were both things I had wanted to do when I was young."
Here's the version as found on Introspective:-
mp3 : Pet Shop Boys - Left To My Own Devices (extended version)
Here's a link to a great live orchestral version for you:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xpZO85LoZY
Happy Listening...and viewing.
9 comments:
an act that I reckon are as important as any other that have emerged in the UK over the past 40 years" - really?
I must have misssed something then.
Good post kiddo.
It's all about the production innit. I (respectfully) suspect that this track wouldn't be very special without the orchestral arrangement and the Horny knob-twiddling.
Yer man Horn did it just as spectacularly in the 80s with ABC, Propaganda, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Yes, .. and even Dollar.
Much as I love you JC, I would have to mud wrestle you into submission on this one. For all their expansive taped legacy, I'm not as comfortable about them sitting astride the most important acts of past 40 years pile. (Although I expect to be out-voted on that).
Yer man Tennant on this track isn't too far from John Barnes 'rapping' on World In Motion. ("Get around the back", as it were).
He's not 2 bus stops from Marc Almond either.
Apart from the earlier stuff - up to Always On My Mind - which I thought a little superfluous to requirement - I could probably live without the PSB.
And .. left to my own devices, I probably would.
Yer man ... Dickie
PS(B)- And I suspect that given the chance, they would probably feel the same about me.
It did get me thinking about 'as important as' over the past 40 yrs though ...
In no particular order, some might say - Oasis, Abba, U2, ELO, The Ramones, Manics, Strokes, Genesis, Roxy Music, Primal Scream, Muse, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, Madonna, Michael Jackson, T Rex, Smokey Robinson, Metallica, Human League, The Libertines, AC/DC, Springsteen, Stone Roses, REM, James Brown, Nirvana,
I would add - Mott The Hoople, Queen, The Clash, The Jam, Sex Pistols, Bob Marley, XTC, Thin Lizzy, Prince.
Some that 'emerged' before, yet grew afterwards might be: The Who, David Bowie, The Kinks, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder,Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, The Faces, Simon & Garfunkel, Johnny Cash, Barbra Streisand, Fleetwood Mac, Some or all of the Beatles.
Who else could sit alongside Neil and his mate?
Great song, one of their best.
DVD- Muse? Important?
Not to me Adam. I couldn't name 1 of their songs. But many rate them as a great act.
JC - I'm on your side here. PSB Are very important to the culture of English 'pop' music. They have nurtured it through the 80's, 90's and 00's and are still there, playing to over a million people on their last tour.
But also writing a ballet, a musical and a soundtrack to a silent film in the last 10 years. Quite an achievement.
Noel Coward, the quintessential Englishman, would have loved Neils lyrics and the way he melds them to music that doesn't fit, especially in songs like Left To My Own Devices - a sad lyric about wanting to be alone put to early House. He did the same thing.
But Chris Lowe's arrangements come into it as well, sometimes copying the latest trend, sometimes being the first one there.
And I think they will be around for many years to come, even though they are in their late fifties.
Left To My Own Devices- 7" mix (4.48)
Left To My Own Devices- Disco mix (11.23)
The Sound of the Atom Splitting - 7" mix (3.39)
The Sound of the Atom Splitting - 12" mix (5.13)
CZ
JC - I'm with you here. As an aside can you believe our music loving buddy Jonee didn't know what a pet shop boy was? Appropriately revealed to him in Berlin. What a night that was.....
DVD - left field one for you - how about UB40 (the first two albums obviously. Although the later horrible stuff was probably more influential in bringing British reggae to the mainstream)?
JC - agree on their importance. This is a classic record.
DVD - Orbital should be added to the pile as they showed how dance music could work live. And their first 4 albums are all classics.
(Early)UB40 and Orbital - why not indeed?
I'm so glad that this post brought a reaction.
How is 'importance' judged? Is it about their subsequent influence, records sold, no of fans, innovation, or is it more subtle?
I'm sure folks from across the Atlantic would have views to add; Arcade Fire, White Stripes, The Doors, Heart, Aretha Franklin, Bon Jovi?
I guess others may point towards artists such as Joy Division, Kate Bush, New Order, Cliff Richard, Iron Maiden.
(The Undertones, Slade, Blondie and Buzzcocks were important for me!)
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