Amazing 1/2 carat Gem,
R. Durham | Hypoluxo, FL United States | 11/15/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Mini is an apt name for this album. Its 8 tracks feature 1 familiar album version, 3 new "b sides", 2 live versions and a remix found on the CD single.The live, single and remix songs are available elsewhere, so the most important tracks are the "B-sides." Screaming, Lies, and Sail Away. Screaming has a great musical undertone, but the ballad lyrics cause it to be more like those songs in that 2nd half of Nightlife.Lies uses the voice from Nightlife's Yotmylmwyd which again causes distractions from the great musical combos. Its a Lowe song, which means its musically experimental. The end result is good except for the female vocals.Sail Away is a remix to Broadway's Noel Coward. Similar to their If love were all, it is a Neil song. It reminds me of Single's B-side, Confidential. Cute, but a bit flat.The Live versions include a crowd sing-a-long of Always on my mind and a guitar strumming Yotmylmwyd. Always is ok, but Yotmylmwyd is refreshing good.All in all, re-reading this you can tell I am a typical PSB fan, always finding the morose misery in things."
Limited edition
FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 10/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This Pet Shop Boys disc is a very rare item - despite the listing, not all the tracks on this disc are live, only three of them are. However, this is a disc for any true collector of Pet Shop Boys songs, as there are new versions in an interesting piece.
My particular disc is an import from Japan; it comes with interesting artwork and an insert that includes the lyrics and liner notes in Japanese, in addition to the standard English ones.
The studio songs include 'Closer to Heaven' (the title of one of the Pet Shop Boys stage shows in London), 'Screaming', 'Lies', and 'Sail Away', a Noel Coward song. The live songs include versions of three of the Pet Shop Boys hits - 'You only tell me you love me when you're drunk', 'Always on my mind' (a remake of the Presley song, released as a high-energy disco song, but here presented in as yet another aspect), and 'Being Boring', perhaps the best of the introspective, thoughtful Pet Shop Boys songs. The final track is a remix of their minor hit, 'New York City Boy', remixed by disco great David Morales, who has worked with the PSB for many years.
There is nothing earth-shatteringly new here, but the music is solid and typical of the high quality that the PSB are known for. The live versions of the songs are a special treat, as for the longest time the PSB speculated that their music could in fact never be performed live with any real quality.
A mini gem."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1