All the best, and then some, French style...
FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 08/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The limited edition CD issue has three discs (the regular issue of Pop-Art has two discs); this French edition is even more rare, replacing the track 'New York City Boy' with 'Paris City Boy', a release only available on the French versions (2- and 3-disc editions).
The first two discs contain 17 tracks (Pop) and 18 tracks (Art); the bonus CD has remixes of ten more tracks. For those who are die-hard fans of the Pet Shop Boys, this is a must have, but, for the most part, those fans will find it is in many ways an already-have. The tracks are remastered, but given the high production qualities of most PSB discs generally, there isn't a great deal to be gained from this. There are two new songs, Miracles and Flamboyant, which are both wonderful (and, interestingly, the addition of two songs to the 'greatest hits' compilation matches their performance with Discography, which also had a 'best of' with two new tracks added).
There are the major songs and single releases from all previous albums, so this serves both as a retrospective but also as a handy all-in-one collection spanning the history of the Pet Shop Boys; from that perspective, if you were to have just one CD from them, this would the one. The songs are not in chronological release order (as Discography was), but rather seem almost randomly arranged; all songs but one from Discography are here, with an additional collection of tracks from the later album releases that reached the UK top 20. The division between 'Pop' and 'Art' is subtle, and any lifelong fan will have his or her own impressions as to which songs should fit into which category. The 'Pop' side is more disco/dance music, whereas the 'Art' side is a little more sombre, and the lyrics a little more complex. On the other hand, some songs, such as 'Love comes quickly' would easily qualify for either designation.
The special CD includes remixes of hits as well as mixes of B-sides ('Miserablism') and non-single album cuts ('Young offender') previously unreleased; these are good remixes, but aren't so different from other offerings as to make this of interest to anyone but the most devoted of fans. For those fans, however, this is a must-have.
This collection represents more than 20 years work on the part of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe. For the first several years of that career, they were famous world-wide, and quite a staple in the dance clubs and video programming in America and elsewhere. The first singles collection 'Discography' represented the beginning of the decline of 80s style dance music in America, but the music descended from this type remained strongly popular throughout the rest of the world, as the sold-out concert tours of the Pet Shop Boys everywhere except North America attests to. Many of the songs on this 'Pop-Art' collection will therefore be new to audiences whose interest in the Pet Shop Boys ended the hits from the 'Behaviour' era.
Pop-Art is a must-have for anyone who likes dance music, disco, electronic music, 80s music, the Pet Shop Boys, or who wants to have a complete music collection. For those with 'New York City Boy' already on another album ('Nightlife'), this might be a good alternative, so as to get the extra, special track."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1