Search - Pet Shop Boys :: Disco 4

80s mega new wave act becomes remix team for the millennium

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 11/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pet Shop Boys has made quite a mark in remixing over the past few years with the surge of retro 80s bands and influences in electronic music. It's basically like coming home again after getting somewhat lost in all the deep house and hard house of the 90s that just wasn't as befitting to the Boys' style. Some may be disappointed that Disco 4 is not all Pet Shop Boys music remixed, but basically, if you buy the import double disc version of their Fundamental CD, you have Disco 4 right there. Here, instead, you get fantastic electro pop remixes of The Killers, Madonna, David Bowie, and other lesser known artists with equally infectious 'new wave' sounding tracks. And to give it that special Pet Shop Boys touch, Neil Tennant sometimes lends new backing vocals to the remixes. Most importantly, these mixes, some of them hard to find, are all full length and UNMIXED. Great for collectors. Track times:



1. Read My Mind (7:20) (Adds new life to this mellow Killers track)

2. Hallo Space Boy (6:34) (very dramatic mix, and the marriage of Bowie and the Boys is priceless)

3. Integral (6:38) (what would a "disco" CD be without at least a few Pet Shop Boys tunes?)

4. Walking on Thin Ice (6:28) (released a few years ago on a CD single with many mixes, The Pet Shop Boys mix was ahead of its time with its retro electronic dance sound. Fantastic mix, and Yoko's vocals actually work on this type of quirky sound)

5. Sorry (8:27) (Again, one of the best mixes from the original CD single of a song, the Boys keep the original integrity of Madonna's version, basically creating just an old school 'extended version' with the addition of some dueting by Neil. Another great and unexpected coupling of 80s greats)

6. hooked on radiation (5:44) (fantastic electronic dance song with an almost Stock Aitken Waterman/HiNRG/Dead or Alive feel and some hard alternative female vocals)

7. Mein Teil (7:08) (a harder, more industrial mix, not my fave, but a cool change of pace that adds some variety to the collection)

8. I'm With Stupid (8:13) (for those who couldn't afford the astronomically priced import of Fundamental that had this mix on disc 2, this alone is reason to buy this disc, because 'I'm With Stupid' never got a deserved CD-maxi release)"

A different kind of PSB release

M.M. | VA, USA | 11/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although most tracks in this release are performed by other artists other than the PSB, all tracks can be considered somewhat theirs because they have the unique PSB sound. Out of this collection I only had the Madonna "Sorry" mix (from her US maxi-CD), so this release was a great way to get the Remixes that the PSB have done for other artists in recent years, plus their new mix of "Integral" (only available on promo CD's) and the "I'm with Stupid" mix (only available on the Japanese edition of "Fundamental" and on promo CD's). FYI Neil (the voice of the PSB) does the background vocals on "Read My Mind", and "Sorry", and he sings along with David Bowie on "Hallo Spaceboy". All tracks overlap slightly (it's kind of a continuous mix, but very minimal). All tracks included in this release are great, but it was a bit dissapointing to only have 8 tracks. It would have been nice to include a mix of the collaboration "She's Madonna" w/Robbie Williams, and a mix of "Minimal". Anyways, I highly recommend this CD to the open-minded PSB fans and to anyone who is looking for a good synth-pop collection."

Dance music to test your stereo system...

insoc | Miami, Florida United States | 12/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We all know that this is a must-have mixes album for any Pet Shop Boys fan but it is ALSO a GREAT stereo system tester. The recording quality are top notch and if you ever wonder what was STEREO IMAGING all about just hear the MEIN TEIL mix in this album and you will understand it. Overall a great sonic experience."