Search - Pet Shop Boys :: Popart (Arg)

Much Needed Collection!

jabdigital | Floral Park, NY USA | 01/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've always loved Pet Shop Boys since the beginning. Most of their best tracks are on here, but I have one question.. WHY DO ARTISTS SOMETIMES CHANGE VERSIONS OF THEIR SONGS FOR A GREATEST HITS CD?!?!?!? "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" and "I Wouldn't Normally Do This King Of Thing" were much better from VERY than on this cd. They should have left them alone! "Different Point Of View" is missing along with "One In A Million" and "Saturday Night Forever." HOWEVER! I know I'm a picky reviewer, and this is still an AMAZING CD. So many other classics on here!!! Definitely get your hands on this. If you want, pay the extra money for the 3CD set, but the only really good remix from there is the Lange remix of New York City Boy. Also check out the Trouser Enthusiasts Remix of Somewhere from the CD Single or wherever else you get your music. Both remixes are insane!PSB + Erasure are must have artists in your collection."

All the best, and a bit more...

FrKurt Messick | Bloomington, IN USA | 08/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite being advertised as an 'international version', this is in fact the same configuration as the North American release of the PopArt. There are several versions of this with minor variations, so be advised to check the listings carefully for the song-selections and tracks.



The first of the discs of this 'Greatest Hits' for the Pet Shop Boys contains 17 tracks (Pop), and the second 18 tracks (Art). 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 (one on each disc), 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.



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.



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."

A must for PSB fans

Patrick J. Neals | Toronto, ON, Canada | 03/07/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike another reviewer, I like when they thrown in surprises like slightly different versions of songs from their original album versions. If you already have the original albums, then it's nice to get the additional remixes. This sums up their career quite well, although the choice of songs could have been a bit better. I think they were trying to focus on actual single releases. One often wonders why certain songs become singles, and others don't. Regardless, this is a great collection that you are sure to enjoy."