Pet Shop Boys - Actually

With their second album, Actually, the Pet Shop Boys perfected their melodic, detached dance-pop. Where most of Please was dominated by the beats, the rhythms on Actually are part of a series of intricate arrangements that create a glamorous but disposable backdrop for Neil Tennant's tales of isolation, boredom, money, and loneliness. Not only are the arrangements more accomplished, but the songs themselves are more striking, incorporating a strong sense of melody, as evidenced by "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," a duet with Dusty Springfield. Tennant's lyrics are clever and direct, chronicling the lives and times of urban, lonely, and bored yuppies of the late '80s. And the fact that dance-pop is considered a disposable medium by most mainstream critics and listeners only increases the reserved emotional undercurrent of Actually, as well as its irony. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Adrien Cook Fairlight, Keyboard Programming Andy Richards Keyboard Programming, Fairlight, Producer Angelo Badalamenti ?, Orchestral Arrangements Blue Weaver Fairlight, Keyboard Programming Cindy Palmano Photography Dave Meegan Engineer David Jacob Producer, Mixing, Engineer Dusty Springfield Vocals Eric Watson Photography Julian Mendelsohn Mixing, Engineer, Producer Mark Farrow Design Pet Shop Boys Design, Producer Shep Pettibone Producer Stephen Hague Mixing, Producer Tony Phillips Engineer