The (near) complete Pet Shop Boys

Ranking the albums (and more) by one of the best Singles groups of all time

I’m a glutton for “discography/bibliography/filmography projects”. My buddies and I call them “Complete and Accurates” and they work for all major pieces of media. Take an artist, take in as much of their work as possible, evaluate it and rank it. It’s not the best way to consume culture but it IS a way and as long as you’re not bogged down in the process or an unchangeable ranking, there’s really no harm.

I recently finished up a project that resulted in me listening to 41 “different” Pet Shop Boys releases a handful of times each, but figuring out how to approach talking about my experience, thoughts and feelings about the group and their music has escaped me. As I start this intro, I am still unclear on how to approach things - we are just going to see what happens.

Over the last 40 years, the Pet Shop Boys have released about 16 original albums, 5ish soundtracks, official remix albums and ballets, 4 live albums, over a dozen EPs, well over 100 singles and tend to be one of the most remixed pop bands of all time. Most of their albums got re-released in the 2000s and 2010s with “Further Listening” additions that included the original album, and usually 1-2 extra discs of material from around the time period. From non-album tracks to demos to remixes, these releases will often stretch a 45-minute album to well over 150 minutes. It’s been a daunting, but rewarding project and even after the (likely) few hundred hours I have now spent with the group over the past year - I still am NOWHERE near an expert, as this group has some of the most dedicated and passionate fans I’ve seen online.

And yet, most of us (at least in the United States) only know “West End Girls”

Ranking artists’ working against itself is a pretty silly thing (though I do it because my brain works that way), and this one was especially complicated. I separated the “Further Listening” versions of albums out from their original counterparts because in some cases the increase or decrease in quality was vast. As a group that really IS single and dancefloor-driven, it made sense to me to include these releases as their own thing. I also included live albums, the soundtracks/ballets and a few important EPs. I did NOT include any greatest hits records - which if you look at this and take anything away - you can probably just stick with those. (I prefer the 3-disc SMASH from 2023).

I wound up with 41 releases when all was said and done and rather than truly rank them 1-41, chose to group them in my head (and a Google Sheet). I don’t know if this list is conventional (I know my two favorite albums are not considered amongst their best by most), but it’s how I feel and I’ve hemmed and hawed over the last two weeks to group these together. Anyway, this is a lot and the blurbs won’t be super verbose - but here goes… My (non) Definitive ranking of Pet Shop Boys releases:

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The 2 Best Albums

Bilingual (1996) & Electric (2013)

Bilingual is the PSB’s 5th album, the first after 4 critically acclaimed records (and one of the few to receive less than the “great album” designation from All Music Guide of 4 stars). After a half-dozen listens, despite it not having the big hits of the past 4 (or some subsequent albums), I find the record to be the group’s most cohesive vision for an album. Seemingly inspired by the growing influence of Latin-pop and percussion in mainstream dance music, the group put out a record that seamlessly flows from track to track, without ever sounding like a DJ Mix or conceptual record. The songs are less dramatic than usual, slightly more subdued and the record is the first to FEEL like a product of the 90s. It also happens to be one of their only records that comes close to a “chillout” record. As a bonus it features maybe my single favorite song by the group “Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)” - a masterpiece of cheesy pop. It just works as a mood lifter as well as any of their music, has excellent production (please find a hi-def version) and just WORKS.

Electric was perhaps the single biggest surprise through the project. Coming out in 2013, off the heels of perhaps their worst album Elysium, this one abandons the near-dour mood of that for 50-minutes of high energy dance numbers with the help of Stuart Price (Madonna, Kylie Minogue) and a throwback feel that sounds every bit the electro-disco that was taking over the blogs from 2005-2013. Similar to Bilingual, it is one of their most joyous records - just in an entirely different way. This one blends seamlessly as well but COULD be a DJ mix, almost every song being super danceable. This one even takes a late-period Springsteen number, “Last to Die” and turns it into a jam. It also features perhaps the two best late-period PSB songs in “Love is a Bourgeois Construct” and “Vocal”. This is just excellent pop music through and through and fits alongside any of the best maximalist-pop records of the era.

It’s worth noting that the Further Listening version of Bilingual is GREAT (see below) but not nearly perfect as the album itself. Electric is the first of their records to not receive that reissue treatment.

The 2 Best Eras

Please / Further Listening 1984-1986
Behaviour / Further Listening 1990-1991

The Pet Shop Boys had been around for a couple of years before their debut album Please was released a week after my birth in 1986. It’s a great album, one that I very nearly included on its own in this upper echelon, but has a couple of missteps that stop it from getting there. That said, the album is also the band at their most statement making and the one that shows they are “of their time”. From the Sophisti-pop styling of mega-hit “West End Girls” to the anthem of “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” to perhaps their single most earwormy song ever “Suburbia”. It’s the inclusion of “Later Tonight” that mostly ruins the run for me (plus the record just gets a little samey between many of the great tracks). However, the singles, remixes and extended versions of songs included on the bonus disc in the Further Listening edition really strip away a lot of the sap and just reveal the band at about their most fun. It adds another 80 minutes of deliciously silly (yet smart) 80’s pop.

Behaviour on the other hand is an album I like, but I rate sort of middle of the pack for the group. It’s one of their most praised albums by fans and it’s likely because it’s the first one of theirs that is cohesive from a thematic standpoint and expands their sound out from the 80s dance-pop to include a bit more late-period radio-friendly pop. The record deal with the AIDS crisis and feels like the first of their records that is meant to be played at home rather than just on the dancefloor. It’s GOOD, but despite having some of their absolute best songs, doesn’t quite reach the mark of great for me. The bonus disc includes remixes, covers (including a very fun version of “Where the Streets Have No Name”) and non-album cuts. It fleshes out the sound a little bit more, adds some levity and blends the Boys’ “maturing” sound with dancefloor-ready production as well as any of their music (check out the extended remix of “So Hard”). It’s a 2-hour runtime that goes by pretty quick and straddles the 80s/90s, birth-of-house sound really well.

The GREAT Live Albums

Pandemonium (2010) - Live from O2 Arena in 2009
Inner Sanctum (2019) - Live from Royal Opera House in 2018
Discovery: Live in Rio 1994 (2021)

The boys had a prior live album in 2006 called Concrete that is still cool and done in collaboration with BBC2, but it isn’t quite as good as these 3 because it is also performed with an Orchestra and honestly it mutes their songs quite a bit.

These 3 shows, 2 from more recent times and 1 from the 90s are just wonderful. The Pandemonium sounds like this incredibly huge party with the giant crowd at the O2 and keeps things tight with a 73-minute runtime spanning 20 years of hits. Inner Sanctum is culled from a 4-day residency at the Royal Opera House and has immaculate production and sound quality for a live record. This performance is still less than 2 hours, features a lot of their quality newer work and does a lot of medleys. It’s fantastic. However, the real gem might be Discovery, which due to it’s age and location is the WORST produced, but feels the most like YOU ARE THERE. This is a rabid Rio crowd and for over 90-minutes you can hear them singing along to the best of the PSB’s 80s work. The energy is pretty incredible.

Overall, none of these are truly essential but if you want any documents that span the bands career besides a greatest hits set - these are awesome additions and I’m also a mark for officially released live records.

Great Records

Please (1986)
Intropsective (1988)
Very / Further Listening 1992-1994
Bilingual / Further Listening 1995-1997
Closer to Heaven (2001)
Yes (2009)

This is an interesting mixed bag here and pretty indicative of how wide this group really casts its net despite always remaining the very distinctive Pet Shop Boys. Please was covered above and is really just a great debut record, even if it’s essentially just a collection of songs. Bilingual / Further Listening 1995-1997 fleshes out the sound of that awesome album a bit more, but since I find that actual album so expertly curated, the extras actually feel like extras. Introspective is really to me, probably the definitive early PSB album. It’s 6 songs over 48 minutes and yet it remains a POP record. It shows who the group is more than any other record and really defined their sound for the rest of their career. Very is a really good record and shows the maturing they did over the course of almost 10 years, but the album without the context of the bonus material is just slightly lacking. Some super strong songs, with some less-inspired productions made better with the extras. Yes is some of their strongest 2000s material and and has (now) legendary songs like “Love Etc”, “All Over the World” and “Pandemonium”. Similar to Electric, this record came out after a more “moody” record, restores the party vibe of the band and really showcases a producer of the moment (Xenomania, responsible for those excellent Girls Aloud records of the 2000s). Close to Heaven is the interesting inclusion here. It’s a MUSICAL and boy is it ever. I’m not a big musicals person outside of a few choice composers, but this is GREAT. I’ve actually blasted this in the car a few times and it totally works. Not for everyone and maybe doesn’t have the replayability of their best records, but it’s a really fun inclusion in their discography.

Really Good Records

Behaviour (1990)
Very (1993)
Hotspot (2020)

Behaviour was covered above as I find it’s “Further Listening” version to be near perfect. Very was just posted above with the additions of the bonus songs and b-sides making it a great experience. As it is, the disc itself is still really quite good and features some of the best PSB songs of the 90s. I find that it lacks the cohesion and ALBUM FEEL that some of their best work does, however. Hotspot is interesting because it came out RIGHT BEFORE lockdown around the world and almost seems to be one of the first 2020 records that seems perfect for what we were about to experience. It’s another record done in collaboration with Stuart Price, but is definitely a little more minimalistic (not a real great description) than something like Electric. There are some songs here that are outright bad (“Monkey Business”) but also some that are amazing (“Will-o-the-Wisp”, “Dreamland” “Burning the Heather”) and some oddball ones (“Wedding in Berlin”). All in all, it seems to be a pretty divisive record but I find something about it just terribly charming.

Further Listening…

Actually / Further Listening 1987-1988
Introspective / Further Listening 1988-1989
Release / Further Listening 2001-2004
Fundamental / Further Listening 2005-2007
Yes / Further Listening 2008-2010
Elysium / Further Listening 2011-2012

At this point I’m running out of things to say. Actually is the “great” Pet Shop Boys album that I differ on the most from the masses. Their second album, it’s generally considered, along with Introspective (probably?) their best. It’s the one I knew the best coming into this, having owned it probably 20+ years ago on CD and reading about it in “best albums of the 80s” style books, but it’s never been one I loved. This project didn’t change that DESPITE the fact that it does have some of the very best PSB songs. The Further Listening stuff makes it a bit better, since it IS dance music, but not THAT much better. Introspective is cool but starts to wear thin when you stretch it to two hours. Same with Yes. Release, Fundamental and Elysium are all inessential records that all have some cool songs explored in the bonus material, but mixed in with some of the worst songs of their entire career.

Fun Diversions

Disco (1986)
Disco 2 (1994)
Suburbia EP (1986)
Relentless EP (1993)
Christmas EP (2009)
Concrete (2006)

None of these are ALBUMS per se (though some are album length), but rather a combination of notable EPs, a live album and 2 remix albums (where most tracks are found on Further Listening releases).

Both Disco releases are inessential if you go for those extended album versions, but on their own they are still super good, condensed listening experiences that showcase that the PSB are truly a dance band. Almost no track between them (and certainly not on the genuinely NOT GOOD third volume) is better than the source material, but they are still fun side projects. Suburbia was more or less their first 2nd release, coming out 6 months after Please and just showcases some of their biggest tracks from that record and with a remix and B-side. Relentless was a “lost” release big with PSB fans from the Very sessions and is perhaps the most straight-ahead CLUB music the group ever made. This is straight up early 90s Acid House club music and while it doesn’t make for a GREAT album or release, it’s still such a welcome addition of 40 minutes of music. The Christmas EP has a slightly re-worked version of “It Doesn’t Often Snow (At Christmas)” and is delightful. It also has the recorded version of their covers of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and Madness’ “My Girl” - further showing I would be into an entire album of covers. Concrete is something I referenced earlier and is a live album done with orchestra and it really dulls some of their tracks for me - but the actual song selection is top notch.

Inessential (imo…)

Actually (1987)
Nightlife (1999)
Nightlife / Further Listening 1996-2000
Release (2002)
Disco 3 (2003)
Battleship Potemkin (2005)
Fundamental (2006)
The Most Incredible Thing (2011)
My Beautiful Laundrette EP (2011)
Elysium (2012)
Super (2016)
Lost EP (2023)
Nonetheless (2024)

As I said before, Actually is generally considered to be their best or at WORST a top 3 album for the group but I just am not into it. Nightlife has a cool concept and some good production but LACKS in song. Release, Fundamental, Elysium and Super are all varying degrees of just checking boxes. None of them are bad and none of them are memorable. Nonetheless, which came out last year is quite good and sounds like the PSB, but still doesn’t reach the highs you would hope. The two EPs are forgettable, the Battleship Potemkin score should barely count and the ballet The Most Incredible Thing does nothing for me.

Nothing they have put out is truly BAD. I didn’t HATE anything. These are all just what we would call “nothing burgers” for me. (I’m sure someday I’ll change my mind about Actually). If the lowest category for 40 releases is “Inessential” - that’s a good musical group!

So, there you have it. A lot of listening, a lot of words, if you read it - maybe you’ll check these out. I think the top 4 are worth listening to for anyone who is curious and if you’re only A LITTLE curious, just check out a greatest hits set. All that said, I am now a fairly big fan of this band - I’ll continue to follow them as long as they go - but I can’t consider them one of my favorites ever.

But they’re definitively one of the best “Greatest Hits” groups ever.

Thanks for coming along, be back with some HARDCORE again soon.

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