Very (Pet Shop Boys album)


Very is the fifth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released on 27 September 1993 by Parlophone, nearly three years after the duo's previous studio album, Behaviour, and following the compilation album . Very exhibits one of many turning points the Pet Shop Boys would make to their music, shifting from the subdued electronic pop of Behaviour to richly instrumented dance arrangements. The content and lyrics led to Very being called their "coming-out" album, since it was during this time that Neil Tennant had publicly discussed his long-rumoured homosexuality.

History

The album Behaviour, released in 1990, although critically well-received was commercially not as successful as their previous releases. In particular, the second single released, "Being Boring", which the duo had considered one of their strongest tracks did not perform well in the UK charts, stalling at number 20 in November 1990. The subsequent Performance Tour which began in North American during Spring 1991 initially received mixed reviews in the United States and did not improve the poor showing of the album in the US charts which only managed a peak of 45 on the US Billboard Album Charts. Journalist and close friend of the duo, Chris Heath, documented the American leg of the tour in his book Pet Shop Boys Versus America, at one point noting Chris Lowe's comment of "We should write another good dance album, write Behaviour off as a tax loss".
After the Performance Tour of 1991, Pet Shop Boys elected to take a break, releasing their compilation that November. This initially led some to believe that the group were close to breaking up, particularly as the group were no longer perceived at the peak of their popularity after their initial 'golden period' in the mid to late 1980s.
When interviewed in 2006 for the documentary, EMI representative Tony Wadsworth noted that when the record label first heard the songs on Very "the smiles undoubtedly lit up the room the songs were so obviously commercial." The promotion of Very was to include, for the first time, music videos that made use of the CGI available at the time and thus would guarantee more airplay on channels like MTV.
A limited edition of Very was also released as a double album titled Very Relentless. The second disc, Relentless, is a six-track dance album containing tracks that are more experimental and instrumental. There were plans to expand upon Relentless in 1994 by releasing the six tracks along with others, making a full dance album, but this evolved into Disco 2. The six tracks on Relentless have not been released elsewhere since.
The album was reissued in 1996 as a mid-price release, this time in a standard jewel case with a new sleeve showing an image of the original case.
Very was re-released on 3 July 2001 titled Very/Further Listening 1992–1994. The re-released version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc featuring B-sides and previously unreleased material. The unreleased songs were recorded during the Very recording sessions, but Tennant and Lowe decided not to include them on the album originally.
On 9 February 2009, the album was re-released yet again, still remastered, under the title Very: Remastered, but this time containing only the 12 original tracks.
To date, Very is the Pet Shop Boys' most commercially successful album in the UK- it reached number one on the UK album charts shortly after its release. In addition, all singles released from the album entered the top 20 of the UK single charts including Go West, which remains one of their highest-charting singles. In contrast, however, the album and singles failed to achieve high chart positions on the Billboard 100 in the USA ; this was seen partly as a result of the rise of grunge and alternative rock on American radio.

Packaging

The original release of Very was packaged in a unique orange jewel case with raised bumps, designed by Daniel Weil of Pentagram in London. Very Relentless was similarly unique, with the two CDs housed in card sleeves with both of these housed in a translucent rubber case with raised bumps.

Legacy

In June 2000, Q magazine placed Very at number 91 on its list of The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

All songs written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted.
  1. "Can You Forgive Her?" – 3:53
  2. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" – 3:03
  3. "Liberation" – 4:05
  4. "A Different Point of View" – 3:26
  5. "Dreaming of the Queen" – 4:19
  6. "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" – 3:55
  7. "The Theatre" – 5:10
  8. "One and One Make Five" – 3:30
  9. "To Speak Is a Sin" – 4:45
  10. "Young Offender" – 4:50
  11. "One in a Million" – 3:52
  12. "Go West" - – 8:22
Relentless bonus disc
  1. "My Head Is Spinning" – 6:33
  2. "Forever in Love" – 6:19
  3. "KDX 125" – 6:25
  4. "We Came from Outer Space" – 5:24
  5. "The Man Who Has Everything" – 6:01
  6. "One Thing Leads to Another" – 6:24
Further Listening 1992–1994 bonus disc
  1. "Go West" – 9:12 *
  2. "Forever in Love" – 5:44 *
  3. "Confidential" – 4:47
  4. "Hey, Headmaster" – 3:06
  5. "Shameless" – 5:04
  6. "Too Many People" – 4:25
  7. "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" – 4:45 **
  8. "Violence" – 5:00
  9. "Falling" – 4:38 *
  10. "Decadence" – 3:55
  11. "If Love Were All" – 3:00
  12. "Absolutely Fabulous" – 3:46
  13. "Euroboy" – 4:30
  14. "Some Speculation" – 6:34
  15. "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" – 4:01
  16. "Girls and Boys" – 4:55
Previously unreleased.
Not the version featured on .

Personnel

Additional

Weekly charts

Very Relentless
Chart Peak
position
Danish Albums 7
European Albums 31

Year-end charts

Chart Position
European Albums 37
German Albums 36
Swiss Albums 35

Certifications