Customer Reviews
Let's make lots of money! 
2008-05-10
Functioning exactly as its title promises, "Discography" covers the singles released by The Pet Shop Boys in the span from 1985's "West End Girls" to 1991's "Was It Worth It." While in England, they ran up a string of hits worthy of superstar status, in the US, their run of chart luck ended with 1988's "Domino Dancing" (from Introspective). Perhaps it was their very dry British sensibilities, maybe it was homo-phobia, but listening to this set from start to finish really does make you wonder why these great singles failed to find a home on American Radio.
Granted, the early singles are the epitome of what made new-wave radio in the 80's a blast to listen to, and "What Have I Done To Deserve This" is both a classic song AND resurrected the late Dusty Springfield's career, but you can hear Pet Shop Boys growing in sophistication from the snide ennui of "Opportunities" (from the debut, Please) to Behavior's look back of "Being Boring." They were bold enough to try all sorts of styles (from Trevor Horn's bombast on the great "Left to My Own Devices" to the heartbreak of "Being Boring") and were certainly not without their sense of humor. Despite constantly being labeled as dry or droll, making a medley out of Frankie Valli and U2 ("Where the Streets Have No Name/Can't Take My Eyes off of You") makes not only for a smashing dance record, but for a darn good musical in-joke.
Although "Discography" has since been updated to Pop Art: The Hits and includes songs from the PSB masterpiece Very on, this single disc retrospective is as essential to understanding 80's pop as would be The Best of New Order or Duran Duran's Greatest. The songs here all stand the tests of time.
Good Collection (but some songs left out) 2007-11-12
Good collection of the PSB's hits; would have been great if they had included gems like "Two Divided by Zero" and "Later Tonight." Still worth it, though. :)
fine retrospective of The Pet Shop Boys and their music 
2007-10-05
The Pet Shop Boys show their talent on this very good, solid CD retrospective. It's full of their hits and great music.
"West End Girls" begins this track set; they sing of the young women in London's West End district who meet "East End Boys;" and the musical arrangement makes good use of the strings, drums and percussion. Great! "It's A Sin" makes a dramatic arrangement out of the strings, female backup chorus, special sound effects to simulate thunder, drums and percussion. The Pet Shop Boys do this number to express a man's guilt just because he was gay. The music and vocals compliment each other perfection and "It's A Sin" remains a strong number even today.
"What Have I Done To Deserve This?" was a big mainstream hit for The Pet Shop Boys; the drums, percussion, keyboard and guitars carry the melody very well. "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" explores the frustration a man feels when he could not please his former materialistic lover no matter how much he gave to them. Good harmonizing, too! "Domino Dancing" features a great dance music beat; and "Left To My Own Devices" was to be another major mainstream hit for The Pet Shop Boys. "Left To My Own Devices" sports an excellent dance music beat with just a twist of disco flavoring to make this shine! This number lets The Pet Shop Boys sing of a man who wants to do as he pleases. I predict that you'll enjoy "Left To My Own Devices" very much.
"Where The Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" begins with some pretty funky special effects; and when the musicians come in this number takes off like a rocket! Again we hear a type of dance music with a twist of disco flavoring to enhance the beauty of this number. In addition, "Was It Worth It?" features a great arrangement and The Pet Shop Boys deliver this number like the pros that they remain! Good backup vocals, too.
The liner notes include some great artwork and we get the song credits also.
The Pet Shop Boys gave us so much; and it's wonderful that they shared this music with us. Hopefully they'll continue to entertain people for many years to come.
Love it! 2007-09-09
This was my first Pet Shop Boys album and I'm so glad I got it. I tend towrd bands like Erasure, New Order and this fit right in. Highly recomended if you like the 80's euro-pop-new-wave thing.
This is what a Greatest Hits CD should be like 2007-08-16
I've always been a hugh Pet Shop Boys fan, and when I lived in Canada (Toronto) I was lucky enough to see the Behaviour Tour. Even though I already own all the songs on this Disc, I bought this CD again.
Yes this is the second copy I've bought - one at home, and now one in the Juke Box at work. Filling a bar's Juke Box can be difficult - only 100 slots to please everybody who could walk through the door. Greatest Hits CDs are popular in Jukes for that reason - you an Artist's songs that are most likely to be played using only one slot.
What makes this Greatest Hits better than most, is that there is FAR less filler - the inside Jacket tells you how far up the charts each song went - it's a true "SINGLES" collection - not just a 'teaser' that will keep you buying all of their CDs.
This CD has been in our Juke Box for about 3 weeks now, and it gets a LOT of play - far more than the vast majority of CDs we've placed in the Juke.
If you're a die-hard PSB fan, then you already have this CD, if you're not a die-hard fan but still looking at this review then you will enjoy playing this one in your car - it's perfect for listening straight through!
A blast from start to finish 2007-02-13
Where would the '80s have been without the Pet Shop Boys?
Discography makes a compelling case for the notion of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe as pioneers, if not geniuses. Mixing the cold feel of Euro-techno beats with the Boys' quest for something warm between the sheets, "What Have I Done to Deserve This" and "Suburbia" sound almost soulful. Although they seemed to be suffering from a terminal case of boredom, they managed to alchemize their ennui into touching sentimentality in "Love Comes Quickly," "Rent," and, especially, the AIDS-oriented "Being Boring."
Discography begins with the Pet Shop Boys' beginning, "West End Girls," traveling past "Domino Dancing" and including their covers "Always on My Mind," and the medley "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You.)"
--Steve Gdula
Number One Fan's Husband 2007-01-22
I bought this for my wife for Christmas as she is a mad Pet Shop Boys fan and I think she has played it every day since. Outstanding, fun complilation.
Suburbia! 2006-09-25
I have to say that this is my second compact disc because the other one got scratched up. I decided since I love their music to buy another one because the one hit that I love the most is Suburbia. I love listening to it over and over again. I love the other hits like West End Boys and What have I done to deserve this? and others on this collection. I love the sound and keep thinking about London, England and being on the underground or the tube. It's quite a great collection!
1984 West End Girls version? 2006-08-28
While I like the 1986 version of WEGs, I LOVE the original 1984 version better. Does anyone know if it is available on CD?
Is $14.98 too much to ask for one perfect pop song? 2006-06-28
Are you the kind of person who would spend $3.50 for the perfect oyster at a raw bar? How about $7.00 for a perfectly drawn pint of ale in a midtown New York bar? Then dropping $35.00 for a t-shirt because it was made in the US or $18.00 for that small jar of cashews from the minibar because you 'just had to have something to munch on" before going to dinner? If you answered yes to any of the above, you would have no problem dropping the full price (Amazon, $14.98) to have a red-book CD copy (no inferior compressed downloads, thank you) of the perfect pop song, "What have I done to Deserve this?" from Pet Shop Boys. One of the most beautifully sung and arranged female pop vocals ever recorded is to be found on this one song. It is well known that Dusty Springfield demanded several run-throughs and takes to make this cut. She is said to have sweated every single note to perfection because she felt so strongly about her performance. Believe me, it shows. Perfection. You also get the unrivalled, unmatched 80's pop and dance-beat mastery with all the other selections that only the "Boys" were able to create. And all for only $14.98.
