Tracklist
2 I Get Excited (Bobby "O" Demo) 4:45
3 Two Divided By Zero (Bobby "O" Demo) 4:16
4 Rent (Bobby "O" Demo) 4:09
5 It's A Sin (Bobby "O" Demo) 5:44
6 In The Club Or In The Queue (Bobby "O" Demo) 5:33
7 I Want A Lover (Bobby "O" Demo) 7:14
8 Later Tonight (Bobby "O" Demo) 3:05
9 I Get Excited (Bobby "O" Later Demo Version) 6:15
10 Why Don't We Live Together (Bobby "O" Demo) 7:42
There’s one set of demos floating
around which really deserved to be an album in its own right – Pet Shop
Boys‘ 1984 demos recorded with Bobby Orlando. Around the time
of the initial success of West End Girls, they recorded a whole
fleet of demos, which are entirely unlike their finished counterparts, and are
totally brilliant into the bargain. How different would their history have been
if they had released this as an album?
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of
Money) comes first. As with the final
versions, it kicks off with a repeated drum sound, although this time it’s an
808 woodblock, among things. Then the bassline, which has been recycled
from West End Girls. This is a much darker and gloomier version of
the track, thanks to the deep choir of which Bobby O was so
fond, but it’s pretty good nonetheless, despite the ill-advised vocal
acrobatics towards the end.
1988 b-side I Get Excited
(You Get Excited Too) comes next, trying ever so hard to adhere to
every Bobby O stereotype you can think off (the bass part, the
choir, the big snares, the warbly synth arpeggios… all that’s lacking is the
female vocal). But then, a couple of minutes in, it becomes almost recognisable
as the final track – except somehow more energetic, and possibly even better.
Well, without that awful synth part, anyway.
Two Divided by Zero is very recognisable as the completed track from Please (1986)
– except that it’s totally awful. Stephen Hague dropped the
dreadful transposed drum sounds and callbacks to West End Girls and
turned it into something altogether darker, moodier, and more atmospheric.
Without going anywhere near a choir sound, either, believe it or not. And I’m
not sure who thought the “your momma” sample was funny…
Rent is somewhat spoiled by the awful drum introduction and poor vocal
production, but you can hear the beginnings of one of their best songs here. If
you really strain your ears. It’s a Sin on the other hand, is
quite glorious. It’s enormous, electronic, and the choir is actually serving a
useful purpose here. Even the drum breakdown in the middle fails to ruin the
mood, because it comes back bigger than ever afterwards. They surely must have
realised they had a number one hit on their hands already, mustn’t they?
In the Club or in the Queue sadly never got released anywhere in the end. It’s nothing
special, I suppose, but it might have made a nice Please or Actually b-side
at least. The car samples don’t help much, but the piano does after all the
Hi-NRG of the preceding tracks, and it’s good to hear something a little more
experimental too.
The last two tracks would end up on
their debut album Please a couple of years later – I
Want a Lover and Later Tonight. Both have fairly modest
production, suggesting that Bobby O may have left the boys to
it for much of the recording. Or so it seems, until the inevitable attack
of the killer handclaps half way through I Want a Lover. The last
track, at least, is pretty calm.
Whether the artist likes it or not, there’s something very special about
listening to demos like this. You feel you have much more of an understanding
for where the song came from, and how it evolved into what it became –
something which no amount of commentary from the artist can give you. And this
collection in particular I’d particularly recommend.
You’ll have to poke around on the
internet to find this set of demos – the chances of Pet Shop Boys releasing
it commercially are slim to negligible.
Very rare and very hard to find records of Pet Shop Boys "Bobby "O" Demos" is a compilation of their demos.
Mixed and remixed by Bobby O.
Remember - the songs are in DEMO Version. Don't expect high sound quality.
Mixed and remixed by Bobby O.
Remember - the songs are in DEMO Version. Don't expect high sound quality.
RETRO DISCO Hi-NRG
Hello, I would like your older posts were posted again because of the time because you are with expired links. Your blog is awesome !!! Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteOlá, gostaria que suas postagens mais antigas fossem novamente postadas devido ao tempo, pois á estão com os links expirados. Seu blog é sensacional!!! Muito obrigado.
Would it Be Possible To Re Post This Please
ReplyDeleteAlso looking for a repost :-) !
ReplyDeleteHello. Could You please re-up this album? I'd love to check all the tracks :-)
ReplyDelete