PET SHOP BOYS – Announce second set of ‘catalogue’ releases: ‘YES’ and ‘ELYSIUM’

PET SHOP BOYS - Announce second set of 'catalogue' releases: 'YES' and 'ELYSIUM'

Pet Shop Boys will release the second set of albums in their definitive ‘Catalogue: 1985-2012’ series of reissues of all their Parlophone studio albums. This second set sees the PSB albums ‘Yes’ from 2009 and ‘Elysium’ from 2012 reissued on October 20th. Both titles have been remastered and are accompanied by ‘Further listening’ albums of master quality bonus tracks and demos created in the same period as each album, as well as Pet Shop Boys’ own remixes of their tracks, including some previously unreleased material.

Both albums will be packaged with an extensive booklet in which Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe discuss each song, illustrated with many archive photographs. The entire project is designed by Farrow.

‘Yes’ was produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The record debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart upon release and was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. This expanded version of the album features guests including The Human League’s Phil Oakey, who shares vocals with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe on ‘This used to be the future’.

Johnny Marr also appears on ‘Yes’, his guitar work featuring on several tracks including the single, ‘Did you see me coming?’. The album’s lead single and UK Top 20 hit, ‘Love Etc.’, became PSB’s ninth number one hit on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the USA, breaking the record for most chart-topping singles by a duo or group on the Billboard Dance Chart.

This reissue of ‘Yes’ includes – alongside the remastered original album – Pet Shop Boys’ previously unreleased monitor mix of ‘The loving kind’, a song which became a Top 10 hit for Girls Aloud, as well as previously unreleased demos of songs from the 2010 Young Vic theatre production, My Dad’s A Birdman. PSB mixes of ‘Did you see me coming?’, ‘The former enfant terrible’ and more are also included. Full track-listing for the reissue of ‘Yes’ below:

Yes/Further listening: 2008-2010

CD1

1. Love etc.

2. All over the world

3. Beautiful people

4. Did you see me coming?

5. Vulnerable

6. More than a dream

7. Building a wall

8. King of Rome

9. Pandemonium

10. The way it used to be

11. Legacy

CD2

1. Gin and Jag

2. This used to be the future (with Phil Oakey)

3. We’re all criminals now

4. Gin and Jag (Frisky mix)

5. Beautiful people (demo)

6. My girl

7. The loving kind (monitor mix)*

8. Love etc (PSB mix)

9. Did you see me coming? (PSB Possibly more mix)

10. The former enfant terrible (PSB Bring it on mix)

11. Up and down

12. Brits medley**

CD3

1. I cried for us

2. It doesn’t often snow at Christmas (new version)

3. All over the world (new version)

4. Viva la vida/Domino dancing (Christmas EP mix)

5. My Girl (Our house mix)

6. Leaving (demo)

7. Together

8. Glad all over (From “Together” CD single)

9. The dumpling song (demo from My Dad’s A Birdman)*

10. Wings and faith (demo from My Dad’s A Birdman)*

11. Night song (fan club download 2010)**

* Previously unreleased

** Previously unreleased on CD

‘Elysium’, originally released in 2012, was seen by some as a shift in sound and direction for Pet Shop Boys. Writing for the album began whilst PSB were on tour with Take That, with some tracks dating as far back as 2008.

The album was co-produced by PSB with Andrew Dawson, who engineered much of Kanye West’s album ‘808s & Heartbreak’, a record which Neil Tennant had become ‘mildly obsessed’ with at the time. The darker lyrical themes of ‘Elysium’ are reflected in the record’s sound. Neil Tennant said: ‘It is deep in terms of the sound—got a lot of sub-bass—it’s sort of deep in terms of subject matter, the way it’s expressed. But I think it’s the Pet Shop Boys’ most beautiful album.’

The ‘Further listening’ album of additional material alongside this ‘Elysium’ reissue features previously unreleased demos entitled ‘Vocal’, ‘She pops’ and ‘In slow motion’, as well as PSB mixes and remixes of ‘Leaving’ and ‘Memory of the future’. Full track-listing for the reissue of ‘Elysium’ below:

Elysium/Further listening: 2011-2012

CD1

1. Leaving

2. Invisible

3. Winner

4. Your early stuff

5. A face like that

6. Breathing space

7. Ego music

8. Hold on

9. Give it a go

10. Memory of the future

11. Everything means something

12. Requiem in denim and leopardskin

CD2

1. Vocal (demo)*

2. She pops (demo)*

3. Inside

4. In slow motion (demo)*

5. Listening

6. Hell

7. The way through the woods (long version)

8. I started a joke

9. In his imagination

10. Leaving (Believe in PSB mix)

11. Leaving (Side by side remix)

12. Leaving (Freedom remix)

13. Memory of the future (New single mix)

*Previously unreleased

The Catalogue reissues of ‘Yes’ and ‘Elysium’ will go on sale on October 20th. Upon pre-order of the albums, the tracks ‘The loving kind (monitor mix)’ from ‘Yes’ and ‘Vocal (demo)’.

The ‘Catalogue: 1985-2012’ reissue series began earlier this year on July 28th with the release of ‘Nightlife’, ‘Release’ and ‘Fundamental’ which all entered the Top 40 album charts. The reissues will continue until all PSB Parlophone albums have been released with ‘Further listening’ albums:

Please/Further listening: 1984-1986

Actually/Further listening: 1987-1988

Introspective/Further listening: 1988-1989

Behaviour/Further listening: 1990-1991

Very/Further listening: 1992-1994

Bilingual/Further listening: 1995-1997

The reissues of ‘Please’, ‘Actually’, ‘Introspective’, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Very’ and ‘Bilingual’ were originally released with bonus ‘Further listening’ albums in 2001 and are being newly remastered with their original track-listings for this project.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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