435. Pet Shop Boys, "Actually"

 


Imagine my surprise when I got about halfway through this album, looked at the tracklist, and realized this ISN'T the album with "West End Girls" on it.  Straight honesty here, I did not know the Pet Shop Boys had another album, or really, another song.  

So this is a pleasant enough EXTREMELY '80s synthpop record.  There are some nice melodies and the whole thing sounds somewhere between Wham! and Depeche Mode, maybe more towards the Depeche Mode side but lighter.  

Do you want to know how '80s this is?  Listen to the first 30 seconds of "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"  It is the perfect distillation of what you think of when you think "'80s music."  Actually, the whole song is.


Featuring Dusty Springfield!  Yes, that Dusty Springfield.  This song might be the keystone that holds the entire '80s together.  From Wiki:

"It was kept from the top of the Billboard charts by "Seasons Change" by Exposé and "Father Figure" by George Michael, while in the United Kingdom, it was kept off the top by Rick Astley with his debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up"."

Amazing.  It actually got Rickrolled.  Anyway, I liked this album ok.  It sounds very dated, of course, but seems like an effective document of the era.  I guess the first Pet Shop Boys album is coming up later?

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