Performer Notes
- VERY is packaged in a day-glo orange embossed jewel case.
- Pet Shop Boys: Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe (vocals, programming).
- Additional personnel: J.J. Belle (guitar); Phil Todd, Chris Davis, John Barclay, John Thirkell, Mark Nightingale (brass); Frank Ricotti (percussion); Pete Gleadall (programming); Sylvia Mason-James, Dainton Connell, Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon, Tessa Niles (background vocals).
- Recorded at Sarm West, Angel Studios, London, England and The Power Station, New York, New York.
- This Limited Edition of VERY is packaged in a custom slipcase with a 36-page booklet, and contains a bonus disc of rare tracks.
- Pet Shop Boys: Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe (vocals, programming).
- Additional personnel includes: Anne Dudley (conductor); Johnny Marr, J.J. Belle (guitar); Gerard Prescencer (trumpet); Frank Ricotti (vibraphone, percussion); Pete Gleadall (programming); Sylvia Mason-James, Dainton Connell, Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon, Tessa Niles (background vocals).
- Producers include: Stephen Hague, Brothers in Rhythm, Pet Shop Boys.
- Compilation producers: Pet Shop Boys, Chris Heath.
- Engineers include: Bob Kraushaar, Pete Gleadall, Mike Bigwood.
- Recorded at Sarm West, Angel Studios, London, England and The Power Station, New York, New York. Includes liner notes by Chris Heath.
- All tracks have been digitally remastered.
- BEHAVIOUR was the Pet Shop Boys' first truly mature album, but its follow-up, 1993's VERY, proved to be their masterpiece. On the surface, VERY is the duo's most carefree album, a modern dance-floor update of the kitchen-sink production and swelling melodies of a classic ABBA album. Just barely underneath, Neil Tennant's lyrics keep their layers of mordant wit, but drop the self-protective irony in favor of writing truthfully about the lives of gay men in the early '90s, regrouping in the face of AIDS.
- To that end, the album starts with "Can You Forgive Her?," a drop-dead-gorgeous song directed to a closeted young man whose "girlfriend" wants to call off her part in the charade, and it wraps up with a completely heartfelt and unironic version of the Village People's "Go West" that views the unfettered hedonism of the original with a palpable sense of regret. In between, "Yesterday, When I Was Mad" and "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing" are among the duo's finest singles.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.79) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (11/25/93, p.112) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[Is] there a more perfect marriage of pop sensibilities than the Pet Shop Boys covering a Village People hit?...there's more to these songs [on VERY] than sly wit and catchy choruses...the depth makes VERY worth hearing again and again..."
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.79) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."
Rolling Stone (11/25/93, p.112) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[Is] there a more perfect marriage of pop sensibilities than the Pet Shop Boys covering a Village People hit?...there's more to these songs [on VERY] than sly wit and catchy choruses...the depth makes VERY worth hearing again and again..."
Spin (11/93, p.130) - Highly Recommended - "...Nothing compares to the carnage of a cold fish [like the Pet Shop Boys] succumbing to emotional abandon; on VERY, the fridge door is swinging off its hinges..."
Spin (11/93, p.130) - Highly Recommended - "...Nothing compares to the carnage of a cold fish [like the Pet Shop Boys] succumbing to emotional abandon; on VERY, the fridge door is swinging off its hinges..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/8/93, p.52) - "...very understated musically, with happy and sad love songs dryly set to the same propulsive beat. It's also very deeply felt..." - Rating: A-
Entertainment Weekly (10/8/93, p.52) - "...very understated musically, with happy and sad love songs dryly set to the same propulsive beat. It's also very deeply felt..." - Rating: A-
Q (6/00, p.61) - Ranked #91 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (11/93, p.131) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...VERY is the album that confirmed a group so tightly focused on its strengths to the exclusion of any meaningful experiment..."
Q (6/00, p.61) - Ranked #91 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums"
Q (11/93, p.131) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...VERY is the album that confirmed a group so tightly focused on its strengths to the exclusion of any meaningful experiment..."
Melody Maker (1/1/94, p.77) - Ranked #37 in Melody Maker's list of the `Albums Of The Year' for 1993 - "...VERY plumbed hitherto uncharted depths of pop savvy with clinical efficiency...."
Melody Maker (9/25/93, p.33) - "...This is more like it...[VERY is] the purest, most intelligent and poppiest pop. [The Pet Shop Boys] write pop songs, play pop songs, are a godsend to those who love pop songs, from kids at school discos to middle-aged connoisseurs of a cracking tune..."
Melody Maker (1/1/94, p.77) - Ranked #37 in Melody Maker's list of the `Albums Of The Year' for 1993 - "...VERY plumbed hitherto uncharted depths of pop savvy with clinical efficiency...."
Melody Maker (9/25/93, p.33) - "...This is more like it...[VERY is] the purest, most intelligent and poppiest pop. [The Pet Shop Boys] write pop songs, play pop songs, are a godsend to those who love pop songs, from kids at school discos to middle-aged connoisseurs of a cracking tune..."
Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #5 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Village Voice (3/1/94, p.5) - Ranked #5 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.
Stereo Review (12/93, p.118) - "...they've shown that songs of lasting substance can be created by knob twiddlers no less than string pickers...VERY is another good piece of enriched popcraft Pet Shop Boys...."
Stereo Review (12/93, p.118) - "...they've shown that songs of lasting substance can be created by knob twiddlers no less than string pickers...VERY is another good piece of enriched popcraft Pet Shop Boys...."
NME (Magazine) (9/25/93, p.36) - (9) - Excellent - "...[VERY] is brilliant from start to finish....Musically, things are `up' and the tunes are `soulful'....The Pet Shop Boys are simply one of the best bands the world has..."
NME (Magazine) (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked #14 in New Musical Express' list of `The Top 50 LPs Of 1993' - "...a joy from end to end...."
NME (Magazine) (9/25/93, p.36) - (9) - Excellent - "...[VERY] is brilliant from start to finish....Musically, things are `up' and the tunes are `soulful'....The Pet Shop Boys are simply one of the best bands the world has..."
NME (Magazine) (12/25/93, p.66) - Ranked #14 in New Musical Express' list of `The Top 50 LPs Of 1993' - "...a joy from end to end...."
