Alternative (album)

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Alternative
Compilation album by
Pet Shop Boys
Released7 August 1995
Recorded1985–1994
Length134:12
LabelParlophone
ProducerPet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Disco 2
(1994) 		Alternative
(1995) 		Bilingual
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[2]
Melody Maker(favorable)[3]
NME6/10[4]

Alternative is a compilation album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released on 7 August 1995 by Parlophone.

Alternative is a two-disc set, consisting of 30 B-sides in chronological order. The title Alternative was a last-minute change from the title that had been long saved for such an album, Besides, but that title was taken by American rock band Sugar, who released their own B-sides compilation two months prior.[citation needed]

A remake of the original 7-inch "Paninaro", titled "Paninaro '95", was released as a single (which was included on the later PopArt: The Hits set) to promote the two-disc compilation which reached number two in the UK Albums Chart.[5]

The cover of Alternative features photographs of Tennant and Lowe in fencing masks. The first copies of the CD have a lenticular image on the cover which shifts between the two photographs.

Neil Tennant revealed in a radio interview with Absolute Radio that a second B-side album may be released in 2010. On 11 November 2011, the duo announced through Varsity that they would release another B-sides album in February 2012, titled Format.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Featured onLength
1."In the Night" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1985 release)4:50
2."A Man Could Get Arrested" (10" Bobby Orlando version) "West End Girls"4:19
3."That's My Impression" (disco mix) "Love Comes Quickly"5:18
4."Was That What It Was?" "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1986 release)5:14
5."Paninaro" "Suburbia"4:40
6."Jack the Lad" "Suburbia"4:31
7."You Know Where You Went Wrong" "It's a Sin"5:51
8."A New Life"Tennant, Lowe, Helena Springs"What Have I Done to Deserve This?"4:56
9."I Want a Dog" "Rent"4:58
10."Do I Have To?" "Always on My Mind"5:14
11."I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)" "Heart"4:54
12."Don Juan" "Domino Dancing"3:54
13."The Sound of the Atom Splitting" (extended version)Tennant, Lowe, Steve Lipson, Trevor Horn"Left to My Own Devices"5:12
14."One of the Crowd" "It's Alright"3:55
15."Your Funny Uncle" "It's Alright"2:16
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Featured onLength
1."It Must Be Obvious" "So Hard"4:24
2."We All Feel Better in the Dark" "Being Boring"4:00
3."Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend" "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)"4:28
4."Losing My Mind"Stephen Sondheim"Jealousy"4:34
5."Music for Boys" "DJ Culture"3:36
6."Miserablism" "Was It Worth It?"4:10
7."Hey, Headmaster" "Can You Forgive Her?"3:06
8."What Keeps Mankind Alive?"Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill"Can You Forgive Her?"3:24
9."Shameless" "Go West"5:02
10."Too Many People" "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"4:17
11."Violence" (Haçienda version) "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"4:58
12."Decadence" "Liberation"3:56
13."If Love Were All"Noël Coward"Yesterday, When I Was Mad"2:59
14."Euroboy" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad"4:27
15."Some Speculation" "Yesterday, When I Was Mad"6:34
16."Girls & Boys" (live in Rio; Japanese edition bonus track)Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree"Paninaro '95"5:03

Personnel[edit]

Producers
  • Pet Shop Boys – all tracks except disc 1: track 13
  • Phil Harding – disc 1: track 1
  • Bobby O – disc 1: track 2
  • Shep Pettibone – disc 1: track 7, additional production on disc 1: track 4
  • David Jacob – disc 1: track 8
  • Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson – disc 1: track 13
  • Harold Faltermeyer – disc 2: track 6
  • Stephen Hague – additional production on disc 2: tracks 7 and 9
  • Jonathon Ruffle – disc 2: track 8
  • Richard Niles – disc 2: track 13
Guest musicians
  • Blue Weaver – Fairlight programming on disc 1: tracks 1 and 11, Hammond organ on disc 1: track 11
  • Adrien Cook – Fairlight programming on disc 1: tracks 5, 6 and 7
  • Helena Springs – additional vocals on disc 1: track 7
  • Stephen Lipson – guitar on disc 1: track 11
  • Shirley Lewis and Dee Lewis – additional vocals on disc 1: track 11
  • Chris Newman – assistant Fairlight programming on disc 1: track 12, additional programming on disc 2: track 4
  • Juliet Roberts – additional vocals on disc 2: track 2
  • Dominic Clarke – programming on disc 2: tracks 2 and 3
  • Gary Maughan – additional keyboards on disc 2: track 3
  • Scott Davidson – programming on disc 2: track 5
  • Harold Faltermeyer – programming on disc 2: track 6
  • Pete Gleadall – programming on disc 2: tracks 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15
  • Richard Coles – additional keyboards on disc 2: track 8
  • Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles – additional vocals on disc 2: track 9
  • Bruce Woolley – additional vocals on disc 2: track 10
  • J.J. Belle – guitar on disc 2: track 11
  • Sylvia Mason-James – additional vocals on disc 2: track 11
  • Johnny Marr – guitar on disc 2: track 12
  • Frank Ricotti – percussion and vibraphone on disc 2: track 12
  • Richard Niles – string arrangement and conduction on disc 2: track 12, arrangement and conduction on disc 2: track 13
  • Tony Walthers, Daniel Gaha & Lance Ellington – backing vocals on disc 2: track 13
  • Gerard Presencer – trumpet solo on disc 2: track 13

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Alternative
Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[9] 44
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[11] 27
European Albums (Music & Media)[12] 37
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 28
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] 31
Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 19
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 2
US Billboard 200[19] 103

Certifications and sales[edit]

Certifications and sales for Alternative
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 60,000^
United States — 68,000[21]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Pet Shop Boys". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  3. ^ Mathur, Paul (12 August 1995). "Pet Shop Boys - Alternative Pet Shop Boys". Melody Maker. Vol. 72, no. 32. p. 33. Retrieved 6 March 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Harris, John (5 August 1995). "Long Play: B-ing Boring". New Musical Express. p. 44. ISSN 0028-6362.
  5. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8533". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  12. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 35. 2 September 1995. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  13. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  15. ^ "ペット・ショップ・ボーイズのアルバム売り上げランキング" [Pet Shop Boys album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  20. ^ "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". British Phonographic Industry. 1 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  21. ^ Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
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