Ok, now that I've ranted, I'll make my point... This single has everything. It's got mixes of album tracks, b-side and it's all wrapped up in one release. Perfect. This single has great value. The first three tracks are versions of the title track. 'How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?' is a clever tune about how ridiculous famous people can be. How their excessive exploits can destroy their credibility. Interesting subject matter and I suspect it's inspired by someone in particular, but I have no clue who it is. The first track is the album version. The second is a nice mix. It's not as exciting as the original version, but it's enjoyable and easy to listen to. The third is an instrumental version of the song focusing mainly on the piano. It's followed by Trevor Horn's mix of 'It's Alright'. I'm not sure I can hear a major difference between this and the official album release other than the length. I believe this track is an edit.
'We All Feel Better In The Dark' is a b-side and one of the better ones they've done. It features some deep sounds and a rushed vocal by Chris Lowe (one of his few vocal performances) with Neil singing the calming chorus over the top.
The final track is a rather nice mix of 'Being Boring'. So here you have great mixes of album tracks, not just the title song and a b-side to boot. All in all, a well rounded release and by far one of the best the group have done. My final word: VALUE!
PET SHOP BOYS - HOW CAN YOU EXPECT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY?
01. How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? (Album Version)
02. How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? (7" Perfect Attitude Mix)
03. How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously? (Classical Reprise)
04. It's Alright (Trevor Horn Mix)
05. We All Feel Better In The Dark
06. Being Boring (Marshall Jefferson 12" Mix)
Hi there. A couple of points from an insider:
ReplyDelete1. The reason multiple singles are released is more about chart eligibility than artists' greed. For example, in the UK (PSB's home country), a single release cannot contain more than 25 minutes of music to be eligible for chart placement. So it's broken up into 2 releases, as you've described. I notice you've posted the US release of 'How Can You Expect...", which is a fantastic compilation, but it was clearly not expected to chart there (and therefore not much care taken to follow those rules).
By the way, that "Trevor Horn Mix" is infamously incorrectly labelled; it's actually the 7" Mix (aka the awesome single release).
2. Artists don't have near as much control over release, formats, & distribution as you might think. They can suggest this or that, but the final say lies with the label. The reason Trent Reznor can do what he likes is that he did away with his record company and has been releasing his own music for years.
Interesting information. I didn't know that about the chart placement. And I've always thought it was more in the hands of the label than the artist. But you have to admit... It gets expensive to follow a group when you're paying $16 for a record and then $10 for each single cd they release.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm not working for a record label or a band, I have no qualms about complaining about expense. I sincerely believe there's a huge disconnect from wealthy companies and artists and the people who support them.
Ultimately, this blog is my point of view and I will continue to point out which releases (in my opinion) have value and which don't. :-)
I do appreciate your information and I'm grateful you stepped in to correct me. It's not always apparent to some of us what is actually happening in the industry.