Day 0673 - Behaviour

Pet Shop Boys "Behaviour" (1990)

This album continues the P.S.B's line of quality, interesting pop, that uses some technology (analogue synthesisers as the Boys were unhappy with the digital synths available at the time) but retains its humanity, through stripped down arrangements and Neil Tennant's light, sometimes plaintive voice.

Much like their second album, Angelo Badalamenti (best known for his scoring work on David Lynch films and the "Twin Peaks" series) provides some string arrangements.  A change to the formula though comes in the form of Johnny Marr providing guitar across one or two tracks.

I don't have too much else to say about this one.  It has some fairly nostalgic and introspective lyrics (which then makes it a pity that they'd already used "Introspective" as the title for their previous album) in songs like "Being Boring" and "This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave".  

Day 0614 - Truth and Soul

Fishbone "Truth and Soul" (1988) - got it

I am a big Fishbone fan, and I think it's a pity that they've never enjoyed the same notoriety as their contemporaries in bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Primus, or bands they influenced, such as No Doubt or Sublime.   It could be because they have stayed weird and haven't made any deliberately commercial moves, or it could be (as was hinted in the excellent film "Everyday Sunshine: the Story of Fishbone") more a question of race.

Definitely, outside of one or two middling-to-good releases, the band have continued to produce interesting and quality music throughout their career.  This is their second album, and possibly my favourite of theirs (don't know, my 'favourite' changes every so often).  They'd taken their wild, madcap mix of funk, ska, reggae and rock and had added elements of metal, jazz, punk and even an acoustic ballad (album closer "Change").  It's probably too the album where they best balanced their different sounds.

The band had added a more mature and serious tone with tracks like "Change", or "One Day" (which, to my ears, almost sounds like they were borrowing the vocal harmony sound of David Bowie's "Sound and Vision" but making it funky), or the moody "Pouring Rain" which acts as a bridge between the Fusion of Miles Davis and the sound of modern dub.  The band still retain their wackiness on tracks like the jazzy stomp of "I like to hide behind my glasses" or the funky-as-all-hell "Bonin' in the Boneyard".

I could continue going track-by-track, suffice to say, it's a brilliant album.

Day 0608 - Actually

Petshop Boys "Actually" (1987) - got it

Another one that my older sister used to thrash back in the 80s (though with this one I remember that I did enjoy it back then).  It's a solid pop album, somehow sounds 'of its time' but without seeming dated.  Probably due to the songs just being really strong, and of many of the synthesizer sounds used currently being back in vogue.

In some ways it's a quite a bleak album, covering ideas from consumerism, Catholic guilt, one-sided relationships, romantic paranoia.  However, these themes are couched in catchy tunes, with minimal but imaginative arrangements, which help increase their appeal.

The track "It couldn't happen here" is co-written with Ennio Morricone and with strings arranged by Angelo Badalamenti who brings in hints of his score-work on Twin Peaks.  Laying in strings that walk the line between schmaltz and darkness.