Very (Pet Shop Boys album)

Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Discography: The Complete Singles Collection1991Disco 21994studioVeryPet Shop Boys - Very.pngPet Shop BoysTemplate:Start date1992–1993* Sarm West (London)

• Angel (London)Template:Efn
• Power Station (New York City)Template:Efn* Synth-pop
• dance-pop
• techno53:17ParlophonePet Shop Boysx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Very is the fifth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 27 September 1993 by Parlophone, nearly three years after the duo's previous studio album, Behaviour, and following the compilation album Discography: The Complete Singles Collection. It is the only Pet Shop Boys album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and it produced two top ten singles, "Can You Forgive Her?" and "Go West".<ref name="UKcharts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Very exhibits one of many turning points the Pet Shop Boys would make to their music, shifting from the subdued electronic pop of Behaviour to richly instrumented dance arrangements. The content and lyrics led to Very being called their "coming-out" album, since it was during this time that Neil Tennant had publicly discussed his long-rumoured homosexuality.

Background and release

Template:Quote box Pet Shop Boys made Very in reaction to their previous album Behaviour,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> which was critically well-received but not as commercially successful as their earlier releases. In particular, "Being Boring", which the duo had considered one of their strongest tracks, was their least successful single at the time, peaking at number 20 on the UK charts.<ref name ="PSBvUS">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the United States, their 1991 Performance Tour initially received mixed reviews and did not improve the ranking of Behaviour, which only reached 45 on the US Billboard 200.<ref name="billboard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Journalist and close friend of the duo Chris Heath documented the American leg of the tour in his book Pet Shop Boys Versus America, noting Chris Lowe's comment, "We should write another good dance album, write Behaviour off as a tax loss".Template:Sfn

After taking a break in 1992, Pet Shop Boys set out to make an uplifting, dance-pop album in contrast to the style of Behaviour. They worked on songs at Lowe's home studio and finished them at Sarm West. Pet Shop Boys produced Very themselves, with mixing and additional production by Stephen Hague. The title was meant to convey that the album was 'very Pet Shop Boys', but a different Pet Shop Boys.<ref name="veryfurther">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> EMI representative Tony Wadsworth recalled in the 2006 documentary Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop that when the record label first heard the songs on Very, "the smiles lit up the room because it was so obviously commercial yet still very high quality".<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

To promote Very, the duo shed their naturalistic image and adopted a new look, creating an artificial, cartoonish world with visuals designed by David Fielding.<ref name ="veryfurther"/> This idea was a reaction against the grunge movement of the time, and it incorporated the growing popularity of video games.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> They wore surreal costumes, like the orange jumpsuits with tall dunce caps for "Can You Forgive Her?",<ref name ="veryfurther"/> and their music videos, directed by Howard Greenhalgh, made use of the CGI available at the time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

To date, Very is the Pet Shop Boys' most commercially successful album in the UK; it reached number one on the UK Albums Chart shortly after its release. In addition, all singles released from the album entered the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, including "Go West", which remains one of the duo's highest-charting singles.<ref name="UKcharts"/> In the United States, Very debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200 album chart, an improvement on Behaviour. The singles failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 but performed better on the dance charts.<ref name="billboard"/> This was seen partly as a result of the rise of grunge and alternative rock on American radio.

Very Relentless

A limited-edition double album, Very Relentless, was released simultaneously. The bonus disc, Relentless, contains six tracks that are more experimental and instrumental. There were plans to expand upon Relentless in 1994 by releasing the six tracks along with others, making a full dance album, but this evolved into Disco 2. The six tracks were not released elsewhere until Relentless was remastered and reissued as a standalone EP in 2023,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although the original version of "Forever in Love" can be found on Very: Further Listening 1992–1994. "Forever in Love" uses the same sample as "One Love" by The Prodigy, "Arabic Chant (Allah)" from the Zero-G sample library compilation Datafile One.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other releases

Very was re-released on 3 July 2001 as Very: Further Listening 1992–1994. The reissue was digitally remastered and includes a second disc featuring B-sides and previously unreleased material. A remastered single-disc edition of Very, containing only the 12 original tracks, was released in 2009. In 2018, a newly remastered edition of Very: Further Listening 1992–1994 was released, with the same contents as the 2001 edition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Packaging

The original release of Very was packaged in a unique orange jewel case with raised bumps (sometimes unofficially described as the Lego case), designed by Daniel Weil of Pentagram in London.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Very Relentless was similarly unique, with the two CDs in card sleeves (Very in orange and Relentless in pink) with both of these housed in a translucent rubber case with raised bumps.<ref name="catalogue">Template:Cite book</ref>

The case for Very was featured in the 1995 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) exhibition "Mutant Materials in Contemporary Design."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The album was reissued in 1996 in a standard jewel case with a new sleeve showing an image of the original case.

Critical reception

Writing for NME, David Quantick deemed Very "brilliant from start to finish" and "as moving and moved as any other Pet Shop Boys album, just more obviously so", noting a shift from the "melancholy" of Behaviour towards "a sense of, gulp, happiness."<ref name="Quantick"/> In Select, Stuart Maconie speculated that the album's "more lively" musical direction may have been motivated by the "muted" reception to Behaviour, and commented that "VeryTemplate:'s beauty lies in the formidable yet effortless plate-spinning trick that lets gorgeous and vibrant pop tunes co-exist with rich, strange and complex conceits."<ref name="Maconie"/> David Bennun of Melody Maker noted that, after the "muted" and "distressingly grown up" sound of Behaviour, Very contains "track after track, dizzy with strings and brass, of the purest, most intelligent and, crucially, poppiest pop."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Mat Snow of Q, meanwhile, wrote that Very confirms the Pet Shop Boys as "a group so tightly focused on its strengths to the exclusion of any meaningful experiment that it drives a coach and horses through the First Commandment of Pop, namely 'Thou Shalt Explore a New Direction on Every Album'."<ref name="Snow"/>

Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot opined that "Very qualifies as terrific pop on the strength of its music alone", and that "as its gay worldview unfolds—unapologetic yet unassuming, humorous yet touching, political yet personal—Very takes on the dimensions of a classic."<ref name="Kot"/> J. D. Considine, reviewing Very for Rolling Stone, highlighted the social commentary and "mixed emotions" in its songs, concluding that "it's that sort of depth that makes Very worth hearing again and again."<ref name="Considine"/> Entertainment WeeklyTemplate:'s Greg Sandow considered the album "very understated musically" but also "very deeply felt",<ref name="Sandow"/> while The Village VoiceTemplate:'s Robert Christgau found that Tennant's lyrics showed a newfound romantic sincerity: "Convinced cornballs may still find his emotions attenuated, but I say the production values suit the tumult in his heart and the melodies the sweetness in his soul."<ref name="Christgau"/> Less impressed was Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times, who said that Very "is listenable and danceable, but overall it sounds as if their creativity has petered out—they're recycling these days rather than creating."<ref name="Hunt"/>

In the 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide, Tom Hull noted that Very was released to more uniformly positive reviews from critics than Behaviour, which he attributed to its more uptempo sound and "unusually direct" love songs, "with most making more sense gay than not."<ref name="Hull"/> AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine stated in retrospect that "Very is one of their very best records, expertly weaving between the tongue-in-cheek humor of 'I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing,' the quietly shocking 'Can You Forgive Her?,' and the bizarrely moving cover of the Village People's 'Go West.'"<ref name="Erlewine"/>

In June 2000, Q placed Very at number 91 on its list of "The 100 Greatest British Albums Ever".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Track listing

Notes

• ^{^[a]{{#if:| }}} signifies additional music and lyrics

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Very.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Pet Shop Boys

• Neil Tennant – vocals Template:Small, keyboards Template:Small, additional lyrics Template:Small
• Chris Lowe – keyboards Template:Small, backing vocals Template:Small, additional lyrics Template:Small, lead vocals Template:Small

Additional musicians

• Pete Gleadall – programming
• Anne Dudley – orchestra arrangement and conducting Template:Small
• Phil Todd, Chris Davis, John Barclay, John Thirkell, Mark Nightingale – brass Template:Small
• Richard Niles – brass arrangement, choir arrangement, additional keyboard arrangement Template:Small
• J.J. Belle – guitar Template:Small
• Frank Ricotti – percussion Template:Small
• Sylvia Mason-James – additional vocals Template:Small
• Dainton Connell – additional vocals Template:Small
• Carol Kenyon – additional vocals Template:Small
• Katie Kissoon – additional vocals Template:Small
• Tessa Niles – additional vocals Template:Small
• Joanna Wyatt, Thomas Rogers, Laurie Smith, Jody Smith, Nigel Francis, Francis Hatson, Lee Harris, Lucy Clark, Marie-Claire Peterson, Victoria Ferher – choir Template:Small
• Scott Altman, James Bassi, Hugh Berberich, Rodne Brown, Maurizio Corbino, Martin Doner, Dan Egan, James Gandre, Paul Houghtaling, Michael Hume, Robert Kuehn, Drew Martin, Joseph Nelson Neal, Mark Rehnstrom, Steven Tachell, Frank Nemhauser (with thanks to Graeme Perkins and Jaqueline Pierce) – choir Template:Small

Technical

• Pet Shop Boys – production
• Stephen Hague – additional production, mixing
• Brothers in Rhythm – additional production Template:Small
• Mike "Spike" Drake – mixing
• Bob Kraushaar – engineering, vocal recording
• Pete Gleadall – engineering
• Sam Hardaker, Richard Lowe, Howard Bargroff, Robin Barclay – engineering assistance

Artwork

• Mark Farrow – graphic design
• Pet Shop Boys – graphic design
• Chris Nash – photographs
• David Fielding – costume and set design
• Pentagram – CD packaging, concept, design

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Weekly chart performance for Very

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (IFPI)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref name="MM-1993-10-23">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	6
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref name="BB-1993-11-06">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	1
French Albums (IFOP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }} Select "PET SHOP BOYS" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".</ref>	5
Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	18
Irish Albums (IRMA)<ref name="MM-1993-10-23"/>	7
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	8
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	14
Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	7
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref name="BB-1993-11-06"/>	6

Template:Album chart

Weekly chart performance for Very Relentless

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref name="MM-1993-10-23"/>	7
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	31

Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart

Weekly chart performance for Relentless

Chart (2023)	Peak position

Year-end charts

1993 year-end chart performance for Very

Chart (1993)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	47
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	59
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	37
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	29

1994 year-end chart performance for Very

Chart (1994)	Position
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	35

External links

• 1993 interview with Daniel Weil, designer of the Very package.