I've just pulled a handfull of albums from the shelve to upload
unto my computer and low n behold, it contained two PSB releases
I hadn't listened to in a long time.

The first one being "Very Relentless", the limited edition UK
release of the album "Very" that contained an extra EP with 6
new songs, called "Relentless".

The package looks like thus:



Tracklist:
"My Head is Spinning"
"Forever in Love"
"KDX 125"
"We Came From Outer Space"
"The Man Who Has Everything"
"One Thing Leads to Another"

this three part latex fold out with dented braille like bumps.
contains the orange, cardboard Very case, the Blue/Purple cd
case for "Relentless" and a booklet with pictures.

most of the songs on "Relentless" showcase Chris Lowe's skills
a lot more than the regular albums do.

Vocals on these six longish tracks, with the exception of
"One Thing Leads to Another," are absolutely minimal and
frequently only fragments of language if even that. The music
is lush, inspiring as always, full of dramatic loops and twists,
and always pegged and driven by the beats

It is, frankly, unlike anything they released before or since.




The second album is one of my fav PSB releases of all time,
being "Alternative" the (almost) definitive collection of
all their b-sides. A lot of them edited a bit, but mainly
this is their version of Prince's "B-sides" disc. Except it
is a double album and chunkfull of songs that sound as well
as the material on their regular albums, if not better in
some cases.



Disc 1

In The Night
A Man Could Get Arrested
That's My Impression
Was That What It Was?
Paninaro
Jack The Lad
You Know Where You Went Wrong
A New Life
I Want A Dog
Do I Have To?
I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)
Don Juan
The Sound Of The Atom Splitting
One Of The Crowd
Your Funny Uncle


Disc 2

It Must Be Obvious
We All Feel Better In The Dark
Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend
Losing My Mind
Music For Boys
Miserablism
Hey, Headmaster
What Keeps Mankind Alive?
Shameless
Too Many People
Violence (Hacienda version)
Decadence
If Love Were All
Euroboy
Some Speculation


They're almost all 5 star songs, if you know their place in
the discography and all. I guess they might not mean as much
to someone who became a fan in the 90's, because the songs
may sound old and dated to those people. But they're a real
treasure of material for people who caught on immediately at
the beginning of their releases.

Chris Lowe later commented on "Euroboy" and "Some Speculation"
saying, it would have been a better idea for the group to have
put those two songs on "Relentless" as well and released that
as a seperate album instead of the rather lousy "Disco 2".

I couldn't agree more.

This thread is suddenly making me realise how early
I started seriously listening to music.
I can remember seeing the video for "West end Girls"
all over TV and liking the song a lot.
Than we borrowed the album "Please" from the library
and I put it on a cassette.

A year later, in 1987, when "Actually" was released,
my mom liked the singles a lot and I got her to buy
the album for herself, but meanwhile I listened to
it more than she did.

To think I was only 8 or 9 years old at that time is
quite daunting. I'd forgotten all about being into
music like that at such an early age.

Well, early for me, anyway

But come to think of it, I discovered the Eurythmics
at the same time. My brother was into them as well,
so he bought "Sweet Dreams" and we played it to an
absolute shocking death lol.

PSB fan over here from their first album too
I love those and every one of their albums .

Though at first I didn't like Relentless so much. But I think it's for it sounded a bit dirty unlike the clean, sometimes over produced sound I was used to. Of course I grew up to love it.

As soon as I bought Alternative I made my own extended editions of the albums with their b-sides and all first on casette, later on CD.

PANDURITO said:

so did I, just like with the Prince b-sides.

PSB rule! I've also got these two releases, I think they are very good examples of what a 'special edition' release should be...

amyhr said:

Definitely - The PSB treat their followers very well. I'm not quite as obsessive a fan as I used to be, but I loved Alternative when it came out - Some Speculation is probably my favourite track of theirs.

damosuzuki said:

oh yes, "Some Speculation" is so dreamy and spaced out,
it's a great song to chill out to

IstenSzek said:

It's funny you should mention that songs b/c that's what hip me to them also. It seems like yesterday when I bought their 45'.

i love alternative. The PSB are one of the best b-sides artists, no question. My faves are Don Juan (LOVE that song), Hey Headmaster, Miserablism, Some Speculation, Decadence... so many more. And their more recent B-sides are fantastic, as well.

Not a huge fan of the Relentless CD - have to be in the right mood for it. But Very is of course a masterpiece

"Alternative" looks tempting but I have most of their Remastered CDs (my first non collection of theirs was "Very/Further Listening" so I just kept buying those discs instead of the regular verisons) which contain all of the b-sides, so it's not worth it, really. Aggreed, they make very memorable b-sides...in some cases much better than their album tracks! "I Get Excited", "Miserablism", "Hey, Headmaster", "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend", "Some Speculation", "A New Life"..Come on! "Very" is a great album but (and I don't have "Please" or am I familar with b-sides after "Bilingual" so I can't be sure) but it's b-sides were probably some of the best of their career. Worthy of another album!

I don't have "Restless"...jealous!

so nice to see that many others appreciate their very good b-sides!

listening to the album again yesterday, I've fallen in love again
with "Your Funny Uncle". Such a nice, un-PSB-like song. So simple
for that time in their carreer.

it almost points forward to the more organic sound of "Behaviour"
and the way he sings the last line just floors me. The way the
melody just slightly shifts by the inflection of the words.

those former things have passed away
another life begins today