Alternative (album)

1995 compilation album by Pet Shop Boys

Alternative

Compilation album by

Pet Shop Boys

Released| 7 August 1995
Recorded| 1985–1994
Length| 134:12
Label| Parlophone
Producer| Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys chronology
| Disco 2
(1994)  | Alternative
(1995)  | Bilingual
(1996)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [1]
Robert Christgau| [2]
Melody Maker| (favorable)[3]
NME| 6/10[4]
Select| [5]

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.[6]

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 oneNo.| Title| Writer(s)| A-side| Length

|
|
|
|

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 twoNo.| Title| Writer(s)| A-side| Length

|
|
|
|

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

Japanese edition bonus trackNo.| Title| Writer(s)| A-side| Length

|
|
|
|

16.| "Girls & Boys" (live in Rio)| Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree| "Paninaro '95"| 5:03

## Personnel

[edit]

* Neil Tennant
* Chris Lowe

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)[7] | 8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] | 33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] | 44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[10] | 44
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[11] | 29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] | 27
European Albums (Music & Media)[13] | 37
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] | 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 28
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] | 31
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] | 7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 19
UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 2
US Billboard 200[20] | 103

## Certifications and sales

[edit]

Certifications and sales for Alternative Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United Kingdom (BPI)[21] | Silver  | 60,000^
United States  | —  | 68,000[22]

^ 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. ^ Harrison, Andrew (September 1995). "New Old Albums". Select. p. 105. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
6. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
10. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
11. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8533". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
12. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
13. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 35\. 2 September 1995. p. 20\. OCLC 29800226 - via World Radio History.
14. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
16. ^ "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.
17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
18. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
20. ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
21. ^ "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". British Phonographic Industry. 1 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
22. ^ Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.

* v
* t
* e

Pet Shop Boys

* Chris Lowe
* Neil Tennant

Studio albums|

* Please
* Actually
* Introspective
* Behaviour
* Very
* Bilingual
* Nightlife
* Release
* Fundamental
* Yes
* Elysium
* Electric
* Super
* Hotspot
* Nonetheless

Compilation albums|

* Discography: The Complete Singles Collection
* Alternative
* Essential
* PopArt: The Hits
* Story: 25 Years of Hits
* Party
* Ultimate
* Format
* Smash: The Singles 1985–2020

Remix albums|

* Disco
* Disco 2
* Disco 3
* Disco 4

Live albums|

* Concrete
* Pandemonium
* Inner Sanctum
* Discovery: Live in Rio 1994

Extended plays|

* Christmas
* Agenda
* Lost

Singles|

* "West End Girls"
* "One More Chance"
* "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"
* "Love Comes Quickly"
* "Suburbia"
* "Paninaro"
* "It's a Sin"
* "What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
* "Rent"
* "Heart"
* "Always on My Mind"
* "Domino Dancing"
* "Left to My Own Devices"
* "It's Alright"
* "So Hard"
* "Being Boring"
* "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" / "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?"
* "Jealousy"
* "DJ Culture"
* "Was It Worth It?"
* "Can You Forgive Her?"
* "Go West"
* "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"
* "Liberation"
* "Absolutely Fabulous"
* "Yesterday, When I Was Mad"
* "Paninaro '95"
* "Before"
* "Se a vida é (That's the Way Life Is)" / "To Step Aside"
* "Single-Bilingual"
* "A Red Letter Day"
* "Somewhere"
* "I Don't Know What You Want but I Can't Give It Any More"
* "New York City Boy"
* "You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk"
* "Home and Dry"
* "I Get Along"
* "London"
* "Miracles"
* "Flamboyant"
* "I'm with Stupid"
* "Minimal"
* "Numb"
* "Integral"
* "Love Etc."
* "Did You See Me Coming?"
* "Beautiful People"
* "Love Life"
* "Together"
* "Winner"
* "Leaving"
* "Memory of the Future"
* "Axis"
* "Vocal"
* "Love Is a Bourgeois Construct"
* "Thursday"
* "The Pop Kids"
* "Say It to Me"
* "Dreamland"
* "Dancing Star"

Featured singles|

* "Hallo Spaceboy"
* "Break 4 Love"
* "She's Madonna"

Other songs|

* "King's Cross"
* "The Loving Kind"
* "The Night I Fell in Love"
* "I'm Not Scared"
* "In Private"
* "Nothing Has Been Proved"
* "So Sorry, I Said"
* "Don't Drop Bombs"
* "Losing My Mind"

Video albums|

* Cubism

Soundtracks and scores|

* The Crying Game
* Closer to Heaven
* Battleship Potemkin
* The Most Incredible Thing

Film, stage and television|

* It Couldn't Happen Here
* Closer to Heaven
* Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop

Tours and concerts|

* Fundamental Tour
* Pandemonium Tour
* Electric Tour
* Super Tour
* Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live

Related articles|

* CyberWorld
* Discography
* Songs
* x2
* Reputation
* Results
* Electronic
* Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys
* West End Girls

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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