The Pet Shop Boys previous three hits collections - 1991's Discography, 2003's PopArt and 2010's Ultimate - were great at the time but obviously now feel incomplete (especially Ultimate which was too condensed anyway) as there have been so many more subsequent albums. So, to combine all their major singles from over three glorious decades - especially while they are currently performing a greatest hits tour - was absolutely the right action and also to increase anticipation ahead of a new album in the next year. Although there are a few missing on the main audio CDs - like 1991's How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously, 1994's Absolutely Fabulous, 2003's London and 2019's Burning the Heather for example - on the Blu-ray additional disc they are all pleasingly included apart from Absolutely Fabulous which to be fair was released not under the PSB name but under the Absolutely Fabulous pseudonym anyway. Still to be totally complete it would have been great for that 1994 Absolutely Fabulous top ten hit to have been part of Smash too but apart from that every significant PSB single release is included taking the listener on a sensational pop journey through 35 amazing years of the most successful duo of all time.
The main audio discs comprise of 18-19 tracks each with the three focusing on every main era of the PSB. The first one concentrates on their earlier years including their "imperial phase" (to quote PSB's very own Neil Tennant) of their first two albums in which they had many massive hits including four that even reached number 1. Their debut Please was a fantastic start and then Actually was even better and could be considered their finest and most quintessential album. Any of the songs on Actually could have got to number one as it is such a consistent 1980s pop masterpiece and It's a Sin/Heart both did while What Have I Done to Deserve This? was number 2. Although the PSB realised their imperial phase was over and it would be harder for them get massive hits in future like they did between 1985 and early 1988 when the mesmerising Domino Dancing only reached 7. But it was the lead single from their third record (the thoughtful but danceable Introspective) which was their biggest selling album at that time. 1990's Behaviour was particularly sombre and was mostly comprised of quieter and reflective songs (expanding on the direction/mood of 1987's Rent) and is definitely amongst their top 3 releases. The other three songs included on this first disc of their initial years are Where the Streets Have No Name/I Can't Take My Eyes Off You, DJ Culture and Was it Worth It? While the thrilling U2/Frankie Valli cover was quite a large hit, the other two charted not as highly but despite this they are both well-crafted pop songs that deserved a better reception. In fact, this first CD is the same as their first singles collection - Discography - but obviously with much enhanced sound.
The second disc concerns the PSB's mid-years in which they "survived" the ever-changing pop scene. However, Very could possibly be considered somewhat part of their imperial phase as it was their only album to attain number one position and is their biggest selling album. It is also another of their top 3 best records. Although the earlier 1985-1991 period is their best and most classic, the PSB ensured they remained relevant by making their synth-pop sound bigger and even more layered from Very onwards. This evolution ensured they did not remain stuck while despite 1996's Bilingual being imperfect - though still a mostly strong album - it was Latin-pop (like Domino Dancing too) three years before it became mainstream. 1999's Nightlife saw them return to using more outside producers to hone the sound a bit more than Bilingual and is a great PSB record despite being underappreciated a bit at the time as it was their first album not to chart in the top 5 (though it did at least reach top 10).
But the last album featured on the mid-period disc - 2002's autumnal and sad Release - began a run of their last four Parlophone records in which they were a bit below the quality of their previous material. Although intriguing, Release threw a curveball really as it was the first PSB effort to be more acoustic, piano and guitar driven. The two brand new songs on their second hits collection Pop Art close out disc two - Miracles and Flamboyant - and gorgeously returned them to electronic music.
But on the third disc which represents the PSB's later years, 2006's Fundamental - despite continuing their return to synth-pop and being the most consistent and well-rounded of their 2002-12 records - was still not a perfect five stars. While 2009's Yes - despite having the massive production sound of Xenomania - lacked a bit of the depth that was on earlier PSB releases. 2012's Elysium was the culmination of their final years on Parlophone though - despite possessing a few great songs – as it was lacklustre and too mature sounding. Still, despite these 2002-12 albums not being on the same level as their twentieth century material they are still good efforts (Fundamental particularly so) and crucially - as represented on SMASH - a lot of the singles were brilliant like I'm With Stupid which was their last top ten hit.
However, it is the second half of disc 3 which marks the PSB's impressive return to form with producer Stuart Price. Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor was incredibly produced by Price too and was her last truly perfect album - though Madame X was pretty good - so it was always exciting for him to produce in full a PSB record. 2013's Electric dramatically moved the PSB away from the over-use of ballads on their 2002-12 albums and supercharged them back into scintillating dance-pop. The other two collections in the Price trilogy - 2016's Super and 2020's Hotspot - maintained this late period purple patch and ensured that they produced some of their most exciting and sonically adventurous bangers yet. The energy from the Price productions superbly defied their advancing years and songs like Vocal and Dreamland are staples of their current Greatest Hits tour despite all the huge competition from their earlier years. Tennant is right really to state in a media interview last year that despite this incredible turnaround - with them having greater live attendance too compared to 2002 - it does not mark a second imperial phase as they obviously will never have number 1 hits again (their chart positions dipped anyway after 2006 when rules were changed) but it is a stunning and genuine comeback.
The remastering of the audio CDs sound is high quality and including both the Blu-rays of all PSB videos and an informative commentary booklet on all the singles makes this set have good value. In terms of the Blu-ray picture quality, although it would have been nicer to have seen greater sharpness and detail to the earlier 1985-1991 videos, they look good still with better brightness and it has to be judged in the context of the fact the imperial phase era videos were filmed in the 1980s. Considering that these are upscales to much larger TVs now the Blu-ray is largely a success. However, once you reach the 1993 Very videos and onwards the image improvements are much more noticeable and videos like Liberation/Yesterday When I Was Mad have such beautiful upscaled CGI now, especially on an OLED TV. The further the viewer progresses through the PSB's videos obviously the picture improves further and once you reach the Stuart Price-era true HD videos like Thursday and Monkey Business it is an awesome, visual experience. So overall, the Blu-rays for the first time combining all the PSB videos is mostly excellent in terms of vividness and the menu system is much easier and faster to access tracks than on the 2003 PopArt DVD.
Sometimes there are different versions of the singles - e.g. radio edits - probably to ensure that all the songs fit the 80-minute length of a CD, but this is satisfactory. The fact there are so many tremendous singles by the Pet Shop Boys over three and a half decades with no real weak links - West End Girls and Being Boring are my joint favourite PSB songs ever - is a testament to their enduring appeal and legendary status. Although it will take a lot for the new album to live up to the production standard of the Stuart Price trilogy, in James Ford (whose production values were excellent on Depeche Mode's last two records) they are certainly in capable hands and this singles collection whets the appetite.
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This item: SMASH – The Singles 1985 – 2020 (3CD & 2 Blu-ray 2023 Remaster)
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Perfection
Being a PSB fan since West End Girls Smash was a must buy. It’s only after listening to the full album you realise just how great there music is. I freely admit I’m not a fan of some of there Bilingual and Release era songs but nonetheless credit where credit is due the Pet Shop Boys back catalogue is seriously impressive (so are the many b sides also)The packaging and booklets are typically first class as you would expect.This is a must buy for old and new fans alike.
Top reviews from other countries
- Christiaan VigneaultReviewed in the United States on 29 December 2024
All of the Hits!
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herverwanReviewed in France on 13 August 2024
Le meilleur groupe de pop music en Grande-Bretagne depuis les années 80.
