This is a recent acquisition: I got it last Christmas from one of my sibs.
Having listened to all three discs, Pop, Art and Mix, I can't help thinking about the law of Diminishing Returns. The first disc is just brill. I put it on random and it starts on the glorious - Go West. They just keep on coming - Always On My Mind; What Have I Done - where I singalong with Dusty Springfield; I love the drums on- Se a vida e; I think Where the streets have no name (I can't Take My Eyes Off Of you) is one of the funniest combination of two completely different songs, ever. The best of all is It's A Sin
The second has some truly good stuff - Left to My Own Devices, West End Girls, Single-Bilingual, and Somewhere (how many versions of this do I have in my collection), but there are just a few too many tracks that are 'okay' without having any sense of lasting value.
The third disc Mix, barely adds anything to tracks previously aired, except perhaps Love comes Quickly, which has a more languid air than the original (single) version. Most of the rest are just good songs ruined by an irritating disco beat. Being the Pet Shop Boys, it's an intelligent, thoughtful, crafted disco beat. But it's still irritating (and not Che Guevara or Debussy...)
They are a vastly underrated group in my mind. I never cite them in my 'Favourite Groups', but I just love 'em. No song is a turkey, and my criticisms of the mediocre songs are only in contrast to their glorious anthemic contributions. Overall, there is such a sense of light and air.
It's a beautifully packaged CD, a box set with each disc coming in an minimalist envelope. the liner is eight pages, concertina style, mainly of pictures, mainly in bold colours, and then a dense list of credits. I definitely think it's in my Top five of CD packaging, and quite possibly Number one.
