Pet Shop Boys

Very rivals Behaviour as Pet Shop Boys' best album, so it's appropriate that the "further listening" bonus disc on Very's installment in the 2001 expanded-edition series rivals the further listening disc for Behaviour, and perhaps even surpasses it. Like that disc, this collection doesn't rely on remixes for bonus tracks and those that do make it are quite good (a previously unreleased 12" mix of "Go West" and the hacienda version of "Violence"). The rest of the record consists of B-sides and non-LP singles (including "Absolutely Fabulous"), none of which have been collected on a disc before since they all date from an era that the double-disc set Alternative didn't cover. The great thing about this is that nearly all of the material could have fit comfortably on Very and it plays as a very infectious, absorbing listen on its own. No, it isn't quite as tight as the album proper and it lacks its themes, but there's an abundance of great music here, from "Hey, Headmaster" and demos for Tina Turner ("Confidential") and Kylie Minogue ("Falling") to a live version of Blur's "Girls and Boys" -- all essential for the devoted and instrumental in making this fine album even better. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide