PET SHOP BOYs Please/Actually/ Introspective

(reissues, 1986, ’87, ’88) PARLOPHONE 8/10 / 8/10 / 8/10 Ongoing PSB reissue series finally arrives at their glorious first act Neil Tennant calls the late 1980s the “imperial phase” of the Pet Shop Boys, that golden period when he and Chris Lowe routinely scored No 1 singles, multi-platinum albums and stellar collaborations. Everything on this latest trio of reissues has been released before, but their newly remastered 1986 debut Please feels warmer and rounder than the boxy, beatbox-heavy original. The thunderous Thatcherite satire “Opportunities” and rousing Eurodisco melodrama “I Want A Lover” still sound especially potent, while a marathon metal-bashing mix of strident fashionista anthem “Paninaro” stands out amid the bonus material. Released in 1987, Actually features PSB classics including the roaringly operatic “It’s A Sin” and the amusingly deadpan Kraftwerk-lite chant “Shopping”, while bonus tracks like “Do I Have To” reveal the aching romanticism behind the arch electro triumphalism. Arguably the most historically interesting of the trilogy is Introspective from 1988, which finds Tennant and Lowe embracing the rubbery rhythms and extended run times of house music on the lavish “Left To My Own Devices” and a sublime cover of Sterling Void’s “It’s Alright”. The additional disc is also the richest of the trilogy, with hits for Dusty Springfield and Liza Minnelli, surreal art-pop experiments, Brecht & Weill and Willie Nelson nestled alongside bittersweet AIDS-era elegies.

Extras: 7/10. ‘Further Listening’ discs for each reissue.