| Alternative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 7 August 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1994 | |||
| Length | 134:12 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | Pet Shop Boys | |||
| Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  
[1] |
| Robert Christgau |
[2] |
| Melody Maker | (favorable) [3] |
| NME | 6/10 [4] |
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. [5]
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.
All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Featured on | 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Featured on | 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 | |
| 16. | " Girls & Boys" (live in Rio; Japanese edition bonus track) | Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree | " Paninaro '95" | 5:03 |
- 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
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums ( ARIA) [6] | 8 |
| Austrian Albums ( Ö3 Austria) [7] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Flanders) [8] | 44 |
| Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Wallonia) [9] | 44 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM) [10] | 29 |
| Dutch Albums ( Album Top 100) [11] | 27 |
| European Albums ( Music & Media) [12] | 37 |
| Finnish Albums ( Suomen virallinen lista) [13] | 17 |
| German Albums ( Offizielle Top 100) [14] | 28 |
| Japanese Albums ( Oricon) [15] | 31 |
| Scottish Albums ( OCC) [16] | 7 |
| Swedish Albums ( Sverigetopplistan) [17] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums ( Schweizer Hitparade) [18] | 19 |
| UK Albums ( OCC) [5] | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 [19] | 103 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom ( BPI) [20] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States | — | 68,000 [21] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Pet Shop Boys". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Harris, John (5 August 1995). "Long Play: B-ing Boring". New Musical Express. p. 44. ISSN 0028-6362.
- ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8533". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 35. 2 September 1995. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ " Pet Shop Boys: Alternative" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". British Phonographic Industry. 1 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
| Alternative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 7 August 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1985–1994 | |||
| Length | 134:12 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | Pet Shop Boys | |||
| Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
[1] |
| Robert Christgau |
[2] |
| Melody Maker | (favorable) [3] |
| NME | 6/10 [4] |
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. [5]
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.
All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Featured on | 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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Featured on | 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 | |
| 16. | " Girls & Boys" (live in Rio; Japanese edition bonus track) | Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree | " Paninaro '95" | 5:03 |
- 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
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums ( ARIA) [6] | 8 |
| Austrian Albums ( Ö3 Austria) [7] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Flanders) [8] | 44 |
| Belgian Albums ( Ultratop Wallonia) [9] | 44 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM) [10] | 29 |
| Dutch Albums ( Album Top 100) [11] | 27 |
| European Albums ( Music & Media) [12] | 37 |
| Finnish Albums ( Suomen virallinen lista) [13] | 17 |
| German Albums ( Offizielle Top 100) [14] | 28 |
| Japanese Albums ( Oricon) [15] | 31 |
| Scottish Albums ( OCC) [16] | 7 |
| Swedish Albums ( Sverigetopplistan) [17] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums ( Schweizer Hitparade) [18] | 19 |
| UK Albums ( OCC) [5] | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 [19] | 103 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom ( BPI) [20] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States | — | 68,000 [21] |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "Pet Shop Boys". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Harris, John (5 August 1995). "Long Play: B-ing Boring". New Musical Express. p. 44. ISSN 0028-6362.
- ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8533". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 35. 2 September 1995. p. 20. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
- ^ " Pet Shop Boys: Alternative" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". British Phonographic Industry. 1 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.