Fundamental (Limited Edition)

by

Pet Shop Boys

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Considering the opportunity PSB had to really break loose and finally find a home in the new retro/electrohouse genre, I was a bit disappointed with the main disc here. Madonna, Andy Bell, Lasgo, Infernal--they've all released amazing albums that capture the essence of the 80s while still sounding modern. PSB have had dance masterpieces like "It's a Sin" and "So Hard", but all that brilliance seems to have gotten lost in a campy/big broadway show tune feel with their efforts over the last decade.

Things start off promising on FUNDAMENTAL with "psychological", a moody, depeche mode-esque track. Sodom and Gomorrah will quickly grow on you--it almost has a rock/orchestral ELO feel to it. "I Made My Excuses and Left" is slow and boring. "Minimal" is excellent, reminding me of Neil's time with Electronic. "Numb"--well, the title says it all. Boring and slow. "God Willing" is an interlude, running only a minute and 17 seconds. "Luna Park," another slow track! (but better than the others). "I'm With Stupid"--modest dance track, but a good lead off single, if not a little cheesy. "Casanova in Hell"--another slow track. "Twentieth Century", another moody track with a soft electronic synth rhythm. "Indefinite Leave to Remain" is another slow song, with that dramatic show tune feel. A few slow tunes are okay, but PSB can get really monotonous when they slow things down. "Integral"--BRILLIANT way to end the album. A rockin electro house tune with heavy percussion, a throbbing synth bass, and orchestral hits. Now THAT'S the PSB I remember--and of which I wanted more.

The bonus disc has not only remixes from the album, but also tracks drawn from other sources. "Fugitive" as remixed by Richard X is exactly what I expected from the whole FUNDAMENTAL album--an electro/synth/retro dance masterpiece. "Sodom" gets a driving electro mix, but is not really a sing along track. "Psychological" gets a dance mix that is somewhat trippy--not a full fledged club track. "Flamboyant" is really out of place here--this mix sounds dated, like stuff they were releasing five years ago. "I'm With Stupid" is not a particularly catchy mix--the original is much better. This one is too moody. "In Private" is quite a dramatic dance track--and a duet with Elton John!!! A real treasure. "Minimal" should have been left alone--this is a trippy mix. "Gomorrah"--a really painfully slow mix.

So all in all, you get about half and half from each disc--compile the best tracks from both discs together and you'll have the ultimate FUNDAMENTAL release.

P.S.: i must say it's sad that people use this space to attack other reviewers rather than just politely state their opinions about a product. The reviewer who sarcastically called me "genius" should talk--considering my mention of Madonna and Lasgo was put in quotes, yet the words were paraphrased and not at all what I had actually said. I also never said PSB should not have ballads on their albums--but I did say I felt too many of their slow songs get boring. And my guess is the reviewer is uninformed and hasn't even LISTENED to the other artists' albums I mentioned, and just jumps to conclusions about their worth by sarcastically calling them "pop masterpieces."

See...that's how a real genius properly quotes another person....

I have to agree with most of the reviewers here who rate this a mediocre album at best. It's main problem is a lack of focus in the production - there's just not a consistent sound to give the disc it's own unforgettable flavor. All of their previous full-lengths had a set palette of sounds that helped hold the album together - a sort of "point of view", a lens through which all of the songs were seen. "Please" was sophisticated disco; "Actually" was more of the same but far better; "Behavior" was lush retro analogue glory; "Very" was annoying rave dreck; "Bilingual" was multicultural Danny Tenaglia-esque house; "Nightlife" was high-energy, melodic, and trance-ish; and "Release" was The Guitar Album (ugh). "Fundamental" seems to crib from a bunch of different palettes, creating an album experience that has moments of brilliance, but loses that "I am lost in the coolest novel ever written" feeling that made "Actually" and "Nightlife" so great.

Nevertheless, "Minimal," "Integral," "Psychological," and "Fugitive" are all first-rate Pet Shop tracks. I wish the ballads had a little (or a lot) more melody to them - "Luna Park" makes some of the duds on "Release" sound brilliant by comparison. And why they put "Numb" on the album, I have no idea. They didn't write it, and it's terrible. Other reviewers have pointed out that the songwriter is some famous balladeer, but that doesn't matter. It could have been written by Cole Porter and it would still suck. I'll agree with the sentiment...world news is evil these days...but it's better to fight back with tracks like "Integral," which have real bite and anger, but also, somewhere, a little optimism.

I have a pet theory (no pun intended) that many of Neil & Chris' most brilliant melodies are winding up in their side-projects, like the "Closer to Heaven" stage production and the Battleship Potempkin pieces. Gentlemen, if you are - in some late-night moment of narcissism - reading these reviews, please know this listener won't be offended if you recycle some of that work into the next Pet Shop album.

That said, there is enough on "Fundamental" to keep fans hooked, if not completely satisfied, for the next year or so.