Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys
Encyclopedia
Back to Mine: Pet Shop Boys, compiled by synthpop
duo Pet Shop Boys
, is the twentieth compilation album
in the Back To Mine
series published by DMC Publishing.
and Neil Tennant
's musical preferences. Tennant has suggested that the two discs, in combination, comprise the "Pet Shop Boys sound".
While most other installments of the series focused on various aspects of downtempo
and chill out music
, Lowe's disc is oriented around upbeat disco
music. Tennant's disc, meanwhile, with classical and ambient music
included, is more aligned with the series' overall style (though the inclusion of classical compositions is also relatively novel for the series).
The album cover is by the band's traditional designer Mark Farrow
, differentiating it from the series' usual appearance.
, in tribute to the singer's considerable link to the band's history; as fans of Springfield's work, Tennant and Lowe went on to collaborate with her in several projects in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"Passion", produced by the band's first producer Bobby Orlando
, is cited by Lowe as one of the key reasons for the existence of the band, as the duo's appreciation for that and other Orlando productions led to Tennant's meeting with Orlando in New York.
Lobe and Dettinger
would later produce remix
es for the limited edition of the band's 2006 album, Fundamental
.
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
duo Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
, is the twentieth compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
in the Back To Mine
Back to Mine
Back to Mine is a series of mix albums, usually mixed by renowned DJs or composers of electronic music. The compilations usually feature artists other than the artist compiling the album, and are based on what the artist would play at home after a night out, rather than as part of a nightclub...
series published by DMC Publishing.
Overview
The band's only condition for undertaking the project was that each member would be allotted his own disc — a first for the series. Each disc, consequently, reflects the most opposite extremes of members Chris LoweChris Lowe
Chris Lowe is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
and Neil Tennant
Neil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
's musical preferences. Tennant has suggested that the two discs, in combination, comprise the "Pet Shop Boys sound".
While most other installments of the series focused on various aspects of downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and chill out music
Chill out music
Chill out music is an umbrella term for several styles of electronic music characterized by their mellow style and mid-tempo beats — "chill" being derived from a slang injunction to "relax."Chill out music emerged in the early and mid-1990s in "chill rooms" at dance clubs, where relaxing music...
, Lowe's disc is oriented around upbeat disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music. Tennant's disc, meanwhile, with classical and ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
included, is more aligned with the series' overall style (though the inclusion of classical compositions is also relatively novel for the series).
The album cover is by the band's traditional designer Mark Farrow
Mark Farrow
Mark Farrow was named Designer of the Year in the Creative Review Peer Poll in 2004, voting him ‘the most important graphic designer working today’. His career began in the early 1980s designing experimental sleeves and posters for Factory Records, and The Haçienda, which placed him at the...
, differentiating it from the series' usual appearance.
Context
Both discs include a song by Dusty SpringfieldDusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
, in tribute to the singer's considerable link to the band's history; as fans of Springfield's work, Tennant and Lowe went on to collaborate with her in several projects in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"Passion", produced by the band's first producer Bobby Orlando
Bobby Orlando
Robert Philip Orlando , also known as Bobby Orlando, is an American record producer, dance music artist, musician and songwriter.- Early life :...
, is cited by Lowe as one of the key reasons for the existence of the band, as the duo's appreciation for that and other Orlando productions led to Tennant's meeting with Orlando in New York.
Lobe and Dettinger
Dettinger
Dettinger is a German record producer signed to Cologne, Germany's based Kompakt label.His releases include 1998's Blond 12", 1999's album Intershop , Puma 12" and Totentanz 12", and 2000's album Oasis.Dettingers tracks have appeared on a range on compilations, including Kompakt's Total and Pop...
would later produce remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es for the limited edition of the band's 2006 album, Fundamental
Fundamental (Pet Shop Boys album)
Fundamental is the sixteenth album, the ninth of entirely new music, by the British band Pet Shop Boys. It was released in May 2006 in the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, and Canada, and was released in late June 2006 in the United States. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number five on 28...
.
Disc one (Chris Lowe)
- "Don't Cry Tonight" – SavageRoberto ZanettiRoberto Zanetti is an Italian singer, music producer, composer and businessman from Massa, Tuscany. As a singer he is known under the stage name Savage, and as a music producer he uses the alias Robyx....
- "Take a Chance" – Mr. Flagio
- "Dirty TalkDirty Talk (Klein + M.B.O. song)"Dirty Talk" is a song by Klein + M.B.O. released as the first single from their debut studio album First.-Critical reception:Slant Magazine placed "Dirty Talk" at number thirty-seven on its 100 Greatest Dance Songs, commenting, "That the lack of effective sex banter doesn't at all hinder 1982's...
" – Klein + M.B.O.Klein + M.B.O.Klein + M.B.O. were an Italian post-disco musical group formed by producers, songwriters, and arrangers Mario Boncaldo and Tony Carrasco . Rossana Casale, a jazz singer along with American chorus singer Naimy Hacket, provided vocals on their records.They are best known for their single "Dirty... - "Passion" – The FlirtsThe FlirtsThe Flirts were a female trio from New York City who had several dance hits and music videos on MTV in the early eighties when the channel was still in its infancy. The group was created and masterminded by American producer, Bobby Orlando aka 'Bobby O', an artist in his own right...
- "Ti Sento" – Matia Bazar
- "Never Be Alone" – JusticeJustice (French band)Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...
vs. SimianSimian (band)Simian was an English electronic rock band, formed in Manchester in 2000.-Personnel:*Simon William Lord *James Ellis Ford *Alex MacNaghten *James Anthony Shaw -History:... - "The Show Must Go OnThe Show Must Go On (Queen song)"The Show Must Go On" is a song by English rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album Innuendo. It is credited to Queen, but written primarily by Brian May. The song chronicles the effort of Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his...
" – QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor... - "Stand on the Word" – Celestial Choir
- "I Was Born This WayI Was Born This Way"I Was Born This Way" is a disco song by Valentino, released in 1975, then by Carl Bean in 1977 , and a remake in 1995 by country singer Johnny Rodriguez. It was written by Chris Spierer and Bunny Jones. The record was first released on the Motown-distributed Gaiee Records and performed by...
" – Carl BeanCarl BeanCarl Bean is the founding prelate of the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, a liberal protestant denomination that is particularly welcoming of lesbian, gay and bisexual African Americans... - "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" – Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
Disc two (Neil Tennant)
- "Traum" – Fairmont
- "Pulse Pause Repeat" – Harold BuddHarold BuddHarold Budd is an American ambient/avant-garde composer and poet. Born in Los Angeles, he was raised in the Mojave Desert, and was inspired at an early age by the humming tone caused by wind blown across telephone wires....
, Ruben Garcia and Daniel LentzDaniel LentzDaniel Lentz , Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is an electronic Western classical-music composer.Daniel Lentz achieved much fame as a musician while quite young—when he was still a student at Brandeis University he was awarded a fellowship in composition at Tanglewood in the summer of 1966... - "Microgravity" – BiosphereBiosphere (musician)Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen , a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his "ambient techno" and "arctic ambient" styles, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His track "Novelty...
- "Come In!" (II Movement) (Composed by Vladimir MartynovVladimir MartynovVladimir Martynov is a Russian composer, born on February 20, 1946 in Moscow, known for his music in the Concerto, Orchestral Music, Chamber Music and Choral Music genres....
) – Ensemble Opus Posth - "Promenade Sentimentale" (Sentimental Walk) – Vladimir CosmaVladimir CosmaVladimir Cosma was born April 13, 1940 in Bucharest, Romania, into a family of musicians.His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and conductor, and one of his grandmothers, pianist, a student of the renowned Ferrucio...
- "La Baie" – Étienne DahoÉtienne DahoÉtienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
- "Tiny" – Vessel
- "Laura's Theme" – Craig Armstrong
- "One Two Three No Gravity" (DettingerDettingerDettinger is a German record producer signed to Cologne, Germany's based Kompakt label.His releases include 1998's Blond 12", 1999's album Intershop , Puma 12" and Totentanz 12", and 2000's album Oasis.Dettingers tracks have appeared on a range on compilations, including Kompakt's Total and Pop...
Mix) – Closer Musik - "Goin' Back" – Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
- "Lunz" – Lunz
- "Sospiri" Op. 70 (Composed by Edward ElgarEdward ElgarSir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
) – Sir John BarbirolliJohn BarbirolliSir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
Conducts The New Philharmonic Orchestra - "DD Rhodes" – www.jz-arkh.co.uk
- "Video Kid" – The Video Kid
- "Movement" – Lobe
- "At Dusk" – John SurmanJohn SurmanJohn Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player, and composer of free jazz and modal jazz, often using themes from folk music as a basis...
- "Melodie" Opus 47 No. 3 (Composed by Edvard GriegEdvard GriegEdvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
) – Emil GilelsEmil GilelsEmil Grigoryevich Gilels was a Soviet pianist, widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.His last name is sometimes transliterated Hilels.-Biography:...