Release (Pet Shop Boys album)
Encyclopedia
Release is the twelfth studio album, the eighth of entirely new music, by the English electronic music
duo Pet Shop Boys
. It was first released in 2002.
After the release of their previous studio album, Nightlife, it was originally planned that they would release a greatest hits collection in the autumn of 2000 with the two new tracks "Positive Role Model" and "Somebody Else's Business". Whilst recording the new songs for the hits collection it was decided to produce a full studio album instead.
Release was the least commercially successful of all Pet Shop Boys albums to date, though still managed to sell 800,000 copies worldwide. In the UK it charted at number 7, in Germany at number 3. On its first release, a limited run of metallic effect embossed sleeves were available in a choice of four colours: grey, blue, pink or red. In the USA, this limited run also came with a bonus CD including remixes and new tracks. The artwork was designed by Greg Foley of the New York design group and magazine publishers, Visionaire, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
.
The album marked a significant departure from previous work, being apparently guitar- and piano-driven. However the album was made like their previous albums with most tracks mainly programmed on computers; however the sampled or synthesised guitars and drum sounds chosen often sound "real" and the synthesisers always present are sometimes used to sound like guitars (the solo in "Birthday boy", for instance, or the opening figure of "Home and dry"). Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was brought in later on in the sessions to play real electric and acoustic guitars on seven of the album's ten tracks. Apart from the track "London", recorded in Berlin with producer Chris Zippel, Pet Shop Boys produced the album themselves and then commissioned Michael Brauer
(who mixed the first two albums by fellow Parlophone artists Coldplay
) to mix it.
The original version of the album had eleven tracks but "I didn't get where I am today" was removed from the album before release and later became a bonus track on the 2004 single "Flamboyant
". Other tracks recorded during the sessions for the album which ended up as b-sides are "Between two islands", "Searching for the face of Jesus", "Sexy Northerner" and "Always". Another track, "Time on my hands", appeared on the 2003 release, Disco 3
.
The directors
for all three music video
s for the album's singles are photographers
by trade: Wolfgang Tillmans
directed "Home and dry", Bruce Weber
directed "I get along
" (following his previous work on the "Being boring" and "Se a vida é" videos), and Martin Parr
directed "London". The Tillmans video, consisting almost entirely of footage of mice filmed at Tottenham Court Road tube station
in the London Underground
, is considered by some to have significantly undermined the commercial potential of the lead single
, due to being deemed nearly unplayable by MTV
and other music video channels.
Perhaps partly because of the modest commercial success of this album, and perhaps partly because of the habit of distancing themselves musically from their most recent work, Tennant and Lowe have since returned to their dance roots. One year after the release of Release, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 3 which included remixes of some of the songs from Release along with new material that they were working on at the time of writing/producing material for Release.
CD-ROM content: "Home and Dry" (video)
Guest musicians
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
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....
. It was first released in 2002.
After the release of their previous studio album, Nightlife, it was originally planned that they would release a greatest hits collection in the autumn of 2000 with the two new tracks "Positive Role Model" and "Somebody Else's Business". Whilst recording the new songs for the hits collection it was decided to produce a full studio album instead.
Release was the least commercially successful of all Pet Shop Boys albums to date, though still managed to sell 800,000 copies worldwide. In the UK it charted at number 7, in Germany at number 3. On its first release, a limited run of metallic effect embossed sleeves were available in a choice of four colours: grey, blue, pink or red. In the USA, this limited run also came with a bonus CD including remixes and new tracks. The artwork was designed by Greg Foley of the New York design group and magazine publishers, Visionaire, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
.
The album marked a significant departure from previous work, being apparently guitar- and piano-driven. However the album was made like their previous albums with most tracks mainly programmed on computers; however the sampled or synthesised guitars and drum sounds chosen often sound "real" and the synthesisers always present are sometimes used to sound like guitars (the solo in "Birthday boy", for instance, or the opening figure of "Home and dry"). Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was brought in later on in the sessions to play real electric and acoustic guitars on seven of the album's ten tracks. Apart from the track "London", recorded in Berlin with producer Chris Zippel, Pet Shop Boys produced the album themselves and then commissioned Michael Brauer
Michael Brauer
Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer whose credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, John Mayer, Ash, My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds, Dream Theater, The New Radicals, Change, Fountains of Wayne, David Poe, Wilco, Alpha...
(who mixed the first two albums by fellow Parlophone artists Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
) to mix it.
The original version of the album had eleven tracks but "I didn't get where I am today" was removed from the album before release and later became a bonus track on the 2004 single "Flamboyant
Flamboyant (song)
"Flamboyant" is a single by Pet Shop Boys, released in 2004. It was the second single and one of two new songs from their 2003 singles compilation, PopArt.It peaked at #12 in UK....
". Other tracks recorded during the sessions for the album which ended up as b-sides are "Between two islands", "Searching for the face of Jesus", "Sexy Northerner" and "Always". Another track, "Time on my hands", appeared on the 2003 release, Disco 3
Disco 3
Not to be confused with The Fat Boys, whose original name was The Disco 3.Disco 3 is the thirteenth album by the UK electronic music duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released in 2003...
.
The directors
Music video director
A music video director is driven by a given music track. These are called music videos and are then used as promotional tools for popular music singles...
for all three music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s for the album's singles are photographers
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
by trade: Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans is a German Fine-art photographer and artist. His comprehensive and diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. In 2000, Tillmans was the first photographer and also the first...
directed "Home and dry", Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (photographer)
Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...
directed "I get along
I Get Along (Pet Shop Boys song)
"I get along" is a single by the Pet Shop Boys from their album Release. A love song, Neil Tennant has also hinted that it can also be interpreted as commentary on the then fraught relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and New Labour architect Peter Mandelson after the latter had...
" (following his previous work on the "Being boring" and "Se a vida é" videos), and Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
directed "London". The Tillmans video, consisting almost entirely of footage of mice filmed at Tottenham Court Road tube station
Tottenham Court Road tube station
Tottenham Court Road is a London Underground station in central London. It is an interchange between the Central line and the branch of the Northern line.On the Central line it is between and , and on the Northern line it is between and...
in the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
, is considered by some to have significantly undermined the commercial potential of the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, due to being deemed nearly unplayable by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and other music video channels.
Perhaps partly because of the modest commercial success of this album, and perhaps partly because of the habit of distancing themselves musically from their most recent work, Tennant and Lowe have since returned to their dance roots. One year after the release of Release, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 3 which included remixes of some of the songs from Release along with new material that they were working on at the time of writing/producing material for Release.
Release
- "Home and DryHome and Dry"Home and dry" is a song by British music group Pet Shop Boys released as the first UK single and the second US single from their album Release. It reached the top 15 on the UK Singles Chart at #14 and peaked at #44 on the US Hot Dance Club Play....
" – 4:21 - "I Get AlongI Get Along (Pet Shop Boys song)"I get along" is a single by the Pet Shop Boys from their album Release. A love song, Neil Tennant has also hinted that it can also be interpreted as commentary on the then fraught relationship between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and New Labour architect Peter Mandelson after the latter had...
" – 5:50 - "Birthday boy" – 6:27
- "London" – 3:47
- "E-mail" – 3:55
- "The Samurai in autumn" – 4:18
- "Love is a catastrophe" – 4:50
- "Here" – 3:16
- "The Night I Fell in Love" – 5:04
- "You choose" – 3:11
USA bonus disc
- "Home and Dry" (Ambient mix) – 5:29
- "Sexy Northerner" – 3:40
- "Always" – 5:06
- "Closer to Heaven" (Slow version) – 6:30
- "Nightlife" – 3:56
- "Friendly Fire" (Studio version) – 3:26
- "Break 4 LoveBreak 4 Love"Break 4 Love" is a song written, produced and recorded by house-music group Raze. The song, the group's only significant U.S. hit, featured vocals by Keith Thompson. The single peaked at number 28 in the UK Singles Chart and it topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1988...
" (UK radio mix) (with Peter RauhoferPeter RauhoferPeter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...
) – 3:29 - "Home and Dry" (Blank & JonesBlank & JonesBlank & Jones is a Cologne, Germany based Trance duo, consisting of the members Jan Pieter Blank , known as Piet Blank; René Runge , better known as DJ Jaspa Jones; and the producer Andy Kaufhold...
mix) – 6:38
CD-ROM content: "Home and Dry" (video)
Chart performance
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 62 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 15 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wa) | 21 | 3 |
| Danish Albums Chart | 9 | 3 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 71 | 2 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 22 | 2 |
| French Albums Chart | 53 | 4 |
| German Albums Chart | 3 | 13 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 33 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 12 | 3 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 13 | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart | 7 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard 100 | 73 | 2 |
Personnel
- Neil Tennant – vocals, guitar, keyboards
- Chris Lowe – keyboards, drum programming, additional vocals on track 1
Guest musicians
- Pete Gleadall – programming and engineering on all tracks except 4
- Johnny MarrJohnny MarrJohnny Marr is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse...
– guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10 - Jody LinscottJody LinscottJody Linscott is an American session musician and percussionist who resides in England and maintains an extended discography. She has two daughters and has written two children's books which were published by Doubleday, both edited by Jackie Onassis...
– percussion on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 - Steve Walters – bass guitar on tracks 2, 3 and 9
- Chris Zippel – keyboards on track 4
- "Little Mike" – guitar and bass on track 4