About time

It has been a gruelling 3-year wait. In these 3 years, in my humble listening station, I have been introduced to quite a number of great artistes from all parts of this world, but none could live up to the extraordinary sounds perfected by the two geniuses who met, by accident, in a pet shop on one fateful evening many, many years ago in Newcastle, England. Who am I talking about?

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys (PSB), of course.

Their previous release, Battleship Potemkin, is not considered an album of their pop-dance loving tracks because it is a soundtrack to the ground-breaking yet boring (to me) Russian film of the same name. So I shall not consider this album to be the end of my 3-year torturing wait. Nor could I mention their singles collection, Pop Art, released about a year back. No point really as I have most of the songs in my PSB CD collection sitting proudly inside the cabinet of my living room.

To any PSB fan, Disco 3, a remixed dance album that followed the rather weak Release, is the last album churned out by the PSB. A great album that I am thankful to the boys for making amends and rekindling the love for their signature pop meets the synthesizer type of music. Release to me is not trademark PSB. Having Johnny Marr on board jamming the electric guitar only meant that the boys were bringing on a musical direction unknown to them -alternative. Even though on one B-side track called The Truck Driver and His Mate (taken of their Bilingual days) provided us with a preview of their guitar-playing skills, I (and most of PSB fans I can safely say) was hoping that they did not travel on that route. Therefore, again, Release is not trademark PSB. Although a track called Samurai In Autumn marked a return to their beats and synthesizers days, but not the rest of the album.

Come April 17, 2006, PSB returns with a new album titled Fundamental! Supposing to sound super in comparison to 1993 breathtaking Very and 1994 double-CD collection of never-before-released masterpieces cleverly titled Alternative, this may very mean that PSB is back on track! Here, thanks to the official PSB site, are the track-listings for Fundamental (in no particular order yet as the boys are currently still experimenting):

1. God willing
2. Minimal
3. The Sodom and Gomorrah Show
4. I'm with Stupid
5. Psychological
6. I made my excuses and left
7. Integral
8. Numb
9. Luna Park
10. Casanova in Hell
11. Twentieth Century
12. Indefinite leave to remain

Fundamental, I am hoping, should be a 60-minute opus. My money is on this one. Just, just a few more months to end my 3-year long wait. Finally.