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Feel the energy
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Showing nothing if not incredible resilience, Pet Shop Boys continue their third decade with "Electric," an album pointed directly at arty dance floors. Coming of the mostly down-tempo chill of "Elysium," "Electric" should thrill old fans who weren't quite sure what to make of the more introspective point of view on that particular disc. Forget that for now. Spinning with the electronic chill of producer Stuart Price (who helped Madonna mine this same field) and the always dry wit of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, they just keep the beat pumping and toss in reminders of past glories and all-night parties to come.

So when you hear reminders of earlier songs in the likes of "Love Is A Bourgeois Construct" while Tennant sardonically tells an ex that he's "Talking tough and feeling bitter," you know that the Boys are feeling old juices flowing. Even more so, there isn't a slow-down number here. This could almost be mistaken for one of the "Disco" series of albums in that the pace never lets up. I do miss that moment of reflection that many other Pet Shop Boys albums would sneak in, like "Happiness is an Option" (from "Nightlife") or "To Speak is a Sin" (from "Very"), which always felt like a moment of deeper thought slipped in between the moments of ecstatic dancing.

Where "Electric" makes up for that in a stunning manner is the album's cover song, "The Last To Die." Maybe back in the "Born In The USA" days, when Springsteen's singles were remodeled into dance mixes would this seem possible, but The Pet Shop Boys take a protest song about the Irag/Afghanistan wars and whip it up as a dance anthem. It is the most subversive thing on the entire album and proof that Neil and Chris have not forsaken the brilliant irony that made classic albums like "Very," "Actually" and "Behavior" (to this day, "Being Boring" can bring a tear) on an album that all but dares you to get on your feet.

"Electric" is something of a triumph. It became the Pet Shop Boys' highest American charting album in nearly twenty years (hitting #26, with "Very" coming in at #20, and their last album, "Elysium" peaking at #44), and only three other albums charting higher in their whole discography. They've never really gone away, but when you get hit with the line in "Vocal," exuberantly proclaiming "everything about tonight feels right and so young," it's enough to make you glad that they've stuck to their guns for so long.


   
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Chilling With the Pet Shop Boys
3 Out Of 5 Stars

With "Elysium," the Pet Shop Boys take a lighter approach to the grooves. This is a very tranquil album, comparable to "Release" from 2002. Maturity has crept into the oeuvre, letting the tempos slow down for the most part while the introspective lyrics take their precious time working their way into your consciousness. Songs like "Invisible" or "Requiem In Denim And Leopardskin" carefully dissect the duo's often ironic worldview.

The Boys don't completely stay in midtempo land. The short but biting "Your Early Stuff" is reminiscent of "Yesterday When I Was Mad," about a chance meeting with a casual fan who asks ridiculous questions and asks about the management that rips you off when you're a pop star. There's the danceable "A Face Like That" and the funny "Ego Music" where Neil Tennant declares "I am my own demographic" over a dance beat. There's also the Olympic anthem, "Winning," which is triumphant without being histrionic.

The lighter touch to most of the songs is something of a hindrance to the album overall, as "Elysium" takes several listens to take hold. Like the underrated "Bilingual" and again, "Release," the album seems like a holding pattern. Fans will be pleased, but casual listeners may find it too bland to take.



     

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Dance With me Mika
3 Out Of 5 Stars

For his third album, Mika does an about face and lunges face first into dance pop. This is more a Pet Shop Boys departure than a George Michael, gilded electronically and laced with precision beats. His unique voice still stands head and shoulders above all the production and auto-tuning (hey he really didn't need this much of it, thanks), and the songs are still catchier than a tackle-box. Once again, Mika borrows heavily from the classic pop songbook; if you don't think of The Buggles during "Love You When I'm Drunk," you're missing the point.

But there's something missing, which the delightful "Lola" points out. When Mika isn't being dancified or vocoded half to death, he's a stunningly original artist. Great songs like the title track and "Make You Happy" are gossamered to the point where the beauty of what was so apparent on "Life In Cartoon Motion" and "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" is nearly buried. Mika is in a new phase of his career, and he still excels. Just be prepared that, if you're coming off those first two albums, "Origin Of Love" is a different animal entirely.



     


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Stronger than known
4 Out of 5 Stars

Gregory Gray made three solo albums and has been releasing tracks under the nom de tune "Mary Cigarettes" for a few years now. "Strong At Broken Places" was his second album and released on the Atco/Atlantic in 1990 when the company was trying to resurrect the Atco label (and made the place the home of AC/DC for a time). While Gray has little else in common with AC/DC, his album deserves your attention all the more.

He has the songwriting sensibilities of Randy Newman at his most biting and recalling the Pet Shop Boys at his most buoyant. Producer Davitt Sigerson (and later, Stephen Hague) frames Gray with modern sounding synths and often danceable rhythms. There's even a dabble of reggae on "People Are Hard." But Gray is at his best when he's either out to party ("Universal Groove," "Things Ain't Always What They Seem") or wax cynical. On the brilliant "When The Music Turns Into Money," he rails against an industry that he wants to crack, ending up singing without any missing irony "I'm a goldmine, I'm a gold mine." It's sublime and subversive at the same time.

Gray also tries his hand at commercial pop (his first album hasn't even seen a CD release, it vanished so completely) on "The Fun Has Just Begun" and "Easier Said Than Done" and rocking a bit on the closing "Coming Back For More." That song is when he loses the high croon for a Bowie Belter and does so convincingly. All this makes "Strong At Broken Places" on of those good albums to slip through the cracks. It may not been as strong as the follow-up, the gay-centric "Euroflake In Silverlake," yet it stands the test of time better than may albums from the same period.



     



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Ramones: Needles and Pins
Beatles: Till There was You
Elvis Costello: What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding?
10,000 Maniacs: Because The Night
Soft Cell: Tainted love
Grace Jones: Demolition Man
Pet Shop Boys: Go West
Robert Palmer: Bad Case of Loving You
Johnny Cash: Hurt
Jeff Buckley: Hallelujah
Cake: I Will Survive
Talking Heads: Take me To The River
Adam Lambert: Mad World

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