Alternative

Alternative
Compilation album by Pet Shop Boys
Released	August 7, 1995
Recorded	1986-1994
Genre	Technopop
Length	134:12
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Pet Shop Boys
Professional reviews
Robert Christgau [1]
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Disco 2 (1994) Alternative (1995) Bilingual (1996)

Alternative is the ninth album by UK electronic music duo Pet Shop Boys. It was first released in 1995.

Alternative is a 2-disc set, consisting of 30 B-sides in chronological order. The title Alternative was a last minute change from the title that had been long saved for such an album, Besides, but that title was taken by rock band Sugar, who released their own B-sides compilation two months prior.

Alternative only really gained popularity among devoted fans of Pet Shop Boys with the exception of the UK where it entered the charts at #2. A remake of the original 7-inch Paninaro entitled Paninaro '95 was released as a single (which was featured in the later PopArt set) in order to promote the 2-disc compilation.

The cover of Alternative features photographs of Tennant and Lowe in fencing masks. The first copies of the CD have a lenticular image on the cover which shifts between the two photographs.

Neil Tennant admitted in a radio interview with Absolute radio that a second b-side album may be released in 2010

Track listing

Disc one

1. "In the night" – 4:50
2. "A man could get arrested" (12" mix) – 4:19
3. "That's my impression" (Disco mix) – 5:15
4. "Was that what it was?" – 5:15
5. "Paninaro" – 4:40
6. "Jack the lad" – 4:32
7. "You know where you went wrong" – 5:52
8. "A new life" – 4:56
9. "I want a dog" – 4:59
10. "Do I have to?" – 5:14
11. "I get excited (You get excited too)" – 4:55
12. "Don Juan" – 3:55
13. "The sound of the atom splitting" (extended version) – 5:13
14. "One of the crowd" – 3:57
15. "Your funny uncle" – 2:15

Disc two

1. "It must be obvious" – 4:34
2. "We all feel better in the dark" – 4:00
3. "Bet she's not your girlfriend" – 4:29
4. "Losing my mind" – 4:34
5. "Music for boys" – 3:36
6. "Miserablism" – 4:11
7. "Hey, headmaster" – 3:07
8. "What keeps mankind alive?" – 3:24
9. "Shameless" – 5:03
10. "Too many people" – 4:17
11. "Violence" (Hacienda version) – 4:59
12. "Decadence" – 3:57
13. "If love were all" – 2:59
14. "Euroboy" – 4:28
15. "Some speculation" – 6:35^[1]

Personnel

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Producers

• Pet Shop Boys - All Tracks except Disc 1: Track 13
• Phil Harding - Disc 1: Track 1
• Bobby O - Disc 1: Track 2
• Shep Pettibone - Disc 1: Track 7, Additional Production on Disc 1: Track 4
• David Jacob - Disc 1: Track 8
• Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson - Disc 1: Track 13
• Harold Faltermeyer - Disc 2: Track 6
• Stephen Hague - Additional Production on Disc 2: Tracks 7 & 9
• Jonathon Ruffle - Disc 2: Track 8
• Richard Niles - Disc 2: Track 13

Guest musicians

• Blue Weaver - Fairlight Programming on Disc 1: Tracks 1 & 11, Hammond Organ on Disc 1: Track 11
• Adrien Cook - Fairlight Programming on Disc 1: Tracks 5, 6 & 7
• Helena Springs - Additional Vocals on Disc 1: Track 7
• Stephen Lipson - Guitar on Disc 1: Track 11
• Shirley Lewis & Dee Lewis - Additional Vocals on Disc 1: Track 11
• Chris Newman - Assistant Fairlight Programming on Disc 1: Track 12, Additional programming on Disc 2: Track 4
• Juliet Roberts - Additional Vocals on Disc 2: Track 2
• Dominic Clarke - Programming on Disc 2: Tracks 2 & 3
• Gary Maughan - Additional Keyboards on Disc 2: Track 3
• Scott Davidson - Programming on Disc 2: Track 5
• Harold Faltermeyer - Programming on Disc 2: Track 6
• Pete Gleadall - Programming on Disc 2: Tracks 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 & 15
• Richard Coles - Additional Keyboards on Disc 2: Track 8
• Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon & Tessa Niles - Additional Vocals on Disc 2: Track 9
• Bruce Woolley - Additional Vocals on Disc 2: Track 10
• J.J. Belle - Guitar on Disc 2: Track 11
• Sylvia Mason-James - Additional Vocals on Disc 2: Track 11
• Johnny Marr - Guitar on Disc 2: Track 12
• Frank Ricotti - Percussion & Vibraphone on Disc 2: Track 12
• Richard Niles - String Arrangement & Conduction on Disc 2: Track 12, Arrangement & Conduction on Disc 2: Track 13
• Tony Walthers, Daniel Gaha & Lance Ellington - Backing Vocals on Disc 2: Track 13
• Gerard Presencer - Trumpet Solo on Disc 2: Track 13

References