What does it sound like?:
The main album is loosely conceptual – with a theme throughout that all the songs take place at night. It starts with the pulsating ‘For Your Own Good’ – somebody wanting to go out, and concludes with “Footsteps’, where somebody is waiting for their lover/partner to come home. In-between you get a bit of country (‘You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You’re Drunk’), the BBC radiophonic workshop (‘Radiophonic’) and a Kylie duet (‘In Denial).
The 2017 remaster brings enhancement – particularly with the new vinyl pressing of the original album.
The CD version come with two additional disc of b-sides, PSBs own remixes and demos from the 1996 to 2000 period, highlights include a duet with Elton John and a version of ‘New York City Boy’ called ‘Paris City Boy’, sung entirely in French.
‘Nightlife’ is a fabulous mix of lush strings (the Craig Armstrong produced tracks) and banging beats, produced by either David Morales or Rollo, of Faithless fame.
They dressed up for this album, famously with crazy wigs and costumes designed by award-winning theatre designer Ian MacNeil. It wasn’t to everybody’s taste, but I actually think this one of PSBs best albums.
What does it all *mean*?
If you overlooked PSBs mid-career albums, this, along with ‘Release’ and ‘Fundamental’ are worth a revisit – great value CD packages with loads of interesting and obscure stuff, including three rather strange ringtones that they produced.
Goes well with…
After dark listening, for sure – ‘Nightlife’ works well walking home from the pub.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Fans of mid-90s dance music.
I love this album. The PSB’s I would say had the longest imperial run of just about anyone, this the 7th of a flawless run from their first. It brilliantly mixes the touching and downbeat with two of their best bangers, Don’t Know What You Want…. and the disco-tastic New York City Boy. The end of this album, like the end of track one Crystal on New Order’s Get Ready is the exact point at which (argue) the two greatest bands of the eighties cease to be essential. Lots of good PSB stuff happened after, and Fundamental is perhaps a great Return to Form album, but this is the point at which their appeal started to become slightly more selective.
EDIT: Fundamental actually sold more than this album, but this one felt at the time that they were still at the heart of ‘pop’ whereas by Fundamental they were slightly to the side…
Cant remember this album, but thought the rot was beginning to set in on Bilingual. Decent run but not quite up there with the greats.
Bilingual is a grower. Apart from Se A Vide E the album underwhelmed me when it was released, but each time I hear it it gets better. As good as Very definitely.
Almost nothing is as good as Very, and certainly not Bilingual. I preferred this to Bilingual, but wouldn’t quite agree that either are from their Imperial phase.
I like Fundamental – the Trevor Horn production is fabulous. I Made My Excuses and Left, Minimal and Integral are vintage PSB for me.
For me the “peerless” run ends with Bilingual. Up to and including that album there is no filler on anything, I really like Nightlife but its their first album where i think (as with most albums, lets face it) there are a few great tracks and some I can take or leave. Still a huge fan, though – every album, right up to date, has good stuff on it.
Nightlife is not bad but listening to it now seems stacked with filler.
Release still sounds strong all the way through although I know it’s guitary bits are not very PSB
Fundamental on the other hand is their worst work by far. The lyrics are dreadful, the tunes uninspiring. Every time I listen to “Casanova in hell” I wonder what happened to their songwriting
After Fundamental i think they picked up again, but even a crap PSB album is better than a lot of the competition
Yebbut…Psychological, Sodom And Gomorrah Show, Luna Park. There are always, always, great songs on every PSB album. And in reference to an earlier comment, who amongst the ‘greats’ hasn’t had a drop in quality at some stage of their career, particularly if it’s a long one? For me, PSB are very much in the highest echelon of songwriters and artists.
I agree even a weak PSB album has a great song on. The relative quality after so many years is remarkable
After Fundamental, they did that live LP, and Rufus makes Casanova sound OK; I mean, the song remains, er, the same but the voice really lifts it…
All Back To Mine also…
The All back to mine collection is superb, especially Chris Lowes one
I like this album, particularly In Denial with Kylie, but I’ve always thought that New York City Boy was a bit silly – it was if they decided to write the sort of song that people thought the Pet Shop Boys should write, if you know what I mean.
I do know what you mean @hawkfall but think they pull a ‘Native New Yorker’ vibe pretty damn well. ‘If we’re going to write a disco song let’s go full disco then’.
I bought everything up to this album, but not so much afterwards. According to my google music account I have this one and Release, but not Fundamental. So I opted to get that one only (so far) in the extended format. Hope it’s better than @moseleymoles thinks …