Pet Shop Boys: Smash - The Singles 1985-2020 (6LP, 2023 remaster) [PARLOPHONE]

Why you'll love it

This 6LP box set carries 2023 remasters of every single, mostly in their original 7-inch or radio versions. Smash scored 95 on Metacritic, with Uncut calling the duo without peer as exponents of the pop single.

This edition

• 6LP set
• Box set
• 2023 remaster

About the album

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe decided, as they started a new album, that it was a good moment to take stock and gather every single they'd ever put out. That's 35 years of hits, in chronological order, and the effect is like watching a very elegant time-lapse.

The early run is staggering: "West End Girls," "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)," "It's a Sin," "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" with Dusty Springfield, "Always on My Mind" and "Heart." Then come "Domino Dancing," "Left to My Own Devices," "Being Boring" and "Go West," through "Se A Vida É," "Home and Dry," "Love Etc." and "Vocal," right up to "Dreamland" with Years & Years. Along the way the U2 and Frankie Valli medley, "Was It Worth It?" and "Can You Forgive Her?" keep the run going.

They toured it as Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live across the UK and Europe in 2023. Fifty-five singles in one box is either the work of a duo with an unusually strong work ethic or the world's most stylish filing system, and we suspect it's both.

Also at Kops: more Pet Shop Boys on vinyl · browse Pop

Tracklist

Listen

On Parlophone, the 2023 compilation.