Tag: Synth Pop

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100 best covers: #86 Pet Shop Boys “Always on my mind”

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The Pet Shop Boys were my favourite band for about five minutes when I was twelve or thirteen years old. My memory is vague as to what year it was exactly and whether it was the Grammys or the MTV Video Music awards that I was watching them perform “West end girls” at on TV. Nonetheless, I certainly remember thinking that Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were so cool. Of course at that age, it was quickly on to the next thing and I probably didn’t even notice when they released this cover of “Always on my mind” a couple of years later.

The song was written by Johnny Christopher, Mark James, and Wayne Carson and originally recorded by both Brenda Lee and Gwen McCrae (see below) in 1972. The feel of these two versions is very similarly heartbreaking but the vocal styles markedly different, each blazing a path and fixing a mold for numerous future cover versions. It has been successful as both pop and country songs and in some cases, somewhere in between. Arguably, the two most iconic version of the song were recorded by Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley. And it was this last that actually led to the Pet Shop Boys doing the song as well. The story goes that they performed a synthed up cover of “Always on my mind “ on a television special commemorating the 10th anniversary of the king’s death and it was so well received, they recorded and released it as a single.

Perhaps it was so successful because it was so different from all the slight variations of the song that had come before. Instead of handkerchief soaking grief, regret, and longing, theirs is more celebratory, happy that we had the time together, rather than not at all. It’s bells, whistles, synths, and lasers, like a rave, almost before raves were a thing.

“Maybe I didn’t treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn’t love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time”

Dancing a party over the relationship’s ending is not what was likely envisioned when those words were written but man, do they work. Happy Friday all!

The cover:

The original:

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2001: #18 Depeche Mode “Dream on”

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I’d been a pretty ardent follower of Depeche Mode since Violator in 1990, gobbling up the other two albums they unleashed in the 90s, both “Songs of faith of devotion” and “Ultra” being solid albums, the former more than the latter in this blogger’s books. By the time 2001 rolled around and almost four years had past since their last album, the shine of Depeche Mode had worn off a bit for me and they were no longer front of mind. So it took me a while before I got around to listening to their tenth studio offering, “Exciter”.

If you can pardon my obviousness, I actually didn’t find the album all that exciting. In fact, this was the first of their albums that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy all the way through, a trend that has unfortunately continued through to their most recent work. That’s not to say I dislike the band now, nay, each album has given us some very good tracks. I just don’t find Mode as consistently good as they were through the 80s and 90s.

“Dream on” is one of the highlights of “Exciter” for me. You can hear the influence of producer Mark Bell (LFO, Björk) with the EDM beats throughout the record but here, it’s augmented by a bluesy acoustic guitar riff that just doesn’t quit. Dave Gahan’s vocal work is almost soulful and old-timey, clear and front of the palette of the austere production with Martin Gore adding his usual flourishes at opportune moments. Gore’s song subject is an addict hitting rock bottom and you feel that he is a addressing a woman he could love if she would give him the chance. But it’s Gahan that is singing the words and he does so from a place of experience.

“Feel the fever coming
You’re shaking and twitching
You can scratch all over
But that won’t stop you itching”

This is Depeche Mode. And it’s awesome.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2001 list, click here.

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Best tunes of 2001: #20 New Order “Crystal”

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Happy Monday. A dubious day to announce a comeback but we’ll do one nonetheless because it feels like my best songs lists have taken a back seat of late. And of course, comebacks don’t get any better than this song.

“Crystal” was the iconic New Wave band’s first single since the standalone, “Video 5 8 6”, in 1997. But more significantly, it was also the first single released off “Get ready”, New Order’s first studio album in eight years and the last to feature all of its original members. Shortly afterwards, keyboard player Gillian Gilbert would go on a second hiatus to take care of her and drummer Stephen Morris’s kids. And then, there was the famously acrimonious departure of standout bassist Peter Hook in 2007.

But in 2001, all the pistons were firing and New Order was welcomed back to the music world with open arms by fans and critics alike. “Crystal” (as well as the rest of the album) was some of the fastest, upbeat, jubilant, and guitar-driven material we had heard from a band that cut its teeth filling dance floors in the eighties with its synth heavy tunes. The keys and effects and danceable beats are still here but this feels like rock. And of course, when I first heard it, I recognized it as New Order but felt its differences deep within my soul. I loved it and immediately clamoured to hear the rest of the album. A good quality for a first single for sure.

As an aside, the video for the song is notable for inspiring the name of what is arguably one of the biggest bands in rock in the new millennia. Just have a look at the bass drum of the fictional band performing the song in the video and you’ll have a chuckle I’m sure. That is, if you’re not already smiling along with the song. Enjoy.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2001 list, click here.