Elysium*

1. *Elysian fields Greek myth the dwelling place of the blessed after death
2. *A state or place of perfect bliss
3. *The latest album from the Pet Shop Boys

I was lucky that the CD copy I ordered arrived two days early as I got a chance to a) listen to it and b) rip it to iTunes in time for our flight.

I had very very mixed feelings about this album and was not looking forward to hearing it given the initial track leaks and snippets that were released.

Before Enda says anything I still do not like Winner and feel that it simply is a track that Neil and Chris produced to gain some momentum from the Olympics. It seems so against what they would do it smacks of the record company telling them to do this… Anyway I will admit it does fit into place in the album and the initial track release Invisible also takes a good spot on the album. Invisible is now one of my favourite tracks.

There has been a lot of hype about the album as it was produced in the States and gives the album a much more robust and edgier feel than the last album Yes. Yes was a classic PSB pop album with lots of uplifting tunes and the odd PSB gem but to be honest most of that album can soon be forgotten as throw away pop (yes I did really say that!).

Neil and Chris have a habit of releasing pop albums followed by more robust work (such as Behaviour and Release etc) and Elysium fits neatly into this pattern.

I am not doing it down by saying this as Elysium is one of the best albums Neil and Chris have ever written – it’s a very close second to Behaviour in my opinion.

Some of Elysium initially sounds like it’s been lifted from a West End musical but that’s what gives this album gravitas.

When I tweeted that my CD had arrived someone told me to avoid listening to it until after our holiday as it would bring me down.

I simply don’t agree. That was my fear with the snippets I have heard but it’s not the case. The album is wonderfully produced – it sparkles and holds so much elegance in its production. The quality of the production is up there with the weight and wealth I would expect from a Prince album.

Yes there are songs of love, loss, ageing and despair but isn’t that what makes the Pet Shop Boys stand out from the crowd?

Who else could write a catchy pop song about the love we feel from those departed? And yet Neil and Chris have achieved this with the new single Leaving.

The way this album was released illustrates all I hate about the music business these days. Months before the album is out we get some obscure video on YouTube. A single is released ahead of its official release on iTunes with no context and then a video and a proper single follow later. All generated to actually gain more revenue rather than hype.

My dislike (downgraded from hatred!) of Winner comes from not being able to hear it in context and on a proper stereo. I buy few albums on CD these days and depend on digital copies that I hear at best through my headphones. This does not give Elysium the audible platform it deserves.

Elysium is an album and should be enjoyed as such with a proper sound system. The songs deserve to stand out on their own but also deserve to be heard in the body of work they were intended for.

Ego Music is ironically a song depicting this perfectly. Illustrating what is wrong with celebrity and the music business. It’s all about the individual, their beliefs and promoting the next song rather than any body of work.

The lyrics on this album are particularly cutting and typically Tennant and Lowe and I just love the chorus of Your Early Stuff and With a Face Like That. Both are songs that only English writers of high calibre could come up with (and when I mention English writers I don’t include the likes of Gary Barlow!).

Ego Music is dividing the PSB community apparently but I love it – it’s tongue in cheek and it’s not meant to be taken seriously. It has a very serious message to relay and it does it with humour and aplomb. Perfect Pet Shop boys irony.

I found myself pausing to really listen to Breathing Space and Memory of the Future. Both are wonderfully well written and very moving. The musical arrangements are really beautiful and these are tracks that will haunt us for years.

I have deliberately avoided a track by track review as I don’t think it would be fair to separate this album up to digestible chunks. At least now I see why friends have raved about early releases they have heard.

If you want to listen to the album then you could Google the Guardian web site and listen to it through some tinny desktop speakers but that would not do Elysium the justice it deserves.

Wait until Monday (well in the UK anyway) and either go out and buy the CD or download the album from iTunes and burn to a CD so you can hear it in glorious room filling sound.

Elysium really is a place of bliss, you just have to put in some minimal effort to appreciate it as it was intended and then you will truly find bliss.

Wonderful – go on Give it a Go 🙂

**Note I am using the cloud cover art as I purchased the limited edition double CD pack with the bonus instrumental CD.