| Yes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
| Released | 18 March 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 48:39 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | Brian Higgins, Xenomania | |||
| Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Yes | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (71/100)[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Robert Christgau | [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | (5/10)[4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+)[5] |
| The Guardian | [6] |
| The Independent | [7] |
| NME | (8/10)[8] |
| PopMatters | (7/10)[9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| Spin | (8/10)[11] |
Yes is the tenth studio album by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys. The album was recorded throughout 2008 and is produced by Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania.[12] Xenomania also co-wrote three of the tracks. Guitarist Johnny Marr and string arranger Owen Pallett appear as well.[13] Yes was released in the United Kingdom on 23 March 2009, preceded by lead single "Love etc.", released on 16 March.[12] In the United States the album was released on 21 April 2009 by Astralwerks.
Contents |
Yes reached number four on the UK Albums Chart on 29 March 2009, the duo's highest-placing album since Bilingual (1996). Early sales figures predicted that the album would enter at number one,[14] but a series of blunders by record label Parlophone rendered a number of sales ineligible for the chart. These included allowing 2,500 copies of the album to be bought digitally online three days before the UK release date, as well as stock level problems with a number of suppliers, which affected sales and chart placement.[15] Some booklets that shipped with the Yes etc. double CD set had pages in the wrong order. EMI have set up a website for people affected by this to claim a new booklet.[16]
The album was released in multiple formats, including a digital version that included a 48-minute track-by-track commentary on the album, and a vinyl version limited to 300 copies, containing eleven tracks of the album on one side and the instrumental version of each on the other side.[17] The double CD edition of the album incorporated a bonus disc titled Etc., which featured mostly instrumental dub mixes of six album tracks, as well as a new song called "This Used to Be the Future", to which Philip Oakey of The Human League contributed some vocals.
Yes spawned three further singles. On 1 June 2009, "Did You See Me Coming?" was released worldwide on a number of physical and digital formats, backed with three new B-sides.[12] A limited German-only "Beautiful People" CD and download followed in September. Pet Shop Boys' first EP release, the five-track Christmas set, was released on 14 December 2009, with "All Over the World" acting as the principal radio promo.
The album was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
Yes was supported by a comprehensive world tour that stretched across 2009 and 2010. A recording of the tour made in London in December 2009 was released in a CD/DVD package on 15 February 2010 as Pandemonium.
The album sleeve was designed by Mark Farrow and Pet Shop Boys. The tick on the cover is made up of eleven coloured squares.[18] It was inspired by German artist Gerhard Richter (who is referenced in the album's opening track, "Love etc."), specifically his 4900 exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery and the stained glass window in Cologne Cathedral.[19]
The album's cover was nominated in the 2010 Brit Insurance Design Awards shortlist in the Graphics category.[20]
All songs written and composed by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted[12].
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love etc." (Tennant, Lowe, Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Tim Powell, Owen Parker) | 3:32 |
| 2. | "All Over the World" (Tennant, Lowe, with an uncredited sample by Tchaikovsky) | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Beautiful People" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Did You See Me Coming?" | 3:41 |
| 5. | "Vulnerable" | 4:47 |
| 6. | "More Than a Dream" (Tennant, Lowe, Cooper, Higgins, Jason Resch, Kieran Jones) | 4:57 |
| 7. | "Building a Wall" | 3:50 |
| 8. | "King of Rome" | 5:31 |
| 9. | "Pandemonium" | 3:43 |
| 10. | "The Way It Used to Be" (Tennant, Lowe, Cooper, Higgins, Nick Coler) | 4:44 |
| 11. | "Legacy" | 6:21 |
| Japanese bonus track[21] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Love etc." (Pet Shop Boys Sex Mix) | 6:18 | |||||||
| iTunes bonus tracks[22] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Love etc." (Pet Shop Boys Dub) | 6:18 | |||||||
| 13. | "Yes" (Track by Track Commentary by Neil & Chris) | 48:40 | |||||||
| 14. | "Brit Awards Medley" (pre-order only) | 9:32 | |||||||
| Limited edition bonus disc "Etc." | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "This Used to Be the Future" (featuring Philip Oakey) | 5:14 | |||||||
| 2. | "More Than a Dream" (Magical Dub) | 6:10 | |||||||
| 3. | "Pandemonium" (The Stars and the Sun Dub) | 5:50 | |||||||
| 4. | "The Way It Used to Be" (Left of Love Dub) | 5:16 | |||||||
| 5. | "All Over the World" (This Is a Dub) | 5:21 | |||||||
| 6. | "Vulnerable" (Public Eye Dub) | 5:17 | |||||||
| 7. | "Love etc." (Beautiful Dub) | 6:24 | |||||||
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Total length:
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39:32 | ||||||||
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Weekly charts
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Certifications
Year-end charts
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| Country | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan[21] | 18 March 2009 | EMI | CD, digital download, 2×CD |
| Australia[50] | 20 March 2009 | CD, digital download | |
| Germany[51] | CD, digital download, 2×CD | ||
| United Kingdom[12] | 23 March 2009 | Parlophone | |
| United States[52] | 21 April 2009 | Astralwerks | |
| Germany[53] | 24 April 2009 | EMI | LP |
| United Kingdom[54] | 11 May 2009 | Parlophone |