Alternative (album)

Alternative
Compilation album by Pet Shop Boys
Released	7 August 1995
Recorded	1985–1994
Length	134:12
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Disco 2 (1994) Alternative (1995) Bilingual (1996)
Singles from Alternative
"Paninaro '95" Released: 24 July 1995

Alternative is a compilation album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 7 August 1995 by Parlophone. ^[1] The two-disc set consists of 30 B-sides of singles from 1985 to 1994, arranged in chronological order. ^[2] It reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. ^[3] To promote the album, a remake of "Paninaro", originally the B-side of "Suburbia" (1986), was released as a single titled "Paninaro '95". ^[1] A follow-up B-sides album called Format was released in February 2012, covering the years 1996 to 2009. ^[4]

Artwork and packaging

Alternative was released as a double CD, including a limited edition box set; a double cassette; and a triple LP box set. The cover (pictured) features photographs of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe in fencing masks, taken by Richard Burbridge. The first copies have a lenticular image on the cover which alternates between the two faces. The liner notes include an interview with the duo about each song by music journalist Jon Savage. ^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Robert Christgau	[7]
Melody Maker	(favorable) [8]
NME	6/10 [9]
Select	[10]
The Sydney Morning Herald	[11]

Several reviews of Alternative commented on the quality of the Pet Shop Boys' B-sides in their overall songwriting output. Shane Danielsen of The Sydney Morning Herald observed: "With admirable symmetry, the best singles band in the world prove to also make the best B-sides. This companion piece to their Discography best-of is, predictably, somewhat less even, though equally linear, tracing their evolution as the most humane synth-pop band ever". ^[11] Robert Christgau rated it two out of three on his "Honorable Mention" scale, denoting consumers "may well enjoy", and described the compilation as "two discs of marginalia proving what?--that Very could have been more amazing yet?" ^[7]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted: "Far from being a superfluous collection, the album contains a wealth of prime material, including several tracks that surpass those the duo put on their albums". ^[6] Andrew Harrison of Select wrote: "Line up 30 of most bands' B-sides in chronological order and you'll need matchsticks under your eyelids. But this is the Pettoes we're talking about, so puckish wit, cavalier experimentation and the latest in funny noises reign". He concluded, "these B-sides shame plenty of people's career peaks". ^[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted.

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	A-side	Length
1.	"In the Night"		"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1985 release)	4:50
2.	"A Man Could Get Arrested" (10" Bobby Orlando version)		"West End Girls"	4:19
3.	"That's My Impression" (disco mix)		"Love Comes Quickly"	5:18
4.	"Was That What It Was?"		"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" (1986 release)	5:14
5.	"Paninaro"		"Suburbia"	4:40
6.	"Jack the Lad"		"Suburbia"	4:31
7.	"You Know Where You Went Wrong"		"It's a Sin"	5:51
8.	"A New Life"	Tennant, Lowe, Helena Springs	"What Have I Done to Deserve This?"	4:56
9.	"I Want a Dog"		"Rent"	4:58
10.	"Do I Have To?"		"Always on My Mind"	5:14
11.	"I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)"		"Heart"	4:54
12.	"Don Juan"		"Domino Dancing"	3:54
13.	"The Sound of the Atom Splitting" (extended version)	Tennant, Lowe, Steve Lipson, Trevor Horn	"Left to My Own Devices"	5:12
14.	"One of the Crowd"		"It's Alright"	3:55
15.	"Your Funny Uncle"		"It's Alright"	2:16

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	A-side	Length
1.	"It Must Be Obvious"		"So Hard"	4:24
2.	"We All Feel Better in the Dark"		"Being Boring"	4:00
3.	"Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend"		"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes off You)"	4:28
4.	"Losing My Mind"	Stephen Sondheim	"Jealousy"	4:34
5.	"Music for Boys"		"DJ Culture"	3:36
6.	"Miserablism"		"Was It Worth It?"	4:10
7.	"Hey, Headmaster"		"Can You Forgive Her?"	3:06
8.	"What Keeps Mankind Alive?"	Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill	"Can You Forgive Her?"	3:24
9.	"Shameless"		"Go West"	5:02
10.	"Too Many People"		"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"	4:17
11.	"Violence" (Haçienda version)		"I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing"	4:58
12.	"Decadence"		"Liberation"	3:56
13.	"If Love Were All"	Noël Coward	"Yesterday, When I Was Mad"	2:59
14.	"Euroboy"		"Yesterday, When I Was Mad"	4:27
15.	"Some Speculation"		"Yesterday, When I Was Mad"	6:34

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	A-side	Length
16.	"Girls & Boys" (live in Rio)	Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree	"Paninaro '95"	5:03

Personnel

• Neil Tennant
• Chris Lowe

Producers

• Pet Shop Boys – all tracks except disc 1: track 13
• Phil Harding – disc 1: track 1
• Bobby O – disc 1: track 2
• Shep Pettibone – disc 1: track 7, additional production on disc 1: track 4
• David Jacob – disc 1: track 8
• Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson – disc 1: track 13
• Harold Faltermeyer – disc 2: track 6
• Stephen Hague – additional production on disc 2: tracks 7 and 9
• Jonathon Ruffle – disc 2: track 8
• Richard Niles – disc 2: track 13

Guest musicians

• Blue Weaver – Fairlight programming on disc 1: tracks 1 and 11, Hammond organ on disc 1: track 11
• Adrien Cook – Fairlight programming on disc 1: tracks 5, 6 and 7
• Helena Springs – additional vocals on disc 1: track 7
• Stephen Lipson – guitar on disc 1: track 11
• Shirley Lewis and Dee Lewis – additional vocals on disc 1: track 11
• Chris Newman – assistant Fairlight programming on disc 1: track 12, additional programming on disc 2: track 4
• Juliet Roberts – additional vocals on disc 2: track 2
• Dominic Clarke – programming on disc 2: tracks 2 and 3
• Gary Maughan – additional keyboards on disc 2: track 3
• Scott Davidson – programming on disc 2: track 5
• Harold Faltermeyer – programming on disc 2: track 6
• Pete Gleadall – programming on disc 2: tracks 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 15
• Richard Coles – additional keyboards on disc 2: track 8
• Carol Kenyon, Katie Kissoon and Tessa Niles – additional vocals on disc 2: track 9
• Bruce Woolley – additional vocals on disc 2: track 10
• J.J. Belle – guitar on disc 2: track 11
• Sylvia Mason-James – additional vocals on disc 2: track 11
• Johnny Marr – guitar on disc 2: track 12
• Frank Ricotti – percussion and vibraphone on disc 2: track 12
• Richard Niles – string arrangement and conduction on disc 2: track 12, arrangement and conduction on disc 2: track 13
• Tony Walthers, Daniel Gaha & Lance Ellington – backing vocals on disc 2: track 13
• Gerard Presencer – trumpet solo on disc 2: track 13

Artwork

• Mark Farrow – concept and design, graphic design
• Phil Sims – concept and design
• Rob Petrie – concept and design
• Peter Mauder – graphic design
• Richard Burbridge – mask photography
• Eric Watson – interview portraits

Charts

Chart performance for Alternative

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [12]	8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13]	33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [14]	44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [15]	44
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [16]	29
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17]	27
European Albums ( Music & Media ) [18]	37
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [19]	17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20]	28
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21]	31
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22]	7
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [23]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24]	19
UK Albums (OCC) [3]	2
US Billboard 200 [25]	103

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Alternative

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [26]	Silver	60,000^
United States	—	68,000 [27]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "News" (PDF). Music Week. London. 29 July 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 26 October 2025– via World Radio History.
2. "New Entries: Albums" (PDF). Hit Music. No. 149. London. 19 August 1995. p. 15. Retrieved 26 October 2025– via World Radio History.
3. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
4. Cooper, Leonie (16 November 2011). "Pet Shop Boys to release new B-sides compilation". NME. London. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
5. Hoare, Philip; Heath, Chris (2006). Pet Shop Boys Catalogue. New York: Thames & Hudson. p. 210. ISBN   9780500513071.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
7. Christgau, Robert. "Pet Shop Boys". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
8. Mathur, Paul (12 August 1995). "Pet Shop Boys - Alternative Pet Shop Boys" . Melody Maker . Vol. 72, no. 32. p. 33. Retrieved 6 March 2024– via Internet Archive.
9. Harris, John (5 August 1995). "Long Play: B-ing Boring". New Musical Express . p. 44. ISSN   0028-6362.
10. Harrison, Andrew (September 1995). "New Old Albums". Select . p. 105. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
11. Danielsen, Shane (16 October 1995). "Brilliant and perverse Stereolab". Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. p. 62. Retrieved 30 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
12. "Australiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
14. "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
15. "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
16. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8533". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
18. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 12, no. 35. 2 September 1995. p. 20. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
19. "Pet Shop Boys: Alternative" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
21. "ペット・ショップ・ボーイズのアルバム売り上げランキング" [Pet Shop Boys album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
25. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
26. "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Alternative". British Phonographic Industry. 1 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
27. Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.