The single was released on CD, cassette, and 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl formats. The B-side, "Decadence", featured Johnny Marr on guitar and Frank Ricotti on percussion and vibraphone, with a string arrangement by Richard Niles.[3] Additional bonus tracks included remixes of the album track "Young Offender" by Jam & Spoon and of "Liberation" by E Smoove and Murk.
A live version of "Liberation" is on Discovery: Live in Rio 1994 (1995), re-released on DVD and CD in 2021.[4] "Decadence" was included on the re-release Very: Further Listening: 1992–1994 and the B-sides compilation Alternative.
Artwork
The cover art used computer-generated forms from the music video, created by rotating the duo's profiles 360 degrees to form solid objects that appear to be spinning. Chris Lowe's image is orange (pictured), and Tennant's is blue. The back covers used offset text boxes in orange or blue to create an impression of motion, while the remix covers used close-ups of the heads.[5]
The portraits are reminiscent of Renato Bertelli's "Continuous profile of Mussolini" (1933), a ceramic bust with the profile rotated in a similar manner.[5][6]
Critical reception
In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "The single makes a strong showing, not least due to the fact that the gorgeous ballad is one of the best tracks from the album. What gives it an extra boost is the innovating virtual reality video, currently touring the country in a roadshow whereby punters can climb into a booth and experience the state of the art computer graphics at first hand. Even the standard 2D version is a wonder to behold, whatever happens to the single it is surely a candidate for video of the year."[7]Sarra Manning from Melody Maker felt it's "a bit limp and lifeless after the oomphing crescendoes of 'Go West' and 'Can You Forgive Her?' Still, it's harmless enough in a Chianti-grooved, falsetto kind of way."[8]
Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, saying, "Sleek and sophisticated in its original mix, expensive strings underscore Neil Tennant's typically mournful vocals. [...] The fourth hit from the PSBs album Very, and a big one."[9] Johnny Cigarettes of NME wrote, "This single will witness few embarrassing tongue cavortings around youth club discos, because apart from a particularly divine chord change in the bridge, this is simply too laid-back and Sunday afternoon snooze-ish to reach the intended heart strings. The tune's hardly a gasser either."[10] Mark Sutherland from Smash Hits also gave it four out of five, writing, "This is not the Pettoes at the absolute pinnacle of their powers, but 'Liberation' still has more than enough going for it to merit mass swooning. [...] This is a touchingly tender tinkle through an achingly sad song, with Neil's vocals at their very wispiest, so may I suggest a smart top hat and tails, in day-glo lilac with matching feather dusters. The song's absolutely marvellous, by the way."[11] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin remarked its "sigh of surrender".[12]
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by British director Howard Greenhalgh, is almost entirely CG, an early example of exclusively CG output. The only live-action footage the video features is Neil Tennant's face, seen singing on gold circles. Other features in the video are reminiscent of the duo, including several disembodied heads wearing tall pointy caps (like those seen in the video for "Can You Forgive Her?") and animated versions of the 3D renderings of the duo's silhouettes that were also used on the single covers. The video was used as part of CyberWorld, an early 3D cinema demonstration, on IMAX screens across the UK and elsewhere in 2000 and 2001.[5][13]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
