Release (Pet Shop Boys album)

Release
Studio album by Pet Shop Boys
Released	1 April, 2002
Recorded	September 2000 – November 2001
Studio	Studio PSB (London) Sony (London)[a] Chillout (Berlin)[b]
Genre	Synth-pop rock post-Britpop
Length	44:53
Label	Parlophone/EMI
Producer	Pet Shop Boys Chris Zippel
Pet Shop Boys chronology
Nightlife (1999) Release (2002) Disco 3 (2003)
Singles from Release
"Home and Dry" Released: 18 March 2002 "I Get Along" Released: 15 July 2002 "London" Released: 14 October 2002

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
BBC Music	Unfavourable[3]
Robert Christgau	B+[4]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[5]
Hour	3.5/5[6]
NME	4/10[7]
Now	[8]
Playlouder	4/5[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
The Village Voice	Favourable[11]

Release is the eighth studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 1 April 2002., by Parlophone/EMI. It was recorded between 2000–2001, near fully written & produced by the duo, with the exception of the song "London" having been co-written and produced by Chris Zippel. The album produced three singles: "Home and Dry", "I Get Along", and "London", the latter of which was only released in continental Europe. It reached number seven on the UK Albums Chart and received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.

Background

After the release of their previous studio album, Nightlife (1999), Pet Shop Boys originally planned to release a greatest hits collection in the autumn of 2000 with the two new tracks "Positive Role Model" and "Somebody Else's Business".^[12] While recording the new songs for the hits collection, it was decided to produce a full-length studio album instead.

The album reached number seven in the United Kingdom and number three in Germany. On its first release, a limited run of metallic effect embossed sleeves were available in a choice of four colours: grey, blue, pink or red. In the US, this limited run also came with a bonus CD including remixes and new tracks. The artwork was designed by Greg Foley of the New York design group and magazine publishers Visionaire and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

The album marked a significant departure from previous work, being guitar- and piano-driven. However, the album was made like their previous albums with most tracks mainly programmed on computers; however, the sampled or synthesised guitars and drum sounds chosen often sound "real" and the synthesisers always present are sometimes used to sound like guitars (the solo in "Birthday Boy", for instance, or the opening figure of "Home and Dry"). Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was brought in later on in the sessions to play real electric and acoustic guitars on seven of the album's ten tracks in London, with "Home and Dry" being completed in Dublin, Ireland. Apart from the track "London", recorded in Berlin with producer Chris Zippel, Pet Shop Boys produced the album themselves and then commissioned Michael Brauer to mix it.

The original version of the album had eleven tracks but "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today" was removed from the album before release and later became a bonus track on the 2004 single "Flamboyant". Other tracks recorded during the sessions for the album which ended up as B-sides are "Between Two Islands", "Searching for the Face of Jesus", "Sexy Northerner" and "Always".^[12] Another track, "Time on My Hands", appeared on the 2003 release, Disco 3.

The directors for all three music videos for the album's singles are photographers by trade: Wolfgang Tillmans directed "Home and Dry", Bruce Weber directed "I Get Along" (following his previous work on the "Being Boring" and "Se a vida é" videos), and Martin Parr directed "London". The Tillmans video, consisting almost entirely of footage of mice filmed at Tottenham Court Road tube station in the London Underground, is considered by some to have significantly undermined the commercial potential of the lead single, due to being deemed nearly unplayable by MTV and other music video channels.

Perhaps partly because of the modest commercial success of this album, and perhaps partly because of the habit of distancing themselves musically from their most recent work, Tennant and Lowe have since returned to their dance roots. One year after the release of Release, Pet Shop Boys released Disco 3 which included remixes of some of the songs from Release along with new material that they were working on at the time of writing and producing material for Release.

The album re-entered the UK Albums Chart at number 30 in August 2017 following the Release/Further Listening 2001–2004 reissue.^[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, except where noted. All tracks are produced by Pet Shop Boys, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Home and Dry"			4:21
2.	"I Get Along"			5:49
3.	"Birthday Boy"			6:26
4.	"London"	Tennant Lowe Chris Zippel	Zippel	3:46
5.	"E-Mail"			3:55
6.	"The Samurai in Autumn"			4:17
7.	"Love Is a Catastrophe"			4:50
8.	"Here"			3:15
9.	"The Night I Fell in Love"			5:04
10.	"You Choose"			3:10

US limited edition bonus disc^[14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Home and Dry" (ambient mix)			5:29
2.	"Sexy Northerner"			3:40
3.	"Always"			5:06
4.	"Closer to Heaven" (slow version)			6:30
5.	"Nightlife"		Pet Shop Boys David Morales	3:56
6.	"Friendly Fire"		Pet Shop Boys Craig Armstrong	3:26
7.	"Break 4 Love" (UK radio mix) (Pet Shop Boys + Peter Rauhofer = The Collaboration)	Vaughan Mason	Rauhofer	3:28
8.	"Home and Dry" (Blank & Jones mix)		Pet Shop Boys Piet Blank^[a]^[b] Jaspa Jones^[a]^[b]	6:38
9.	"Home and Dry" (music video)

Further Listening 2001–2004 (disc two)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Between Two Islands"	Tennant Lowe Leon Ware T-Boy Ross		5:10
2.	"Searching for the Face of Jesus"			3:25
3.	"Time on My Hands"			3:52
4.	"Motoring" (demo)			4:02
5.	"Love Life"			3:44
6.	"Transparent"			3:51
7.	"Sexy Northerner"			3:39
8.	"The Night Is a Time to Explore Who You Are" (demo)			3:52
9.	"Closer to Heaven" (slow version)			6:27
10.	"Run, Girl, Run" (demo)			3:48
11.	"I Didn't Get Where I Am Today"	Tennant Lowe Dave Lambert		3:37
12.	"Always"			5:02
13.	"Home and Dry" (ambient mix)			5:29
14.	"Bright Young Things" (demo)			4:26
15.	"Kazak" (demo)			2:48
16.	"A Powerful Friend" (John Peel version)		Miti Adhikari	3:16
17.	"If Looks Could Kill" (John Peel version)		Adhikari	4:24
Total length:				66:52

Further Listening 2001–2004 (disc three)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Try It (I'm in Love with a Married Man)"	Bobby Orlando		4:04
2.	"Here" (PSB New Extended Mix)			6:17
3.	"If Looks Could Kill"			4:10
4.	"A Powerful Friend"			3:22
5.	"Party Song"			3:40
6.	"No Excuse" (demo)			3:34
7.	"Blue on Blue"			3:10
8.	"Jack and Jill Party" (demo)			3:42
9.	"Baby" (demo)			3:43
10.	"Flamboyant" (original demo)			4:23
11.	"Miracles"	Adam F Tennant Lowe Dan Fresh Stein	Adam F Dan Fresh Stein Stuart Crichton^[b]	3:55
12.	"Flamboyant" (7″ mix)		Pet Shop Boys Tomcraft Felix J. Gauder Crichton	3:37
13.	"Numb" (demo)	Diane Warren		3:38
14.	"In Private" (featuring Elton John)		Pet Shop Boys Crichton	4:10
15.	"Alone Again, Naturally" (featuring Elton John)	Gilbert O'Sullivan	Stargate Pet Shop Boys	3:24
16.	"Reunion" (electro mix)		Stargate Pet Shop Boys	4:29
17.	"Bright Young Things"		Zippel Pet Shop Boys	4:55
18.	"We're the Pet Shop Boys"	My Robot Friend	Zippel Pet Shop Boys	4:55
19.	"It's a Sin" (Barfly version)			3:58
Total length:				77:06

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies a remixer
• ^{^[b]} signifies an additional producer

Sample credits

• "Birthday Boy" features a sample from the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge performing "In the Bleak Midwinter", written by Harold Darke and Christina Rossetti.
• "Between Two Islands" contains an excerpt of "I Want You", written by Leon Ware and T-Boy Ross.
• "I Didn't Get Where I Am Today" includes a sample from "Father's Name Is Dad", written by Dave Lambert and performed by Fire.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Release.^[15]

Pet Shop Boys

• Neil Tennant – vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Chris Lowe – keyboards, drum programming

Additional musicians

• Pete Gleadall – programming (tracks 1–3, 5–10)
• Johnny Marr – guitars (tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 9, 10)
• Jody Linscott – percussion (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–10)
• Steve Walters – bass guitar (tracks 2, 3, 9)
• Chris Zippel – keyboards (track 4); spoken idea (track 5)
• "Little Mike" – guitar, bass (track 4)
• Richard Niles – string arrangement, string conducting (track 5)

Technical

• Pet Shop Boys – production (tracks 1–3, 5–10)
• Pete Gleadall – engineering (tracks 1–3, 5–10)
• Michael Brauer – mixing^[c]
• Rick Chavarria – mix assistance
• Chris Zippel – production, engineering (track 4)
• Kai Diener – premix (track 4)
• Florian Richter – premix (track 4)
• Mike Ross – string recording (track 5)
• Andrew Nichols – recording assistance at Sony Music Studios
• Philippe Rose – mixing assistance^[c]
• Greg Calbi – mastering^[d]
• Steve Fallone – mastering assistance^[d]

Artwork

• Dan Forbes – photography
• Pennie Smith – portrait
• Greg Foley – art direction
• Jake McCabe – design production
• Tatiana Gaz – design associate

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Release Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 62 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 15 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 21 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[19] 19 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[20] 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 71 European Albums (Music & Media)[22] 5 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 22 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 53 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 3 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26] 29 Irish Albums (IRMA)[27] 58 Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 27 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 26 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30] 33 Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 15 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[32] 16 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 13 UK Albums (OCC)[35] 7 US Billboard 200[36] 73 US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[37] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Release Chart (2002) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38] 94

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Release

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[39]	Silver	60,000^^
United States	—	73,000[40]
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. Additional recording
2. "London"
3. Mixed at Olympic Studios (London)
4. Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

References

1. "Release by Pet Shop Boys". Metacritic.
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pet Shop Boys: Release > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
3. Hodges, Jacqueline (20 November 2002). "Pet Shop Boys Release Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
4. Christgau, Robert (11 June 2002). "Down and Alt". The Village Voice. New York. ISSN 0042-6180. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
5. Reed, Graham (11 April 2002). "Pet Shop Boys: Release". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
6. Burnett, Richard (4 April 2002). "Pet Shop Boys: Release". Hour. Montreal. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
7. Robinson, Peter (5 April 2002). "Pet Shop Boys : Release". NME. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
8. Liss, Sarah (4 April 2002). "Pet Shop Boys: Release". Now. Vol. 21, no. 31. ISSN 0712-1326. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
9. Bee, Sarah (8 April 2002). "Release: Pet Shop Boys". Playlouder. Archived from the original on 10 July 2003.
10. Walters, Barry (23 April 2002). "Pet Shop Boys: Release". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 20 February 2008.
11. Lim, Dennis (7 May 2002). "October Symphonies". The Village Voice. New York. ISSN 0042-6180. Archived from the original on 19 February 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
12. "Literally Issue 25 Diary". Retrieved 30 September 2011 – via Absolutely Pet Shop Boys.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
14. "Release". Pet Shop Boys Discography. Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
15. Release (liner notes). Pet Shop Boys. Parlophone. 2002. 7243 5 38150 2 8.
16. "Chartifacts!" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 635. 29 April 2002. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2008. Retrieved 26 April 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Austriancharts.at – Pet Shop Boys – Release" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
18. "Ultratop.be – Pet Shop Boys – Release" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
19. "Oficiální česká hitparáda IFPI ČR – 16. týden 2002". Marketing & Media (in Czech). 12 April 2002. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
20. "Danishcharts.dk – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pet Shop Boys – Release" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
22. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 17. 20 April 2002. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
23. "Pet Shop Boys: Release" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
24. "Lescharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pet Shop Boys – Release" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
26. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2002. 17. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
27. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Pet Shop Boys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
28. "Italiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
29. 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 4 January 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
30. "Norwegiancharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
31. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
32. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
33. "Swedishcharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
34. "Swisscharts.com – Pet Shop Boys – Release". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
35. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
36. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
37. "Pet Shop Boys Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
38. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 2002" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
39. "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Release". British Phonographic Industry. 5 April 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
40. Caulfield, Keith (23 May 2006). "Ask Billboard: Pet Shop Shopping". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.