How PSB singles differ (if at all) from the album versions
From time to time I find myself musing, "Now, how is the single of such-and-such Pet Shop Boys song different from the album version?" So I figure the same may be true for you. Here's my attempt to provide a one-stop shop for such questions.
Please note that when I say that a single is "essentially the same as the album version," that means the single and album versions are either absolutely the same or that they differ only in extremely minor, barely noticeable ways, such the single being remastered—as opposed to being remixed—at a louder volume (a common practice) or a difference in length of only a very few seconds. In other cases where I cite more substantive differences in timing, I generally round the figures somewhat to approximations; attempted precision in such cases merely invites disagreements. Besides, official printed timings often disagree with what appears on the digital display of one's CD player or the figure associated with the downloaded file on one's computer.
The songs are listed in chronological order by release date, but please keep in mind that there are regional variations as to when singles are released just as there are as to whether they're released as singles in the first place.
- West
End Girls (initial release)
The single is a completely and very different recording (with, of course, a different producer) from what was subsequently released on the album Please.
- One More Chance
Released only in a few countries (one of which was the United States), the single is again a completely different recording with a different producer from what would be released several years later as the lead track on Actually. The 7-inch single mix is also almost exactly two minutes shorter than the album version.
- Opportunities
(Let's Make Lots of Money) (initial release)
The single is a different mix—possibly a different recording altogether—from the album version, which is slightly shorter.
- West
End Girls (second release)
The single is remixed and edited (shorter by roughly 45 seconds) from the album version.
- Love
Comes Quickly
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
- Opportunities
(Let's Make Lots of Money) (second release)
The single is remixed and edited (slightly shorter) from the album version.
- Suburbia
The single is a different recording from the album version, with a different producer; the single version is also about a minute shorter.
- It's
a Sin
The single is essentially the same as the Actually album version.
- What
Have I Done to Deserve This?
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
- Rent
The single is remixed and substantially edited (shortened by about 1½ minutes) from the album version.
- Always
on My Mind
The single is a substantially different recording from the much longer (by about five minutes) Introspective album version, which incorporates "In My House" and has several additional co-producers.
- Heart
The single is a different recording altogether from the album version and about 20 seconds longer. Although their openings are distinctly different (and nearly twice as long on the single), the general arrangements are fairly similar, despite the much more prominent use of synth-drums and guitar in the single version.
- Domino
Dancing
The single is remixed and greatly edited from the album version, which is more than three minutes longer.
- Left
to My Own Devices
The single is remixed and greatly edited from the album version, which is about 3½ minutes longer.
- It's
Alright
The single and album versions are completely different recordings with very different arrangements; the album version is also a little more than five minutes longer than the single.
- Being
Boring
The single is edited from the album version, which is roughly two minutes longer.
- How
Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?
It's complicated by the question of just what is the "single version." The 7-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD singles have different versions: the cassette and at least one edition of the CD single feature the album version (along with remixes on the latter), whereas the 7-inch vinyl single and at least one other edition of the CD single offer a very different, slightly longer mix by Brothers in Rhythm familiar from the music video—although that version is a slightly different Brothers in Rhythm mix as well. As I said, it's complicated.
- Where
the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)
The single is essentially the same as the Discography album version.
- Jealousy
Re-recorded for the single release, which features a full orchestral backing played by a real orchestra, as opposed to the "synthesized" pseudo-orchestral backing of the album version, which is also about a half-minute longer. Despite the different instrumentation, however, the musical arrangements are surprisingly similar.
- DJ
Culture
The single is almost identical to the Discography version, but has a subtly different mix and is about 14 seconds longer.
- Was
It Worth It?
The single is essentially the same as the Discography version.
- Can
You Forgive Her?
The single is essentially the same as the Very album version.
- Go
West
The single is essentially the same as the album version up through the fadeout, though of course without the roughly two minutes of silence that follow and then the hidden track "Postscript," which are included in the timing of the track on the album. There are, however, a couple of obscure edited "radio versions"—the shorter of which is officially found exclusively on the U.S. cassette single (as opposed to the 7-inch vinyl and CD singles)—that are trimmed by roughly 40 and 60 seconds respectively.
- I
Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing
Arguably the PSB single that is most different from the album version, it's very dramatically remixed, given an entirely new, much more complex arrangement, and greatly lengthened (by more than a 1½ minutes).
- Liberation
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
In effect, there is no "album version" unless one counts its appearance (remastered, but otherwise essentially the same mix) on the "Further Listening" disc accompanying the 2001 reissue of Very; the versions that appear on Disco 2 are, like everything else on that album, remixes.
The single is very noticeably remixed from the album version, with additional production and slightly increased length (five or six seconds).
There is no "album version" unless you count its much later re-releases on PopArt and the Bilingual reissue "Further Listening" disc, both of which are essentially identical to the single.
- Hallo Spaceboy (by David Bowie with Pet Shop Boys)
The single is a PSB "remix" that is actually a new recording with Neil's added vocals that incorporates elements of the original from Bowie's album Outside. Radically rearranged, the single is about 50 seconds shorter than the original. When it appeared more than a decade later on Disco 4, it was an extended mix, over two minutes longer.
The single is a shorter edit (by about 25 seconds) of the Bilingual album version.
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
The single is a remix and edit (shorter by almost 20 seconds) of the album version—and, of course, given a new title to avoid confusion with a nearly concurrent single by another artist also titled "Single."
The single is a substantial remix with additional synth lines, particularly toward the end, but shortened from the album version by more than 30 seconds.
Released in the U.S. as a double-A-side with "Se A Vida É," the single is essentially the same as the album version—though, not surprisingly, accompanied by a number of remixes.
A "non-album single" subsequently released in essentially the same form on PopArt.
The single is an edit, shortened by about 40 seconds, of the Nightlife album version.
There are at least three different "single/radio edits" (on different formats and releases and in different locales), ranging in length from nearly a minute to more than 1½ minutes shorter than the album version.
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
- Break 4 Love (by Peter Rauhofer + Pet Shop Boys = The Collaboration)
There is no "album version."
- Home
and Dry
The single is an edit (about 20 seconds shorter) of the Release album version.
- I
Get Along
The single is an edit (more than 1½ minutes shorter) of the album version.
- London
The single is very subtly remixed from the album version and is roughly the same length.
- Miracles
The single is essentially the same as the PopArt album version.
- Flamboyant
The single is a different mix from the album version, which is about 10 seconds longer.
- I'm
with Stupid
The single is essentially the same as the Fundamental album version.
- Minimal
The single is an edit (about 40 seconds shorter) of the album version.
- Numb
The single is remixed, muting the strings somewhat, and substantially edited, deleting the orchestral introduction and the second verse, making it roughly 1½ minutes shorter than the album version despite running through the bridge twice rather than only once (as on the album).
- She's Madonna (with Robbie Williams)
The single (aka the "Radio Edit") is only about 14 seconds shorter than the version on Robbie Williams's album Rudebox.
- Integral
The single (the PSB Perfect Immaculate 7" Mix) is very drastically remixed—in such a way that it has become notoriously unpopular among fans—and is about 25 seconds shorter than the album version.
- Did You See Me Coming?
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
- Beautiful People
The single sounds essentially identical to the album version, although it may have been slightly remixed or remastered for radio play.
- All Over the World
Assuming we count the version on the Christmas EP as a "single"—a matter of some debate—it's noticeably remixed with increased orchestration (incorporating additional snippets of Tchaikovsky), but has roughly the same length as the album version.
- It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas
Again, assuming it counts as a single (and the Boys certainly seem to since they later included it on Smash), it boasts an entirely new, more complex arrangement, but is slightly shorter (less than 10 seconds) than the original Fan Club release, which was remastered as a bonus track for the 2017 reissue of Nightlife. Otherwise, there is no "album version"—that is, aside from its eventual appearance on Smash, which, though remastered, is effectively the same as the single.
- Love Life / A Powerful Friend
Perhaps a questionable inclusion here since this was merely a limited-edition single (only 1,000 copies) released for Record Store Day 2010, and there weren't any "album versions" until they appeared on the 2017 reissue of Release as "Further Listening" bonus tracks. That being said, however, the single and "Further Listening" versions of "Love Life" are essentially identical aside from minor differences in audio quality resulting from remastering. The same can be said for the single version of "A Powerful Friend" and its "Studio Mix" (aka "Demo Version") found among the Release bonus tracks, one of two "Further Listening" versions of that song.
- Together
The single is essentially the same as the Ultimate album version.
- Leaving
The single is essentially the same as the album version.
- Memory of the Future
The single is very noticeably remixed and edited down to about a minute shorter than the album version.
- Axis
If you consider the promotional downloadable file released in advance of the Electric album as the single, then it's essentially the same as what appears on the album itself. But a "Radio Edit" nearly two minutes shorter than the album version was simultaneously serviced to radio stations and was used in the music video, so perhaps that is more akin to the actual "single."
- Vocal
The single (aka the "Radio Edit") is a little more than three minutes shorter than the album version, but otherwise doesn't sound as though it has been substantively rearranged or remixed.
- Love Is a Bourgeois Construct
The single is edited from the album version and is about 2½ minutes shorter as a result.
- Thursday
The single is edited from the album version, some verses curiously truncated (with certain lines cut out), thereby making it a little more than a minute shorter overall. It's also remixed, resulting in louder vocals compared to the album version and adding (or perhaps simply accentuating) a subtle cymbal effect at the start of the final chorus.
- The Pop Kids
The single is edited from the Super album version, but not by much; it's only about 15 seconds shorter.
- Twenty-something
The single is an edit and remix of the album version, cutting the entire first verse (making it about 45 seconds shorter) and making the sliding synth lines in the instrumental sections and the choir effects in the chorus more prominent.
- Say It to Me
The single is nearly identical to the album version, but is very subtly remixed and only slightly longer (by about 4 seconds).
- Undertow
An unusual case—and, thus far, a unique one—in which the only "single" versions to receive authorized release were longer and very greatly remixed 12-inch dance versions. No traditionally "radio-friendly" single was released, at least not officially.
- Dreamland
The single and Hotspot album versions are essentially the same, despite very slight differences (ranging from one to four seconds) in the apparent length of some iterations of the single compared to the album track.
- Burning the Heather
The single is an edit of the album version, shortened by nearly a minute-and-a-half by, among other things, eliminating the second verse and one repetition of the chorus.
- Monkey Business
Again, the single is an edit of the album version, almost exactly one minute shorter, achieved by removing three disjointed, non-consecutive verses (or perhaps, depending on how you define the verses, three "half-verses").
- I Don't Wanna
The single is nearly 40 seconds shorter than the album version, edited simply by cutting back on the repetition of lines from the chorus after the second verse and again at the very end.
- Cricket Wife
To say the least, it's stretching definitions to refer to this limited-edition thoroughly non-commercial ten-minute opus as a single. But that's precisely what the Pet Shop Boys themselves called it—or, even more precisely, a "digital single." To date, it hasn't appeared on an album, so there's no album version with which to compare it.
- Purple Zone
The single, remixed with additional programming by PSB and featuring both the Boys and Soft Cell, is identical to the version on the CD and digital editions of Soft Cell's Happiness Not Included album. But the vinyl edition of the album offers the original recording with just Soft Cell, before the Pet Shop Boys got involved.
- Loneliness
The "Radio Edit," which appears on the CD single, is drastically cut from the Nonetheless album version, which is more than two minutes longer. For one thing, the opening and closing instrumental segments are curtailed somewhat. Much more significantly, the bulk of the final third of the album version—largely repetition of motifs and lyrics already heard—has been excised. For instance, the "When you gonna not say no…?" bridge appears three times on the album but only twice in the Radio Edit.
- Dancing Star
Considering its remarkable brevity (only 3:02), the album version didn't require any editing whatsoever for single release. Aside from some possible slight variations in audio/mixing levels, the two are indistinguishable.
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