Coming down from the ambitious, politically charged
Fundamental,
Yes is the sound of
the Pet Shop Boys unwinding and returning to their usual fascinations: isolation, fashion, grand arrangements, and witty synth pop anthems. Unfortunately, they're in a slump with their songwriting, and subject-wise, every song here has a companion piece on some earlier album, but that doesn't mean the party is spoiled. The delicate electro opener, "Love Etc.," is
PSB perfection with its memorable hook and faultless construction.
Brian Higgins and his
Xenomania team (
Saint Etienne,
Girls Aloud) share songwriting and production duties on the track, and while that later credit continues for the remainder of the album, the hip crew becomes invisible as singer
Neil Tennant and synth man
Chris Lowe take over. Employing an Abbey Road orchestra and hiring
Johnny Marr for some Hollywood guitar seems a familiar
Pet Shop Boys maneuver, and when
Tennant tops it off with some sardonic lyrics, "Beautiful People" becomes a pleasingly comfortable gift for any fan thrown by
Fundamental's action committee attitude. "Did You See Me Coming" is the exhilarated infatuation of "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Sort of Thing" all over again, while "King of Rome" is the spitting image of the duo's 1987 chestnut "King's Cross." These are good things, especially for the sworn fan, and so are the few quirky new ideas, like the duo trading lines
Run-D.M.C. style on "Building a Wall." The grand closer, "Legacy," is the obvious songwriting highlight, partly because of the
Kurt Weill-like breakdown in the middle, but mostly because of the grim way it comforts the brokenhearted.
Neil proposes that glaciers melt and stars burn out so there's a pretty good chance that given time "you'll get over it." It's much better than the "Is that a riot/Or are you just glad to see me" line in "Pandemonium" and just the touch
Yes needs to put this above the standard
PSB album. [
Rhino reissued
Yes in 2017 as part of their Catalogue series. The remastered album was joined with Further Listening 2008-2010, a double-disc set of previously unreleased demos, remixes of album tracks, B-sides, and a healthy batch of rarities, like the medley of past hits they put together for an appearance on the 2009 Brits Awards show, a heartbreaking version of
Kate McGarrigle's "I Cried for Us," and a fun mash-up of
Coldplay's "Vida la Vida" and "Domino Dancing," and though it omits the dub mixes of songs from
Yes that were released on Etc., the brilliant synth pop throwback "This Used to Be the Future," which features a guest vocal from
the Human League's
Phil Oakey, is included. Add in a booklet with pithy commentary by
Tennant and
Lowe, as well as archival photographs, and it all makes for a nice addition to one of the duo's strongest albums.] ~ David Jeffries & Tim Sendra
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