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Introspective
1988 studio album by Pet Shop Boys
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Los Angeles Times
NME"squillion"/10
Q
Record Mirror4/5
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10
Uncut8/10
The Village VoiceA−

Introspective is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

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Background

The album was unusual in that it reversed the typical process by which pop/dance acts released singles. Instead of releasing an album of regular-length (3–5-minute) songs, then releasing lengthy remixes of those songs on subsequent singles, Introspective was released as an LP consisting of songs that all lasted six minutes or more. Tracks released as singles like "Always on My Mind" and "Domino Dancing" had been issued as shorter, more radio-friendly mixes prior to the album. None was released as a radio single in the same form as it appeared on the album. It was also the case for the two other singles "Left to My Own Devices" and "It's Alright".

Of the six tracks on the album, only two were written specifically for the album—"Left to My Own Devices" and "Domino Dancing". "Always on My Mind" and "It's Alright" are cover versions, "I Want a Dog" is a song that previously appeared as B-side of the single "Rent", and "I'm Not Scared" is their own version of a song they had written for Patsy Kensit's pop group Eighth Wonder. "Always on My Mind" was re-recorded for this album and mixed with "In My House", a new acid-house track on the album which expanded the lyric.

Introspective was re-released in 2001 (as were the duo's first six albums) as Introspective/Further Listening 1988–1989. The re-released version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc of B-sides and previously unreleased material from around the time of the album's original release. Yet another re-release followed on 9 February 2009, under the title Introspective: Remastered. This version contains only the six tracks on the original. With the 2009 re-release, the 2001 two-disc re-release was discontinued. On 2 March 2018, the two-disc version of the album was re-released, this time featuring newly remastered versions of the tracks. It was also released as a digital download and on vinyl.

Neil Tennant, in a speech he gave to the Oxford Union, said he regretted releasing Introspective so soon after Actually as he felt the 12-inch nature of the songs may have put some fans off the band and this probably impacted on the sales of Behaviour, the subsequent album critically regarded as the Pet Shop Boys' finest album but commercially one of their least successful. Nevertheless, Introspective remains, according to Tennant, the best-selling Pet Shop Boys album internationally. It peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind U2's Rattle and Hum.

Track listing

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Left to My Own Devices" 8:16
2."I Want a Dog" 6:15
3."Domino Dancing" 7:40
4."I'm Not Scared" 
  • Pet Shop Boys
  • David Jacob
7:23
5."Always on My Mind / In My House"9:05
6."It's Alright"
  • Horn
  • Lipson
9:24
Total length:48:03
Further Listening 1988–1989 (bonus disc)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too)" (Twelve-inch mix) 5:35
2."Don Juan" (demo version) (previously unreleased on CD) 4:22
3."Domino Dancing" (demo version) (previously unreleased on CD) 4:47
4."Domino Dancing" (alternative version) 4:52
5."The Sound of the Atom Splitting" (extended version)
  • Tennant
  • Lowe
  • Lipson
  • Horn
5:13
6."What Keeps Mankind Alive?"3:26
7."Don Juan" (disco mix) 7:35
8."Losing My Mind" (disco mix)Stephen Sondheim6:09
9."Nothing Has Been Proved" (demo for Dusty) (previously unreleased) 4:51
10."So Sorry, I Said" (demo for Liza) (previously unreleased) 3:26
11."Left to My Own Devices" (seven-inch mix) 4:47
12."It's Alright" (ten-inch version) (previously unreleased on CD)
  • Void
  • Jefferson
  • Brightledge
4:47
13."One of the Crowd" 3:56
14."It's Alright" (seven-inch version)
  • Void
  • Jefferson
  • Brightledge
4:20
15."Your Funny Uncle" 2:18

Notes

  • ^[a] Only Sterling Void is credited as a songwriter on original pressings of Introspective and the "It's Alright" single. Starting in 2001, Pet Shop Boys releases featuring "It's Alright" also credit Marshall Jefferson and Paris Brightledge for songwriting.
  • ^[b] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[c] signifies an associate producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Introspective.12

Pet Shop Boys

Additional musicians

  • Richard Niles – orchestra arrangement and conducting (track 1)
  • Sally Bradshaw – additional vocals (track 1)
  • Josh Milan – piano solo (track 2)
  • Fro Sossa – additional keyboards (track 3)
  • Mike Bakst – additional keyboards, brass score (track 3)
  • Nestor Gomez – guitar (track 3)
  • Tony Concepción – brass, trumpet solo (track 3)
  • Kenneth William Faulk, Dana Tebor, Ed Calle – brass (track 3)
  • Lewis A. Martineé – brass arrangements (track 3)
  • The Voice in Fashion – backing vocals (track 3)
  • Blue Weaver – Fairlight programming (track 4)
  • Andy Richards, Gary Maughan – Fairlight programming (track 5)
  • Judy Bennett, Sharon Blackwell, H. Robert Carr, Mario Friendo, Derek Green, Michael Hoyte, Herbie Joseph, Paul Lee, Gee Morris, Dee Ricketts, Iris Sutherland, Yvonne White – additional vocals (track 6)

Technical

  • Trevor Horn – production (tracks 1, 6)
  • Stephen Lipson – production, engineering (tracks 1, 6)
  • Pet Shop Boys – production (tracks 2, 4, 5); associate production (track 3)
  • David Jacob – engineering (tracks 2, 4); production (track 4)
  • Mike Nielsen – engineering (track 2)
  • Frankie Knuckles – mix, additional production (track 2)
  • John Poppo – mix engineering (track 2)
  • Lewis A. Martineé – production, engineering, mixing (track 3)
  • Mike Couzzi – engineering (track 3)
  • César Sogbe – engineering assistance (track 3)
  • Julian Mendelsohn – production, engineering (track 5)

Artwork

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Introspective
Chart (1988)Peakposition
Australian Albums (ARIA)1344
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)148
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)1511
European Albums (Music & Media)163
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)171
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)183
Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)195
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)209
Japanese Albums (Oricon)217
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)2215
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)2314
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)243
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)255
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)262
UK Albums (OCC)272
US Billboard 2002834

Year-end charts

1988 year-end chart performance for Introspective
Chart (1988)Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)2980
European Albums (Music & Media)3065
UK Albums (Gallup)3124
1989 year-end chart performance for Introspective
Chart (1989)Position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)3273
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)3361

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Introspective
RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Brazil—140,00034
Canada (Music Canada)35Platinum100,000^
Finland—32,84036
Germany (BVMI)37Gold250,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)38Platinum100,000^
Sweden (GLF)39Gold50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)40Gold25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)412× Platinum600,000^
United States (RIAA)42Gold500,000^
Summaries
Europe—1,200,00043

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  2. Hunt, Dennis (13 November 1988). "Dancing and Thinking". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 November 2015. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-13-ca-55-story.html ↩

  3. Ellen, Barbara (15 October 1988). "A Six-Pack of Tennant's Please". NME. p. 45. /wiki/NME ↩

  4. "Irresistible". Q. No. 26. November 1988. /wiki/Q_(magazine) ↩

  5. Culp, Nancy (15 October 1988). "Pet Shop Boys: Introspective". Record Mirror. p. 32. /wiki/Record_Mirror ↩

  6. Coleman, Mark (1 December 1988). "Pet Shop Boys: Introspective". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20070713132114/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/petshopboys/albums/album/106506/review/5946232/introspective ↩

  7. Hull, Tom (2004). "Pet Shop Boys". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 630–631. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 0-7432-0169-8 ↩

  8. Sheffield, Rob (1995). "Pet Shop Boys". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 294–295. ISBN 0-679-75574-8. 0-679-75574-8 ↩

  9. Dalton, Stephen (March 2018). "Pet Shop Boys: Please / Actually / Introspective". Uncut. No. 250. p. 43. /wiki/Uncut_(magazine) ↩

  10. Christgau, Robert (14 March 1989). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 29 April 2013. /wiki/Robert_Christgau ↩

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  17. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 233. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5. 978-951-1-21053-5 ↩

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  20. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 3 June 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Pet Shop Boys" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca". http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php ↩

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  35. "Canadian album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Introspective". Music Canada. 23 December 1999. https://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/?_gp_search=Introspective%20Pet+Shop+Boys ↩

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  37. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pet Shop Boys; 'Introspective')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. https://www.musikindustrie.de/wie-musik-zur-karriere-werden-kann/markt-bestseller/gold-/platin-und-diamond-auszeichnung/datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Introspective&strInterpret=Pet+Shop+Boys&strTtArt=2&strAwards=checked ↩

  38. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 924. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 4 August 2018. 84-8048-639-2 ↩

  39. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 28 December 1988. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110517224028/http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/guld-platina-1987-1998.pdf ↩

  40. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Introspective')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=Introspective ↩

  41. "British album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Introspective". British Phonographic Industry. 9 January 1989. Retrieved 6 September 2021. https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/3372-2148-2 ↩

  42. "American album certifications – Pet Shop Boys – Introspective". Recording Industry Association of America. 22 December 1988. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Pet+Shop+Boys&ti=Introspective&format=Album&type=#search_section ↩

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