Saturdance

Play It All Night Long

August 17, 2013 0 Comments

As I mentioned in yesterday’s Friday Flashback, the release of Pet Shop Boys‘ new album, Electric, has spurred me to spend some time with the duo’s 1993 album, Very, interested in connections and comparisons between the two.

That has extended to the various Very singles too, beginning with its first, “Can You Forgive Her?,” remixed by Rollo Armstrong and Marc Kinchen. Twenty years on, one can draw a very direct line to the producers’ deep house vibes and two new standout remixes of “Vocal,” Pet Shop Boys’ second single from Electric.

First, revisit the Rollo Remix of “Can You Forgive Her?”:

…and the MK Remix Edit:

Now take a listen this pair of “Vocal” remixes by Rektchordz and The Cucarachas, and see if you notice some similarities:

Granted, the “Can You Forgive Her?” remix package likely did not serve as literal template for those two “Vocal” remixes. But with many of today’s producers looking to ’90s dance sounds for inspiration, overlap was inevitable — and really only at all obvious because Pet Shop Boys themselves are still at it. Sitting at #8 this week on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart, “Vocal” is the duo’s 28th top 10 dance hit.

Besides Rektchordz and The Cucarachas’ contributions, Pet Shop Boys have rounded up quite a robust remix package, so you can very nearly play “Vocal” all night long.

Purchase Pet Shop Boys – “Vocal” (Remixes) via iTunes, Amazon MP3.