Pet Shop Boys: Neil Tennant (vocals); Chris Lowe (keyboards). Additonal personnel: Helena Springs (vocals). In 1986, post-disco synth-dance pop was commercially waning, with even Madonna moving towards a more conventional pop sound with her single "Live to Tell," and the real hardcore stuff was reduced to an underground that had been dubbed "Hi-NRG." That is, until the Pet Shop Boys, ex-music journalist Neil Tennant and synth player Chris Lowe, made the jump from that underground to the pop charts with the gloriously sleazy "West End Girls" and "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)." Unlike most similar dance-pop records, however, PLEASE has more to offer than just the hits; songs like the dreamy "I Want a Lover" are on par with the aforementioned singles, and the album's two best songs--the pulsating-yet-languid "Love Comes Quickly" and the beautifully melodic, lyrically creepy "Suburbia"--weren't nearly as successful on the singles chart. Overall, PLEASE is a thoroughly enjoyable record that has not dated nearly as much as many other synth records from the period, thanks to Tennant's witty lyrics and Lowe's compelling melodic gifts.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 02/12/2008