Very (Pet Shop Boys album)
| Very | ||||
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| Studio album by Pet Shop Boys | ||||
| Released | 27 September 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992–1993, Sarm West, London | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, dance-pop, techno | |||
| Length | 53:17 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Producer | Pet Shop Boys, Brothers in Rhythm, Stephen Hague | |||
| Pet Shop Boys chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
Very Relentless cover
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| Singles from Very | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| Los Angeles Times |  |
| NME | 9/10 |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Select | 5/5 |
| The Village Voice | A |
Very is the fifth studio album by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys. It was released in September 1993, nearly two and a half years after the duo's previous studio album, Behaviour, and the compilation album Discography: The Complete Singles Collection. Very exhibits one of many turning points the Pet Shop Boys would make to their music, shifting from the subdued electronic pop of Behaviour to richly-instrumented dance arrangements. The content and lyrics led to Very being called their "coming-out" album, since it was during this time that Neil Tennant had publicly discussed his long-rumoured homosexuality.
Very has sold more than five million copies worldwide, and contains five UK singles.
After the Performance Tour of 1991, Pet Shop Boys elected to take a break, releasing their compilation Discography in November of that year. With that compilation many fans thought they were splitting because 1992 saw no new original works. However, in 1993, Pet Shop Boys came back together and reinvented their image. This therefore, by many critics, is considered their "Upper" album as many thought Behaviour was a "downer album".
A limited edition of Very was also released as a double album titled Very Relentless. The second disc, Relentless, was a six-track dance album containing tracks that are more experimental and instrumental. There were plans to expand upon Relentless in 1994 by releasing the six tracks along with others, making a full dance album, but this evolved into Disco 2. The six tracks on Relentless have not been released elsewhere since (though "Forever in Love" is found on Very/Further Listening 1992–1994 in a remixed edited form as track 2).
The album was reissued in 1996 as a mid-price release, this time in a standard jewel case with a new sleeve showing an image of the original case.
Very was re-released on 3 July 2001 (as were most of the group's studio albums up to that point) titled Very: Further Listening 1992–1994. The re-released version was digitally remastered and came with a second disc featuring B-sides and previously unreleased material. The unreleased songs were recorded during the Very recording sessions, but Tennant and Lowe decided not to include them on the album originally.
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