| Introspective | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Pet Shop Boys |
| Cover: | Introspective (Pet Shop Boys album).jpg |
| Caption: | One of several CD editions |
| Recorded: | 1987–1988 |
| Studio: | |
| Genre: | |
| Label: | Parlophone |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Actually |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Behaviour |
| Next Year: | 1990 |
Introspective is the third studio album by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 10 October 1988 by Parlophone.[3] It received generally positive reviews from critics.
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.
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Introspective.[4]
| Peak position | |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[5] | 11 |
|---|---|
| European Albums (Music & Media)[6] | 3 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] | 1 |
| Icelandic Albums (Tónlist)[8] | 5 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)[9] | 9 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] | 7 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[11] | 3 |
| Position | ||
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] | 80 | |
|---|---|---|
| European Albums (Music & Media)[13] | 65 | |
| UK Albums (Gallup)[14] | 24 |
| Position | ||
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[15] | 73 | |
|---|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 61 |
