Was It Worth It? (Pet Shop Boys song)

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"Was It Worth It?"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Discography: The Complete Singles Collection
B-side"Miserablism"
Released9 December 1991[1]
GenreHi-NRG[2]
Length4:24
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Dj Culturemix"
(1991) 		"Was It Worth It?"
(1991) 		"Can You Forgive Her?"
(1993)
Music video
"Was It Worth It?" on YouTube

"Was it Worth it?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their first greatest hits album, Discography: The Complete Singles Collection (1991). It was released on 9 December 1991 as the album's second and final single, peaking at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's first single to not reach the top 20 since they signed to Parlophone in 1984 (the second being "Numb", 15 years later).[3] This was the main reason why the song was not included on their later hits compilation PopArt: The Hits, however it was featured on the DVD edition and Moby’s remix of the single’s b-side "Miserablism" was included on the three disc special edition.

Critical reception[edit]

Upon its release as a single, Dave Jennings of Melody Maker noted "Was It Worth It?" had "the chunkiest, most muscular music to appear on a PSB track in a long time" and added that Tennant's vocal is "so fey, even by his standards, that it threatens to evaporate at any moment". He noted the song is "genuinely, surprisingly uplifting" as Tennant sings about "the usual Pet Shop themes [of] passion, regret and compromise, [but] from an unusually positive angle", and concluded it would be "a large and welcome hit".[4] Barbara Ellen of NME felt the song was "not their best" and "sounds profoundly like a pastiche of every other song they've done before", but noted "its floor-scorching elegance, its deadpan distortion of The Love Song, and that daffy commitment they continue to have to everything sepia-tinted and forgotten". She also praised Tennant's vocals for "getting more accomplished with every record", adding that it's "nice to hear him singing about love and liberation in unveiled terms for once".[5] Andy Kastanas from The Charlotte Observer wrote, "The sacred cow of disco never died for these guys (as evidenced by this song) and there's plenty of violins and a "hi-NRG" beat to prove it."[2] Joe Brown from The Washington Post declared it as "a fierce disco anthem to rival "I Will Survive"."[6]

Track listings[edit]

Personnel[edit]

  • Designed by Farrow/3a/Pet Shop Boys
  • Artwork by (dolls) Toshima Tada
  • Photography – Robert Shackleton
  • Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Was It Worth It?"
Chart (1991–1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 153
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[8] 38
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 25
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[12] 7
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 50
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 24
UK Dance (Music Week)[15] 56

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Was It Worth It?". petshopboys.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kastanas, Andy (5 February 1992). "Sounds of Progress". p. 16. The Charlotte Observer.
  3. ^ a b "Pet Shop Boys: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  4. ^ Jennings, Dave (7 December 1991). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 27.
  5. ^ Ellen, Barbara (14 December 1991). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 16.
  6. ^ Brown, Joe (27 December 1991). "Annual Top 10 Lists Of Weekend Music Critics". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 15 July 2015". Retrieved 2 August 2015 – via Imgur.
  8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 3. 18 January 1992. p. 31. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Was It Worth It?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  11. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Was It Worth It". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Was It Worth It?" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Was It Worth It?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  14. ^ "Pet Shop Boys – Was It Worth It?". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  15. ^ "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. No. 51. 21 December 1991. p. 26. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
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