I'm going to do a thorough review and observations about The Most Incredible like I did for Battleship Potemkin, because I want to go in depth on reason why it is worth buying. For those who consider to not spend money on it, but rather purchase vinyls or cassette tapes which is definitely cost in ridiculous prices, is obviously an idiot and truly don't know what they are missing.
The Most Incredible Thing is a complete ballet score performed by Pet Shop Boys(since it's outside their comfort zone of music, They go by Tennant/Lowe like Battleship Potemkin) with the Wroclaw Score Orchestra conducted by Dominic Wheeler. Orchestrations by Sven Helbig. It was the last stories written by the well-known Danish author and Story teller, Hans Christian Andersen. More info can be found on The Most Incredible Thing CD casing or the vinyl I'm guessing. And they received the "Beyond Theatre" award yesterday which is just stupendous!
The first song the "Prologue" reminds me the Walt Disney Masterpiece Fantasia especially the part where it goes into the scenario of volcanoes and what not. It's another classical piece I would look into, it's by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, Narrated by Deems Taylor and was conducted by Leopold Stokowski and was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. There's a Fantasia 2000, but I don't want to go off topic here. Moving along, "The Grind" is like classical meets electronic which includes a brief of Neil's voice, then abruptly stops and gets all classical and electronic; which I like about this piece a lot. It's like classical music is getting a make over. On 5:25, it gets all like something is tumbling down then gets all like its about to end. "The Challenge" begins with a fanfare then it gets all 70's funk/disco mix with classical 3:26 is my favourite part it sounds like you are entering some fantasy. "Help Me" is a soft little melody, I thought it sounds like some lonely love song, it's very lovely. Risk is another tune I like, it does have that risky feel to it, it gets all digitally and then it gets into some kind of waltz feel, then a soft mellow tune, then it gets all like some rock type musical with the same tune in different forms. "Physical Jerks" when it begins it reminds me of "Precious" by Depeche Mode beat wise, then it have voices sounding like they are saying "war"then it sounds all dynamic and disasterous, the horns in it gives that feel. At 1:56, it changes to some softer tune, actually it sounds like their demo "Call me Old Fashioned" when you play it at 0:16 just a tiny bit. Then the violins sound all softly and calm like some Disney movie. If they used some of their demos here, that is a good way to recycle them into masterpieces, those demos maybe hard to find but at least you can still hear them somewhat. "The Competition" speaks for itself in the song, you hear like some drum are being played like competitors are marching and the fanfare mixed with it too. What I love about this one it gets all like you in some rave party, when I first heard it, I was like is this on here really? Then it gets all broadway musical like, It's like three genres in one song. Then I get this feel of a Cinderella story and then afterwards then it gets all slower in tempo which makes it funny as well, then it goes back to the drums and fanfare playing. "The Meeting" is another piece I adore because it feels like a song you can dance to, like almost romantic and it sounds like a song you hear in the end credits of a movie. "The Clock 1/2/3" you can hear several clocks of all kinds making noises then voices saying "tick tock" then sounds like another version of "Risk" for only a brief moment, then it gets soft and mellow, like a collage of music bits like some crazed fantasy world. "The Clock 4/5/6" this reminded me of Depeche Mode's "The Policy of Truth" on some bits of the song especially at 1:04. Then it gets soft and a clock is chiming then it get all chaotic and then you hear a digital voice saying something I can't make up what he's saying but then it gets the violins are going nuts like something is about to happen. "The Clock 7/8/9" sounds like a disaster about to happen then it you can here a bit of "Physical Jerks" then it gets like all Mannheim Steamroller. And it keeps going until at 2:02, then it sounds like they having fun going up and down with the instruments. You hear clocks again, then you hear the scales going up and down (do-re-mi-fa-so...etc). Then at 3:58, it have the clock chiming "Ode to Joy" then it gets soft again playing a mellow tune sound like from "The Clock 1/2/3" only on violin which makes it more tense. Which it had to be you hear heavy breathing and a baby is born; the crying proves that which is ironically because it has a nine in the title, and it takes nine months for a baby to form. "The Clock 10/11/12" my mother personally love this song, it sounds all digitally and then you hear like this dynamic sound then you hear "1, 2, 3, 4,...and goes backwards, then the voice states the Ten Commandments sound off. Then it get like something is about to go out of orbit. Then you hear about Apollo 11 being lift off, and you hear the bits of the previous songs, especially at 3:54, the continuation of "Risk" in carousel form. Then you hear the bell chiming and an actual countdown from crowds of people then it gets all disasterous and a massive fanfare plays. "The Winner" is basically like a make over of "The Competition" because it gets all like someone won which is why I love it, the whole rave and broadway mixed together in one song, it is brilliant! Then it gets all soft and quietly like you hear in some fairy tale on 2:10. "Destruction" sounds like it's title then it gets a fanfare a get then it re caps the "Physical Jerks" bit.
On CD 2 was basically the songs being in different keys and play on different instrument. "Back to the Grind" it sounds like "The Grind" but all negative sounding. It reminded me of something Depeche Mode could come out with. It sounds rather frightening. "The Ceremony" have choir ahhhs playing sound kind of spooky an sounds like the main whole notes to "Physical Jerks" being hold down. "The Revolution" sound like The Clocks and then a soft fairy tale sound, then you get the "The Prologue" again but only faster. "The Resurrection" sound like "The Clock sequences" in a collaged form. "The Colour and the Light" sound like some calm feel and like someone died and is traveling to another world and then you hear another fanfare. It sounds absolutely beautiful then you hear a bit from one of "The Clocks" again. "The Meeting" sounds really romantic it begin like those charm songs you twist on the side and makes a cute little lullaby, then it gets back to how it sounded previously with added sounds to it, making sounded dynamic. "The Wedding" sounded like that rave bit you would hear in "The Winner" and "The Competition" and you hear a drum roll and you hear this lovely music playing, I never heard of a wedding song sounding so beautifully and dreamy it sounds like one or few of their songs gotten a make over because I hear a small bit of "Gin and Jag" and "Vulnerable" then it gets to "The Meeting" and you hear a coo-coo clock. This ballet score as well as Battleship Potemkin are wonderful pieces of music you ought to have at least if not anything else from The Pet Shop Boys. You probably have fallen asleep reading this, but as you can see, this multigenre piece is worth listening to, I wish I was lucky enough to even see the play in person, but the footage can be seen on YouTube.
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