I like Sylvia all right, but it feels a bit like Britpop-by-numbers compared to Have You Seen Her Lately? and Pink Glove.  Sylvia might suffer from having too subtle a subject matter.

WebboFan wrote:

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I know I'm not, but I have yet to hear anyone say anything positive about the song Sylvia, or any song in the latter half of TIH for that matter. The guys running my local record store describe it as a "done before and better" song, but I disagree.

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It's not my all time favorite, but I certainly like it.  I like all of Hardcore.  I certainly think it's consistently better than Different Class, though never quite matching His 'n' Hers.

However I think I am the only Pulp fan who does not like Disco 2000 judging by comments on another thread.

It's on the Ultimate Live DVD/The Park Is Mine VHS.

Unfortunately, it's not on Live Hardcore, the only boot I have of the era, or I'd upload it myself.

I think it's good but I absolutely loved it when I first heard it. It wore thin because it dragged on for too long. It still is one of my favourites from TIH though.

I do like it, but as others have said it's definitely "overproduced", the low point of Chris Thomas' work with the band; I think it's the huge guitary "so keeeep believing and doooo what you do" bit, which (a) doesn't really make any sense, and (b) sounds too much like they were trying to write a stadium rock ballad, despite the fact they'd never been that kind of band. And yet the verses, especially the second one, are some of the best bits on the album. I also like the guitary bit after the false ending. All in all, it's not something I'd rush to play to someone else, or even rush to play for myself, it makes me cringe a little bit in places, but I sing along and don't skip past it when I'm listening to This Is Hardcore, which is good going after ten years.

(As far as the second half of This Is Hardcore goes, I think it's all good. Seductive Barry turned up very loud. I also still like I'm A Man, I learned to like A Little Soul after it became a single, Glory Days is better than any version of Cocaine Socialism, and then The Day After The Revolution (even though it's submerged in more stadium anthemics/histrionics and dreary guitar slop) still works just fine for me. "For the meek shall inherit absolutely nothing at all / If you stopped being so feeble, you could have so much more.")

Steve Devereux wrote:

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I do like it, but as others have said it's definitely "overproduced", the low point of Chris Thomas' work with the band; I think it's the huge guitary "so keeeep believing and doooo what you do" bit, which (a) doesn't really make any sense, and (b) sounds too much like they were trying to write a stadium rock ballad, despite the fact they'd never been that kind of band. And yet the verses, especially the second one, are some of the best bits on the album. I also like the guitary bit after the false ending. All in all, it's not something I'd rush to play to someone else, or even rush to play for myself, it makes me cringe a little bit in places, but I sing along and don't skip past it when I'm listening to This Is Hardcore, which is good going after ten years.

(As far as the second half of This Is Hardcore goes, I think it's all good. Seductive Barry turned up very loud. I also still like I'm A Man, I learned to like A Little Soul after it became a single, Glory Days is better than any version of Cocaine Socialism, and then The Day After The Revolution (even though it's submerged in more stadium anthemics/histrionics and dreary guitar slop) still works just fine for me. "For the meek shall inherit absolutely nothing at all / If you stopped being so feeble, you could have so much more.")

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I guess I'm just a huge fan of dreary guitar slop and cheesey stadium rock ballads.

 

I think Sylvia would have been probably the likeliest 'hit' off the album had it been released as a single - a radio edit would probably have shorn off the last minute guitar climax. It is very 'lighters-aloft stylee' which Pulp were never into and had it been a hit probably would have increased their fanbase to people who didn't really get the band at all.

Like a few things on TIH it's either overcooked or missing a certain something; in this case moreso the former. I'm still very fond of it though.

Love it. Definitely in my top 20.