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Post Info TOPIC: We Love Life Deluxe And More Fanciful Notions
Eamonn


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With the comeback a few short months away I think it's safe to assume that there's a fair chance of the back-catalogue being dusted down. 
''Reissue, Reissue Repackage. Re-evaluate the songs''
Like any clever capitalists, Universal will want to make the most out of an unexpected opportunity. I fully expect them to ''piggy-back'' on Pulp's return. The cash-cow that left town in 1996 has come back for one more milking. Er, or something.

So, what can we expect?

Will Universal dare to put out another Best Of/Greatest Hits considering how the original fared? Surely if a Glasto headline slot comes to fruition it will be the ideal opportunity to finally give the '95 performance a proper clean-up and release. Didn't see it on the telly before Christmas but an end of year release of a double DVD featuring the '94 and '98 (and 2011 if it happens) sets would do very nicely.

In terms of unreleased songs - the true appeal of any reissue, as the previous deluxe editions showed, it's the beginning and the end of Pulp's career where most unheard songs reside. Early 80's and early 2000's recordings of forever locked-away songs made in Rotherham and Wessex in particular, continue to remain out of reach.

Imagine a remaster of 'It' (and Freaks/Seperations to go with it)? Sadly, whoever owns the rights to the early albums and associated recordings probably wouldn't have the inclination, or money, to spruce up these albums. A shame really cos you imagine they'd sell more than enough of them to make a few bob, certainly Sperarations at least, if they were remastered and ''expanded''.

By far the most likely reissue would be that of We Love Life - we've all been keen on a deluxe edition of this since the earlier Island albums got repackaged in '06.  Prior to the reunion some would say it was hard to argue a case for a deluxe version of WLL.
Making a case for it - the band's swansong, critically very well received, produced by Scott Walker and next autumn will mark its 10th anniversary. Set against that - the bottom line: it never sold particularly well. It failed to ''cross over''. The hardcore element of Pulp's fanbase bought it but two weeks in the top forty and neither single from the album going top twenty suggests it didn't win (m)any new Pulp fans.

However, consider this: career-spanning deluxe versions of LPs by two of Pulp's contemporaries - most recently by Saint Etienne and Suede (pending) shows that the records don't have to have been original bestsellers to warrant reissue status. As much as I love 'Tales From Turnpike House', Etienne's last studio album, it sold a fraction of what We Love Life managed. The period between original release and reissue was also barely 5 years! Similarly, Suede's last effort, the mediocre A New Morning (which, ironically, the band have themselves admitted) will be expanded by a second CD of demos and a DVD of footage from that era next summer. Again, it sold less than WLL and was panned in most reviews too.

More encouragingly, the above examples show that putting together deluxe editions isn't exactly an expensive process. Both bands above did/will do the reissuing on small, independent labels which is perhaps an important distinction. I imagine Universal retain the rights to Pulp's post-'92 output. A pity that we'll never get a release that contains material from Pulp's early years alongside the glory days.

With the band now back together Universal wouldn't have to worry about marketing any reissued stuff. Interest in the group will be far greater this summer than at any time since possibly 1996, (or '98 til Hardcore showed itself as a very adult record). With all those unreleased songs written and recorded in 1999 and 2000, a We Love Life deluxe has the potential to be the most interesting, best value Pulp reissue.

If Universal don't bite - and considering the general goodwill that Pulp receive from the press and many casual fans they'd be foolish not to at least mark their reunion by putting something out; maybe we'll get a BBC radio session compilation which would be fantastic. The Peel one, as good as it was, doesn't contain the best sessions done by Pulp - the early 90's Goodier, Hit The North stuff which could do with a well-deserved tidy and general release. Given Jarvis now being ''in'' with the Beeb, they could well release something.


Anyone got any preferences for new, old material?


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ArrGee


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A greatest hits is pretty certain.  It has been a long time since Hits and there is the potential to do a Blur like midlife that would have the main hits plus some choice cuts.  In all likelihood it will be a double CD, so it would be hits + different class plus the odd track.

Can't see anything pre-intro getting a release unless Fire repackage a bit more.  That has been done to death.

A We Love Life deluxe is possible as would an Intro deluxe (though whether that could stretch to 2 CDs I would doubt).

There are a couple of potentially interesting things that could happen such as Pulp playing their albums live as Suede are doing at Brixton in May.  The other would be a brand new album.

I must admit I don't know how well/badly tickets are selling for the summer gigs, so I'm not sure how much interest there is in Pulp right now.    I guess all will become clearer in the summer.

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andy


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My wish is simple: WLL Deluxe in spring, new material in the fall.

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Wickerman


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I completely agree with Andy.

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Eamonn


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A pity there's no chance of either happening!

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Miles End


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I agree, a WLL deluxe is certainly in order, the timing is right. I think the people that didn't buy WLL will be amazed that they ignored a really amazing album. What was the problem with WLL, was it not promoted properly?
I noticed that you cannot view the Bad Cover Version video on YouTube in the US, isn't that odd? I think the video version of the song would be a great addition to WLL plus all of the single-only songs.. & other recordings we don't even know about.
I think a Pulp release similar to the recent Best of Suede 2CD would be great, one disc of the hits & one disc of stand out tracks (where to begin there?? Lots to choose from !), remastered with some ECD or DVD content...Bravo!
I thought Suede's A New Morning, in comparison with their first 3 albums & disc one of Sci-Fi Lullabies was really quite weak.. I didn't think Head Music was great either. In a very recent article, maybe a week or 2 old now, I saw that Suede regretted the way the album turned out. I don't think I am even interested in a deluxe edition of A New Morning but certainly the first 3 Suede albums in a deluxe edition would be fantastic.. does anyone know if that will happen?
Aside from being lumped into the Brit-Pop movement I see little alike between Pulp & Suede though I do enjoy both a lot.

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Eamonn


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Suede are ''deluxing'' all their studio albums in June, with a DVD on each release aswell. Their drummer has a wealth of footage of the band he and a friend of the band made over the years - I think I'll get the first two albums mostly for that. I don't think they've much left in the way of unreleased songs - Suede tended to put out every song they wrote and recorded, which, once it came to Coming Up was all too easy to tell as the quality control clearly suffered.

Talking of home-movie/band footage I remember Hawley commenting on his forum about when Jarvis and his film-maker buddy Martin Wallace were putting together personal footage for the Hits DVD. You'd imagine they have a wealth of interesting stuff that wasn't released. Moreso when you consider Mark Webber's band ''documenter'' status before he joined - I imagine he filmed stuff like the Catcliffe pottery rehearsal room video on the DVD.

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Miles End


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Eamonn, Thanks for the info on Suede. I love their first 3 albums & the 1st half of Sci-Fi Lullabies & I do agree, as time went on the quality went way down.
As far as I can tell you can't buy any Suede music in MP3 format in the US, I thought that was odd. All but the debut are out of print & there is no US version of the new Best of Suede either. It would be interesting to see if since Suede are performing at the sold out Coachella Music Festival in California if they will do any other shows in the US. I noticed they use the name The London Suede here. If you look up Suede on amazon.com (US site) for example it brings up a rather dykey jazz singer....lol.

I found on YouTube Pulp's "Got To Have Love" from 1999 on You Tube.. though it has only 4 words to the lyrics I like it a lot & would make a nice addition to a WLL Deluxe edition. I also see Yesterday & Forever in a Dream are on one of the Bad Cover Version singles though I have never heard them I 'd really like to.

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Wickerman


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Maybe a dumb thing to say, but Suede was/is called London Suede in the US because there was another band over there which was called Suede. Maybe you're looking for the 'wrong' band or they can't release mp3's because of this.

-- Edited by Wickerman on Wednesday 2nd of February 2011 09:40:33 AM

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James


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I always loved Head Music - I still wear my Head Music tshirt when I go to Brett or Suede gigs lol. I get that some people find the songs less meaningful, but I love the sound of the album, the atmosphere it creates, particularly songs like Hi Fi, Head Music & Savoir Faire.
Also, I've never really got that both sets of fans believe Pulp & Suede sound so dissimilar. A mix of dramatic, brilliantly crafted sweeping pop songs & epic ballads all with overtly sexual content & unashamedly unique vocals from both bands IMHO.

I do agree the quality of Suede's b sides went down (but only after Coming Up, not during) with the exception of Popstar. Obviously the quality of Pulp (& Jarvis) b sides never suffered in such a way, when you think of great songs like the aforementioned Forever In My Dreams, Big Stuff & GLIT. And of course A New Morning was pants apart from Positivity & the hidden track. (Smeg knows why they put Obsessions, with its terrible lyrics, on the new compilation instead of Positivity...). So Pulp do get the win in the quality stakes overall, I just felt Head Music needed defending!

As for WLL reissue, it would be great to hear the unreleased songs spruced up, but as for the album itself it might do more harm than good in as far as promoting the summer gigs. The songs themselves are fine, but I really don't like the sound. Particularly the lack of keyboards & the muddy production. It simply doesn't sound at all like Pulp...

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Wickerman


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I enjoyed both Coming Up and Head Music, but Head Music seems a bit over the top nowadays.

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alex_


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What songs could be on the WLL Deluxe Edition?
This is a list Eamonn once posted:

We Love Life Deluxe Edition Disc 2:
1. Yesterday (B-Side)
2. Forever In My Dreams (B-Side)
3. Darren (Demo)
4. The Quiet Revolution (Demo)
5. Cuckoo (Demo)
5. Born To Cry (used for 'Notting Hill' Sound-Track)
6. My Body May Die (used for 'Randall & Hopkirk Deceased' TV series sound-track)
7. Bad Cover Version (Promo Version)
8. Duck Diving (Peel Session)
9. After You (Demo)
10. M'Lady (Demo)
11. Grandfather's Nursery (Demo)
12. The Performance of a Lifetime (Demo)
13. St Just (Demo)
14. Got To Have Love (Demo)

Would they all fit on a single CD?
Some demos or early versions of the album tracks would be nice.
I´d prefer having "Born To Cry" and "My Body May Die" on the second disc of a new Best Of. Along with album songs and other interesting stuff that doesnt fit anywhere like "Le roi des Fourmis", "Like a Friend (Great Expectations Version)", "Party Hard (Christoher Just Remix)".

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Eamonn


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I'd forgotten about that ''wish list''!

I think that was made before My Mistake was leaked, a song that was previously thought to have been left as an instrumental.

Meaning there are very likely other songs which had vocals (and therefore ''fully'' demoed) too that we know little about - looking at the Recording Session page on pulpwiki they could be songs like Love You Baby/Six String/Medieval Owl/Last Song In The World/Dream Galaxy.

It's a potential treasure trove of a release, Jarvis even said as much when the ''big three'' albums were reissued.


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Miles End


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@ Alex... looks wonderful. If I could I would put you in charge!
@ Wickerman ... It's my guess this jazz singer is the other Suede.
@ James/ Wickerman / Eamonn / Alex.. I don't think Head Music is horrible... I just think in comparison to the earlier albums it is not nearly as good. As far as WLL is concerned, to me the sound & songwriting reveals a more mature, world-weary Pulp.. made by people who changed a lot since the His N Hers days in terms of what is on their minds & music styles too. I think to put a huge focus on past Pulp (WLL) is maybe NOT a good idea when you want to sell tickets now, maybe from a promotion standpoint it is good to stick to one thing at a time. BUT I really do want the deluxe edition & would be great especially with all those songs from the sessions. I find it hard to believe they would do nothing with these, ever.

Which singles were GLIT & Big Stuff? I'm not really that familiar with the singles? Any other must haves? (I already have Common People + 3 acoustics). I'm not so much into mixes since often what happens they usually take a good song & make it repetitive and . or crappy. I'm more so into sinking my teeth into some good B-Sides.
I didn't find Pulp on the Notting Hill Soundtrack, I was going to download if I could find an MP3 for sale.

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James


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Girls Like It Too is from the Further Complications single, Big Stuff (& the almost-as-good One Man Show) are from Don't Let Him Waste Your Time.

Almost all of Pulp's b sides were pretty good, most are available on the reissues, Intro & Masters Of The Universe but if you want the original articles I'd say the most essential are This Is Hardcore (Ladies Man & The Professional) & the Sisters EP (Babies, Your Sister's Clothes, Seconds, His N Hers).

Party Hard also has in my opinion a far superior version of The Fear, Lipgloss has Deep Fried In Kelvin (fucking amazing) & Disco 2000 has Ansafone (better than the version on the reissue).

I would get very excited about WLL disc 2, obviously! But with regards to the original album, Candida actually said at the time the lack of keyboards 'annoyed her almost to the point of anger'.
I'd almost be tempted to describe it as Jarvis' first solo album. Except 'Jarvis' & Further Complications are both better (:

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alex_


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Did they ever tell why there are so few keyboards on WLL?
I remember My Mistake, Cuckoo, Forever in my dreams, Yesterday and After You to have more keyboards and to me they sound more like Pulp than some of the stuff on WLL that I´ve always been skipping (Weeds, Weeds II, Wickerman).

If there are so many fully demoed songs from the WLL sessions, we need WLL as a tripple cd! And a double cd of demos from the sessions for HNH, DC and TIH, of course.
smile

WLL is a bit like Suede´s Head Music: To me an album, that falls apart because of strange sequencing and a handful of not that great songs (Down, Saviour Faire, Indian Strings, Union Jack, Head Music), that should have been replaced by better b-sides (jubilee, leaving, let go, waterloo, since you went away, ...).
Of course WLL and HM are great, but I never find myself listening to them from start to finish.

-- Edited by alex_ on Thursday 3rd of February 2011 04:27:58 PM

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Miles End


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Alex, I respectfully disagree. In my opinion, WLL is a very well done rock album (as well as Hardcore too), something you don't see a lot of these days, whereas earlier Pulp are excellent pop albums.

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Miles End


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@ James ...........is that Party Hard # 1 or 2 ? I don't have that one, but I do have a lot of the others you mention. I also need to get Bad Cover Version.FIAD/Yesterday.

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Wickerman


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We Love Life is great as it is, a mature record. I'm glad they ditched all these annoying keyboards as they progressed.

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Eamonn


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Oh...controversial!

Pulp's signature sound is definitely synths and violins and to see Pulp at their most exciting was arguably '92-'94. I can understand why a lot of people hold Intro and His'n'Hers dearer than subsequent albums.
But all the great acts evolve and tweak their sound. I do think the keys could have been incorporated more into We Love Life - even in an understated way like in My Mistake/Cuckoo.

I wonder if most of the songs on TIH and WLL started off with keyboards when the band initially wrote and rehearsed them but when they got to the studio they invariably ''beefed up'' the sound adding strings or multi-layered guitar parts negating the need for Kandida's keys.

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alex_


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Totally agree with Eamonn.

Sure I love TIH and WLL, there´s nothing wrong with these albums, but I´ll always prefer the lighter synths&violins-signature-pop-sound of their albums before Jarvis had his "kind of nervous breakdown" in New York and Russell left the band. Jarvis nailes it in the linernotes for TIH : "In the end I think the opening lines of The Fear best sum up TIH 'This is the sound of someone losing the plot - Making out that they're okay when they're not - You're gonna like it, but not a lot'. We'd had our Pop Moment and this was our evocation of the aftermath."

I'm excited for the WLL-Linernotes. What took them so long? why did they scrap so many songs?
And I´m curious for how they´ll make 2011 "our year" as announced on twitter. Seems like it might be also the year of Blur, Suede, Oasis2 and some other bands.



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ArrGee


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Eamonn wrote:
Pulp's signature sound is definitely synths and violins and to see Pulp at their most exciting was arguably '92-'94. I can understand why a lot of people hold Intro and His'n'Hers dearer than subsequent albums.


+1
Definitely at their peak live (IMHO) around the time Intro & His 'n' Hers were released.  When I first heard His 'n' Hers I was shocked it didn't sound as good as the live versions.

If push came to shove I would take Intro and His 'n' Hers to a desert island before the other albums, but I do love We Love Life, Separations, Hardcore and even that other one, Different Class smile.

I suppose 92-94 was a very interesting time in my life and Pulp were the soundtrack to most of it.  I always look back on the Theatre Royal gig as the pivotal point in my life.  End of my youth I suppose since I met my wife to be a month later and it's been downhill ever since...  (ha ha - only kidding - she'll probably read this!) 

 



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scottfrazer


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Pulp could easily release an album of demoes - Shed Seven did it "One Hand Clapping" and they had no where near the following that Pulp do. "We Love Demos" could be quite a good idea. I tell ya something, I had a bloody good listen to Separations this afternoon, and jesus - what a bloody underrated album that is.



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Wickerman


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I understand that most people enjoy the lighter side of Pulp of the 92-94 years, but for me I love the later years more: This Is Hardcore onwards.

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alex_


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Looking back there are a lot of things Pulp didnt do in their heyday. When people were stil buying records many bands released remix albums, live albums, a cover album, an acoustic album, a collection of alternate takes and an electronica album. Pulp sort of missed that in the late 90s. Is anything like that likely and would it sell today?

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