It's a pretty good record and tracklisting overall (which is rare). I'd have removed Sylvia and switched Party Hard with We Are the Boyz though. Don't shoot me, you'll see why
Album
The Fear (Complete and Utter Breakdown Version) Dishes We Are the Boyz Help the Aged This is Hardcore TV Movie A Little Soul I'm a Man Seductive Barry Glory Days The Day After the Revolution (shortened) This Is Hardcore (End of The Line)
Singles
1. This is Hardcore : the shock. After a pop record, that song, that video, without hearing the rest of the record. 14 years later, i'm still not covinced i really heard it right the first time. So it has to remain the first one. Weird Bsides as well. That's the dark single B sides : The Professional / Ladies Man / It's a Dirty World.
2. Glory Days : first single isn't always the "strongest single". There you go that's the most radio friendly one. Good song, pop enough. I like to have both version of the same song on the same single. B sides : Street Operator / Laughing Boy / Cocaïne Socialism
3. A Little Soul : another obvious single (for 98... now not really) B sides: You Are The One / Can I Have My Balls Back Please / Sylvia
4. Dishes / Party Hard : double A Side with the soft side and disco trash side. A new track to keep people interested ala Beatles. 4th single can be adventurous so there you go. Like A Friend is a good song to close this campaign i thought. B sides : Tomorrow Never Lies / Like a Friend
-- Edited by andy on Monday 20th of August 2012 03:00:46 PM
-- Edited by andy on Monday 20th of August 2012 03:02:18 PM
As for singles, well that's where they went wrong with "This is Hardcore" if you ask me. I'd have gone with the following:
Party Hard - that way, they couldn't have been accused of releasing a dark song ("This is Hardcore") or a re-hash of "Common People" ("Cocaine Socialism") before the album. Promoted well (unlike "Help The Aged"), it would have easily cracked the top 5.
Glory Days/This is Hardcore - this way, Jarvis gets his pornographic lyrics into the charts whilst having another track there to get some of the airplay. I think that the airplay would have been concentrated on "Glory Days" but the reviewers would have liked "This is Hardcore".
Help the Aged or Sylvia - can't make my mind up here but I think that either of these would have sold well around the time of Glastonbury.
That's it. I wouldn't have released any more singles from the album. There weren't any (but that's more a complement to the album).