Don't see the strong merit in Watching Nicky or You're Not Blind to be honest. Babies retreads as Jarvis says in the liner notes, except far weaker. As discussed recently, if they could have nailed Live On in the studio with the live energy it had, it may well have been their breakthrough hit. I wonder would its "indie/dance" sound have dated too quickly though. But it's a song I never tire of, the Goodier session version is a tour de force and one of Jarvis' best vocal performances. Similarly, Pink Glove as per the Peel Session version may have done well too. The constipated, Bullerized version on HnH is such a pity.

We Can Dance Again also has that undeniable pop shimmer but like Live On, also retains a whiff of quick obsolescence. It might have been a hit in early 1995 as a bridge between HnH and DC. But it's close to Pulp pastiche, is the cheesiest thing they ever did and I can see why they dropped it (as gloriously fun as it is).

I think Don't Lose It was strong enough for Different Class and possibly even had single potential. Still sounds great to me. At the very least, it should have been a b-side on Something Changed instead of both CD singles having the same tracklisting. Might have helped push it Top 5 in the wake of Jacko-gate.

It's A Dirty World would have been a bold but exciting comeback single in 1997. The radio/single edit could start a minute in where it "drops" and its sheer bombast would have given it a fighting chance of success. Pulp back and meaning business. Mark stamping his authority on the band. It features his best guitar playing of that era I feel (along with the climax to This Is Hardcore). I just can't fathom how it was fully recorded and mixed but then dumped until the reissues came out eight years later...

The Trees/Sunrise were woeful choices as a lead-single. Great songs in their own way but just not hook-laden enough. After You would have been the one for me (instead of having to wait a decade for it!). I wonder if there are any gems still unreleased from 1999/2000 that could have been big. Cuckoo is beautiful but more of a ballady third single from a successful album. The Quiet Revolution, with a modern mix to accentuate the stop-start nature of the guitar between the verses might have found commercial favour. Another really intelligent pop song. They really were on a roll then. Too many good songs discarded, unfortunately...If Jarvis wasn't the best judge of his own work, someone else in the band or at Island should really have properly championed a lot of that material. WLL is a solid album with lots of different song styles but I just don't think Minnie or I Love Life cut it, maybe Weeds neither. Those songs sound like the type Pulp think they should be writing instead of the more natural, unforced likes of Quiet Rev/Cuckoo/After You/My Mistake.

Well, suffice to say, I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to the HnH bonus tracks then! Perhaps my own enjoyment of the tracks has somewhat clouded my judgement on them.

'Live On' is a good shout - surprised that never got a proper release until HnH deluxe. Another song I think would have been a good one is 'You Are The One' from 'This Is Hardcore' deluxe edition, but there's not really anywhere it would have fit in, so I can see why that one was elbowed.