This Is Hardcore

This article is about the album. For the song, see This Is Hardcore (song).
This Is Hardcore
Studio album by Pulp
Released 30 March 1998
Recorded 1997
Studio CTS Studios, and Olympic Studios, London; The Townhouse
Genre Alternative rock, art rock[1]
Length 69:49
Label Island
Producer Chris Thomas
Pulp chronology
Countdown 1992–1983
(1996)
This Is Hardcore
(1998)
Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years
(1998)
Singles from This Is Hardcore
  1. "Help the Aged"
    Released: 10 November 1997
  2. "This Is Hardcore"
    Released: 16 March 1998
  3. "A Little Soul"
    Released: 8 June 1998
  4. "Party Hard"
    Released: 7 September 1998

This Is Hardcore is the sixth album by English band Pulp, first released in March 1998. It came three years after their breakthrough album, Different Class, and was eagerly anticipated. In 2013, NME ranked it at number 166 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[2]

Background and release

As with the band's previous album, Different Class, it reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart,[3] and was well received critically, earning Pulp a third successive nomination for the 1998 Mercury Prize.[4]

A subsequent release in the UK later in 1998 came with a bonus live CD entitled "This Is Glastonbury". A deluxe edition of This Is Hardcore was released on 11 September 2006. It contained a second disc of B-sides, demos and rarities.

The cover photo was art directed by Peter Saville and the American painter John Currin who is known for his figurative paintings of exaggerated female forms. The images were further digitally manipulated by Howard Wakefield who also designed the album.[5] Currin, who was also the art director for the "Help the Aged" video, based on his painting "The Never Ending Story". Advertising posters showing the album's cover that appeared on the London Underground system were defaced by graffiti artists with slogans like "This Offends Women"[6] and "This is Sexist" or "This is Demeaning".[7]

The music video for the title track was directed by Doug Nichol and was listed as the No. 47 best video of all time by NME.[8]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Chicago Tribune[10]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[11]
Los Angeles Times[12]
NME7/10[13]
Pitchfork7.8/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Select3/5[17]
Spin8/10[18]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[19]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Jarvis Cocker; all music composed by Nick Banks, Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber, except where noted.

No. TitleMusic Length
1. "The Fear"    5:35
2. "Dishes"    3:30
3. "Party Hard"    4:00
4. "Help the Aged"    4:28
5. "This Is Hardcore"  Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Peter Thomas 6:25
6. "TV Movie"    3:25
7. "A Little Soul"    3:19
8. "I'm a Man"    4:59
9. "Seductive Barry"    8:31
10. "Sylvia"    5:44
11. "Glory Days"  Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Antony Genn 4:55
12. "The Day After the Revolution" (edited to 5:52 on bonus track releases)  14:56
Bonus tracks

Tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 from the Deluxe edition bonus disc were previously unavailable

Limited edition double vinyl LP

Personnel

Charts

Title Release date UK US
This Is Hardcore (album) 30 March 1998 1 114
"Help the Aged" 10 November 1997 8
"This Is Hardcore" (single) 16 March 1998 12
"A Little Soul" / "Cocaine Socialism" 8 June 1998 22
"Party Hard" 7 September 1998 29

References

  1. This Is Hardcore - Pulp | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
  2. Rocklist.net NME: The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time : October 2013
  3. "Pulp full official chart". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  4. "Mercury Prize Shortlist". mercuryprize.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  5. Cocker, Jarvis 'They're not grotesque – they're beautiful' Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  6. Anon 'PULP – ACRYLIC AFTERNOONS – This Is Hardcore Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  7. Kelly, Amanda; Clay, Alistair (19 April 1998). "'Sexist' Pulp ads attacked; Anything goes, say advertisers. Not so, say angry women with spraycans". The Independent. London.
  8. "100 Greatest Music Videos". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "This Is Hardcore – Pulp". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  10. Kot, Greg (3 April 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  11. Browne, David (13 April 1998). "This Is Hardcore". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  12. Hochman, Steve (5 April 1998). "Pulp 'This Is Hardcore' Island". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  13. Patterson, Sylvia (21 March 1998). "Pulp – This Is Hardcore". NME. Archived from the original on 2 October 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  14. DiCrescenzo, Brent (31 December 1999). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  15. "This Is Hardcore CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  16. Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone (784). Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  17. Wilkinson, Roy (May 1998). "Privates on parade". Select (95): 78.
  18. Hornby, Nick (May 1998). "People's Poet". Spin. 14 (5). Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  19. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  20. Booklet

External links

Preceded by
The Best Of by James
UK number one album
11 April 1998 – 17 April 1998
Succeeded by
Life Thru a Lens by Robbie Williams
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