Pulp Life (We Love Life - Pulp)

Member Name: squirrel1975

Product:	We Love Life - Pulp
Date:	04/12/02 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good song writing, Jarvis, Sunrise and Wickerman

Disadvantages: There are better Pulp albums

Pulp follow up their 'This Is Hardcore' with 'We Love Live', eventually. A album that has been delayed, scrapped and rerecorded with different producers. What hope for a project continually beset by problems?

Ever since the departure of Russell Senior after the 'Different Class' album (writer, vocalist and general strings) there has been a steady decline in overall quality of Pulp albums. Whether this decline is due to Pulp being around so long, or to loss of the tension between the two driving forces of band we will never know.

But what about the songs? The Trees sounds like half a Pulp song, but half a Pulp song is a marginally better than a lot that is around. Weeds is Misshapes (from Different Class) part 2, just a different take on the same subject. Bad Cover Version has Jarvis back at his cutting best. The Night That Minnie Timperley Died is one of those songs that people will love or hate with a passion (let's say I'm not a fan...). It is a tragic song based on a dream that Jarvis once had and, like The Trees, feels somehow unfinished.

Wickerman is a sprawling, mostly spoken, tale allowing Jarvis to spin the story and to whisper and sigh in the way that only Jarvis can. A glorious high on the album that sucks you in and doesn't let you go.

Sunrise, the album finale, glows and shines with an Anthemic quality. Richard Hawley (Longpigs) adds some great guitar to it. An absolutely fabulous track that makes you forget about some of the average moments on the album.

With Sunrise you get the feeling Pulp are saying 'its just started, we'll be back'. You wonder though if, after 20 years, Jarvis has anything left to fight for.

This is a good album, and essentially that's the problem; Pulp have created far better albums. This is by far the weakest of all the Island offerings spanning 10 years. If you are a Pulp fan you'll get it anyway, if you are looking for y
our first Pulp album go for His 'N' Hers, Intro or the Greatest Hits instead.

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