Operation Appreciation Day 3: Pulp's Intro: The Gift Recordings

While on a bus (not nearly as exciting as being on a boat, by the way), I gave Pulp's Intro: The Gift Recordings a spin, and it's fascinating to hear that band hit that point. Because of the sound of this compilation - recorded shortly before their sound-defining album His 'n' Hers, Intro straddles the line between the fantastic, exuberant dance-pop that makes me think Jarvis Cocker might be some kind of intellectual sex-deity, and the clunky experimentation that makes me remember that's probably not true.

 

Pulp is one of my favorite bands, but from what I've heard on their Pulp: The John Peel Sessions and Intro, I am not too keen on going in the direction of their pre-90s work. Disparate strands of what the band they would become float throughout these songs, such as "Space," which has a seemingly interminable introduction with what sounds like a theramin, while "OU (Gone, Gone)" utilizes fragile-sounding synths and some decent pop hooks.

 

But it's on the two songs that get repeated on His 'n' Hers, "Babies" and "Razzmatazz" that blow the friggin' lid off the set. Suddenly, the synthesizers sound bracing, tense and dangerous all at once. The lyrics are like a dirty secret let out in public thanks to Cocker's baritone which oozes Barry White sensuality and newscaster gravitas ("The trouble with your brother/he's always sleeping/with your mother," from "Razzmatazz"). One is a lustful story-song and the other a fantastic kiss-off that belongs ranked with Dylan's "Positively 4th Street."

 

The rest of the set isn't nearly as memorable, but there are almost always gems to be found in an artist's first step before greatness (like Radiohead's "Creep" before The Bends; some kind of "collector's edition" for their first 3 albums are out tomorrow, by the way, in addition to a crazy-super-collector's item version of Pearl Jam's Ten -- see the things I miss when I choose not to buy music for a month?! Should've done this in January!). It's the reason why a good chunk of the time, if I like a band, I wind up with all their stuff.