This Is Hardcore

This Is Hardcore
Studio album by Pulp
Released 30 March 1998
Recorded 1997
Studio
Genre
Length 69:49
Label Island
Producer Chris Thomas
Pulp chronology
Countdown 1992–1983
(1996)Countdown 1992–19831996		 This Is Hardcore
(1998)		 Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years
(1998)Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years1998
Singles from This Is Hardcore
  1. "Help the Aged"
    Released: 10 November 1997
  2. "This Is Hardcore"
    Released: 9 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.[3]

Background and release

As with the band's previous album, Different Class, it reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart,[4] and was well received critically, earning Pulp a third successive nomination for the 1998 Mercury Prize.[5]

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.[6] Currin 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"[7] and "This is Sexist" or "This is Demeaning".[8]

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.[9]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Chicago Tribune[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[12]
The Guardian[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
NME7/10[15]
Pitchfork7.8/10[16]
Q[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Spin8/10[19]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[20] The album was very well received in the States with the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, all awarding the album three and a half stars out of four.[11][14][21] In 2014, US LGBT magazine Metro Weekly placed the album at number 46 in its list of the "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s."[22] In 2017, Pitchfork listed the album at number seven in its list "The 50 Best Britpop Albums."[23]

Track listing

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

No.TitleMusicLength
1."The Fear" 5:35
2."Dishes" 3:30
3."Party Hard" 4:00
4."Help the Aged" 4:28
5."This Is Hardcore" (embodies a sample of "Bolero on the Moon Rocks" written by Peter Thomas, recorded by The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra)
  • Cocker
  • Banks
  • Doyle
  • Mackey
  • Webber
  • 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"
4:55
12."The Day After the Revolution" (edited to 5:52 on bonus track releases) 14:56

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 44
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[27] 32
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[28] 56
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[29] 15
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 20
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[33] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1
US Billboard 200[37] 114

As of 2008, sales in the United States have exceeded 86,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[38]

References

  1. ↑ This Is Hardcore - Pulp | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
  2. ↑ Laws, Mike (11 December 2014). "The 10 Best Britpop Albums of All Time (or At Least Since 1993 or So)". The Village Voice. Suzan Gursoy. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Rocklist.net NME: The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time : October 2013
  4. ↑ "Pulp full official chart". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  5. ↑ "Mercury Prize Shortlist". mercuryprize.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  6. ↑ Cocker, Jarvis 'They're not grotesque – they're beautiful' Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  7. ↑ Anon 'PULP – ACRYLIC AFTERNOONS – This Is Hardcore Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "100 Greatest Music Videos". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  10. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "This Is Hardcore – Pulp". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  11. 1 2 Kot, Greg (3 April 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Browne, David (13 April 1998). "This Is Hardcore". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (27 March 1998). "Confessions of a pop group". The Guardian.
  14. 1 2 Hochman, Steve (5 April 1998). "Pulp 'This Is Hardcore' Island". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  15. ↑ Patterson, Sylvia (21 March 1998). "Pulp – This Is Hardcore". NME. Archived from the original on 2 October 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  16. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent (31 December 1999). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  17. ↑ "This Is Hardcore CD". CD Universe. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  18. ↑ Kot, Greg (23 March 1998). "Pulp: This Is Hardcore". Rolling Stone (784). Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Hornby, Nick (May 1998). "People's Poet". Spin. 14 (5). Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ Masley, Ed (22 May 1998). "For the Record". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  22. ↑ Gerard, Chris (4 April 2014). "50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  23. ↑ "The 50 Best Britpop Albums". Pitchfork. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  24. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Pulp – This Is Hardcore" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Pulp – This Is Hardcore" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3530". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  28. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pulp – This Is Hardcore" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  29. ↑ "Pulp: This Is Hardcore" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  30. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  31. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pulp – This Is Hardcore" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  33. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  34. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  35. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Pulp – This Is Hardcore". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  36. ↑ "Pulp | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  37. ↑ "Pulp Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  38. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1045824/ask-billboard
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