Pulp Album: “Different Class”

Well, kids, what we have here is the absolute closest thing you can get to THE PERFECT ALBUM. Different Class has it all: gloriously constructed music that soars and swells, a perfect backdrop for Jarvis Cocker's incredibly witty and biting satire. This album, even after four years, just keeps getting better. it is the one CD out of my entire collection that I would never give up. Song after song, Different Class delivers: from the bouncy yet viscious Mis-shapes, the sultry eroticism of Pencil Skirt, the sheer grandiose bombast of Common People, the high drama of I Spy, the sweet sense of wistfulness in Disco 2000, the incredibly well-told story of social disintegration that is LIve Bed Show, the utter beauty and charm of Something Changed, the dead-on observation of Sorted For E's & Wizz, the way that falling in love is depicted as firghtening & dirty in FEELINGCALLEDLOVE, the sweeping Underwear, the rollicking MOnday MOrning, and the perfect morning-after scenario of Bar Italia, there is not a dud on this classic. I could go on forever, but just buy it and find out for yourself.

three or four albums, in my opinion, stand out heads and shoulders above the rest of the britpop pack: suede's 'dog man star,' blur's 'parklife,' oasis' 'definitely maybe' and the verve's 'urban hymns. sure you could throw 'the bends' in there, maybe some supergrass. but 'different class' seemed so far ahead of its time, yet strangely captured 1990s working class/underdogs London ethos (not that i'm british or anything).

jarvis cocker was the perfect anti-hero: the nerdy recluse with the coke bottle glasses. the perfect antidote to liam's audacity and damon's pretty boy antics. after years of slugging it out in obscurity, and prefaced by a super-promising 'his 'n hers,' pulp hit music gold with 'different class' and perhaps *the* anthem of the 1990s -- 'common people.' it was everything right about a pop song -- driving rhythm section, clever lyrics, spot-on delivery, and a rallying cry to the common kid all the while skewering the pretension of the rich trying their hand at poverty. no wonder it was the huge hit is was.

thankfully pulp were no one-hit-wonders. top to bottom, 'different class' could pretty much be a collection of greatest hits and no one would be the wiser. the opener, 'mis-shapes,' signals the call: 'mis-shapes, mistakes, misfits...' as if jarvo himself personally dedicates the album to his loyal fanbase. tracks like 'something changed,' 'pencil skirt,' 'sorted for e's and wizz,' the CLASSIC 'disco 2000' (and it's laura branigan 'gloria' inspired riff) carved jarvis cocker's face on the mount rushmore of the britpop scene. and while jarvis cocker gets much of the credit, pulp was very much a collaborative group. pulp was a group of extremely gifted musicians who pefected their craft over a 15 year period, climaxing with back-to-back classic albums: 'a different class,' 'this is hardcore,' and 'we love life.'

it's a shame they didn't reach the same level of popularity here in the states. perhaps they're just too good and too clever for average american listener to appreciate and understand. and it's too bad. pulp consistently put of the most refreshing, exciting, dangerous and infectiously good music of the era. check it out.

I had never heard Pulp before and was introduced to them by the song "Disco 2000" at a britpop dance club. I bought the album and have listened to it hundreds of times and since bought most of their albums. I have found that Pulp reaches deep inside me and Different Class reaches the furthest. It is clever & witty, sarcastic and humorous. I know everyone says it, but Jarvis Cocker is amazing. His voice I never get tired of, it is extremely passionate and soulful. I listen to this album more than any other and I never get tired of it. I find Mr. Cocker's voice is so embedded in my head now, listening to him is comforting and cozy. All the songs are so different and clever, I keep discovering new things in the lyrics and it becomes more brilliant everytime I hear it. I also like the pop, sometimes campy-keyboard music that serves as the backdrop for the lyrics. I have heard some people rip on the music, but I find it deliberately simple and quirky, perfect to showoff the lyrics.

I hate to say, this album is not for everyone. I think truly great albums don't reach mainstream audiences and Different Class is a perfect example of this; many people won't understand this album. But personally, I think the album is brilliant, it is my absolute favorite album. This would be my first choice if stranded on a deserted island. I highly recommend it if you are considering it for your collection.

Well, kids, what we have here is the absolute closest thing you can get to THE PERFECT ALBUM. Different Class has it all: gloriously constructed music that soars and swells, a perfect backdrop for Jarvis Cocker's incredibly witty and biting satire. This album, even after four years, just keeps getting better. it is the one CD out of my entire collection that I would never give up. Song after song, Different Class delivers: from the bouncy yet viscious Mis-shapes, the sultry eroticism of Pencil Skirt, the sheer grandiose bombast of Common People, the high drama of I Spy, the sweet sense of wistfulness in Disco 2000, the incredibly well-told story of social disintegration that is LIve Bed Show, the utter beauty and charm of Something Changed, the dead-on observation of Sorted For E's & Wizz, the way that falling in love is depicted as firghtening & dirty in FEELINGCALLEDLOVE, the sweeping Underwear, the rollicking MOnday MOrning, and the perfect morning-after scenario of Bar Italia, there is not a dud on this classic. I could go on forever, but just buy it and find out for yourself.

Life changing?

When I was 13 I had a rather bizarre, misplaced obsession with Oasis; I bought every publication that contained their mere name, including outrageously expensive import British music magazines which also conatined the name of the now ever-blessed Pulp. While I still have a fondness for Definately Maybe, Oasis is pretty much out of my system; ten years later, Pulp is not.

For me, Pulp's Different Class was Life Changing. Prior to Plup I had only listened to mainsteam, regular sound; this album was a smack to my head, a concussion really, a concussion from which I have never recovered. No album, not even albums' I like better, have had more influence over the way I have come to think about music, and, believe it or not, life. Pulp single-handedly widened my aural, lyrical, and analytical spectrums and made me a appreciate the many facets of serious music.

Most of you reading this review are neither thirteen nor impressionable. Pulp is a band that carries a great deal of personal meaning for me, and that will clearly not be the case for every listener. Pulp, however, is great, original music unto itself, and Different Class is a prime example of their uniformly superb albums.

Buy this album and you will laugh and mourn with Jarvis Cocker. And hey, you may ever change you life; amid the crazy Pop you will Cry.