This Is Hardcore [Vinyl]

Pulp | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (May 12, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Plain
• ASIN: B001K98MBY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,675 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. The Fear - 5:35

2. Dishes - 3:30

3. Party Hard - 4:00

4. Help the Aged - 4:28

5. This Is Hardcore - 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

Disc: 2

1. Sylvia - 5:44

2. Glory Days - 4:55

3. The Day After the Revolution - 14:56

4. Tomorrow Never Lies - 4:53

5. Laughing Boy - 3:50

6. The Professional - 5:09

7. This is Hardcore (End of the Line Mix) - 2:06

Editorial Reviews

Originally released in 1998, Pulp's This Is Hardcore, was at once the artistic pinnacle of 90s Brit-pop, and the genre's comedown record, marking the end of an era with its ruminations on growing old, fearful, and bitter. Drawing influence from Bowie and Roxy Music, Cocker crafted one of the darkest yet anthemic albums of all time. An absolute masterpiece.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardcore Vinyl, August 5, 2009

By 

JRL "The Vigilante" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Hardcore [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

This review pertains to the VINYL re-issue of This Is Hardcore by Pulp. A label called Plain re-released this LP in 2009. The review above is from 2000 and is NOT about the vinyl, hence it should be moved. Also, unhelpfully Amazon.com does not have the correct tracklist on this page.

This Is Hardcore is 2 things: firstly it's a difficult album with many soaringly amazing moments. It also has its share of weak points. Fans of 90's-era Pulp and this landmark swansong will never agree on which songs are good and which are bad. To my ears, the album closes out blandly after Sylvia. But when listening to the first disc of the vinyl, it's interesting how tracks 1-9 (ending with the 8 minute-plus porno of a song that is Seductive Barry) make for a very complete listen alone. Why the band put such a lengthy song 4th to last is anyone's guess. Secondly, This Is Hardcore is as beautiful a piece of artwork/packaging as any vinyl junkie could hope for. I was concerned that a re-issue by a different label may somehow cheapen the package, but not at all. It's all here presented with its sticky gloss and dangerous sex. A job well done.

Finally, I'm very surprised that this version contains 4 (!!) bonus tracks. Side C ends with The Day After The Revolution, and side D contains the following:

Tomorrow Never Lies
Laughing Boy
The Professional
This Is Hardcore (End Of The Line Remix)

The 12 album songs would have sufficed, but these B-sides are a nice appendage. And though I am not a fan of Tomorrow Never Lies, I do enjoy Laughing Boy and The Professional. Plus, everyone knows at this point that T.I.H. (End of the Line Mix) is NOT a remix at all, but a 2 minute symphonic snapshot of what's in the album's original title track. Definitely just a reprise with a misleading silly title. These all sound pristine on 180-gram double gatefold vinyl and are great to have. Anyone who missed the chance to own this LP the first time around certainly owes it to themselves to pick this up.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic album even without the bonus stuff...!, July 7, 2000

By 

Ram "d-z" (Los Angeles, CA. USA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is Hardcore (Audio CD)

If you're thinking of buying "This is Hardcore", this is the version to get. Similar to the one labeled "[BOX SET]" here on Amazon, it has two "bonus tracks" on the bonus live CD, along with two bonus tracks on the album ("Like A Friend", which is on the American release, and "Tomorrow Never Lies").

As I'm sure people have mentioned in reviews of the American version, the fact that "The Day After The Revolution" has several minutes of a single synth chord tacked-on the end makes the bonus tracks a little annoying. That might be worth docking the release of this otherwise fantastic album a star if it weren't for the live CD-- Pulp is an amusing live act. At least with mostly "This is Hardcore" material, the approximations of the studio versions are good. Some are even a little better ("Glory Days" is more fun live, as is "Party Hard").

And not to ignore the basic album, which is, in my opinion, Pulp's best. Synthesizer content went down, but to make up for that, they wrote some of their best stuff: The one and only bad point for me is "Seductive Barry" which drags on into tedium. "Glory Days" seems a little done, but is still quite good. "Help the Aged", "This is Hardcore", "Dishes", "The Fear", "I'm A Man"-- all have become personal classics. Buy. Now.

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice album, poor sound quality, October 21, 2011

By 

Juan Pablo Ramirez Gurria - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Is Hardcore [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

Pulp's This is Hardcore is a great record. My review is not about the album, but about this vinyl pressing of Plain Records. The sound quality is awful; it does not have the sound quality you expect from any vinyl copy. It sounds compressed and you don't even notice that you are listening to it on a vinyl format. In my opinion, it's not worthy to get this copy other for the artwork that we all know it's great.