Pulp We Love Life CD - Import

WE LOVE LIFE, Pulp's final studio outing before dissolving in the early 2000s, is an oft-overlooked album, but it is easily one of the Britpop band's finest. While its predecessor, THIS IS HARDCORE, was dark, slick, and urban, LIFE is bright, organic, and thoroughly rustic, with the theme of nature providing a thread throughout much of the record.

Although the disc doesn't have the standout singles of past Pulp albums, LIFE is remarkably consistent, due both to frontman Jarvis Cocker's newfound maturity as a songwriter and to the production work of his idol Scott Walker. While Walker doesn't apply the bombast of his revered late-1960s records, he does give Pulp's compositions a wonderfully widescreen scope that enhances every track, from the potent opener, "Weeds," to the chilling narrative "Wickerman," and the gloriously crescendoing "Sunrise." More than previous Pulp offerings, LIFE is a guitar-driven affair, with additional six-stringer Richard Hawley (an excellent solo artist in his own right) filling out the sound. Though it may not eclipse DIFFERENT CLASS in the minds of most fans, WE LOVE LIFE is an incredibly accomplished album that shows Pulp bowing out with vitality and grace.

2001 album from Jarvis Cocker and company that has met with outstanding reviews in all sectors. It's not exactly an easy listen, but wellworth exploring for further pleasures...it's one of those albums that grows on you! Produced by the ever elusive Scott Walker and his unique wall of sound.

Australian edition.

Pulp: Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Mark Webber (guitar); Candida Doyle (keyboards); Steve Mackey (bass); Nick Banks (drums).

Additional personnel: Richard Hawley (12-string & lap steel guitars); Scott Walker (baritone guitar); Andy Findon (flute, ocarina); Jeremy Shaw (keyboards); Alasdair Malloy, Louis Jardin, Julian Poole (percussion); Steve Hilton, Howie B. (programming); Caspar Cronk (saw); Beverly Skeet, The Swingle Singers, The Metro Voices (background vocals).

Spin (1/03, p.72) - Ranked #24 on Spin's list of 2002's "Albums of the Year"
Spin (10/02, p.116) - 9 out of 10 - "...Preposterous and sensational WE LOVE LIFE grapples with nothing less than how best to prove you're alive..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/23/02, p.142) - "...It's invitingly lush....More than enough reason to show this beloved Brit acts some State-side LOVE..." - Rating: B
Uncut (11/01, pp.128-9) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...There is a Scott-like grandeur in the sheer size of the sound. And words-wise it's almost like Cocker's ratcheted up the ambitiousness levels to match the producer's visionary lyrical scope..."
The Wire (1/02, p.40) - Ranked #35 in Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2001".
CMJ (9/2/02) - "...Mature, elegant and dramatic - this record will have you loving life as well..."
Mojo (Publisher) (1/02, p.71) - Ranked #32 in Mojo's "Best [40] Albums of 2001" - "...Light and springy - the sound of a band rediscovering the pleasures of actually being a band."