MP3: Pulp Discography - Part Five: Separations (1992)

Other parts in this series: One / Two / Three / Four / Six / Seven / Eight / Nine / Ten / Eleven
So here we are, finally back to my Pulp discography rundown, and this time it's probably the band's first truly great album. The first record by the band's modern lineup, it was recorded on a very small budget in 1989 and 1990, but didn't see release until 1992 due to the general incompetence of Fire Records. And when they did release it they gave it the worst album cover on the face of the planet. On this album the band start to take on the musical and lyrical form that would later develop into the classic post-His N Hers albums. The disco elements are amped up a lot in comparison to anything previously, and Jarvis really starts to come into his own both vocally and lyrically. In particular My Legendary Girlfriend was the band's first truly incredible single and the first to get them a lot of press.


Opener Love Is Blind doesn't set things off amazingly, but the second track Don't You Want Me Anymore? completely makes up for it, and to this day is one of my favourite Pulp songs ever (you can download it below). Something about how it launches into that violin solo! And the great Jarvis lyric 'I've never seen you look so ugly, as the way you did that night'. She's Dying is loved by a lot of people but I find it to be a little average, though still better than most of the Freaks material. Speaking of Freaks, the title track follows next, with more middle-eastern violin but some rather good lyrics. Down By The River is also a favourite of mine, very atmospheric and carnivalesque. However the true masterstroke of the album is the placing of the two singles, Countdown and My Legendary Girlfriend next to each other. Both are tremendously well written, very disco but very well done. Countdown builds up in a rather lovely way, and was later rerecorded for its single release into an even more discoish track. My Legendary Girlfriend should need no explanation. It's one of the bands first really perfect tracks and won Time Out magazine's award for "Best Five Minutes Of Simulated Sex 1990". Nice. If you've got all of Pulp's subsequent records you should really seek this out, because it's got some absolutely great stuff and is often unfairly maligned. More info on Separations at the lovely Bar Italia.

Download: Don't You Want Me Anymore - MP3 2.66mb
Download: Down By The River - MP3 2.51mb
Download: Countdown - MP3 3.52mb
Download: My Legendary Girlfriend - MP3 4.71mb

Discography: (click to buy @ amazon.co.uk)

It (1983)	Freaks (1986)	Separations (1992)	Intro (1993)
His 'N' Hers (1994)	Masters Of The Universe (1994)	Different Class (1995)	This Is Hardcore (1998)
We Love Life (2001)	Truth And Beauty	Anthology	Ultimate Live