This Is Hardcore

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, who 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
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[10]
Chicago Tribune	^[11]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[12]
The Guardian	^[13]
Los Angeles Times	^[14]
NME	7/10^[15]
Pitchfork	7.8/10^[16]
Q	^[17]
Rolling Stone	^[18]
Spin	8/10^[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 Nick Banks, Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Mark Webber, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"The Fear"		5:35
2.	"Dishes"		3:30
3.	"Party Hard"		4:00
4.	"Help the Aged"		4:28
5.	"This Is Hardcore"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Peter 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"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Antony Genn	4:55
12.	"The Day After the Revolution" (edited to 5:52 on bonus track releases)		14:56

Bonus tracks

International CD bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Like a Friend" (B-side to "A Little Soul", bonus track on US, Canadian and Japanese releases)	4:32
14.	"Tomorrow Never Lies" (B-side to "Help the Aged", bonus track on Japanese release)	4:53

This Is Glastonbury bonus disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Fear"		7:49
2.	"Live Bed Show"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Russell Senior, Webber	4:33
3.	"TV Movie"		3:55
4.	"A Little Soul"		4:36
5.	"Party Hard"		4:29
6.	"Help the Aged"		5:33
7.	"Seductive Barry"		9:57
8.	"This Is Hardcore" (Bonus track on Japanese release)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Thomas	7:16
9.	"Glory People: Glory Days / Common People" (Bonus track on Japanese release)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Senior, Webber, Genn	11:13

Deluxe edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Cocaine Socialism" (proper version)		5:14
2.	"It's a Dirty World" (recording session outtake)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Senior	5:13
3.	"Like a Friend" (B-side to "A Little Soul")		4:32
4.	"The Professional" (B-side to "This Is Hardcore")		5:09
5.	"Ladies' Man" (B-side to "This Is Hardcore")		4:44
6.	"Laughing Boy" (B-side to "Help the Aged")		3:50
7.	"We Are the Boyz" (B-side to "Party Hard")		3:15
8.	"Tomorrow Never Dies" (rough mix)		4:53
9.	"Can I Have My Balls Back, Please?" (demo)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Senior	4:16
10.	"Modern Marriage" (demo)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey	4:54
11.	"My Erection" (demo)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey	4:22
12.	"You Are the One" (demo)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey	4:28
13.	"Street Operator" (demo)	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey	3:52
14.	"This Is Hardcore" (End of the Line Mix) (B-side to "This Is Hardcore")	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Thomas	2:06

Tracks 1, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 from the Deluxe edition bonus disc were previously unavailable

Limited edition double vinyl LP

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"The Fear"		5:35
2.	"Dishes"		3:30
3.	"Party Hard"		4:00
4.	"Help the Aged"		4:28
5.	"This Is Hardcore"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Thomas	6:25

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"TV Movie"	3:25
7.	"A Little Soul"	3:19
8.	"I'm a Man"	4:59
9.	"Seductive Barry"	8:31

Side three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Sylvia"		5:44
11.	"Glory Days"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Genn	4:55
12.	"The Day After the Revolution"		5:27

Side four
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Tomorrow Never Lies"		4:53
14.	"Laughing Boy"		3:50
15.	"The Professional"		5:09
16.	"This is Hardcore (End of the Line Mix)"	Banks, Cocker, Doyle, Mackey, Webber, Thomas	3:02

Personnel

John Currin – art direction
Peter Saville – art direction
Howard Wakefield – design and Smart blur 'painterly effect'
Paul Hetherington – design
Horst Diekgerdes – photography
Pete Lewis – engineering
Magnus Fiennes – programming
Mark Hayley – programming
Matthew Vaughan – programming
Olle Romo – programming
Chris Thomas – piano (5), production
Neneh Cherry – vocals (9)
Mandy Bell – backing vocals (1, 9)
Carol Kenyon – backing vocals (1, 9)
Jackie Rawe – backing vocals (1, 9)
Anne Dudley – piano (5, 7, 11), string arrangements (2, 5, 7, 9)
Nicholas Dodd – orchestration (5, 9)^[24]

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[25]	15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[26]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[27]	44
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[28]	32
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)^[29]	56
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[30]	15
French Albums (SNEP)^[31]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[32]	20
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[33]	12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[34]	10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[35]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[36]	31
UK Albums (OCC)^[37]	1
US Billboard 200^[38]	114

References

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

External links

This Is Hardcore (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)
This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition (2 CD ) (Adobe Flash) at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)

Preceded by The Best Of by James	UK number one album 11 April 1998 – 17 April 1998	Succeeded by Life Thru a Lens by Robbie Williams

Pulp
Jarvis Cocker Nick Banks Candida Doyle Steve Mackey Mark Webber Russell Senior Tim Allcard Peter Boam Peter Dalton Magnus Doyle Wayne Furniss Antony Genn Steven Havenhand David Hinkler Simon Hinkler David Lockwood Peter Mansell Jamie Pinchbeck Jimmy Sellers Mark Swift Phillip Thompson Gary Wilson
Studio albums	It Freaks Separations His 'n' Hers Different Class This Is Hardcore We Love Life
Compilations albums	Intro – The Gift Recordings Masters of the Universe Countdown 1992–1983 Freshly Squeezed... the Early Years Hits
Live albums	The Peel Sessions
Singles	"My Lighthouse" "Everybody's Problem" "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)" "Dogs Are Everywhere" "They Suffocate at Night" "Master of the Universe" "My Legendary Girlfriend" "Countdown" "O.U. (Gone, Gone)" "My Legendary Girlfriend" (Live) "Babies" "Razzmatazz" "Lipgloss" "Do You Remember the First Time?" "The Sisters EP" "Common People" "Mis-Shapes"/"Sorted for E's & Wizz" "Disco 2000" "Something Changed" "Help the Aged" "This Is Hardcore" "A Little Soul" "Party Hard" "Sunrise/The Trees" "Bad Cover Version" "After You"
Video albums	Sorted for Films & Vids F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.I.V.E The Park Is Mine Hits Ultimate Live
Related articles	Discography Relaxed Muscle Richard Hawley Venini

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