It

 

 

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Although this is a different Pulp to what you may be used to, this album is still a goodun. It's an album containing clever little acoustic melodies with intelligent lyrics and timing that Cocker is famed for. If your a Pulp fan you may be shocked by what you hear, but if you're a broad minded Pulp fan then you'll love it. The album starts with the wonderful "My Lighthouse" on which Jarvis's sister does the backing vocals for. It then continues with pleasant upbeat songs such as "boats and Trains" and "Love Love". True, some may not like it, but I do.

Appearing some twelve years before Jarvis Cocker's tramp-like persona imprinted itself on the national consciousness, "It" is understandably different from the better-known material. Except for 1996's single Something Changed, which was written at this time and not included, then left on the shelf at Pulp HQ until Different Class was being recorded.

The first album is predominantly acoustic, with backing vocals by Jarvis' sister and her school friends, the seven songs (in the album's original form) are mostly concerned with an idealist's appreciation of love and hardly dare mention the s-word.

The real stand-outs are Wishful Thinking, concerned with the tendency of a one-night encounter to leave you wanting more, and the sublime song Blue Girls, which watches several old flames flicker and die as their lives progress.

First ever single My Lighthouse is the ideal opening track, and its b-side Looking For Life is tacked onto the end of all recent (ie: last ten years or so) pressings. Both these songs are in keeping with the rest of the album: in fact the ponderous grind of Looking For Life fits so well onto the end that its presence is a rare example of Fire Records getting something exactly right.

If you liked Something Changed, expect to like this. It's grate. I love It.

Rating: 7.5/10

Best tracks: "My Lighthouse", "Boats and Trains", "Joking Aside", "Blue Girls"

Pulp took a hell of a long time to become stars - they recorded their first album in 1983 but didn't get a glimmer of success until nearly a decade later when their "My Legendary Girlfriend" single was voted NME Single of the Week - for the whole of the eighties they languished in obscurity, recording three albums and various singles which either flopped or didn't get proper release until years later. Take the aforementioned "My Legendary Girlfriend", which was actually recorded in 1989, but like its parent album Separations wouldn't get released until 1992. Their first album, It, features an almost entirely different line-up to the band that would become stars many years later; only lyricist and lead singer Jarvis Cocker was present at the time - the likes of Senior, Doyle, Mackey and others wouldn't join until later, but what's more surprising is that, in its own innocuous, simple way, It is a great album. I mean, it's not of the same quality as their run of 1990's classics, but it's very appealing nonetheless. It's a bit strange to hear Cocker sing of lighthouses, boats and trains rather than voyeurism and kitchen-sink adultery, but as the man says himself, it's not strange to him.

The sound here is winsome, intimate and bucolic, a style that Cocker would return to nearly twenty years later on their most recent album, We Love Life. It's such a shame this album wasn't even remotely successful; I mean, it was never going to change the world, but it's got something about it, something wholly engaging! The best example of this is the glorious opening song; "My Lighthouse" is a wonderful, strolling gem of a tune that has some really sweet guitar melodies that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face. "Wishful Thinking" starts off in a darker, haunting vein, but soon picks up the pace and even become rather sprightly! "Joking Aside" is complemented by strings and is really quite great, with an exquisite chorus stealing the show. "Boats and Trains" has a gorgeously fluttering guitar melody that only lasts under two minutes and makes for a beautiful brief respite. The longer and sparse "Blue Girls" is a stark slow burner, carried through by some gentle piano and an echoing atmosphere; it's very nicely executed and a nice change of pace and mood for the album. "Love Love" is a jaunty sing-a-long, adding more variety to an album that has really surprised and delighted so far. I say so far....does that mean the album's about to lose it in a big way? Nope! Sorry if I misled you; the last two tracks are just as fine as everything before it, with the sparkling guitar of "In Many Ways" providing the initial attraction before a great chorus and vocal refrain from Jarvis proves just as rewarding. The closing "Looking for Life" is probably the closest thing this album gets to an anthem, and it's a solid, understatedly stirring way to end one seriously underrated album; there are no masterpieces here, no real classics, but it's a wonderful half-hour of music and for anyone looking to investigate Pulp's wilderness years, it's the best of their albums for Fire, despite 1989's Separations having the most in common with the sound of their more successful era.

After It, Pulp's line-up would drastically change and so would their sound, adopting a scary, twisted and unsettling mood first introduced on the material compiled on the Masters of the Universe compilation and then on Pulp's second album Freaks.

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1.0 out of 5 stars pulps first, yet worst album
being a big fan of pulp, IT is the worst album pulp released. I guess they wanted to make it "big" right from the start, but failed. Read more

Published on 16 Nov 2000

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