lambchops's Full Review: Countdown (1992-1983) by Pulp
If you’re really curious about Pulp’s material pre His n’ Hers, may I suggest you steer far clear of the individual albums? Seriously—many of them are pure junk (debut It is the worst of the lot with the other two Freaks and Separations not far behind). Instead, it is highly suggested that you check out the somewhat more useful Countdown (1996) which collects the bands best material from 1983 through 1992.
Of course, I need to say something rather important right now—Pulp in the 1980’s and earliest 1990’s was pretty unremarkable bordering on bad. Don’t think that Countdown’s material at all resembles the rowdy, sexually energized pop the band came to be known for in the mid part of the 1990’s and on. This is the music of a band not yet sure what to do with itself and a man (Jarvis Cocker) intent on self-destructing.
Pulp was and always has been a one-man affair. Sure he called it a band, but it was no secret that Cocker ran the show and what Cocker said was what Cocker got. If he wanted to fire everybody, he did. If he wanted to write a song and record it he did. Human casualties were unimportant. Indeed Cocker (can you tell I just like saying that) is well known for being nothing less than a monkey butt. In any case, there is something to be said for knowing how far and where a band has come from. Countdown definitely achieves that—really, there is little or any indication here that Pulp would one day be an international success.
Formed in 1978 by a fifteen-year-old Cocker and some other disposable blokes, Pulp wallowed in obscurity for years upon years. It took twelve years and a change of labels before they finally hit it big with their signature swaggering sound. However, there are still three albums from the earliest incarnation of Pulp to consider—three rather uninspiring pieces but nonetheless part of the Pulp experience. Countdown collects what are purported to be the best twenty songs of that era. Of course “best” among those dogs amounts to something more like not-quite-nauseating than actually “good.”
Countdown is arranged essentially in reverse chronological order (as hinted at by the titled) and is most definitely in existence because of the record company’s desire to rake in the dough based on the success of the band they once called their own. Mostly the songs remind me of reject synthesizer-laden new wave. Worst of all, this collection spans two discs and twenty tracks. I hate to be so negative, but the fact remains that the newer material (from His n’ Hers, Different Class, This is Hardcore particularly) is so good it barely seems feasible that it is from the same band/man.
As much as I would like to entirely discount every last shred of “music” on Countdown, I can not. There are flashes of what eventually became the Pulp you know and love on the rousing retro stomp Death Goes to the Disco. While strangely paced, Cocker’s voice is fully realized (which is more than can be said about most everything else). Other moderately satisfying outings include Countdown (which really isn’t a great song, just not a bad one either), Dogs are Everywhere and possibly even Master of the Universe. They are all campy and odd, but haven’t aged well.
The music is not the centerpiece of Countdown, instead it is the sheer LACK of appealing music that is most memorable. “Kitschy” isn’t even an appropriate word for the compilation. Pulp runs the gamut between folk and synthesizer-laden new wave and back again. Instead of speaking to the “good” (which is non-existent) I must speak to the bad. Odd and impossibly bad songs are one in the same. She’s Dead makes Cocker sound like a lounge singer on heroin. The sound is slow and boggy and the singing is just miserable. What a horrible song. I have many of the same problems with Don’t You Want Me Anymore (among other offerings). Being Followed Home is slightly more acoustic at the start, but by the time the song actually is fleshed out it sounds much too much like something from my old Commodore 64 or ColecoVision to prove at all appealing. Don’t You Know wraps the first disc up with a lackluster arrangement worth (get this) skipping.
The second disc starts up where the first left off. It gets progressively worse as it works down to the worst of the bunch, It. The first real indication that the second is no better than the first CD is the chunk-chunking The Mark of the Devil. Profound? Eh, no, but definitely profoundly annoying. The church organ of 97 Lovers also annoys me something fierce—but it only gets worse as the off-kilter strings and percussion are added. It’s a druggy, hazy mess of a song. The disc makes a brief reprieve with the sweet and melodic Little Girl (With Blue Eyes) but that only lasts for a second. The whole thing is further sunk by a string of stinkers--Blue Glow, My Lighthouse, Wishful Thinking, Blue Girls and the completely unnecessary extended version of Countdown showcase the young cocker as a unrefined and seemingly unrehearsed amateur.
Obviously, Countdown is a pitiful excuse for a compilation. There is one good thing though—that Pulp couldn’t get any worse based on the first three albums. Plus, Countdown (as mentioned above) is a much more reasonable way to acquaint yourself with the band’s early music. Trust me when I say you don’t want to buy It or Freaks or Separation. You’re better off just pretending Pulp’s career began with the 1994 release of His n’ Hers.
Rating: 2/5 stars (for “historical value”)
01. Countdown
02. Death Goes to the Disco
03. My Legendary Girlfriend
04. Don’t You Want Me Anymore
05. She’s Dead
06. Down by the River
07. I Want You
08. Being Followed Home
09. Master of the Universe
10. Don’t You Know
11. They Suffocate at Night
12. Dogs Are Everywhere
13. The Mark of the Devil
14. 97 Lovers
15. Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)
16. Blue Glow
17. My Lighthouse
18. Wishful Thinking
19. Blue Girls
20. Countdown (Extended Version)
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