REVIEW: Pulp, Countdown 1992-1983 (Fire)
- Simon West
Pulp finally met success with 1994's His 'n' Hers, and superstardom followed shortly thereafter. This, however, was the culmination of more than a decade of existence, the recorded history of which is collected on Countdown, a double-disc set. Unfortunately, for the most part it justifies the decade of obscurity - Pulp weren't much fun to listen to in the Eighties...
The best material here is the initial batch from 1991's "Countdown" single and 1992's Separations album. "My Legendary Girlfriend" and "She's Dead" contain some of the lyrical style and vocal delivery of later work. We go downhill from there. The music gets less interesting, the vocal considerably less tuneful and compelling. The low point of disc 1 is reached at the end with "They Suffocate At Night", from 1987's Freaks album, an uncomfortably tuneless effort that leaves you wondering who actually allowed it to be recorded at all.
Disc 2, unfortunately, doesn't get any better. As we move further back in time, there's less and less recognizable Pulp and more and more reasons to be amazed at the astonishing increase in quality that occured in the early 1990s. By the time we reach selections from 1983's It there's even a bloody flute in it, along with a warbling vocal that's not particularly easy on the ears. By the time the extended version of Countdown closes the collection, it sounds like an absolute classic by comparison.
Pulp completists would be advised to pick up His 'n' Hers and accompanying singles, the Pulpintro compilation and the aforementioned Separations. These showcase the evolution of Pulp while maintaining a high quality throughout. About the only argument for picking up Countdown would be its budget price. It's easy to see why even Jarvis Cocker advised against buying it. It's hard to imagine deliberately listening to most of this more than once. For absolute completists only.
