Do you remember the first time?

I picked up a copy of Pulp's It a few days ago (Collector's Corner has a large number of deleted US editions of early Pulp albums that they're selling quite cheaply). It's one of their earlier albums, and it shows. It mostly sounds like fairly ordinary light pub rock; Jarvis' characteristically incisive voice hasn't become to come through. The song Blue Girls is a rather nice ballad with over-reverbed piano and flute, and there are a few innovative touches here and there (brass in one song, a calliope in another), but it's rather patchy; they could probably have been described as "promising newcomers", at best. Had I been there when this CD came out and bought it, I probably wouldn't have given them a second look on the strength of it.

By the time they did Death Goes To The Disco and My Legendary Girlfriend, something changed* and they had become interesting. But 'It' is probably for completists only.

* no song-title reference intended,