His 'n' Hers

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His 'n' Hers
Pulp-His 'n' Hers.jpg
Studio album by
Pulp
Released18 April 1994
RecordedJuly 1992, October 1993–February 1994 [lower-alpha 1]
Studio Britannia Row, London [lower-alpha 2]
Genre Britpop [2] [3]
Length50:38
Label Island
Producer Ed Buller
Pulp chronology
Intro – The Gift Recordings
(1993)		His 'n' Hers
(1994)		 Masters of the Universe
(1994)
Singles from His 'n' Hers
  1. "Lipgloss"
    Released: 15 November 1993
  2. "Do You Remember the First Time?"
    Released: 21 March 1994
  3. " The Sisters EP"
    Released: 23 May 1994

His 'n' Hers is the fourth studio album by English rock band Pulp, released on 18 April 1994 by Island Records. It proved to be the band's breakthrough album, reaching number nine on the UK Albums Chart, [4] and was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize. In 1998, Q magazine readers voted it the seventieth greatest album of all time, while it was placed at number 110 in the book Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums. [4]

Contents

Themes and content

Lyrically, the album encompasses subjects for which Pulp were to become well known, including sexual encounters, social class and voyeurism. [4]

Robyn Strachan retrospectively describes the opener "Joyriders" as setting the tone for the album with "acerbic observation and lurking seediness and decay". [5]

"She's a Lady" takes much of its musical inspiration from Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive". [6]

The album closer, "David's Last Summer", is notable as being one of Pulp's most narrative songs, delivered entirely in spoken word apart from the chorus despite being an uptempo track.

Release and aftermath

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Drowned in Sound 8/10 [9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
NME 8/10 [11]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Select 4/5 [14]
Spin 8/10 [15]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [16]

The CD edition of the album included a new remixed version of the song “Babies”, the original version of which was previously released as a single in 1992.

The album was preceded with two singles: "Lipgloss" and "Do You Remember the First Time?". The new mix of "Babies" was also released as a single as part of the Sisters EP .

The album was a long-awaited breakthrough for Pulp in the UK becoming their first charting album reaching #9 [17] and later certified Gold. [18]

A CD Deluxe edition of His 'n' Hers was released on 11 September 2006. It contained a second disc of B-sides, demos and rarities. The vinyl version of the Deluxe edition was released in 2012.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Jarvis Cocker; all music is composed by Pulp

No.TitleLength
1."Joyriders"3:25
2."Lipgloss"3:34
3."Acrylic Afternoons"4:09
4."Have You Seen Her Lately?"4:11
5."Babies" (does not appear on the album's vinyl release)4:04
6."She's a Lady"5:49
7."Happy Endings"4:57
8."Do You Remember the First Time?"4:22
9."Pink Glove"4:48
10."Someone Like the Moon"4:18
11."David's Last Summer"7:01
Total length:51:38
North American edition (bonus track)
No.TitleLength
12."Razzmatazz"3:41
Deluxe edition (bonus disc)
No.TitleOriginLength
1."Live On" (BBC Mark Goodier session)Previously unavailable3:58
2."You're Not Blind" (demo)Previously unavailable3:45
3."Space" (BBC Hit the North Session soundcheck)Previously unavailable3:27
4."The Boss" (demo)Previously unavailable2:27
5."Watching Nicky" (demo)Previously unavailable3:04
6."Frightened" (demo)Previously unavailable3:36
7."Your Sister's Clothes" The Sisters EP4:41
8."Seconds"The Sisters EP4:19
9."His 'n' Hers"The Sisters EP6:20
10."Street Lites"B-side to "Do You Remember the First Time?"5:56
11."You're a Nightmare" (BBC John Peel session)B-side to "Lipgloss" (incorrectly noted as previously unavailable)5:20
12."The Babysitter"B-side to "Do You Remember the First Time?"5:00
13."Deep Fried in Kelvin"B-side to "Lipgloss"9:49
Total length:1:1:42 1:53:20

Personnel

Pulp

Artwork

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [19] 40
UK Albums (OCC) [20] 9

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [21] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ Except "Lipgloss" and "She's a Lady", recorded 2–10 July 1993; and "Babies", recorded 20–24 July 1992 [1]
  2. ↑ Except "Babies", recorded at Island Records Fallout Shelter, London [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Sturdy, Mark (15 December 2009). Truth and Beauty: The Story of Pulp. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857121035.
  2. ↑ Sanders, Brad (21 April 2014). "His 'N' Hers Turns 20". Stereogum . Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "The 50 Best Britpop Albums". Pitchfork . p. 4. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin (1998). Virgin All-Time Top 1000 Albums . Virgin Books. ISBN   0753502585.
  5. ↑ Robyn Strachan (3 August 2014). "Resentment in Retrospective: Pulp's 'His 'n' Hers', 20 Years On". HuffPost. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Andy Gill (4 May 1995). "POP / The last detail: It was a special night for Pulp, playing at home with their first single in the Top 10. Andy Gill was there". The Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  7. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "His 'n' Hers – Pulp". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  8. ↑ Messbarger, Matt (1 December 1994). "Pulp: His 'N' Hers (Island)". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Cowen, Nick (26 September 2006). "Album Review: Pulp – His 'N Hers (2006 re-issue)". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2006.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Pulp". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  11. ↑ Williams, Simon (16 April 1994). "Pulp – His'N'Hers". NME . Archived from the original on 13 October 2000. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Cooper, Mark (June 1994). "Pulp: His 'n' Hers". Q . No. 93.
  13. ↑ Harris, Keith (2004). "Pulp". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p.  665. ISBN   0-743-20169-8.
  14. ↑ Harrison, Andrew (May 1994). "Short Cuts". Select . No. 47. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  15. ↑ Modell, Josh (June 2009). "Discography: Jarvis Cocker". Spin . Vol. 25, no. 6. p. 82. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  16. ↑ "Pulp: His 'n' Hers". Uncut . No. 112. September 2006. p. 98.
  17. ↑ "Pulp in the UK charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "British certificates: searchable database". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2014. Note: User needs to enter "Pulp" in the "Keywords" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Search" button. Select "More >>" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ "British album certifications – Pulp – His N Hers". British Phonographic Industry.
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