Freaks (Pulp album)

Freaks
Studio album by Pulp
Released	May 1987
Recorded	21 June–27 June 1986, Input Studio
Genre	Alternative rock, post-punk, gothic rock[1]
Length	44:13
Label	Fire
Producer	Pulp, Jonathan Kirk
Pulp chronology
It (1983) Freaks (1987) Separations (1992)
Singles from Freaks
"They Suffocate at Night" Released: 5 January 1987 "Master of the Universe" Released: 30 March 1987
Alternative cover
2012 re-release edition cover

Freaks (subtitled: Ten Stories About Power, Claustrophobia, Suffocation and Holding Hands) is the second album by British pop band Pulp.

Release and aftermath

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Pitchfork Media	(7.1/10) [3]
Q	Oct. 2000

It was released in 1987 to little commercial success. It has a much darker sound than its predecessor, It. Russell Senior sings lead vocals on "Fairground" and "Anorexic Beauty". "Master of the Universe" was released as a single in an alternative version called the "sanitised version"; it replaces the word "masturbates" with "vegetates".

"I Want You" is the only song from the album to have been performed live regularly, most notably during the UK Forest Tour in the Summer of 2002.

The album was reissued and remastered by Fire Records in 2012 along with 1983's It and 1992's Separations. This re-release took several delays as the first stated release date was 8 August 2011 while the albums finally came out on 13 February 2012.^[4] During than period the information that the albums would be remastered was stated and new bonus tracks were added to the track listing. The reissue also includes new artwork and liner notes from music journalist Everett True.

The reissue bonus disc is in fact Masters of the Universe compilation aside from two tracks: "They Suffocate at Night" which appears on the album itself and "Master of the Universe (sanitised version)" which again appears on the album without censorship.

Track listing

All music is written by Pulp, all lyrics are written by Jarvis Cocker, except "Anorexic Beauty" (by David Kurley), and "Fairground" and "The Will to Power" (by Russell Senior).

Side 1

1. "Fairground" – 5:07
2. "I Want You" – 4:42
3. "Being Followed Home" – 6:03
4. "Master of the Universe" – 3:22
5. "Life Must Be So Wonderful" – 3:59

Side 2

6. "There's No Emotion" – 4:28
7. "Anorexic Beauty" – 2:59
8. "The Never-Ending Story" – 3:01
9. "Don't You Know" – 4:09
10. "They Suffocate at Night" – 6:17

Bonus tracks

Fire Records 2012 reissue bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)" (Non-album single)	3:28
2.	"Simultaneous" (B-side to "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)")	4:09
3.	"Blue Glow" (B-side to "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)")	3:06
4.	"The Will to Power" (B-side to "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)")	3:25
5.	"Dogs Are Everywhere" (Non-album single)	4:53
6.	"The Mark of the Devil" (B-side to "Dogs Are Everywhere")	4:36
7.	"97 Lovers" (B-side to "Dogs Are Everywhere")	4:30
8.	"Aborigine" (B-side to "Dogs Are Everywhere")	4:53
9.	"Goodnight" (B-side to "Dogs Are Everywhere")	5:08
10.	"Tunnel" (B-side to "They Suffocate at Night")	8:13
11.	"Manon" (B-side to "Master of the Universe")	3:33

Personnel

• Jarvis Cocker – lead vocals, guitar, drums on "Anorexic Beauty"
• Russell Senior – guitar, violin, lead vocals on "Fairground", "Anorexic Beauty" and "The Will to Power"
• Candida Doyle – keyboards, backing vocals
• Peter Mansell – bass
• Magnus Doyle – drums

References

1. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16802/reviews/4144470
2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Freaks (Pulp album) at AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-07-23.
3. Tangari, Joe (9 August 2011). "Pulp: It / Freaks / Separation". Pitchfork Media.
4. "Fire Records article". Retrieved 2012-02-20.

• Truth and Beauty: The Story of Pulp by Mark Sturdy (Omnibus Press)
• AcrylicAfternoons

External links

• Freaks at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)