Additional personnel includes: Anne Dudley (conductor, arranger); Chris Thomas (guitar, keyboards); Matthew Vaughan, Olle Romo, Anthony Genn, Mark Haley (programming); Gavyn Wright.

Recorded at The Town House and Air Lyndhurst, London, England.

Personnel: Jarvis Cocker (vocals, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, Mellotron, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Russell Senior (guitar, violin); Chris Thomas , Mark Webber (guitar, keyboards); Candida Doyle (Fender Rhodes piano, Farfisa, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Nick Banks (drums, percussion); Mark Haley, Matthew Vaughan, Olle Romo (programming).

Recording information: Air Studios, London, England (06/24/1995); Town House, London, England (06/24/1995).

Unknown Contributor Roles: Gavyn Wright; Antony Genn; Candida Doyle.

Arranger: Anne Dudley.

After years of obscurity, Pulp shot to stardom in Britain with 1994's His 'n' Hers. By the time Different Class was released at the end of October 1995, the band, particularly lead singer Jarvis Cocker, were genuine British superstars, with two number two singles and a triumphant last-minute performance at Glastonbury under their belts, as well as one tabloid scandal. On the heels of such excitement, anticipation for Different Class ran high, and not only does it deliver, it blows away all their previous albums, including the fine His 'n' Hers. Pulp don't stray from their signature formula at all -- it's still grandly theatrical, synth-spiked pop with new wave and disco flourishes, but they have mastered it here. Not only are the melodies and hooks significantly catchier and more immediate, the music explores more territory. From the faux-show tune romp of the anthemic opener "Mis-Shapes" and the glitzy, gaudy stomp of "Disco 2000" (complete with a nicked riff from Laura Branigan's "Gloria") to the aching ballad "Underwear" and the startling sexual menace of "I Spy," Pulp construct a diverse, appealing album around the same basic sound. Similarly, Jarvis Cocker's lyrics take two themes, sex and social class, and explore a number of different avenues in bitingly clever ways. As well as perfectly capturing the behavior of his characters, Cocker grasps the nuances of language, creating a dense portrait of suburban and working-class life. All of his sex songs are compassionate, while the subtle satire of "Sorted for E's & Wizz" is affectionate, but the best moment on the album is the hit single "Common People," about a rich girl who gets off by slumming with the lower class. Coming from Cocker, who made secondhand clothes and music glamorous, the song is undeniably affecting and exciting, much like Different Class itself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Judging from the tone of the songs on DIFFERENT CLASS, Jarvis Cocker, Pulp's lead singer, chief lyricist and main attraction, seems like a spiteful little bastard playing Robin Hood--or, maybe, Robin Hood playing the spiteful little bastard. His suave thespian delivery of songs about English class warfare and an outsiders' existence, suggests a class-conscious Bryan Ferry. And he fronts a band as majestic, glammy and multi-faceted as the Eno-era Roxy Music playing a form of modern-day Rocky Horror Britpop.

Pulp's is a thoroughly British pose--the themes, colloquialisms and topics of DIFFERENT CLASS have little to do with American culture. Like E.M. Forster novels, however, the best songs play with emotions of societal existence, which translate easily across the ocean. "Mis-Shapes," an acoustic-guitar-fueled call-to-arms for the working class young, and "Common People," the tale of a young upper-class female who goes slumming for a commoner lover ("I wanna sleep with common people") and finds a venomous Cocker, are alone worth the price of admission. And judging by his coldly detached description of a rave in "Sorted Out For E's & Wizz," Cocker finds no solace in the counterculture either, which suggests that the different classes he's talking about aren't simply shaped by the contents of pocketbooks but the contents of hearts and minds.