Originally Posted by Engine

Enough about Mr. Cocker. None of his music gets me off. I'm sure there's a Pulp thread around here for y'all to pontificate further on his stuff..



Anyway, I'm going to try to answer your question: Is Philophobia as good as Mad For Sadness?
It's a difficult question.

Mad For Sadness is unquestionably good if not great (I re-listened several times before making this reply). For a live album the performance and sound quality are impeccable and Arab Strap adds layers of musical goodness to the studio versions of the songs.

So my answer is multifold.
First; Yes I do like Philophobia better. But this is a very personal opinion. Of the songs on Philophobia that they play live on Mad For Sadness (which are like 40% at least), I like the album versions better. That said, I can totally understand feeling the opposite. The live versions are more musically dynamic and sound lovely.

The live versions are bigger and more engrossing. So I have no complaints about anybody liking those versions better.

Personally, though, I like the more minimal versions on Philophobia. The straightforward, skeletal versions made with ancient digital sounds just grab me more. Mad For Sadness is like an Arena Rock version of the songs. They're beautiful and moving but I like the minimal stuff more because it's like the band is talking directly to me as I nod my head like, yes I know exactly what you mean. So there ya go.

Regardless, thank you for setting me out to hear Arab Strap again. They were a fucking excellent band and I'll never forget them again.