Having successfully reconnected with former label Jumpin’ & Pumpin’, FSOL agreed with the label to reissue the four popular EPs from 1991 and 1992, The Pulse EP, Pulse Two, Pulse Three, and Pulse Four. The four EPs were compiled together as a single CD. To fit every track, a few short edits were required, and in some cases, alternate versions of tracks were included, making the release both an excellent way to listen to the series in full and another layer of intrigue for trainspotters like myself. The differences, then:
‘Hard Head’: lacking the opening whistle sounds.
‘Stress Ball’: edited by a minute.
‘Owl’: lacking the rap sample.
‘Calcium’: an exclusive mix.
‘I’m Not Gonna Let You Do It’: a new edit, removing most of the vocals.
‘The Creator’: a slight edit.
‘Shrink’: a slight edit.
‘Space Virus’: edited by 50 seconds, removing the vocal sample.
The cover design neatly includes all four original covers along with the full title of the release, with the four back covers given pages of their own inside. A 1995 shot of the band appears on page 6, with an advert showing the bulk of the band’s back catalogue and saying “Find all of these and more at FSOLDigital.com”. Interestingly, Environments, By Any Other Name and The Peppermint Tree are all represented by their digital placeholder covers rather than the final ones. ‘The Mello Hippo Disco Show‘, ‘Divinity‘, ‘We Have Explosive‘ are among those listed that weren’t available at FSOLDigital at the time. And, amusingly, The Pulse EPs itself is among the albums advertised in The Pulse EPs. But this is all nitpicky. It’s an impressive array of album covers. The back cover features the FSOLDigital exploding head and EBV logos, plus period-appropriate Yage, Freaky Deek, FSOL pyramid, Earth Beat and Jumpin’ & Pumpin’ logos. No artwork credits are listed, although it’s almost certainly a Buggy job.
Although it features some crossover with Earthbeat and Accelerator, there are seven tracks here only otherwise available on the original 12″s, and several of the crossover tracks are in subtly different mixes, making the compilation an excellent counterpart to those two albums and By Any Other Name as a document of the group’s formative years.
A promotional CDr was also issued to push the release, and ‘Tingler‘ was issued as a 12″, backed by three new remixes.
Individual track credits can be found on entries for the tracks themselves.
Release date: 12th May 2008.
Tracklist
CD (CD TOT 57)
1. Indo Tribe – Bring in the Pulse (MFK Mix)
2. Indo Tribe – In the Mind of a Child (First Born Mix)
3. The Future Sound of London – Hardhead (Frothin’ at the Mouth Mix)
4. The Future Sound of London – Pulse State (831 Mix)
5. The Future Sound of London – Stolen Documents (Jazz Dub)
6. Smart Systems – Zip Code (Stress Ball Mix)
7. The Future Sound of London – 1-in-8
8. Indo Tribe – I’ve Become What You Were (Insider Mix)
9. Smart Systems – Tingler (Four by Four Mix)
10. Indo Tribe – Owl (I Can See You Mix)
11. Indo Tribe – Bite the Bullet Baby (Jaques Reynoix Mix)
12. Yage – Calcium (Elemental Mix)
13. Mental Cube – I’m Not Gonna Let You Do It
14. Smart Systems – The Creator
15. Indo Tribe – Shrink
16. Smart Systems – Space Virus
Credits
All songs written by Brian Dougans / Gaz Cobain.
Originally taken from the vinyl only 12″ Pulse EPs, Volumes 1 – 4.
Published by Garber Music Ltd.
Fractional Difference 