Most of the finished album was made up from live takes and demos that were made before recording with Eno. Space" begins as a Radiohead-esque track with an electro intro before shifting into chorus sections in the vein of Simple Minds. Playlouder's Sarah Bee considered it a "more low-key" affair that was "less brash" than Millionaires. Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" was released as a single in late June, followed a week later by Pleased to Meet You on 2 July through Mercury Records. At the end of November, the band played a few shows in Spain and Portugal, [36] leading up to a UK tour in December.

The Shining", "Senorita", "Gaudi", "What Is It Good For" and "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" were recorded at House in the Woods in Bletchingley. In March 2000, the band revealed they had been writing new material and planned to record later in the year, with the aim of releasing an album in January 2001.This is about finding a way to represent our collective spirit,” says James frontman Tim Booth, discussing the band’s curious new figurehead.

Scratchcard" and "I Thought You Were", outtakes from the album's sessions, were included on the career-spanning box set The Gathering Sound (2012), alongside the music video for "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)". A year after its release, it occurred to Booth that the song was about his son, whose middle name was Daniel, and his goddaughter Grace. ChartAttack wrote that fans of the band's earlier hits, such as "Sit Down" and "Laid", would be "disappointed with this disc," however, "longtime James fans should find much to enjoy.He added that the album had an underlying theme of distaste for "habits, addictions, [and] impulses that we can't control. They had written over 30 tracks for inclusion on their next record; on the opening night, the band played seven of these new songs.

Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" was included on the band's fourth compilation album Fresh as a Daisy – The Singles (2007). Although he doesn’t play any instruments, he’s so life-like that there’s already speculation about his “personality”. Two versions were released on CD: one with "Make It Alright" and "So Swell", and the other with "Stand" and a live version of "The Shining". It was originally titled We Want Our Money Back, [5] before being re-titled Space, [15] and eventually Pleased to Meet You. Eno likened the process to when artists make their debut record: "they're full of enthusiasm and excitement and they know what they're doing and it's a pleasure.with Jools Holland later that day, [29] and performed "Falling Down" and "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)". In a review for The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan wrote that the band "continue their run of mini-symphonies by and for men who don't cringe at terms such as 'birthing partner'. On 19 June, Dotmusic revealed the album's artwork, which is a computer-generated image that merged all of the members' faces. Fine" is a percussion-led song that is followed by "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)", a slow-building indie rock track with a psychedelic bridge section. Andrew Paine of NME considered it the "best James record in a long while and there are some near-inspirational moments.

Vocalist Tim Booth left the band after their December UK tour; the final show of which was released as the Getting Away with It. On 31 May, Pleased to Meet You was announced for release in July, and the track listing was revealed. Inspired by playing the new songs live, the band decided to gather in a circle and record live-in-the-studio [8] at Ridge Farm Studios in Capel, Surrey with engineer Gary Langan.

He’s been christened James, obviously, and will appear on the sleeve of the forthcoming album, Pleased To Meet You. What Is It Good For" was engineered by Pettit and mixed by him, James and Bascombe at House in the Woods and Whitfield. English Beefcake" and "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" were included on the band's third compilation album The Collection (2004). The Shining", "Getting Away with It (All Messed Up)" and "Alaskan Pipeline" were engineered by James Loughrey.