Some bands are ultimately more famous for their well-known fans than their music, and such is the case with the Vaselines, but when that fan happens to be Kurt Cobain, you deal with it (after all, would anyone today know the name of Robert Johnston if it weren’t for Eric Clapton covering half his catalog?). Formed in Scotland in 1986, the Vaselines were well ahead of their time producing a special brand of distorted Euro indie pop while everyone in America was busy walking like an Egyptian. Their new deluxe reissue on Sub Pop gives listeners a chance to hear how great their songs are outside of the grunge context and enjoy them in a new light.
The heart of the band is the duo of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, who are both guitarists and vocalists in addition to songwriters, and the lineup is filled out with drummer Charlie Kelly and James Seenan on bass. The group only released one full-length album and two EPs, which are included chronologically on the compilation, but the reissue also has a number of live tracks and previously unreleased demos.
The album begins with some of their most notable tracks off of their EPs Son of a Gun and Dying for It, which include well-known songs that were covered by Nirvana, such as “Son of a Gun,” “Molly’s Lips,” and “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.” The originals are fantastic in their own right with the Vaselines’ trademark distorted brightness and their ironic smile/frown appeal. The music is a really interesting blend of upbeat pop with a gnarled punk sensibility and a slight echo—it’s as if the Smiths got together with the Cowsills and the Sex Pistols and had a lovechild. The lyrics are brilliantly simple with their wry self-deprecation, and the music echoes the sentiment perfectly. Some of the standout songs, like “Sex Sux (Amen)” and “Dum-Dum,” are short in length and content like a distorted power-pop musical haiku.
The collection includes some terrific extras such as a great demo version of “Son of a Gun” and two terrific unrecorded demo songs, “Rosary Job” and “Red Poppy.” The live tracks from Bristol and London also give some insight into who the band really is. If you’re a fan, it’s a must-have, but even if you’ve never heard them, it’s definitely an album to listen to.
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