A lot of general interest has piqued again for the fascinating genre-jumping Scottish songwriting duo known as The Vaselines. They are hands-down one of my personal favorite artists of all time, so I’m certainly excited, but also a bit disappointed (due to higher expectations that are explained later) with Enter the Vaselines.
The Vaselines lay everyone to waste. From 1987 to about 1990, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee concocted a seamless amalgamation of shoegaze, psychedelic rock, punk ethos, fuzzed-out twee pop, and folk narrative (such as following the acid trip gone wrong on “The Day I Was a Horse”). Shit, there’s even a fiddle that pops out of nowhere on “Oliver Twisted.” Their range and good sense in pop songwriting would’ve made the Vaselines the shining star of the C86 crop, that is, if they were even invited to that party – which they probably weren’t (how did you sleep on that one, Alan McGee?).
I don’t say lightly that the Vaselines were brilliant, and there’s never been a clearer case of an artist’s artist I can think of. It seems only dudes in bands like The Vaselines, which explains why the were never known during their late ’80s heyday, and not widely recognized now either. But those who do know and love the Vaselines swear by them with religious fervor (as I do). Most appealing to me (and other fans I’m sure) is how the Vaselines were one mighty contradiction – a massive sound crafted by only two people, double entendre lyrics sung with coyness, gritty production and sloppy instrumentation coupled with truly soaring, gorgeous melodies – this duo was a real gem.
Perhaps this is why Sub Pop wants to curate another Vaselines retrospective. After reforming to play some choice music festivals last summer, it seems now is a great opportunity to reintroduce the band to the masses, re-excite the fan base that has built around the Vaselines very, very slowly over the past two decades, and show everyone how lame indie rock has become in the interim when directly compared to the Vaselines.
Enter The Vaselines is a double CD/triple LP collection of the Vaselines catalog, the first issuance of any Vaselines related music since the compilation The Way of The Vaselines: A Complete History dropped in 1992 (also by Sub Pop). The first disc contains all their recorded and mastered songs, which includes their one and only album Dum-Dum and the materials on their first two EPs. The second disc features live bootlegs and demos. Of the three demos featured, “Rosary Job” and “Red Poppy” are the only two songs on the entire 2CD/3LP set that were not already part of The Way of… disc. That’s what I was talking about earlier when I mentioned being slightly disappointed. Of course, that’s not Sub Pop’s fault at all, the Vaselines didn’t stick long enough to record a lot of material. However, if you’re only vaguely familiar with the group, or if this is your first time hearing them, Enter the Vaselines is a the certainly the best and easiest to find introduction. Actually, the term “introduction” isn’t fair because this is absolutely everything that (as far as we know) they’ve laid to tape. And every one of those songs is absolutely golden.
As an aside, I’d love some reader thoughts on this – groups like The Vaselines, Flipper, Meat Puppets, Sonic Youth, The Melvins, and The Raincoats were hugely influential for Kurt Cobain. So why is it that only douchebag bands are influenced by Nirvana (as cited by the bands themselves)? What is that? Not trying to over-generalize here, but you know what I’m sayin’…
Enter the Vaselines is available May 5, courtesy of Sub Pop. The Way of the Vaselines is also available courtesy of said label, and you can grip that right now.
MP3 :::
The Vaselines – Lovecraft
The Vaselines – Oliver Twisted
The Vaselines – Slushy
