The Vaselines were a band formed by real-life couple Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee in Glasgow, Scotland. In their short lifespan (1987-89) they released one album and a couple of singles of idiosyncratic indie-pop, taking their cue from The Velvet Underground, fellow Scots The Pastels and shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and the Jesus And Mary Chain. Their music was characterized by charming pop compositions, innocent-sounding boy-girl vocals with humorous and sexual lyrics, distorted guitars and hazy lo-fi production. Although superior to most of their peers they would have vanished in obscurity had they not had a famous fan: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain kept singing their praises in his interviews and has covered no less than 3 of their compositions (amazing when you think that their entire oeuvre consists of about 20 songs): "Molly's Lips" and "Son of a Gun" are available as part of the odds-and-sods collection "Incesticide" and "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" is one of the highlights of Nirvana's immortal "MTV Unplugged". The Vaseline's version is lighter and less dramatic, but still the highlight of this album, basically a simple acoustic ballad transformed by the addition of a stunning melody played by a viola. Thanks to Cobain's support, The Vaselines' entire output was re-released in 1992, while in 2009 "Enter The Vaselines" gathered all the previously released studio cuts and added a few demos and live recordings. It starts off with their debut single: "Son of a Gun" is a garage-y song with urgent male and sweet female vocals, "Rory Rides Me Raw" folk with naughty sexual lyrics and "You Think You're a Man" a disco cover of the Divine song (yes, John Water's freaky overweight transvestite protagonist), complete with orgasmic moans. Tracks from the 2nd single include the aforementioned "...Sunbeam" and "Molly's Lips" (the latter sounds like a Velvet Underground song with Moe Tucker on lead vocals and features something that sounds like a bicycle horn). The two other songs ("Dying for It" and "Teenage Superstars") are much rockier and betray a certain Sonic Youth fascination. By this time, The Vaselines had already become a proper group with the addition of a bassist and drummer. "Dum Dum" from the same-named album is a garage rocker a la Stooges, just like "Sex Sux (Amen)" and "Monsterpussy". "Slushy" is like a Nancy & Lee duet with a noisy wall of sound background and "Bitch" a 60's pop song drowned in distortion. The rest of the albums moves along the same lines: Influences from the Byrds,Velvet Underground, Suicide, Jesus & Mary Chain abound in an album that mixes equal amounts of pop and noise. The second CD adds a bunch of demos and live songs. The unreleased "Red Poppy" and Gary Glitter cover "I Didn't Know I Loved You ('Til I Saw You Rock 'N' Roll)" are among the best of them, while the progress from the DIY amateurism of the older demos to the professionalism of the second gig (Live In London) is evident. The dissolution of the pair's romantic relationship brought the group to a premature end but they've recently reformed and even made a new album. As is evident from the video attached here, the band hasn't lost much of its vitality in the last 20 years (unlike with Eugene's hair).
**** for Son of a Gun, You Think You're a Man, Molly's Lips, Teenage Superstars, Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, Bitch, Dum-Dum
*** for Dying for It, Sex Sux (Amen), Slushy, Monsterpussy, No Hope, Oliver Twisted, Dying for It (The Blues), Let's Get Ugly, Red Poppy (Live in Bristol), Dying For It (Live in London), Molly's Lips (Live in London), The Day I Was a Horse (Live in London), Sex Sux (Amen) (Live in London), I Didn't Know I Loved You ('Til I Saw You Rock 'N' Roll) (Live in London)
** for Rory Rides Me Raw, The Day I Was a Horse, Hairy, Lovecraft, Son of a Gun(Demo) , Rosary Job(Demo), Red Poppy(Demo),Son of a Gun(Live in Bristol), Rosary Job(Live in Bristol), Rory Rides Me Raw(Live in Bristol), You Think You're a Man(Live in Bristol), Monsterpussy(Live in London),Let's Get Ugly(Live in London), The Day I Was a Horse (Again)(Live in London), Teenage Superstars(Live in London)
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