10 from The Vaselines

I always enjoy lists of bands, songs and albums. So welcome to a new feature where I'll choose a favourite band or artist of mine and then list and discuss 10 of my favourite songs from their career. 

First up - The Vaselines

I remember going into Missing Records on Oswald Street in Glasgow to buy The Way Of The Vaselines, a compilation of all previous releases by the band. It came out in 1992 when interest in the band was reignited thanks to Nirvana, one of the biggest bands in the world, covering Son Of A Gun and Molly's Lips on their Incesticide album. I was a mere 16-years old and the cool girl that served me seemed pretty impressed that I even knew who The Vaselines were, never mind that I was asking after their album. If Kurt Cobain and this cool girl in Missing were into the band then they must be good! The Vaselines had a new fan.

The Vaselines had already broken up by the time I got into them. Eugene went on to form and lead Captain America/Eugenius and release a brilliant solo album, Man Alive (definitely need to do a blog on that at some point) before getting The Vaselines back together with Frances in 2006. Since then they have released two new albums and played shows all around the world.

A number of years after buying the album I went looking for it in my then alphabetised CD collection and it was missing! I hated my brother or sister taking stuff without my permission but I was pretty impressed to find that the CD was in my sisters room along with some other great albums she had 'borrowed'.

Somewhere along the line, a few years later, my sister Carla emailed Eugene out of the blue to ask if would contribute to a dissertation she was doing at Art School on pop music and pop art. She was amazed that he replied and since then they have become really good friends, playing numerous shows together and recently Carla JOINED THE VASELINES as their keyboard/synth player.

AMAZING!

The Vaselines are such a fun band. There early material is pure punk pop. Some songs sound like they were almost made up on the spot and that has helped their songs sound fresh decades later. Their post reformation songs and albums definitely keep the fun and innuendo at the heart of everything, but there is a more mature sound to songs like the gorgeous Single Spies. Live, the bands warm guitars and onstage banter between Eugene and Frances can't help but bring a smile to my face.

So The Vaselines are one of my favourite bands and here are 10 of my favourite songs that they have released to date;

Teenage Superstars
All 4 songs from The Vaselines 1988 Dying For It EP released on Stephen Pastels 53rd and 3rd Records feature on this blog. They are raw, pure and in many cases, including this one, they are electrifying. The beat is primal, Eugene lets rip on his guitar and sings lyrics mixing sex, religion and youth rebellion leading to an incredible closing 80 seconds of  Frances and Eugene yelling I'm a teenage Jesus superstar with the energy leaping out and grabbing you. This is brilliant punk pop that sounds raw and dangerous.

Molly's Lips
The great thing about early Vaselines material is that they really sound like they were in their own world not giving one f**k about anything else going on in the world. Molly's Lips is well under 2-minutes yet there is time to pack in 3 verses, 3 or 4 choruses, a horn and a great break to a guitar solo.

High Tide Low Tide
The lead single from 2014's V for Vaselines album. This is so catchy. I love Eugene singing about playing hard to get, there are bah bah bah bah bah's, warm noisy guitars, a video with Eugene and Francis in leathers, on scooters, hoola hopping and playing crazy golf. Pretty much everything I love about the band in song and on film!

Single Spies
With Single Spies The Vaselines capture something quite beautifully in a way I don't think they ever have before. Absolutely sublime. Almost mature - in a Vaselines way of course! Eugene and Frances voices combine and entwine so naturally.

Stop denying

That it meant nothing

You're lying

Sex With An X
The Vaselines 2010 comeback single and album. Frances dressed as a nun and Eugene as a vicar in the video! This is a delicious romp of a song with The Vaselines innuendo and sense of pop pushed to the fore. It's like it is just one big long chorus with a glorious guitar solo and handclaps. Brilliant. Their comeback show at the ABC in Glasgow around this time was a joy.

I Hate The 80's
From the aforementioned 2010 comeback album, Eugene and Francis display their knack for catchy punk pop by filling it full of brilliant observations with pure cheek. You put a bullet in a Beatle, started beating on the people is an incredible lyric! The where did that girl go, what did that boy know hook is infectious, as is the it wasn't all Duran Duran Duran Duran line.

Check this great live version - live on KEXP.

Dying For It
I kind of like to think of Dying For It as a garage nuggets pop punk tribute to Motown....by way of Glasgow. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks of it like that but the way Eugene and Francis sing the hook I'm hanging out, baby I'm hanging out really does make me think of the kind of hooks Motown would produce. A glorious racket with pop melodies. The sound of a band having fun.

The Day I Was A Horse
Possibly my favourite live Vaselines song. They fizz through it and the kiss off line on the chorus I think I'm on a f**king trip is sheer brilliance. This is 90-seconds of catchy punk pop brilliance that sounds fresh, energetic, fun and vital.

Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
For me this is one of the most beautiful songs ever by a Scottish band. The handful of chords, stunning vocal, the imagery in the lyrics, the cello and the whole feel to the song - just perfect. Listening back to some of the early Vaselines material, they really captured something on the recordings - there is a rawness and purity to them, beautiful.

Son Of A Gun
Eugene and Frances at their very, very best. The way this song flows is perfect, so perfect that I think I could listen to the chorus on repeat all day long. The whole song is super catchy, the verse is like a nursery rhyme, but that chorus ... with Frances singing;

The sun shines in the bedroom when we play

And the raining always starts when you go away

The Vaselines and TeenCanteen

I have been fortunate to catch The Vaselines 3 times in as many months; in June supporting Mogwai at the Barrowland Ballroom, headlining the Scooter Tent at the Wickerman Festival in July and last night, headlining the brilliant Summerhall venue in Edinburgh. They are in blistering form.

Summerhall was exceptionally buzzy on a warm summers evening mid-Edinburgh Festival season. Pop up bars had been set up in the courtyard next to the superb The Royal Dick pub.

The Vaselines had asked TeenCanteen to support them and with doors running late it meant that there was a sizeable crowd queuing up to get in by 9pm. TeenCanteen came on at around 9.15pm and told us that this was there first full show since February; they had been busy writing and recording, alongside putting on the fabulous Girl Effect night in aid of Scottish Women's Aid.

They played superbly, confident, having fun, introducing their debut single Honey like a lost friend, second song Friends was absolutely superb and the New Order bass groove towards the end of second single You're Still Mine got a great response. Then it was on to the new songs; Sirens had been debuted on their recent 6music session and it was absolutely superb, Dancing (Hey You) slowed things down, almost Joy Division like at times in terms of sparseness. Closing with Sister to a packed hall and a great response, TeenCanteen definitely won some new fans with their 3-part harmonies, clever lyrics, melodies and passion.

Pic by Duglas T Stewart

The Vaselines came on swiftly and played an exceptional set of power pop punk perfection. 3 guitars gelling together to sound absolutely sensational with Scott Paterson from Sons and Daughters in stunning form - firing out riffs and making it all look incredibly easy.

Eugene and Frances were hilarious between songs, the chemistry between them is pure and true, Frances seemed a little tipsy and they laughed that it only took 6 songs for her to mention vagina's!

Due to the fact things were running late the band absolutely blasted through the second half of their set, firing through 2, 3 and 4-minute guitar pop punk gems. Eugene was in brilliant form, clearly enjoying the sound on stage, the way the band were playing and the response from the crowd.

Frances in action - photo by jock'n'roll

Highlights - well the whole set was superb but here goes;

High Tide Low Tide set the tone as an opener; powerful and melodic, the guitars sounding superb. I Hate The 80's was in the same vein.

The Day I Was A Horse was absolutely brilliant. Under 2-minutes of trippy, fuzzy, punky guitar with the vocals spat out by Eugene and Frances. The original is almost lo-fi, the modern Vaselines with 3 guitars turned up to the max take it to another level.

Lovecraft was just fired down our throats, the clapping style guitar riff was powerful and playful, Eugene and Frances' vocals contrasting but sounding like they were meant to be. Sex Sux Amen has been a real standout from the 3 shows I have seen The Vaselines play recently, a joyful romp.

Eugene asked TeenCanteen to join in the fun on Molly's Lips and Carla and Sita played the horn parts and amazingly Eugene got through the song without laughing.

Pic by Deborah Smith

Son Of A Gun is more akin to the Nirvana cover than the original these days, Frances vocals sound as innocent as they did back on the original but the guitars are ferocious and all the better for it. Dying For It is up with Sex Sux and The Day I Was A Horse as real standout and thankfully The Vaselines responded to chants for an encore to come back on and ram it down our throats.

I was fortunate enough to catch up with Eugene briefly after the show and he agreed that the band were in great form, they were enjoying it and will hopefully be playing some more shows before the end of the year - fingers crossed!

Nirvana play The Vaselines

Cover(s) of the month #3
Nirvana cover The Vaselines

The Vaselines were (originally) an small but influential alternative rock band from Glasgow that had released a couple of EP's and an album in their (initial) short career, before promptly breaking up.

Fanzine culture carried their songs across the ocean to a young fan in Seattle who promptly fell in love with them, leading to him corresponding with The Vaselines Eugene Kelly by mail. There was no instant communication online in those days.

That young fan happened to be Kurt Cobain who always remained true to his roots; Nirvana covered The Vaselines not once, not twice, but three times. Nirvana and Cobain also helped to promote Eugene's later bands; Captain America and Eugenius - through support slots, mentions in interviews, t-shirts and a guest appearance by Eugene at the Reading Festival.

I've been listening to Nirvana quite a bit over the last few months; marvelling at their unique urgency, Cobain's exceptional vocals and ferocious guitar playing, the brilliant rhythm section of Novoselic and Grohl, the sense of togetherness - a real band/gang.

Nirvana and Cobain were always quick to display their influences, churning out a load of covers for sessions, EP's, b-sides and at live shows. To cover 3 songs by The Vaselines alongside songs by the likes of The Velvet Underground, Bowie, Devo and Kiss is real evidence of Kurt's love for the Glasgow bands sense of fun and knack for melody.

Two of the covers are on the Incesticide album of b-sides, session tracks and demos.

The Vaselines Dying For It EP contained 2-tracks covered by Nirvana

Molly's Lips is so simple, Cobain fuzzes and scuzzies the guitar riff and remains true to the melody but just speeds and punks it up.

Son Of A Gun is sensational, the band tear through it and Cobain hammers home the chorus again and again with unbridled pop punk joy.

The sun shines in the bedroom

When we play

And the rain it always starts

When you go away

Cobain and Nirvana played some incredible covers on their MTV Unplugged show, 6 in total; Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World, 3 songs from The Meat Puppets who joined Nirvana on stage, Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Leadbelly and The Vaselines Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam.

It is a beautiful version, very true to the original, Cobain's voice is beautifully raw and soulful. You wonder what the next Nirvana album would have sounded like; would it have taken a more mellow and acoustic route?

Cobain's take on Bowie, his astonishing transformation of the Meat Puppets songs and his spine tingling version of Leadbelly's old song are truly incredible - an artist on top of his game, happy to display his love of music through covers.

Nirvana covering 3 songs by The Vaselines eventually led to the band reforming and having a worldwide audience. Would this have happened without Cobain and Nirvana? Almost certainly not. That The Vaselines have now recorded 2 albums in the last few years is something to be thankful for, their ear for pop and sense of fun and humour is still evident and it has been great to see them at the Barrowland Ballroom and the Wickerman Festival in the last 2-months; new songs mixing well with the early classics.

Cobain's take on The Vaselines is joyful, he injects real punk pop into Molly's Lips and Son Of A Gun and extra tenderness on Jesus Don't Want Me For A Sunbeam.

V for Vaselines

The Vaselines returned to action last month with the release of the album V for Vaselines. It is a glorious return from the indie legends - full of lovely raw sounding guitars, poppy hooks, humour and some songs that must rank alongside the best work of their career.

V for Vaselines opens with the glorious indie romp of High Tide, Low Tide. It is a real statement of intent - this is what we're capable of, this is what we're good at. The guitars are turned up and the band romp through the song. It sounds superb - so much music is produced to within an inch of its life these days, V for Vaselines is the sound of a band enjoying themselves on record with Eugene and Frances both singing. They also enjoyed themselves in the video and I'm sure I'm not the only indie kid to enjoy seeing Frances in leather (and Eugene ;-) ).

Guitars continue to sound warm and pushed to the fore on The Lonely LP with Frances starting with a seductive 'I just want to excite you.' The chorus is a call and response with Eugene answering Frances by saying 'if you want me or not'. It's a brilliant indie guitar pop song, really upbeat.

Inky Lies is also upbeat with clever wordplay, Crazy Lady is full of fun and the hooks are brilliant, lovely melodies.

When you're walking away, it's so easy

When you're away, I don't feel down

When you're walking away, it's so easy

Single Spies got me hook, line and sinker on first listen. I ended up listening to it 5-times before moving on to the rest of the album. For me it is up there with the best songs The Vaselines have written in their career.

Eugene sings the first verse and Frances the second, then there is the most gorgeous chorus I have heard in a while - simple, heartfelt and melodic. The whole has a lovely warm feel to it, laid back, melodic, simple, mellow, just gorgeous. The band enjoy the melody and groove of the chorus and run with it to close the song - beautiful.

Stop denying, that it meant nothing

You're lying

Stop denying, that it meant nothing

You're lying

One Lost Year goes back to the guitar pop punk that The Vaselines are so good at. The hooks are there again, you can't help but fall for them on this record. So simple and fun that you can't help but sing-a-long to them.

Earth Is Speeding sounds really retro (in a good way). Like a lost Vaselines single from the early 1990's. Frances takes lead vocals and I love the way the guitars kick in and the chorus flows after the section below.

They say to be careful for what you should wish for

I'll spin the bottle and you throw the dice

Don't take it to heart, well there's a surprise

False Heaven also has Frances on lead vocals, it carries a bit of menace and a craving instrumental section. Number One Crush picks up the pace again and has the Vaselines humour all over it along with a great guitar solo.

The album closes with Last Half Hour and by the time you get to the song you will have spent 30-minutes in the company of the band.

The song has a real Spector-esque feel to it, in the production and the lyrics; that feeling of meeting someone and getting ready for a special night - Tongue tied, my hearts beating fast.

Eugene says he was inspired to write short, instant pop songs after attending a Ramones tribute night in Glasgow. The Vaselines have certainly achieved that with V for Vaselines, 10-songs all hovering around the 3-minute mark, with a few under. There are some indie punk guitar pop gems with High Tide, Low Tide, The Lonely LP and One Lost Year standing out for me and Single Spies is one of my songs of the year.

The Vaselines are on tour throughout Europe in November, culminating in a hometown show at the Glasgow School of Art and then they head to America in January. Dates here. It's good to have them back.