Customer Reviews

The Way Of The Vaselines: A Complete History

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this album is great i've got to say that because i was in the vaselines.it was not recorded on a four track machine as someone says elsewhere here. it was recorded in chamber studios in Edinburgh on a 16 track desk onto quality tape.
sorry to be pedantic but i still love this record.

Life changing? For me yes. Would you dig it? Hard to say .Many people compare the Vaselines to the Pixies but that's missing the point. They sound like bored Scottish teens with overflowing musical ideas and a tremendous urge to get it out as soon as possible. All the songs on this collection are sleazy, simple and beautiful. Oh and there is a Divine cover. What else do you need a shot of whiskey with that steak. Any one know what happened to Francis?

After the second or third listening of 'The Way of The Vaselines' it is easy to see why Kurt Cobain loved this band so much. From the instantly recognisable crisp recording of Son Of A Gun, to the slowed down masterpiece that is Dying For It (the blues), this album will be sticking in your head for weeks.

I was very cautious in buying this cd as I had never heard of the Vaselines before in my life, but I now realise it was stupid to feel this way as the justification of spending $14 for something I'd never heard comes from listening to the songs. Way of the Vaselines is a top buy and extremely recommended.

Browsing through the CDs at a local store the other day, I came upon "The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete Anthology" (1992). The name was familiar, if not the music. I had heard of the Vaselines, like a lot of people have, because of course Nirvana has covered a few of their songs on the "Incesticide" (1992) and "MTV Unplugged" (1994) albums. Because (1) Kurt Cobain loved the band and had mentioned them numerous times in various interviews, and (2) the Vaselines are something of indie-pop/rock icons, I decided to check their album out.

I was instantly captivated with just one listen of "The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete Anthology." It's a truly great CD by an underappreciated band that is both instantly addictive and remains enjoyable and intriguing with repeated listens.

Clocking in at slightly less than an hour, there is a surprising amount of diversity to be found on this single disc which encompasses the band's entire body of work. While the Vaselines are sometimes pigeonholed as "indie-pop," their songs range from punk to 60s-esque acoustic/folk, to "indie-pop." At times it sounds as though the band has a strong Donovan influence, but then the album will take a 180 degree turn and show its punk teeth. There is even a little new-wave thrown in the mix with the off-beat "You think you're a man."

The contrasting male/female vocal interplay between singers/founders Eugene Kelly and Frances Mckee works very nicely and is not unlike the style of X, the B-52s, and more recently Lacuna Coil.

Listening to this CD, it's easy to see where Kurt Cobain, Mudhoney, Iron & Wine, and no doubt others found inspiration. While the Vaselines lasted for only a few years (1986-1990) and produced a very small body of work, their talent and influence shouldn't be devalued.

Listening to The Vaselines is like getting the history of alternative pop in a blender. Their songs are rough and sweet, loud and soft, toothgrindingly specific and gleefully abstract. The variety recalls nothing so much as that other great, chameleonic, also-ran boy/girl band The Mekons. Touches of blues, folk and electropop peek around the edges of the straight-ahead punky pop, sung and played with abandon, humor, raunch and surprising skill.

The Vaselines are by all means the ideal punk band. Charming in a truly indescribable way that transcends all measures of instrumental ability or production values, The Vaselines have all the essential elements of a great garage band. Striking a sound midway between the legendary Velvet Underground and self-proclaimed admirers Nirvana, all integral bases are covered. The raging torrents of feedback blasting from Eugene Kelly's beaten amp blend perfectly with Charles Kelly's syncopated new wave beats and James Seenan's plodding bass lines to fuse the best elements of punk's two opposing styles into a single mutually beneficial relationship. Further accentuating the music's timeless appeal is the wonderfully simplistic songwriting. Eugene Kelly and Francis Mckee's equally innocent and captivating vocals intertwine beautifully above the rough undercurrents, clashing at every turn with bursts of Ron Asheton type feedback, spouting line after line of ingeniously witty lyrical quips. From multiple satirical spins on the life of Jesus to joyous proclamations of teen rebellion, Eugene Kelly proves to be a model of rock n roll angst that would put even Mic Jagger to shame. A perfect representation of the essence of early Stooges proto-punk, "Way of the Vaselines" hearkens back to the heyday of classic rock acts like The Rolling Stones or The Kinks, but at the same time brings the heady stadium sounds of the 60s down to the much more palatable and enticing level of the masses. Collecting the entire works of a sorely under-appreciated band on one readily available CD, "Way of the Vaselines" does a great service to the world by revealing a collection of painfully obscure yet amazingly brilliant recordings that are enjoyable and mesmerizing to no end.

Are you wondering what the appeal is for the Vaselines? Catchy deceptively simple pop songs with a strong feeling of intimacy. Listen to this album once, and you will feel like you know Frances McKee and Eugene Kelly personally.

Mix Donovan and the Stooges to get The Vaselines. A lot like fellow Scots Jesus and Mary Chain, they mash together the noisiness and "f*ck off" attitude of punk with sweet melodies and the catchy, simplistic tunes of folk and early American rock music (Beach Boys, etc.).

It's a great listen, with some very funny songs. Not to be taken too seriously, as it seems even the band themselves didn't take it too seriously... and that's a good thing. Funny that the self-important grunge movement drew a lot of inspiration from the Vaselines... because I could see 'em sitting back and giggling bemusedly about the whole thing. A bunch of gloomy, angry American kids latching on to such a silly and sunny-sounding (albeit sometimes viciously distorted) band? Who woulda thought?

...and that's the best way to put it. Don't turn on this album expecting a sonic buzz and brilliantly talent-pickled masterpieces. Turn it on and just relax. It's completely undemanding on the sense of hearing. It's fun, it's racy, and it's always nice to hear when you don't quite know what you want to listen to. If you are checking this out because you heard a Cobain cover from this record, expect to be pleasantly surprised. No offense to Mr. Cobain (respect certainly due), but only the Vaselines could have done it so well.

Like many others, I found The Vaselines through Nirvana, and their covers of Molly's Lips, Son of a Gun and Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam(Nirvana covered it as Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam). This record is quite enjoyable, with catchy and diverse melodies. The voices of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee blend nicely, and the vibe I got from listening to the Vaselines was upbeat and happy.