The Vaselines — Enter The Vaselines

The Vaselines were a short-lived, late '80s band from Glasgow, Scotland comprised of singing, songwriting and guitar-playing couple Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, who were backed by bassist James Seenan and Kelly's brother, drummer Charlie Kelly.

They released two EPs (Son Of A Gun and Dying For It) and one full-length (Dum-Dum) before breaking up in 1989. Those three records have been remastered and make up the first disc of this deluxe edition. They're near-perfect pieces of lo-fi pop music.

There are Velvet Underground influences on the sexually charged "Rory Rides Me Raw," "Bitch," "No Hope" and the harmonica-inclusive "Let's Get Ugly." "Dying For It" ups the tempo, "Teenage Superstars" is more punk, "Dum-Dum" is a '60s garage rocker and you can definitely hear Iggy Pop and The Stooges in "Sex Sux (Amen)" and Sonic Youth in "Lovecraft."

Divine's "You Think You're A Man" remains the quintessential version of the song, but The Vaselines cover — with its detached vocals throughout and fake orgasm at the end — is a more than worthwhile attempt.

But what lifted The Vaselines from almost total obscurity to cult band status was Kurt Cobain's infatuation with them. Nirvana covered "Son Of A Gun" and "Molly's Lips" on Incesticide and "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" on MTV Unplugged In New York. All three are great minimalist pop tunes and, although Nirvana's "Molly's Lips" has become the definitive version, the original is quite charming — especially the bicycle horn.

The second disc features demo recordings of "Son Of A Gun," "Rosary Job" and "Red Poppy." It's a shame the latter two were never properly recorded and released because they rank up there with The Vaselines' better songs. There are also live recordings from concerts in Bristol and London, England featuring material from the three records and a cover of Gary Glitter's "I Didn't Know I Loved You ('Til I Saw You Rock 'N' Roll)."

Eugene Kelly went on to make some very good (and similar) music with Captain America, which was later renamed Eugenius. They even opened for Nirvana in the U.K., and the royalty cheques from the Nirvana covers have probably allowed him to live reasonably comfortably. But he and McKee reformed to tour North America this month and give fans a taste of what once was since so few people saw them the first time around — which is a shame.

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