Artist: The Clean
Year: 1990
Whenever I see or hear a reference to Flying Nun or the Dunedin Sound, the Clean is always the first band that pops into my head. With a roster that included the Chills, Sneaky Feelings, and the Bats, I can give no bigger compliment. I have to admit most of my favorite songs from the Clean come from the 1980s, but finally, after nearly a decade of recording a song here and a song there, the band released its first album in 1990. It was worth the wait. Today's choice is the opener from 'Vehicle,' and it's two minutes of blissful jangle. I have always heard some Feelies buried in there somewhere. If you're a youngin', let me put it another way. I hear some Real Estate in there somewhere.
There are a lot of heroes in the Clean's story... even through today. Geoff Travis, he of Rough Trade fame, was the one that made sure 'Vehicle' got recorded in the first place. Here in America, the Clean were relative unknowns, including in their heyday. A tip of the cap to Merge Records for garnering much interest over here in more recent times, particularly with the double-disc 'Anthology' in 2003 (and now it's available on vinyl too!). I have written about this before, but if you don't already own an original copy of 'Vehicle,' Captured Tracks lovingly reissued the album in 2013 with extras, including the five-song 12" 'In-a-Live,' recorded at the Fulham Greyhound on July 13, 1988. I have included some photos from my copy below. Well worth the big bucks.
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6 comments:
Glad to see this in your rundown Brian. One of those albums that you could have picked any track from. Although Vehicle can fit on one side of a C60 tape it is just seems like the perfect length. Lovely melodies and harmonies and barely a song over 3 minutes. Great stuff...
You said it, Scott. I don't think there was a single, per se, but the album was important enough to me to find a spot for a song somewhere. During my first stab at creating this countdown I had four different contenders from Vehicle. If this was a '90s album list, it would have ranked much higher. Did you ever get Mister Pop?
'I Wait Around...?' Prescient. I've spent much of the last week diving in to the Flying Nun back catalogue. Some brilliant stuff!
Hey, MisterPrime. How's my favorite Nottingham resident? Sounds like a week well spent. If you get the time, check out Captured Tracks for their page on reissues they are doing with the help of Flying Nun. Doing a great job. A little pricey, but finding original issues is even more expensive.
Hi Brian, have never got round to buying Mister Pop. another one on the never ending list...
I didn't buy it either. I just have a couple of downloads... which were really good. I was hoping you could tell me if it was worth tracking down. So many records though, as you say, Scott.
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