The Vaselines: Enter The Vaselines

The Vaselines wrote songs so sloppy and catchy and funny that they sound like complete accidents even after you’ve heard them 50 times—and they’re enticing enough to play that often. Enter The Vaselines is essentially the twee Scottish group’s entire discography twice over: 19 tracks recorded 1987-89 (previously included on The Way Of The Vaselines, which Sub Pop originally issued in 1992, spurred by superfan Kurt Cobain) plus a second disc of unreleased demos (“Rosary Job” and “Red Poppy” are good unknowns) and stage performances from Bristol (way choppy) and London (tight and frisky). But the original sound of The Way has been greatly cleaned up here, and a few songs’ endings have been elongated slightly. Of course, The Vaselines’ then-couple leaders, Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, wrote and/or sang several songs that Nirvana would cover: the rope-skipping “Son Of A Gun,” the cheeky crush anthem “Molly’s Lips,” a sunny, ramshackle run-through of “Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam.” But those are just the ones you know; the ones you should begin with are the gleefully funny electro remake of Divine’s “You Think You’re A Man” and the rowdy guitars of “Monsterpussy.” (“Meee-ooowww!”)