Subtitled "selected out-takes and inserts 1989 - 2003", "Whatever Happened to Vinny Peculiar?" is a superb collection of obscurities, alternate takes and lost gems which both hangs together brilliantly as an album in its' own right and - once again - begs the question: why is this guy not revered as one of England's finest singer/ songwriters?
Most of the cuts actually date from around the turn of the 21st Century and as usual Vinny's vivid, acerbic observations on life, love and failure are presented with rich, colourful and persuasive musical backdrops which usually suit the unlikely subject matters (you'll see what I mean shortly) to perfection.
Songs like the sharp'n' irreverent "Jesus Stole My Girlfriend" and the dark psychodrama of "Operation" are already familiar to seasoned Peculiar watchers, and these marginally different takes certainly don't disappoint, though this reviewer wasn't previously aware there was a title song from 2002's "Ironing The Soul" album absent from the final tracklisting. The song "Ironing The Soul" itself is really rather fine, though its' distinctly baggy groove, psychedelic intent and loops make it stand out from the album's overall sound, so in a way it's easy to see why Vinny omitted it at the time.
Like virtually everything here, though, it's good enough to have made its' way onto an official VP studio album. And indeed, it's amazing to realise quality songs such as "Favourite Boy-Girl Song", "Uno Disco" and "Capital City" haven't properly seen the light of day before. "Favourite..." is one of the oldest songs here - dating from 1992 - but its' driving, Bolan-guests-with-the-Super-Furries bounce is instantly memorable and fresh. "Capital City" and the excellent "Uno Disco", meanwhile, both find Jarvis Cocker springing to mind, either because of the former's funny, risque lyrics (e.g: "You are a rubber truncheon/ I'l keep you in my pants") or the latter's spangly danceability, akin to "Disco 2000" with a darker underbelly.
Elsewhere, Vinny's ruminations on fame, fatal fame are as resonant as ever. "Showcase Time", for instance, features a wry and brilliantly observed lyric about waiting for the train to Success Gulch which somehow never quite pulls into your station. "But as the weeks go by you're still waiting for that call/ Your manager is hopeful but so far he's got absolutely nowhere at all" sings Vinny knowingly while the band make with the sort of grand, expansive pop that ought to be bothering the Top 40 in any kind of sane world. Almost as good, meanwhile, are the glitter'n'A-list-obsessed "Big Star" - where Vinny taps into a Bacharachian vibe - and the numbed-out, cut-price Howard Hughes pop of "Slow Television" where he namechecks Forrest Rangers and nicks the drum beat from Bowie's "Five Years" for good measure.
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Indeed, even when "Whatever Happened To..." strays further off the beaten track, it manages to engage. With this in mind, check out both "How Come The Revolution" and the closing "Big Grey Hospital". The former sounds like a stoned hybrid of Arab Strap circa "Philophobia" and an out-take from Vinny's "Non-Compilance" album and features a lyrical scenario involving a pear tree, a five-pronged fork, milk floats and the men in white coats which out-weirds Aida Moffatt's pished, libido-obsessed invective with ease. "Big Grey Hospital" , meanwhile, is VP in acoustic troubadour mode, tackling a highly personal song which the man himself dedicates to "those lives destroyed by institutions...psychiatric or otherwise." It's stripped down, pulls no punches whatsover and is both utterly brilliant and a breathtaking way to close what is a superb album in its' own right, regardless of the sourcing.
Of course, with the imminent arrival of his new studio album (provisionally titled "Kiss Me, I'm A Social Worker") in the offing, Vinny Peculiar has plenty to occupy his present and future and no doubt some of these songs now represent something of a foreign country to him. However, "Whatever Happened To..." more than deserves its' place in what is becoming a formidable canon of work and is one of the best archival collections this reviewer has been fortunate enough to clap ears on.
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