A mid-term treat while we await the next album proper, this selection of “out takes and inserts 1989 – 2003”, merely serves to confirm that VP is an artiste who’s position in the British pop firmament should be far more prominent than it actually is.
Covering a space of 14 years it reflects a quality and consistency that very few others could hope to achieve in half that time. Alternate versions of album faves ‘Jesus Stole My Girlfriend’ (with a slightly more country feel) and ‘Operation’ (spiky & intense) sit alongside a selection of tunes that just missed out on final selection.
One superb example is the would be title track to the album ‘Ironing The Soul’ that has a heavy groove, great riff and sounds not dissimilar to Matt Johnson’s The The. Meanwhile, a song like ‘Showcase Time’ could only have been written by someone who had genuinely experienced one too many ‘music biz’ let-downs.
Treading a similar path, the Bacharach-like ‘Big Star’ twinkles an ever so slightly green and bitter eye at those who ‘make-it’ and either complain all the way to the bank or, allow their ‘art’ to be sanitised – cabaret for the indie generation. Musically there is a wealth of ideas and ambition that contribute to the settings for each set of intelligently humorous and thought-provoking lyrics.
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The end result is never over-done but always interesting and capable of drawing you into the content of the song.
Closing track ‘Big Grey Hospital’ however sees VP accompanied by simple acoustic guitar delivering a very personal and poignant song about mental health institutions, in memory of his now deceased brother – unadorned, observational songwriting at its very best.
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