There's retro and there's retro: the paucity of imagination and unacknowledged plagiarism that goes into sounding like Traffic, Humble Pie or an out-of-tune Small Faces - like three big-selling albums currently in the charts - is diametrically opposed to the sort of retro-tinged (the difference in nuance is all important) music that is evident on some of this year's better releases, namely Wilco's Being There (with its Flying Burrito Brothers touches), Nick Cave's The Boatman's Call (bits of Nick Drake/Cohen) and Teenage Fanclub's Songs From Northern Britain (echoes of Alex Chilton but more Big Star than the moddy Box Tops). Remember kids, influences are cool and, indeed, necessary sometimes - just keep it all in perspective.
While it would be a bit fatuous to judge any band by the cover versions they choose to do, it's usually a handy pointer as to where they're at and where they're trying to go. In the case of Teenage Fanclub the covers include: Don't Cry No Tears (Neil Young), Life's A Gas (T-Rex), Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival), The Ballad Of John And Yoko (The Beatles), Free Again (Alex Chilton) and Chords Of Fame (Phil Ochs). Not many bands, you'll notice, do Teenage Fanclub covers, but for a band still in their early thirties that will change sooner or later. Here's why:
The Fanclub are a classic band, in the real sense of the world. Central to any band's musical worth and longevity is their ability to construct timeless melodies with universal and readily applicable lyrics - which is why the two bands to generate the largest number of tribute bands in their honour remain The Beatles and Abba - good lyrics and better tunes, in both cases.
There is nothing ephemeral, and nothing that puts a "best before" label on their records in the case of the Fanclub, unlike Romo or Speed Garage or Gabba or anything in that time/place vein. Their chiming guitars, soaring harmonies and intricate but not overly complex melodies are as much at home today as they were when The Byrds were playing the Fillmore East and Neil Young was still with Buffalo Springfield.
Originally known as the Boy Hairdressers, the Glasgow quartet were at one stage going to be called "Teenage Fanny" before they settled on their current name. Back then they swapped personnel with other local acts like BMX Bandits (where are they now?) and The Pastels (who have just released a very good album on the Domino label). The Fanclub's first album was a best-forgotten loud noise guitar effort called A Catholic Education which was released on the Paperhouse label, after which they took the extraordinary step of releasing a one-sided seven-inch single (The Ballad Of John And Yoko) which they deleted after just 24 hours of release.
Signed to Alan McGee's Creation label (when it used to be an indie, not an adjunct of Sony) the band enjoyed minor chart success when they developed a more melodic guitar sound and both Starsign (number 44) and The Concept (number 51) charted. The first album, Bandwagonesque (1991), remains a mini-classic but only sold 250,000 copies, and most of those in the US. Shrugging indifferently at the Big Star comparisons (which really don't hold up over the course of an album) they let Britpop and Camden media sensibilities pass them by and went in search of the "one great album". Unfortunately, they made the fatal mistake of writing the second album, Thirteen (released in 1993 and named after a Big Star song - give it a rest, lads) on the road, and it remains their weakest effort to date.
Under pressure, they rehearsed for three months before going into the studio to record Grand Prix and the heroically romantic Mellow Doubt, Sparky's Dream and Neil Jung were proof positive that the creative cupboard wasn't bare. A top ten chart placing helped also, inasmuch as the band always enjoyed more critical than commercial acclaim
Bang up to date, and with the release of their fifth album earlier this year - Songs From Northern Britain - The Fanclub have fulfilled all that was expected and promised over the years. According to Liam Gallagher (who, of course, knows a lot about music) they are now "the second best band in the world". Swoonsome, lilting and replete with more hooks than are decently allowed, songs like Ain't That Enough and Take The Long Way Round show a band getting towards the peak of their powers. There's more to come.
Songs From Northern Britain is available on the Creation label. Teenage Fanclub play The Olympia tonight (early gig).
