Shoot the singer
G. Rao | san francisco | 12/27/2002
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I first encountered the VUE at San Diego's Off the Record in 2001. I remember my first impression of them was that their collective fashion sense both enthralled and intimidated me. Don't ever let anybody tell you that looking the part isn't at least half of being a good rock band. These guys pretty much nail it in that respect. If they ever get tired of being in a band, I'm almost certain that they could make a healthy living for themselves as retailers of fine vintage threads. Aside from that, there's nothing here that you probably haven't heard in some form or another already. Unless you're completely uneducated about the state of underground rocknroll over the past ten years, you could probably come up with at least half a dozen indie type bands that sound like the Vue. On the other hand, the band is very capable, and they pull off the twin-guitar garage blues with prowess and aplomb. The one thing that gets to me though is the singer. Another reviewer referred to him as a fake mick jagger, I think that's actually rather optimistic. He definitely whines his way through most of the album, with nothing much to say about anything in particular (he seems especially tuned in to the plight of "the cheel-dren" though.) It didn't really help that my copy of this album is on the b-side of tape which also contains Jeffrey Lee Pierce's "Wildweed", a true blues/pop masterpiece. My favorite song on the album is probably "you can take her now", which has a slight hint of Richard Hell in it. All in all though, I belong to the blank generation, so I can take it or leave it this time."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1