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Camper Van Beethoven - Popular Songs Of Great Strength & Beauty
Semi-seminal band’s work collected and re-recorded
They may have a dreadful name, but don’t dismiss Camper Van Beethoven before you’ve heard them. And although the title of this collection may be equally off-putting, if you’ve never listened to this band then Popular Songs… is a good place to start. It consists of 18 songs from between 1985 and 1990, five of which have been re-recorded due to legal issues that would otherwise have prevented their release.
Quirky, offbeat indie rock with a lead violin, Camper Van Beethoven are both playful and intelligent, mixing a variety of genres with an intellectual lyrical bent and a skewed vision of the world. When on form, as they are with The Day Lassie Went To The Moon, Take The Skinheads Bowling and the almost Tom Waitsian When I Win The Lottery, they’re a band who, like REM back in the day or They Might Be Giants, present an incisive and irreverent dissection of American life. There are, however, a few too many pointless instrumentals (Border Ska, ZZ Top Goes To Europe) and a few slightly tedious songs. Nevertheless, this collection reveals the band to be a solid American institution and shows that intelligent social commentary can be both fun and moving.
Cooking Vinyl | COOKCD 465
Reviewed by Mischa Pearlman
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