1991: Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

Interestingly, 1991's album of the year for the American music magazine Spin was not 'Nevermind', but this little piece of work, and Kurt Cobain himself described Teenage Fanclub as the best band in the world, while Liam Gallagher described them, a few years later, as the second best band in the world.

At their best, they made perfect music, almost too perfect. They've made two classic albums, this, their third 'Bandwagonesque' from the grunge era, and their fifth, 'Grand Prix', from the Britpop era. The two albums do sound different, as I'll get to, but neither is really informed by the contemporary trends - they're just thoroughly Teenage Fanclub.

Teenage Fanclub are one of many great Scottish Pop bands, starting from Postcard Records in the early 80s, with Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera. There's been a constant stream of pure quality since then, a small population punching further above its weight than anywhere else. There isn't as such one unifying sound, but there are quite a few bands informed by the jangly sound of the American west coast but with a uniquely Scottish take on it. Why has Scotland been able to "do" American music so well, so much better than England, in the last few years? Maybe it's just that the accent sounds right. The Scottish accent is just a much more natural medium for melodic rock'n'roll than the English one, in my view. The English are forced to either go total American or go full English in a way that can sound forced or can force you to make something which entirely excludes Americana. Not that there aren't great English bands, but few of the best of them incorporate any sense of America. Mumford and Sons in what happens if you try.

Teenage Fanclub are masters of that jangly, harmonising sound. They also have three equally excellent songwriters, who share the weight. In truth, you can hardly tell between them. Their voices and their songs sound pretty similar.

'Bandwagonesque' has certain similarities to Jesus and Mary Chain in terms of taking the sweet sounds of America but still leaving a bit of fuzz and scuzz on it. 'Grand Prix' is far cleaner. That move to cleanliness often signals the moment where a band stops sounding like its true self and more like a covers band of itself, but 'Grand Prix' is just so damn good, it stays on the right side of that.

It stands with albums like 'The World Won't End' by the Pernice Brothers, 'Lapalco' by Brendan Benson, 'Nashville' by Josh Rouse, 'Free All Angels' by Ash, in being minor but perfect, just as fine a collection of songs as it's possible to imagine that band producing.

I do prefer it to Bandwagonesque, but the earlier album is perhaps more noteworthy, showing a) that the early 90s was far from a musical desert for Britain and that grunge didn't sweep all before it, and b) setting the benchmark for so much of the Scottish Pop that was to follow in the years to come.

The problem Teenage Fanclub have is that they're so good at what they do you can feel like you don't necessarily have to hear all of it. But their ability to produce reliably good songs has remained throughout.
Here's the first of two compilations I'm giving you. The first is Teenage Fanclub - i'm afraid it doesn't veer far from their own Best of.

Ain't that Enough
Baby Lee
The Concept
Verisimilitude
Neil Jung
Sparky's Dream
Tears
I Need Direction
I Don't Want Control of You
Star Sign
Is This Music?
What You Do to Me
Mellow Doubt
Don't Look Back

As a bonus, here is, upon pain of death, an attempt to produce a 20-song Best of Scottish Pop - one song per band - i'll include the Scottish folk but only the folk that is poppy, if you see what I mean.

Ain't That Enough - Teenage Fanclub
Rip it Up - Orange Juice
The First Big Weekend - Arab Strap
The State I Am In - Belle and Sebastian
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
American Trilogy - The Delgados
You're Not One Bit Ashamed - King Creosote
Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
Sunshine on Leith - The Proclaimers
Mid-Air - Paul Buchanan
Barcode Bypass - Mull Historical Society
Party Fears Two - The Associates
Dry the Rain - Beta Band
Velocity Girl - Primal Scream
April Skies - Jesus and Mary Chain
Amsterdam - UNPOC
Floating in the Forth - Frightened Rabbit
Darts of Pleasure - Franz Ferdinand
When I Argue I See Shapes - Idlewild
Flowers in the Window - Travis

Just a fragment, really, and quite a mainstream one. There's so much I've missed.