Peel Sessions
Tony Kinchington | England e-mail tonickie@hotmail.com | 05/17/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This 8 track CD collects the two sessions recorded for john peel from '95-'96 and catches kenickie in early ('95) and acoustic ('96) form. The 4 tracks from the '95 session are raw early versions of "P.V.C", "How i was made" and "Millionaire sweeper" from "At the Club" and a slower slightly discordant version of "Drag Race". The sound of these early recordings is quite lo-fi - the guitars are very brittle and slightly out of tune - as are the girls harmonies, and they capture perfectly how the band sounded at the time. Young teenagers making punky lo-fi guitar pop. I prefer these versions better than later recordings, there not as confident but much more honest, brittle and sweet. The version of "Millionaire sweeper" is the sweetest you'll find anywhere its much shorter (no "ache like blisters" verse or drum break) but unlike the album version, the lead guitar (one of the best parts of the song) can be heard clearly. Lauren's singing sounds much cuter too. The 4 songs from the '96 acoustic session, are "Scared of Spiders", the original version of "Acetone", and acoustic versions of "Can I take U2 the cinema" and "Come out 2nite". The versions of "Acetone" and "Scared of Spiders" are the same ones which appeared on the "Skillex" EP. These recordings show a more mature Kenickie, not as raw and with less mistakes but still sounding young and vibrant. The acoustic version of "Come out 2nite" is really nice and along with the version of "Millionaire sweeper" its worth buying this CD. Its Essential for Long time Kenickie fans. Not so essential for casual fans but still worth the purchase."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1