3 out of 5

Review of the album contents here; this is more qualifying the quality of the reissue.

While I have near-qual admiration for Fuck’s sophomore album, Baby Love a Funny Bunny, to their debut, Pretty…Slow, it’s a slightly more herky-jerky affair; a little more “minor” note, following the Star Trek formula of every other release being a great one. It’s just slightly less great, though, and I do adore having a vinyl copy of this; even if the original release seems to have been limited to CD (excepting an import) and this wasn’t remastered for wax, it sounds delightful in the format. Fuck is a band that’s gifted with subtle pop immediacy that works well on disc, but all the rough-edged wiggle seems more at home on vinyl, and Vampire Blues’ pressing allows all that wiggle and nuance to shine.

But that should be table stakes. I’m knocking this down to average in terms of whether or not it’s “worth” a reinvestment, and… it’s hard to say. The bonus track is just an extension of short interstitial Talent, OR – literally just looping the same material – and the live tracks, though again of rich, punchy recording quality, are a mixed bag. We do get an (I think) unique song – Soldier’s Joy – and that one is pretty great, but the remaining selections from this album and Pretty… are truly split. Covers like Like You add more confidence to an already great track, but Monkey Does and Dawnji Poo are kinda messy, and a bit too chaotic. YMMV, of course, but with these live tracks only being digital anyway, the need to own a physical copy is down to whether or not you’re a physical media person