Sex Pistols. Jeff Buckley. And, The La’s. The list is not endless. In fact, it’s very short. There aren’t many legendary bands that release only one album, yet get their names printed in the history books. But, I suppose, it was all for the best. How could anyone follow up on these records?
The La’s is one of the greatest alternative rock bands of all time, and a mighty great inspiration on the Britpop scene. Little has ever sounded like the band’s debut, and, I think, nothing ever will again.
Here’s just why I think that is, and how the band’s masterpiece came to be.
Lee Mavers, and the Burden of Genius
Yeah, I know that the word “genius” gets tossed about a lot. The NME even has an award for it and gives it out every year. Can you find so many geniuses, or by the fifth year are you having to scrape the barrel and ask Lily Allen to drop by and pick up an award?
Well, there isn’t much debate about Lee Mavers’ affiliation with the Genius Club. There aren’t any other songs like the ones released for “The La’s,” unless you count some of the unreleased demos. And the way things are going, there won’t ever be any other again.
That’s because, if the great Mavers had gotten his way, the La’s would still be working on their debut. Notoriously, the singer-songwriter viewed music as a precious alchemy that one had a better chance of getting wrong than right.
In fact, some of his bandmates, who include the just as marvellous John Power, later of the band Cast, started having doubts that Mavers even wanted to complete the project. They’d been, after all, working for nearly three years on it by the time Go! Discs forcefully released it in 1990.
The La’s were compared to The Beatles! Yeah, that’s right. And, I mean, glad to report that it didn’t just happen for any old band.
They weren’t just scousers who liked skiffle and pretty melodies. Re-recording music endlessly was just one of Mavers’ eccentricities. He’d make the band tune its instruments using the hum from his refrigerator. He’d force his bandmates to go out and seek instruments that had “been played in.” And, if you trust producer Steve Lillywhite, he rejected the recording console for being “the wrong wood.”
But was it all worth it? Or am I just adding to the mythology of a band that could not get it together for a sophomore release?
“The La’s” Remains a Staggering Piece of Work
It’s hard not to get jealous. It’s not nice, of course. But if you’ve tried to accomplish anything that requires a certain degree of skill, you’ll find yourself staring bleary-eyed at the masters and envying their gifts.
I’ve often had that feeling, hearing “There She Goes,” the slice of sonic perfection that’s become the La’s calling card song. The songwriting is otherworldly. And, Mavers, needn’t have worried about production value on this one.
The song rings out beautifully. To boot, seeing the members of The La’s walk around the streets of Liverpool, in one of several music videos recorded for the song, one can’t help but feel that you might just be watching a band that, for a moment, equalled The Beatles.
There are plenty of other inexplicable acts of magic across the album. However, I must admit, Mavers may not have been entirely wrong about the production on all the other tracks. While Lillywhite is known for producing roots rock bands, the jangly guitars and skiffle feel of some of the tracks don’t translate perfectly.
The songwriting is, however, excellent throughout. “I Can’t Sleep” is the album’s other shot of pop perfection. “Doledrum” makes The La’s sound like the best busking unit in the world, which, in some ways, it was. And, “Freedom Song,” with its lyrics about self-destruction (could Mavers have been projecting here), show that the band could rely on one of Britain’s finest singers.
It’s the way that the band treats every song that gives the album its weight. Songs like “Feelin’” or “I.O.U.” would’ve been breezy guitar pop designed to make up the numbers in the hands of other groups. The La’s, meanwhile, play them like the fate of the world hinges on the group achieving sonic perfection with them.
The Myth of The La’s and The Lost Second Album
The story’s as thick as a murder mystery. Throughout the world, and especially in Britain, people love a tale of a hero refusing to pick up his crown. Just think of “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.”
Like the main character in that 1960s drama who’s about to win the race, but stops before the finish line and laughs in everyone’s face, Mavers refused to cash in on his talent.
Sure, the reports, and I’ve read a few, about his complex personality and alleged chemical intake, may not have exactly helped.
The La’s and The Stone Roses are beloved not just for their music. They’re great “What ifs” of rock lore. Both bands were as good as Oasis, Blur and any other Britpop bands that ended up selling stadiums. Still, these Northerners never quite felt like getting it together enough to make the cash registers sing.
Was there a second album by The La’s planned? Sure. Many times. But it was never a serious proposition. Not really!
People who’ve met Mavers attest to the fact that the man carried on writing songs. And, they claim, that many of them were pretty brilliant. That’s something that I can believe.
Mavers’ mate, John Power, quit in frustration in 1991. The La’s, occasionally, played live shows, suffering the indignity of opening for bands like Oasis or Dodgy, who may not have existed without “There She Goes.”
In the mid-1990s, the press reported that Mavers had started work on a follow-up to “The La’s.” But after a couple of years of recording, the singer finally ran out his recording contract.
Some of those recordings ended up as bootlegs. They’re good, and I think you should seek them out. Not that this would please Mavers. Most were recorded without his knowledge or consent by someone who stuck a tape recorder under a table at the studio.
The Legacy of The La’s
But there was a silver lining of sorts? The band reformed a few times in the 2000s. And while it was a joyous occasion to see The La’s play Glastonbury, it also made me even more appreciative of the kind of delicate magic the band’s early music possessed.
There are no plans for a second album or a Lee Mavers solo release. So what? Nearly everyone who scored a Britpop hit has had to swear allegiance to The La’s. That album is part of rock lore.
And, more than anything, I believe, that listening to those songs feels like accessing something otherworldly. There’s so much talent involved that it’s almost difficult to enjoy. All you can do is marvel!
Eric Clapton, who got to play with The Beatles, called the album his favourite of the period. And, for once, he’s on to something. If only for a brief moment, The La’s were as great as Liverpool’s most famous rock group.
