For all of the brilliance of records like
Bandwagonesque and the underrated Thirteen, at times
Teenage Fanclub seemed little more than a showcase for the laconic melodic genius of Norman Blake -- fairly or not, the songwriting contributions of bandmates
Gerard Love and
Raymond McGinley suffered mightily by comparison, mere filler when stacked alongside Blake-penned marvels like "The Concept" and "Norman 3." That said, the superb
Grand Prix is perhaps the truest group effort in the
Fannies' catalog -- more than ever before, their democratic approach truly bears fruit, and it's indicative of the disc's uniform excellence that the first Blake composition, the lovely "Mellow Doubt," doesn't even surface until track three, by which time
McGinley's "About You" and
Love's harmony-rich "Sparky's Dream" have already firmly established the set's ragged-but-right tenor. While new drummer Paul Quinn fails to recreate the buoyantly reckless abandon of the sacked
Brendan O'Hare,
Grand Prix otherwise captures complete creative synergy -- in particular, "Don't Look Back" is
Love's watershed moment, a gorgeously wistful love song highlighted by wittily lovelorn lyrics like "I'd steal a car to drive you home," as good a pick-up line as anything in the annals of rock & roll. Not everything works (
McGinley's "Verisimilitude" goes nowhere fast) and Blake's contributions are still the highlights ("Neil Jung" and "I'll Make It Clear" are simply perfect pop songs), but
Grand Prix is ultimately the product of a band at the peak of its collective powers, not as much a landmark as
Bandwagonesque but every bit as good on its own terms. ~ Jason Ankeny