Description
Star Studded Super Step is the first full-length album by the American alternative rock band Poor Old Lu, self-produced and independently released on cassette-only in 1992. Re-issued on CD by the band in 1995, featuring 14 bonus tracks (including the two first tracks from the self-produced Three Song Demo originally released in 1991). Re-issued once again in 1998 by Alarma Records, this time featuring only four of the bonus tracks of the 1995 re-issue. The album was produced and recorded by the band April 6-8, 1992 at “Poor Old Studios” on an 8-track 1/2 inch. Mixed April 9 by the band with Dan Nelson at Innovation Music And Media in Seattle, Washington (except track A5 recorded April 1991 at RCB Studios and mixed April 9, as well as track B5 recorded and mixed January 25 and 26, 1992 by Jon Plum at the Music Source). All songs written by the band with lyrics by lead singer Scott Hunter.
Poor Old Lu is Scott Hunter on lead vocals, Aaron Sprinkle on guitar and vocals, Nick Barber on bass and vocals, and Jesse Sprinkle on drums and percussion.
Trivia: The band name refers to C. S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, in which Lucy (‘Lu’), returns from Narnia and tells her brother, Peter. Peter doesn’t believe her story, however, and responds patronizingly, “Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody noticed.”
In the space of eight years, only half of which they spent in the national spotlight, Poor Old Lu became one of the most beloved bands Christian alternative music has ever produced.
In an effort to appease the appetite of fans who have kept vigil since POL disbanded over a year ago, the group has decided to let Alarma reissue the original ‘Star Studded Super Step’ CD, a compilation of demos the band recorded before its 1993 Alarma debut. But to maintain the collectability of the original, the new version has fewer tracks and different art work.
What of the music itself? Well, POL was one of the few artists to emerge from the Seattle area in the early ’90s that didn’t hop on the grunge bandwagon. Just 16, 17 and 18 years old at the time these songs were recorded, Poor Old Lu took most of its influences from the heyday of psychedelic rock, roughly 1967 to 1970. The lyrics, all penned by lead vocalist Scott Hunter, are surprisingly self-aware, and the musical performances are very mature. Nick Barber lays down round, beefy bass tones, while guitarist Aaron Sprinkle punctuates the songs with shards of distortion-soaked licks. The sonics are quite pleasing for an eight-track home recording, with only Jesse Sprinkle’s drums missing a slight amount of oomph.
Although the group played its final show in late 1996 (look for ‘In Their Final Performance‘ very soon), it has maintained an active Web site, and continues to keep fans apprized of former members’ activities. For more info, contact www.accessone.com/~yipcanjo. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, May 1998]
Okay all you Poor Old Lu fans that have searched the world over for a copy of ‘Star-Studded-Super-Step’ and were willing to pay outrageous prices for it just to make your collection complete … here is your chance to get one hot off the press. Or if you were just curious how Poor Old Lu sounded in the beginning, but didn’t hold a hope of getting your hands on this rare gem, now you can find out too. ‘…Super-Step’ has been re-released by Alarma Records just for your edification. There’s only one problem … it’s not all there! The original ‘…Super-Step’ was released on tape in 1992, and re-released on CD in 1995 with some extra tracks. That 1995 CD is a coveted trophy, and will continue to be so. It contained 10 tracks and 14 bonus tracks. The new re-re-release has all ten of the original tracks, but only four of the ten bonus tracks from the 1995 re-release. Unlike the indie ’95 release, though, we get lyrics included in the liner notes this time. And if all this release, re-release, and re-re-release is confusing, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.
For the uninitiated, Poor Old Lu is Aaron Sprinkle on guitar, keys, and background vocals; Nick Barber on bass and background vocals; Jesse Sprinkle on drums and percussion; and Scott Hunter on vocals. Poor Old Lu has its own sound and doesn’t need to borrow from anyone else. The music is definitely modern alternative and quite good for that. It is amazing how fresh some music still is even after six years, and ‘…Super-Step’ is one of those rare recordings that holds up well over time. It is alive and vibrant, calling out for you to listen. Granted, the recording quality is not up to industry standards – the vocals are muddy and at times hard to hear, and the whole thing sounds like it was done in a gymnasium – but what do you expect from something that was recorded over a five-day period six years ago, using a rented 8-track and other borrowed equipment? The energy and feeling behind the music more than makes up for the rushed feeling to the project, and when you realize this is where it all started, you can be amazed at the quality that is there. You would think that if they were going to re-release this again they would have tried to clean it up, but that didn’t happen. Most of the songs have been re-recorded on Mindsize or Sin, but ‘…Super-Step’ is still that rare classic. [Mark Aylor, The Phantom Tollbooth, 1998]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/star-studded-superstep/389432903)
Cassette tracklist (1992):
Side One
A1. “Sometimes Cry”
A2. “Bartholomew Higgins”
A3. “Cannon-Fire Orange”
A4. “Never Said”
A5. “This Theatre”
Side Two
B1. “Puddleglum”
B2. “A Snowfallen Desert”
B3. “It’s Simple To Me”
B4. “Peapod”
B5. “To Be Awake”
…
CD tracklist (Alarma Records CD re-issue, 1998):
01. Sometimes Cry
02. Bartholomew Higgins
03. Cannon-Fire Orange
04. Never Said
05. This Theatre
06. Puddleglum
07. A Snowfallen Desert
08. It’s Simple To Me
09. Peapod
10. To Be Awake
Bonus Tracks (Alarma Records CD re-issue, 1998)
11. Center Of Your Ways
12. Wherefore
13. Center Re-Mix
14. Tigger’s Daily Jog (Un-rated)
Bonus Tracks (self-released CD re-issue, 1995)
11. Center Of Your Ways
12. Wherefore
13. Jack In The Box
14. So Good To See Me 3-2-1 Mix
15. Hit The Water ’65
16. All Pretty For The Tv (demo)
17. In Love With The Greenery (demo)
18. Center Re-Mix
19. Tigger’s Daily Jog (Un-rated)
20. Moonie (featuring Jen)
21. Circus Madness
22. Tried And True (demo)
23. Bird Thing
24. Ed Sings Lu
Note: Re-issued on CD by the band in 1995 featuring new cover artwork and with 14 bonus tracks (including the two first tracks from the band’s self-produced “Three Song Demo” originally released in 1991). Re-issued once again in 1998 by Alarma Records on both cassette and CD, this time featuring only four of the bonus tracks of the 1995 re-issue.
An advertisement for Poor Old Lu’s independent cassette effort Star Studded Super Step was featured in issue #9 of ACM Journal, published in June 1992.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.