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SWITCHED ON STEREOLAB compiles Stereolab's first three vinyl releases: SUPER 45, SUPER-ELECTRIC EP, and STUNNING DEBUT ALBUM, all from 1991 and all previously unavailable in the U.S. Stereolab: Seaya Sadier (vocals); Tim Gane (guitar, Moog synthesizer, Farfisa organ); Martin Kean (bass); Joe Dilworth (drums). Additional personnel: Gina Morris (vocals). Confusion arises over Stereolab's early releases because nearly all of the band's initial singles, EPs and albums feature slight variations of the same cover image, an early-'70s German cartoon of a grinning, long-haired man pointing his finger, which slowly turns into a gun, culminating in the gun being fired. This also explains why Stereolab's first album is called PENG!, German for "bang!" SWITCHED ON collects ten of these early single and EP tracks, detailing the early development of ex-McCarthy members Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier's near-obsessive marriage of taut krautrock rhythms courtesy of former Chills bassist Martin Kean and ex-Faith Healers drummer Joe Dilworth, Sadier and second vocalist Gina Morris' languid, deadpan vocals, and Gane's own guitar and analogue synths. These early-'90s recordings show Stereolab in its formative stages, tentatively mapping out ideas later refined and perfected. As such, it's a fascinating and engaging disc.
