Poor Old Lu

Everyone who knows me knows that Poor Old Lu is my very favorite band ever. (And it's not just because I know them. They were my favorite band before I met any of them.) I'm sure you've probably never heard of them, but Poor Old Lu is a quartet of guys from near Seattle. They are Scott Hunter (lead vocals), Aaron Sprinkle (guitars), Nick Barber (bass) and Jesse Sprinkle (drums). I originally was going to just write a review of their newest album, "The Waiting Room", but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not good at writing music reviews. I never know what to say beyond "It was good" or "It was annoying". So instead, I present short reviews of all their albums.

	Star Studded Super Step, c. 1992? The guys recorded this little demo album in the basement of their church when Scott, Nick and Aaron were still in diapers, and I think Jesse might have been a fetus at the time. Considering their age, this album was quite good, and it is reported that they hardly drooled on the equipment at all. You're not likely to find an original release of this album, but the guys were kind enough to do a lovely re-release in 1998. My favorites on this album are "Sometimes Cry" and "This Theatre".
	Mindsize, 1993 Mindsize is their first real grown-up album, produced by Terry Taylor. It is much more polished than "Star Studded Super Step", but not polished in a bad way. It has a bit of a funk vibe in a few parts. My favorites from this one are "All Pretty For the TV" and "In Love With the Greenery".
	Sin, 1994 On most days, "Sin" is my favorite album. It isn't as cohesive as some of their later albums, but it has a lot of really good songs, and a certain raw immature character I enjoy. This was done before they all got married and got real jobs, so there was still a certain amount of youthful optimism in their approach. It's hard to pick a favorite on this one, but some of the stand-outs are "My World Falls Down" and "Sickly". Another of my favorites is "Slow", even though Scott doesn't seem to like it much. And how can you not love an album with a marshmallow peep on the cover?
	Sit and Stare, 1995 In case you couldn't tell by the odd shape, "Sit and Stare" is a video, not a cd. It was released as a promotion for "Sin", and is definately worth a viewing or two. Most of it is just the guys screwing around and being themselves, and they are entertaining little monkeys. It includes music videos for "Bliss Is", "All Pretty For the TV", and "Sickly". You can always spot a real Poor Old Lu fan because they will have seen "Sit and Stare" and will laugh heartily if you say, "Paint wasted is wasted paint."
	Straight Six, 1995 "Straight Six" is an EP that they did, just sort of messing around and experimenting. I never listened to it much until the last couple years because the first song was never one of my favorites. But the others after that get better every time I listen to it. My favorite is "Bittersweet".
	A Picture of the Eighth Wonder, 1996 If you happen to catch me on a day when "Sin" is not my favorite album, it is quite likely that the answer will be "A Picture of the Eighth Wonder". It is just pure good music. Each song stands on its own beautifully, but they all get that much better when heard together. Both lyrically and musically, it leaves you with a sense that a layer of innocence has been peeled away. Which is quite fitting, since it was at this point that they broke up, intending this to be their last studio album. My favorites on this one are "Recieve" and "Chance For the Chancers".

At this point in their history, they were all married and working day jobs to make ends meet. Some were having kids. Jesse moved to New York. They broke up, amicably. They were still friends, but the rock star thing was taking a back seat to their new families. But their record company wanted more albums.

	In Their Final Performance, 1998 If you ask any of the guys in the band about this album, they will tell you in no uncertain terms that they hate it. It is a live recording of the concert that was to have been their final concert together (hence the title). The problem was that it took place in a high school gym, with typical high school gym acoustics. And also, it just simply wasn't their best live performance ever. I like the live version of "Sickly", but mostly this one is for hard-core Lu fans only.
	Chrono, 1998 "Chrono" is a "best of" collection. It is quite good and the songs they selected really are some of their best. It's a good one to introduce a new fan to their music, as it evolved over the years. I also just like listening to it when I can't decide which cd I'm in the mood for.
	Mindsize/Sin, 2000 Short review: don't bother. This album was an ill-concieved money-making scheme developed by KMG records. They didn't ask the band about it at all. When they had to trim some songs out to make space, they took out some of the songs that are fan and band favorites. There was no consideration of the quality, but only the length of the songs. The liner notes are vague and stupid. Don't buy this one unless you absolutely and totally can't track down the original releases of "Mindsize" and "Sin".

If the story had ended here, how depressing would that be? Fortunately, there is a much happier ending than that. While they were broken up and their record company was desperately trying to squeeze cash out of their old stuff, Aaron and Jesse did some solo work. Nick played here and there with various bands. Scott became a full-time computer geek and spawned some of the cutest kids you'll ever see. Then, after a few years they decided to do some more music. On March 31st 2001, they played two comeback shows (because they quickly sold out the 1 show they originally planned). Then they spent many months writing and composing their new album.

The Waiting Room, 2002 By fall of 2002, "The Waiting Room" was born, and welcomed to the world at a big album release party at The Paradox in Seattle's U District. It is rapidly overtaking both "Sin" and "A Picture of the Eighth Wonder" as my favorite. It is their best ever, musically. Lyrically, well, I've never cried so much listening to any album before. It was worth the cost of the cd just for the title track "The Waiting Room". Add "Revolve" and "Sunlight & Shadows" to that, and you have an album that is simply brilliant. Whether you're listening intently or just want some ambient music, it fits. It is complex without being pretentious. Good enough that it was almost worth the long wait.

Now that I've convinced you of the brilliance of this little band no one has ever heard of, you're wondering where you can buy their stuff. The early stuff can be hard to track down. Try Radrockers.com, as they do have quite a lot of old and rare cd's, and frequently have Poor Old Lu in stock. If you don't find them there, try Ebay or half.com. "The Waiting Room" is available pretty much any major music store, including the Amazon link below. If it's not in stock, it can be ordered easily. For more tasty Lu goodness, check out the web site that Mr. Lead Singer Scott has at www.pooroldlu.com.

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Alana Muir © 2005