The Fluid — Clear Black Paper (Full Session Edition) (2024 Remix/Remaster)
Qobuz reissue review (November 2024)
Thought of by many grunge fans as one of the best debut albums of the era, Clear Black Paper was actually the second full-length by Denver punks The Fluid. Their self-released first album Punch N Judy (1987) didn’t make much of an impact in the U.S. so it was a German label, Glitterhouse, that initially distributed Clear Black Paper. But by 1998, the Fluid had earned a reputation as one of the best live bands on the American independent rock circuit, leading to their signing with Sub Pop who slapped on a new cover and tweaked the album sequence for a re-release. Not only were they the first non-Seattle band to be signed to the label, they were also decidedly not a grunge band.
With roots in straightforward punk and riff-heavy classic rock, the band combined the high velocity drumming of Garret Shavlik with the burly dual guitars of Rick Kulwicki and James Clower to create a monstrous musical attack for vocalist John Robinson to sing his unique blend of garage soul and punky rage. While Clear Black Paper is raw and slightly unpolished, all of the band’s strengths are on display throughout, starting with the out-of-the-gate intensity of “Cold Outside,” an anthemic, full-barrel rocker that also manages to be as catchy as the flu. Similarly high-impact are hard-charging numbers like “Nick of Time” and “Much Too Much” which seethe with the energy of crowded punk clubs. Midtempo grooves are found here and there, whether on the louche and slightly creepy “Lonely One” or the nearly funky “Your Kinda Thing.”
This edition focuses on the original Sub Pop album sequence, which excised five cuts from its German precursor and added three songs (including the barnstorming “Try Try Try”) from the Freak Magnet EP that preceded it. Thankfully, it also includes not just the previously removed cuts from the original European album, but also the rest of Freak Magnet (notable: the Elton John meets Iggy Pop “Kill City”). An amazingly uncomplicated album with a complicated history finally gets the definitive release it deserves.
