The entire Britpop movement of the 90's was just one big ass-kissing party, with bands like Oasis, Blur, and Pulp just lining right up to bow right down before previous Brit masters such as The Kinks, Roxy Music, The Jam, and The Smiths. Like most other Britpop bands, The Stairs were largely content to simply tread the same ground as their vaunted forefathers had in decades prior - unlike their NME-beloved contemporaries, The Stairs didn't sell any damn records. The trio came tumbling out of Liverpool in a cloud of cannabis smoke, released one album in 1992, Mexican R'n'B, and returned to the earth, never to be heard from again. The band's sole offering doesn't sound remotely Mexican, nor does it sound like R&B (unless, of course, we're talking R&B of The Pretty Things' "Rosalyn" variety). It does, however, sound brassier and ballsier than all of The Stairs' soon-to-be-stars Britpop compadres. Edgar Summertyme groans and growls like The Pretty Things' Phil May (seriously, The Pretty Things' influence is all over this album) over a band trying desperately to play 60's psych through their stoned stupor. This is classic stoner rock: "Mary Joanna" and The Who pastiche of "Weed Bus" are as blatant as ganja jams get. Elsewhere, the band gets scuzzy with "Woman Gone & Say Goodbye" and just plain weird on "Russian R'n'B (The World Shall Not Be Saved)". Clearly this is not groundbreaking stuff, but it's way more fuckin' fun than Oasis.
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