Originally a standalone single from 1987, Naked Raygun’s “Vanilla Blue” was then featured as a bonus track on the (much later) reissue of the following year’s third full-length, Jettison. The Chicago punks broke up a few years later in 1992 and lay dormant until a 2006 Riot Fest reunion got them back onstage together. Almost 40 years after the original version first came out, a live version of the song—recorded at that reunion show—is being released. It’s taken from the full show recording of that set, which drops this Friday through Loud Pizza Records, and it demonstrates why the band remains so revered to this day.
In 2021, Naked Raygun released their sixth full-length, Over the Overlords, 30 years after their previous LP—and also a year after the death of bassist and songwriter Pierre Kezdy from cancer. Though he’d stepped away from the band in 2010, he appears on that record, and was in full force at this reunion show. “I bought the Vanilla Blue 7-inch when it was released in 1987, a couple of years before I would join the band,” remembers guitarist Bill Stephens. “‘Vanilla Blue’ was game-changing for me. It’s a perfect pop song with Beatles-level songcraft and hooks. I had no idea where Pierre pulled this one from, but he would have many more hits to come. To this day it’s my favorite song to play in the set. Thank you, Pierre.”
“‘Vanilla Blue’ is quintessential Naked Raygun,” adds the band’s manager, Lou Lombardo. “It embodies everything Pierre Kezdy was as a writer. A fan favorite and setlist must for all live shows.”
Listen to the track below, and pre-order the live LP ahead of its November 6 release here.
