Holy cow, you’re in for a treat. Loads of GBV albums to discover. Then Pollard solo albums, then side projects. Prepare to go into the rabbit hole. I could happily send you a 2CD mixtape of my fave GBV. I tell you, you’d be hooked if you enjoy these 2 discs. PM me if you fancy it
I agree with @Echoes Myron, that run is as good as anybody's in rock. The stuff they did on TVT and then Matador (again) is more polished and maybe accessible, but no less excellent than their mid-90's output. There have been several GBV alumni at this point, but anytime Doug Gillard is part of the lineup, you're in for a treat. Seeing that you're in Ireland, they have announced a show in Spain and a few in London. I believe those are sold out, but I'd certainly do what you can to see them. It's been ages since they played overseas and no telling when they'll be back. This is certainly Pollard's strongest lineup of GBV he's ever had.
My Zeppelin Over China CD shipped today. I could stream it but I’d much rather wait and play it on the stereo. The current lineup rocks. I love the stuff with Doug Gillard. Though I prefer the current lineup, I actually went back to the 2012-2014 stuff this week (6 albums!) and really enjoyed a lot of those songs, more than I remembered as I haven’t played them loads. There really is so much to get your teeth into. Enjoy !
What a production these days! Really love Space Gun. And Pollard and the gang are everywhere. Vinyl, CD, streaming, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, YouTube... everywhere!
Yeah Doug is my favorite GBV guitarist. Like many of the best GBV albums, it's a grower. Of course there' a few duds but it's got tons of great tunes. Especially on the front end. My favorite right now is Carapace, best song ever about Turtle shells. Worst song: Think, Be a Man.
Realistically it will take you a year to 18 months to really digest Pollard's output. There are many albums that consumed me for like a season.
Yep, and before you move on to other GbV stuff (i.e, Propeller and earlier, and Mag Earwhig! and later), be sure to get ahold of Uncle Bob's first solo album, Not In My Airforce, which was released shortly after UTBUTS and is widely considered part of the "essential classic period." That album is hit after hit after hit (and then some acoustic ditties at the end), and it might just be my all-time favorite Bob-related release.
I'll throw in Speak Kindly of your Volunteer Fire Department by Pollard/Doug Gillard as absolutely essential but it's one of many.
Always great to see the underrated "reunion period" stuff get a little well-deserved love. There's tons of awesome tunes spread across those albums.
One of his best along with Waved Out (solo) & Choreographed Man Of War (Pollard & His Soft Rock Renegades) & Lightninghead To Coffeepot (The Moping Swans). From a Compound Eye is really good too (solo). If you're looking at the reformed 90's lineup of albums I would recommend Let's Go Eat The Factory, Bears For Lunch & Motivational Jumpsuit. English Little League is good too. These start to bleed together for me since they came out so fast.
Not In My Airforce is in my Bob all time top 3 with Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand. It’s fantastic. Great mix of lo fi scraps and mid fi anthems and hooks. Perfectly paced and some of his all time best.
Agree with all these. Also Kid Marine but definitely get the 3 I mentioned starting with Bee Thousand. It is the essence of GBV and imo their crowning achievement.
I first saw GBV in 1993 opening for My Dad Is Dead, another great and underrated Ohio band! However, several college friends (GBV fans) of mine swear we first saw GBV in 1988 in Oxford, Ohio for a festival at Peabody Hall (on the western campus). It's possible... too foggy of times to recall.
I think my favorite might be Cool Planet from the reunion albums, if for no other reason for "Males of Woodworm Mars."
Oh yeah! Love that tune. Top 50 Bob song for sure. Cool Planet (which benefited from Kevin March replacing Kevin Fennell on drums) and The Bears for Lunch (mainly cuz of the stellar "She Lives in an Airport") are my favorite albums from that era. But they're all great.
I also really love Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department. I have always been a big fan of Doug Gillard. In fact, growing up in Cleveland, I was a fan of Death of Samantha since 1985 or so, predating any exposure to GBV. It's such perfect happenstance that such well-matched talents, Doug and Robert, collaborated in GBV and co-solo efforts. Doug also played on/off with My Dad Is Dead.
Gotta throw Isolation Drills in there. Great album. Mid to Hi-if production. Of the reunion period for me The Bears For Lunch is essential.
It really is incredible the wealth of material Pollard has put out. I wish I had the time to really absorb more of it. Sadly I have to work, otherwise I’d love to have a couple of months off and just play his music intensively. Right now I’m trying to listen to at least one GBV album a day until I’ve been through them all, then I’ll try to do the same with the solo albums. It became a ‘thrill of the chase’ thing for me, trying to track them all down on CD. There are just so many of them, that I’m sure I’ve only played a few of them a couple of times each. There are a few solo albums where I’d struggle to recall all but the very best songs, so I really need to play the lot through again !
Yeah Isolation Drills is very solid. Surprised the Box-era stuff hasn't had more nods yet. Propeller is a stone cold classic and I think was mentioned, but Same Place the Fly Got Smashed is actually the GBV album I reach for the most these days. Big Vampire on Titus fan too.
My recommendations (whatever that's worth, and not necessarily in this order): (Pre-Bee Thousand) Same Place The Fly Got Smashed Propeller All 3 Classic Era Albums (Bee, Lanes, Bushes) (TVT/Matador Return) Isolation Drils (natch) Universal Truths And Cycles (Renunion era) The Bears For Lunch English Little League (Current line-up) How Do You Spell Heaven (Non-GBV Bob endeavors) Bob Pollard & Doug Gillard - Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department (one of Bob's overall best. Look for a reissue coming soon) The Keene Brothers - Blues And Boogie Shoes (Bob and Tommy Keene one-off collaboration) ESP Ohio ( featuring Doug and Mark Shue from the current line-up) Boston Spaceships - Our Cubehouse Still Rocks and The Planets Are Blasted I mean, I can go on and on, but that's more than a good start. And if that's not enough, just start filling in the blanks! Bob's put out a lot of stuff in the last 30+ years, and not all of it is gold, but most of it actually is or at least as a shine to it. Your millage may vary, of course. And just as a warning, anything from before the TVT era was recorded pretty lo-fi. It took me some getting used to when I first got into the band, but the material is what put Bob on the map. Just bare that in mind when listening for the first time. Oh, and if you catch the bug, get ready to spend a lot of dough (if you do physical media) because those who fall for this stuff, fall hard.
