First off, I still have not been able to dislodge Garden Smarm from my head. Mouseman Cloud is one of those albums where I loved it on first listen, and then didn’t play it again for a good while. Next couple listens it wasn’t hitting me like it initially did. Over the past week it has ‘regrown’ on me. another fairly short album at 33 minutes Bob really went with interesting song structures on Mouseman Cloud. Short songs, often with the chorus coming at the end and repeated until end. Todd mentioned that some of the songs have a Circus Devils vibe, and that it was unavoidable with what Bob gave him to work with. But even so, we get the catchy, accessible side of Circus Devils here. This is an uptempo rocking album, injected with just slightly more weirdness from Bob and Todd. This album just takes off and goes. @Mr. Fantastic absolutely nailed Obvious #1 in his above review; so very meta, memorable and obvious. Not much to it, but when it’s so obvious, what else do you need? Picnic Drums brings the drums and one of those killer repeated outros we’ll see a lot of here in the Mouseman Cloud. I hear a little Syd in this one too. Watch it if you listen to the title track in your car; that ‘ding’ sounds your seatbelt is off or a door is ajar. Cool guitar licks at the beginning and a determined intensity help this one. Dr. Time is as many have said, a great little Bobby pop nugget, and these type of songs are always welcome. Lizard Ladder is quite the mood piece, and I like it when Bob sets up that eerie minor chord rockers. The brevity here helps, just like with Human Zoo. Catchy little prog pebble with a great ‘I know, I know, I know’ outro. Bats Flew Up is a very cool tune with great guitar tones and textures, and has a UTBUTS chorus, or whatever you want to call that section. We got another mention of animals, and it’s really obvious how the original title of this record was Thinking Man’s Trip To The Zoo; there are plenty of references throughout. So, I have zero problems with Mother’s Milk And Magnets. At this point in the album I’ve already bought into the structure and feel of these songs, and Milk isn’t much different, just a touch longer. It’s fairly catchy. I guess I can see why it bugs some, but it’s kind of stunning in a way. We get another end repeater with Continue To Break, as ‘grandfather blues continues to shoot up the six o’clock news’. Again, so short it doesn’t grate, and again, kinda catchy. I Was Silence continues in the vein of strong quick album tracks, and maybe that’s what Mouseman Cloud is; an album of album tracks with no singles. Smacks Of Euphoria starts without notice and if you didn’t know any better these two songs could be one of Bob’s stop-start prog tunes. Great lyrics here as noted above; sibling to Poet Bums and cousin to Hot Freaks. No Tools has some freak blood in it’s veins, and it’s not my favorite but still decent. Aspirin Moon is more solid uptempo power pop with a fun Bob guitar solo. That album track album feel continues, but it gets weirder from here on out. The would-be Circus Devils return momentarily for the minute-plus strangles synth stomp of Half-Strained, and second to last is the goofy Syd strum of Zen Mother Hen. Just can’t hate these songs at all; they’re fun. Chief Meteorologist closes up shop nicely with a cool, solemn feel. A couple nice moody pop-prog sections here leading to the our final and ultimate end repeater of ‘west window exploded, can’t see you anymore’. A nice, mysterious line to draw things to close. I never knew that about the White Flag b-sides, but it’s f-ing obvious that they share dna with Mouseman way more than Bears For Lunch material. They could fit on the album with ease without any real disruption, but Bob decided against it. Here he and Todd he gave us another unique and fun album; this has been another enjoyable week-plus. Gotta get back on schedule for Jack.
I should have time to finally write up Birdcage tomorrow, and yeah that one is in my head all week, that and Mr Child. ONE MORE TIME
catching up slowly. Lord of the Birdcage This one came out in the middle of so much other stuff that it got a little lost for me. The next few albums got even more lost. Revisiting it the last few weeks on and off as a whole, it works for me because it's one of those Bob albums where my hits are spread out a bit, so that it flows pretty well. The feel of the production reminds me of Coast to Coast, but the hits stick with me harder. The in between songs are fine, nothing outright terrible. But I forgot how good some of these songs are. Smashed Middle Finger - decent start, then it really kicks in. Great opener, love the second half. YOU CANT STOP THE ROCK. There's a boot or live recording somewhere where Bob yells that drunkenly in the mic really loud, cracks me up to hear that as a lyric. Plus the whole idea of a stitched up finger in a splint Dunce Codex - love this kind of mid tempo chugger with acoustics, like "I Killed a Man". So good. Garden Smarm - such a killer chorus about a lawnmower, and the ONE MORE TIME part, like the "alright let's here that one again" in Ha Ha Man, I love it. In a Circle - love this one. Would've been fine as all acoustic, but Todd kicks the band in at the right time, I love how bob sings "we mo-ooh-OVE in a circle" that little extra lift in "move" and "stand" is great. Man this would kill as a live ballad. Side one for me is really strong, 4 hits and two good in betweeners. Side two starts a bit slower for me, but I love Ribbon of Fat. Reminds me of Nick's songs on Ricked Wicky, but without the horrible vocals. Love the fake band and arena, the anthem rock, Doug would rip this live. This kind of strutter would go great with Don't Be Late, Insane/Cool It, Bats Flew Up.... Holy Fire - this is the grower for me, the one that hit me this week listening to this fresh. Love the straight riff, almost expecting Shocker in Gloomtown to kick in, great vocal, and the changes near the end make for a perfect lead in to... Ash Ript Telecopter. Love the riff. Bob's best riff since Gratification to Concrete? Another one that would slay live. I only had this one from itunes, the onslaught of Bob stuff at the time was getting hard to keep up with. But listening fresh the last few weeks, I see the vinyl is still available on rockathon. This is definitely getting added to my next preorder. Maybe not an all-timer, but a really enjoyable listen as a whole. Essential - Garden Smarm Highlights - Dunce Codex, In a Circle, Ash Ript Telecopter The Grower that just Hit Me - Holy Fire
Let It Beard Boombox Demos Not sure if this is more Bob solo or Boston Spaceships related. I like the album quite a bit, everything Spaceships related is pretty great, maybe a little long, but the good stuff is GREAT. The demos, I didn't keep the CD, it's interesting, but I'd rather hear the album as a whole with the songs fleshed out. The "Toppings Take the Cake" demo is a favorite since the early lyric on it is "Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Deuteronomy" which cracks me up. My favorites on the album are cool as demos - Juggernaut (also on Suitcase 3), Low Life, Chevy, Earmarked, Tabby... but I like them more to pop up in my top 750 GBV playlist than to sit through the whole thing straight through. It is interesting to hear the demos as Bob handed them to Slusarenko, how he tried to keep some of the idiosyncracies of the "roughs" (where Bob starts and stops the songs on the boombox as he is writing on the spot), like the bam bam bam bam at the end of Earmarked. Also if I recall, Beard was the only Spaceships album where Bob gave Slushy the demos in order exactly as he wanted the album, as opposed to letting Slushy pick and choose a bit plus a random Suitcase song or two.
Thanks for posting that cool title. I can't find any reference to it online other than on some Spotify playlist. No idea if that's a random playlist a fan made, or a Bob early working version of Mouseman Cloud. There is no mention on GBVDB of a working version of it anyway. Just to get this album boxed off in my head so I can focus on Jack Sells The Cow, I made a few minor tweaks and created an alternate version which I'm more likely to put on now if I want a hit of Mouseman Cloud: 1. Obvious #1 2. Picnic Drums 3. Mouseman Cloud 4. Dr. Time 5. Lizard Ladder 6. Human Zoo 7. Bats Flew Up 8. Casino Model ----------------------- 9. I Was Silence 10. Science Magazine 11. No Tools 12. Aspirin Moon 13. Zebra Film Negative 14. Zen Mother Hen 15. Chief Meteorologist I'm enjoying Jack Sells The Cow and will give it a few more plays before putting up my thoughts. Not many opinions forthcoming on 'Let It Beard Boombox Demos'. I played it once through and was majorly irritated by all the tape cutting out noises, glitches, etc. It ruined otherwise great songs like 'Tabby And Lucy'. It seemed to go on and on and on, and I hate to admit it but I was bored halfway through (probably sooner to be honest) and it became an endurance test getting to the end. I agree that the full band treatment is way better. To me its the least essential Robert Pollard release, in that I probably enjoyed Superman Was A Rocker more, and that's saying something! I'm open to suggestions about where to take this after the 4 solo albums that remain after Jack. It is going quickly now but there is so much other Bob music that it seems silly to end it with 'Of Course You Are'. I think that Boston Spaceships has been mentioned a handful of times, so am happy to carry on doing a BS album by album if you're 'up for all that'. @3Dman @guidedbyvoices Great to see some more love for Garden Smarm. It really does get in your head. Just had to play 'Lord Of The Birdcage' again!
I'm enjoying the thread and would like to see it continue as well, so I think carrying on side project by side project would be fun. In terms of following on from 'Pollard solo', maybe you could do the two Teenage Guitar albums after Of Course You Are, as they really are solo Pollard, and they're from the same period as the last solo albums. Oh, and don't forget the two EAT EPs, the most recent solo Pollard releases as we speak.
I’m not sure if it got to working version status. As far as I know it was just an early title consideration. It is a cool title.
I think this is pretty much how I feel about Mouseman Cloud. After ten years I barely remember 2/3 of it and after a bunch of spins this week it still leaves not much of an impact. the opener is fine, I like Picnic Drums esp the second half of it. Bats Flew Up is essential for me. Love it, a huge highlight. I like the second half of Mother’s Milk and Magnets, but following one song with one line repeated over with another song that does the same (continue to break), man it just feels like low idea time, like Life Starts Here where he did that too much. No Tools and Half Strained are up my alley but never really take off. Chief Meteorologist is a good closer, I like it this week, not sure how many times I’ve made it to the end of the whole album the two b sides I like and would’ve fit great in the album proper. The sh!tcanned blog has the original track listing with those songs where they go. I’d link to it but this site cancels out the curse word but it’s an interesting read Thinking Man’s Trip To The Zoo 01. Obvious # 1 02. Casino Model 03. Picnic Drums 04. Dr. Time 05. Aspirin Moon 06. Bats Flew Up 07. Smacks of Euphoria 08. Mouseman Cloud 09. Lizard Ladder 10. Continue To Break 11. Zebra Film Negative 12. Human Zoo 13. I Was Silence 14. Mothers Milk And Magnets 15. No Tools 16. Science Magazine 17. Half-Strained 18. Zen Mother Hen 19. Chief Meteorologist Zebra especially is a great song, quick snappy intro, the cowbell section is great. “Bite me I’ll fight you” is a great opening line. Too short! Adding both would’ve improved the LP for me. Can’t believe I never noticed those were Todd songs, though once you pointed it out it sounds ‘effing obvious’. Casino Model has that great line of Johnny Cash singing pinball wizard. I wonder if that’s where this guy got the idea.... (YouTube date is 2017) so overall a pretty not bad album but not much I go back for other than Bats Flew Up. Not a disaster just not a smash hit. Great cover shot too. Essential: bats flew up Grower that just hit me chief Meteorologist?
Release info, always entertaining! Good shout. For some reason I really dig the Jack sleeve. Another fun album here, and whilst I realise that some variety can be good , personally I like that there is less of the Circus Devils grade weirdness which (perhaps inevitably given that its Bob & Todd) seeped into some of the more recent solo albums. In fact there's not really any trace of it at all on this album. Jack is a solid album with a good mix of rock, creamy pop and more chilled songs. I really like about half the songs on this album, and whilst there's nothing I actively dislike, it does lose me a little on Side 2 after 'Tight But Normal Squeeze'. Minor criticism, I know this seems to be the way things go these days, but the production is LOUD in places. Its really noticeable and distracting on songs such as 'Heaven Is A Gated Community' and the loud part of 'Rank Of A Nurse' for example. I don't get the need for mega loud mastering, if I want to turn something up I will turn it up. Doesn't mean it needs to be so loud by default. Also, shame there is no lyric book (at least with the CD, guess it is the same for the LP?) Anyway, the dirgey, moody opener 'Heaven Is A Gated Community' is a cool way to kick off the album, despite the aforementioned 'loudness wars' sound. The atmospheric keys that close it out make me think that Joy Division's 'Transmission' is about to come on! 'Take In' is a sort of Bob by numbers (but in a good way) steady little tune that makes for a nice track 2. 'Who's Running My Ranch?' is one that jumped out at me this time. I love the over the top echo vocals and musicianship of Todd on this song. Most enjoyable, and similar in feel to songs that would follow on the next few albums. 'Up For All That', a pleasant enough mid tempo number. Then it feels like the album really gets going with a trio of great songs. I'll have commented about some albums having a lull in the middle, but the middle part of Jack is my favourite stretch of the album. 'Pontius Pilate Heart' jumps out of the blocks quickly with an infectious groove and melody and before I put the album on this week it was the song that first came to mind. I love every part of this song including the title. 'Big Groceries' is such a nice creamy song that just flies by, love Bob's delivery of the "Now I'm as true as true can be" part. 'Fighting The Smoke' is a well-timed hard rocker after a pair of poppy songs. Its unusually heavy and feels like it could have been a Boston Spaceships song. What a superb run of 3 songs. I would love for some of these songs to get played live by GBV. 'Rank Of A Nurse' is a cute ballad, and the "She drags you away from home for The Misfits" part is cool, though as already mentioned it goes very loud there. 'Tight But Normal Squeeze' is the obligatory 'Todd beats the hell out of his drum kit' song and is a fun song that doesn't take itself too seriously. My interest drops off a little with the closing trio of songs. 'Red Rubber Army' I think is my least favourite on the album (but even then I don't generally skip it like some of the songs on say Space City Kicks) and I'm not sure that following it up with the mostly plodding 'The March Of Merrillville' works. 'Winter Comes To Those Who Pray' works good as a sombre closer, but yes the ending is somewhat abrupt, a Moses style freak out off the back of that short rocking section would have been great, but you can't have it all. Pretty good album overall, I do enjoy Side 1 more though, and particularly the middle part of the album. I think I prefer the 2 albums that follow. Speaking of which: 'Honey Locust Honky Tonk' on Monday. . .
Happy New Year! I love this forum, but hate it when all of a sudden threads you're watching all of a sudden disappear from notification. Just got caught up the thread. and by chance, I've been listening to several of these albums that have been discussed recently and have enjoyed all the comments. Looking forward to joining the conversation starting with Honey Locust...
Looking forward to the home stretch of Bob's solo output. The next (and last) 4 albums are among the strongest in his catalog and it'll be great to revisit them. If Bob never releases another album under his own name, he sure went out with a bang!
One quick comment about the genius of Bob. His solo song "Arrows and Balloons" is insanely catchy and a highlight of his solo output. Musically speaking, it's only a A chord and D chord (with an occasional G chord thrown in). Those two chords are the basis for thousands of songs. The fact that he can still crank out something so memorable using not only the most basic of chords is astounding.
Exactly!! I love that he can just jam on one note and pretty much shoot out that melody smoke and come up with new catchy lines.
@kouzie nailed it, that is the genius of Bob. Melody is not a zero-sum game after all, he can still find new ones to the most common chord progressions. Sure, if you digest enough Bob, you will hear him repeat/echo himself, but it's astounding that it's not significantly more often, and the rarity of that occurrence makes those tracks fun to compare. It's been a good thing to revisit Jack Sells the Cow. It's still not way up there for me, but my opinion has improved measurably with more listens. The opener used to really grate on me, just the verses really. It was just so miserable. Then I got past that, and started to feel like, yeah, it's miserable, but god he is nailing the miserable. Then I recalled how much I like "People Are Leaving" for the same reason and I was totally into it. And that chorus ain't half bad! "Who's Running My Ranch?" is a nice distraction, a little out of the box and groovy. Not a great track, but it always gets my attention so points earned there. The other side 1 tracks still strike me as suffering from a slight case of Merge-itis, but "Big Groceries" would've been a top cut on any of those albums and its refrain has been echoing in my brain for the last two weeks. Side 2 is the stronger side for the second album in a row, and the opener "Fighting the Smoke" is the clear highlight of the album for me. I love when Bob goes heavy AND minor key, I'm just a sucker for songs like this. It may be unfair, but I'm always too aware that "Rank of a Nurse" has the same chords as "Here Comes a Regular" along with a booze theme. There are parts of the lyrics that bug me, other parts I love. I feel conflicted about it, because it's also obviously a stronger than average Bob ballad, a top 40 hit in some alternate universe. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I'm all, oh jeez, this tune... "Red Rubber Army" has improved with time and more listens. It has a unique mood/color and this has been the earworm of the album along with "Big Groceries." The closing track is a favorite too - that seems to be the case on nearly every RP album, right? Not killer, but once it really kicks in, it delivers. The other tracks on the side are of minimal interest to me, but do not offend. Waved Out Speak Kindly Kid Marine Not in My Airforce ------ Choreographed Man of War We All Got out of the Army Moses on a Snail From a Compound Eye ------ Elephant Jokes Mouseman Cloud Motel of Fools Fiction Man The Crawling Distance Jack Sells the Cow ------ Lord of the Birdcage Off to Business Coast to Coast Carpet of Love Space City Kicks Silverfish Trivia Normal Happiness ------ Superman Was a Rocker Standard Gargoyle Decisions
This week's album is Honey Locust Honky Tonk After 'Jack Sells The Cow', Bob put out a whole bunch of Guided By Voices music: a pair of new albums in 'The Bears For Lunch' & 'English Little League', the 'Down By The Racetrack' EP, 7" singles 'White Flag', 'Hangover Child', 'Everywhere Is Miles From Everywhere', 'Flunky Minnows', 'Islands (She Talks In Rainbows)', 'Trashcan Full Of Nails', 'Xeno Pariah' and 'Noble Insect'. The B-Sides from the 'English Little League' singles were also collected on the promo only CD 'Glue On Bicycle.' Also released were 'Out Of The Universe By Sundown: The Greatest Hits Of Boston Spaceships' and the 'Clouds On The Polar Landscape' EP by Sunflower Logic. In addition to all this was the 'Cock Blocking The Romantics' Happy Jack Rock Records Singles Collection 7" box set (leftover singles from the 'one single a month' 2007-8 project sold in a box, the empty box itself also being available to buy for those who already owned the singles, we already covered this content on page 11). Finally there was a download of the Circus Devils 'All The Good Ones Are Gone', followed by the album 'I-Razor' by Todd Tobias and Circus Devils (soundtrack to the no-budget experimental feature film of the same name by Todd Tobias). Then on the same day, he released both 'Force Fields At Home', the first of 2 albums under the name Teenage Guitar (Bob, with Greg Demos & Joe Patterson on a few songs), and his next solo album: Honey Locust Honky Tonk Released: 8 July 2013 (Guided By Voices Inc.) Lineup: Robert Pollard: Vocals and Guitar, Piano on 'Strange', Drums and Bass on 'Igloo' Todd Tobias: Bass, Drums, Guitar & Keyboards 1. He Requested Things 2. Circus Green Machine 3. Strange And Pretty Day 4. Suit Minus The Middle 5. Drawing A Picture 6. Who Buries The Undertaker 7. She Hides In Black 8. Her Eyes Play Tricks On The Camera 9. Find A Word ----------------------- 10. I Have To Drink 11. Flash Gordon Style 12. Igloo Hearts 13. Shielding Whatever Needs You 14. I Killed A Man Who Looks Like You 15. Real Fun Is No One's Monopoly 16. It Disappears In The Least Likely Hands (We May Never Not Know) 17. Airs Release Info: Honey Locust Honky Tonk is a compact wonder and so varied, tuneful, graceful, magnificent and ebullient that one will be forgiven for thinking that Robert Pollard has saved his best for his own album. Slicker in some ways than recent Guided By Voices efforts, though not without its own down-home charm, its 17 songs whiz by in 34 minutes, stridently showcasing Pollard's songwriting mastery with some of the best tunes he's ever penned. The longest, the semi-stately album closer “Airs,” clocks in at just over three and a half minutes, but most are in the two- or two-and-half-minute range typical of Pollard's attenuating genius. "I'm not afraid to be immature, to make a fool of myself," he recently offered as a reason why he's been able to continue writing music at such a high level for so long. "I'm not afraid to look insane." The only thing crazy about a song like "It Disappears in the Least Likely Hands (We May Never Not Know)" is its slightly loopy title. The song itself, a chugging Heroes-era Bowie anthem whose entire lyrics are contained in the title, is a marvel of both concision and affect, featuring the full force and range of Pollard's voice, which has never sounded better. For any other guy whose reunited band just finished putting out four full albums and an EP in 18 months, the release of yet still again another solo album might seem excessive, to say the least, but Honey Locust Honky Tonk sees Pollard in top songwriting form. For example, the four-song run that begins with "Suit Minus the Middle" and concludes with "She Hides in Black" not only includes object lessons in Pollard's life-long obsession with what he calls the "four Ps: pop, punk, psych and prog," but longtime fans will also be rewarded with a reference to a beloved character from early solo effort Kid Marine. In truth, Pollard never holds anything back, and always seems uncannily able to pull any number of music tricks from his magic sleeve. He's done it again, folks. Honey Locust Honky Tonk is as sweet and as sharp as anything Pollard and friends has ever produced. Bite it and see. Again, no songs from this album have been played live. 'I Killed A Man Who Looks Like You' was put out as a radio promo CD but contained no exclusive songs. I can't say I've ever noticed this in the credits until now, but on this otherwise Todd Tobias produced album, the songs 'Strange And Pretty Day' and 'Igloo Hearts' were recorded by Joe Patterson (Sunflower Logic / Teenage Guitar) in Bob's 'The Hi-Fi Balloon' studio, so I guess could have just as likely ended up on 'Force Fields At Home' if not chosen for HLHT. Another interesting thing is that in this Magnet interview, Bob says "Honey Locust Honky Tonk is basically the songs I wrote for the next Guided By Voices album, but I’m not sure there’s going to be a next Guided By Voices album. I’m not gonna say for sure, but it’s already got a little bit stagnant. To me, it’s kind of run its course." Robert Pollard: Scalping The Guru - Magnet Magazine One final thing worth mentioning, and something I only discovered myself early on whilst mapping out this project, is that the fade-in snippet song 'Suit Minus The Middle', is actually part of a longer song named 'Astral City Slicker' which wound up being released as the B-side to the 'Tonight's The Rodeo' 7" single on 15 October 2013. That was a really cool discovery for me as I love the full song and can't for the life of me figure out why Bob sliced it in two and only used the final part on the album. Definitely one of the best songs to be hidden away on a 7" flip side. Please share your thoughts on Honey Locust Honky Tonk, the GBV album that never was. . .
Happy to throw the EAT EPs & Teenage Guitar albums into the ring as suggested, then most likely move onto Boston Spaceships. Something that I have really wanted to post during this topic, but have deliberately waited until now to do so, is this pair of Bob solo top 50 lists. Not sure how familiar you are with the website 'Trust The Wizards', but they are big Bob fans, and one of the wizards, 'Kicker Of Elves', put up his list of 50 favourite solo songs a few years ago. I have posted the link now because he put the list up a couple of months after the release of 'Honey Locust Honky Tonk'. As the list was posted on 10 September 2013, it obviously doesn't include songs from 'Blazing Gentlemen', 'Faulty Superheroes' or 'Of Course You Are.' Maybe someday a list will go up that covers those albums too. Kicker Of Elves Chooses Robert Pollard’s 50 Best Robert Pollard Songs It seems after posting the list that a lot of fans contacted him and submitted their own faves that were not on his list, and 10 days later he posted another list compiled from those suggestions, and this time presented them alphabetically: 50 More Robert Pollard Songs That You Need In Your Life I enjoyed reading through the lists, along with Kicker Of Elves' song summaries and the comments at the end. I submitted some comments of my own (as 'Dave C') too. In fact, I'd say that reading the initial list was a big part of what inspired me to go through the solo stuff in order and begin this topic, so thanks to the Wizards for putting that up. I was hoping that they'd stick up a side projects faves list and did suggest it but it is yet to be done. Happy reading. . .
I've missed a lot in this period of only paying attention to the Boston Spaceships records and not the solos. I was hoping to finally have HLHT for this week, but it's still in transit to me along with Styles We Paid For. Can't wait for both and will be following along here...
From here on out the solo records are all strong, I think you will enjoy HLHT. That said, there's something to enjoy on all the solo records. But yeah the last few are all pretty great. Look forward to your thoughts on it. Some classics on there. Still hoping for some more 'Jack Sells The Cow' reports @guidedbyvoices @3Dman @dthomas850
Quick takes on this while I'm muted on business Zoom call: He Requested Things - Nice keyboards on the opener Circus Green Machine - Dang, there's so much going on here. It's very indie prog with all the indie dynamic changes. It's a little jarring, but I love it. Strange and Pretty Day - simple piano song that sounds like it took about as long to record it as it took Bob to write it. Suit Minus the Middle - Yes. This is classic ass-kicking Bob. And in typical Bob fashion, clocks in at 0:50 when you really want it to last another 5:00. Drawing a Picture - This has all the makings of weird lo-fi Bob, but the production really saves it. Who Buries the Undertaker? - The song is a solid good-to-very good mid-tempo rocker, but doesn't live up to it's awesome title. She Hides in Black - Well isn't this a fun little bopper? Doesn't sound like much he's done in the past. Sounds good. Her Eyes Play Tricks on the Camera - So far, the heaviest song on the album. Vocals a bit affected and pushed in the back. It's OK, but not making any of my 100's of Bob related playlists anytime soon. Find a Word - short one to end side one. It's fine. I Have to Drink - short one to start side two. It's fine. Flash Gordon Style - Another great title and this one is a rocker. Flashes of The Who are all over this one. Flippin' great! Igloo Hearts - repetitive riff throughout most of the song. Shrug. Shielding Whatever Needs You - Cool contrast between acoustic vs electric guitar. Again the genius of Bob; taking the familiar and making it sound new. I Killed a Man Who Looks Like You - surprisingly fairly straight forward lyrics and it's the most traditional (and non-Bob sounding) songs on the album. Real Fun is No One's Monopoly - Let's see this live with a row of kettle and bass drums. This could be pretty epic. But even on record, it's pretty majestic. It Disappears in the Least Likely Hands We May Never Now Know - Sounds like something that could have been part of the current line up. Full sound. Well structured. It's more produced and put together than a lot stuff on the reunion run that he was currently on at time. Good stuff. Airs - Nice closer. A good like gentle rocker. It's got a TVT era vibe to me. Really like this one. Overall it's a really solid solo album. Plenty here that's memorable - solid B.
The full length version 'Astral City Slicker' adds a cool 2 minutes to the start of it (see my previous post). Have you heard it? Wish the full version had made the album. I played that song on repeat whilst putting the HLHT post up earlier. Just keep moving along Nice post, great way to pass a Zoom call
These are my favorites from this fun little album. "Her Eyes..." tops 'em all. "Airs" seems to be a particularly popular tune among fans. Took me awhile to warm up to that one, but now I flat-out love it. This isn't my favorite solo Bob album, but it's one of my most often played Bob solo albums.
Almost caught up! Jack Sells the Cow I think since this one came out in the midst of the classic lineup reunion, and I hadn't absorbed Mouseman, this one really got lost in the shuffle for me, especially buying it on itunes. We had a baby at that time too, so things were nuts. It just became another album lost in a playlist. Hearing it now, I'm not sure how much my initial impression has changed - pretty good, not as interesting as the new classic lineup LPs, not sure how many all timers are on here. I like the opener quite a bit, it'd make a heck of a live song, the title cracks me up too. the changes throughout it work for me, and are all interesting and catchy. In fact when it rocks out, I like it a lot more than I remembered. Running My Ranch, I like the Peter Gunn style riff but it loses me in the chorus. Take Me In, Up For All That, Big Groceries are all fine, nothing terrible, but they don't quite hit me either. Pontius Pilate Heart works big time though, another I could picture live, like one of those second or third songs in the setlist, open with Salty Salute, then bam into something like this. Fighting the Smoke is a new one for me. I dig the sludgy riff in the middle of this album, again I can totally hear this one killing live. The middle part I could do without but once it kicks back into the main riff, yeah. Pairs well with another recent grower for me, Holy Fire, ha. Then going back into something sweeter like Rank of a Nurse is a great 1-2 punch. Love Bob's singing on this, not sure the middle sludge bit works, but it's his best vocal on the album. A couple more typically ok album cuts where I'm losing interest before a great closer. I don't know if I never get to the end when I played it in the past, but this one is hitting me good this week a lot. One of those songs where Bob builds the tension, then blows big for the chorus, but I like that instead of circling back like every other band would do, nope that's it. Yeah, another I'd love to hear live. I like this album cover a lot, kind of the Moses thing but done better. Not sure what the inner collages look like. 5 out of 12 songs that click for me sounds like I'd think of this album a lot higher, but because it's short and concise, and a bunch of songs that don't hit me, it reminds me a bit of the Coast to Coast era - pretty not bad, but not one of his essentials. Essential - Pontius Pilate Heart Highlights - Heaven is a Gated Community, Rank of a Nurse The Grower that just Hit Me - Fighting the Smoke, Winter Comes to Those Who Wait
Never noticed that line before! It’s not a great movie but I always watch it when it’s on because of Marilyn, Gable, Clift all at their end. Ha! Perfectly put.
Present, and late as always. My work schedule just keeps throwing me just off for posting on time. Anyway, let’s get to it. I’ve always thought this cover pairs with Mouseman to show the light and shade of Bob’s work. I find it to be an ok cover, kinda charming but not great. If this was a sunshiny psych-pop effort from Bob it would make more sense maybe. But yeah, it’s ok. I’ll almost always prefer a Bob collage. But, despite the beachy cover, the moody song leading off the album could’ve easily fit on Moses. Damn, I love it when Bob goes dark and intense with his rockers. It’s cool to start an album off with one, and the synth fadeout is very nice. It’s also a ‘heaven’ song, which is commonplace on any Bob album nowadays. Take In is a very solid pop rocker, and fairly catchy. Somewhat nondescript but after a few plays I’m humming along. Who’s Running My Ranch is a cool song with distorted samples fro mild westerns and one hell of an insistent and familiar sounding bass line. Peter Gunn theme by an angular post-punk band maybe? Lots of effects on Bob’s vocals here, except on the nice ‘60s style verse/whatever section you want to call that. Up For All That alternates back to cleaner pop rock style, and again, is very solid. These type of songs seem to shine a bit more on this album compared to some others, like perhaps Off To Business. They’re well produced and maybe just slightly better songs. Which leads us to Pontius Pilate Heart, the best of the power poppy bunch on this album. Nice jangle to this one. Big Groceries rounds out side one, and it might be the definition of a great Bob album track. Catchy and short, with a hint of punk, it could fit on any Pollard album ever and hold its own. Pretty fine side one, all in all. There are some similarities of side two opener Fighting The Smoke to the Circus Devils song Smoke Machine; they both are heavy, gloomy rockers with basically the same distorted guitar tone and style of riffing. Both also happen to great and rock very hard; if you like the former you owe it to yourself to check out the latter. In full agreement with @guidedbyvoices on Rank Of A Nurse about it having Bob’s best vocal performance. It’s one of those minimal guitar and voice anthems that he does so well. The emphasis on the ‘b’ word is just slightly off putting, but whatever, the song is a winner. Time for a taut and propulsive punk-prog number and Tight But Normal Squeeze steps up to plate. It has a Boston Spaceships feel to me, and the melody is there. I’m on board so far with Jack. The mood switches up with Red Rubber Army. This might be my favorite song on the album. Purest of pop Bob is pouring out here. Nicely tender singing and a fairly cool backing track with limited percussion and little guitar parts. Alright it is my favorite on the album. The mood continues, but takes a step down with The March Of Merrilville, my least favorite on the album. Not much to sink your teeth in there, a bit plodding and lacking in charm. Winter Comes To Those Who Pray draws the proceedings to a close. Again, a moody number, which starts off slowly and takes a minute to get to the chorus, but, it’s intense, worth the wait and you wish it was repeated at least one more time. Overall this a strong album for me; I can’t find to many weak spots, just one really. It seems like five plays in a week is often the make or break (usually make) mark for me, as this one has really grown on me as well. Completely pointless side note: The vinyl of Jack Sell The Cow is the only Robert Pollard-related item I’ve ever found marked down. I found it for $12.99 at a record store near the campus of Purdue University. I’d love to say I’ll weigh in on Honey Locust Honky Tonk before next Tuesday, but my track record isn’t great. Can’t wait to see the thoughts on it.
