Search - Guided By Voices :: Box Set

Absolutely must have

05/19/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you know someone who owns this collection, no matter how good of friends you may be, you must kill them and claim this as your own. Simply put the most beautiful pop songs written, the gems more than make up for the experimental tossoffs. Needmore songs? They are all right here."

Searching for a heart of gold? Look here...

llllloyd | minnesota,usa | 07/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is simply a must have set,GBV fan or not. It gives you 6 albums of great music AND points the way to even more GBV triumphs yet to come. This collection contains the band's independantly released albums right up to Vampire On Titus plus it adds a disc of cuts that you can only get with this set. There are more valuable gems that exist here than in all of the diamond mines in the world. I choose this vinyl version,which has been like a best friend to me since 1995, only because you get Propeller as a bonus. 6 lp's of the finest music you will ever hear...yes Virginia there is a God! Devil Between My Toes is Gbv's first full length release. Dropped in 1987 (!),this is the sound of a band searching for it's voice. Still, "A Portrait Destroyed By Fire","Dog's Out","Hank's Little Fingers" and "Captain's Dead" point to the ground the band would mine in the future. Listening to the band create their sound out of scratch is something any fan should hear yet it's a compelling listen in it's own right.Sandbox was also released in 1987. "Every Day" and "I Certainly Hope Not" are the cream here but "Lips Of Steal","Drinking Jim Crow","Trap Soul Door","Long Distance Man" and "Adverse Wind" are among the other solid tunes. A fine lead into....Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is among the 5 best GBV album's yet released. "Paper Girl" and "Liar's Tale" never fail to find the express way to my heart. There are too many other good songs to list here but the band got it good here. I would have loved to hear this album in 1989 but I was a mid-teen convinced that Motley Crue and Aerosmith spoke to me. I doubt I could have found a copy had I tried but I sucked so much during this time that it's a moot point. Classic GBV.Released in 1990, The Same Place The Fly Got Smashed is a concept album about drinking. Anybody who's seen GBV in concert knows that Bob likes his beer. As concept album's go, this is one of the best. It's a drunken Tommy. The down side of alchohol (and the craziness it can produce) run wild here: "Airshow '88","The Hard Way","Drinker's Peace","Mammoth Cave",When She Turns 50","Pendulum"(one of my faves from this set),"Blatant Doom Trip" and "How Loft Am I?" are the strongest tracks on a very solid album. It's not trying to tell you what to do, it's just telling a very good story. Listen and learn and just like Bob grab a beer and rock.Great stuff...Propeller is included on this vinyl version but not on the cd set. It's jam packed with outstanding tracks but "Weedking","Particular Damaged","Exit Flagger","14 Cheerleader Coldfront" and "On The Tundra" stand out. If you get the cd version you HAVE to get Propeller on cd as well. You must...How good was GBV during this period (1987-93) that lead up to it's 2 best albums (Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, the best in my humble opinion only-mind you)? Check out King S*it And the Golden Boys, a record of previously unreleased tracks from 1988,1991 and 1993. This record of "table scraps" is better than most group's greatest hits collections. "We've Got Airplanes","Crutch Came Slinking"(a great song),"Sopor Joe","Crunch Pillow","Indian Was An Angel","Don't Stop Now","Greenface","Death Trot and Warlock Riding A Rooster","2nd Moves To Twin","Scissors"(which makes a serious claim as being the best Tobin Sprout song of his GBV stint),"Postal Blowfish" and "Crocker's Favorite Song" are all songs that would have fit well on regular GBV albums. This is not an album of toss away's-it's an album of stuff they had no room for.If you are building a collection of this band's work, then get this excellent box set to see the whole picture. Any fan will tell you that this is good,good stuff. This early GBV stuff paved the way to bigger exposure and a bigger sound (Do The Collapse and Isolation Drills) and as such it's a crucial document in the career of arguably the best rock and roll band that America has produced in the last 20 years. Steal it,harm people to claim it or prostitute yourself to own it.....just get it. Most (if not all) of your record collection will cower in it's shadow."

Listen to Dayton Ohio's top philosopher; bring a six pack

Tenfelde | Chicago, IL USA | 01/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps the number one job of an artist is to provide the public with a complete picture of themselves and the world they come into contact with. If that's the case, then Rob Pollard is a gem of an artist. Listen and learn what its like to be a school teacher dropout turned basement rock star from Dayton Ohio. A philosopher lubricated by American beer and cigarettes, Rob weaves complex metaphors about simple ideas. His band cranks out big hooks over walls of tape hiss and missed cues. By listening to a do-it-yourself rock star, you as a listener, can become a do-it-yourself revolter of the commercial music industry. You may even be inspired to quit your job or start strumming and writing lyric in your basement. My recommendation: buy the wax edition and dust off your turntable."