Guided by Voices: Sweating the Plague ( 2019 )

      Sweating the Plague. Interesting album title for October 25, 2019. Just saying. 

     After four albums and four EP's, this lineup of Guided by Voices found their sound. Robert Pollard finally had a powerhouse rock band; a band capable of playing in any style with electric chops. Now he could do lo-fi with intent, rather than out of necessity. He could bring the power to power-pop. He could bring the energy and ambition of The Who. More importantly, he had a band that could competently pull off prog and psychedelic rock. An undeniable chemistry had developed between bassist Mark Shue and drummer Kevin March. Shue is, by far, the best bass player Pollard has ever worked with. Doug Gillard and Bobby Bare Jr. are a deadly combination of guitar licks and crunchy chords. Pollard's lyrics have also become less word collage and more direct over the years. And they kill it as a live band. 

     The opening track, "Downer", is a menacing song that is periodically interrupted by the rhythm section going off for a few bars at a time. "Street Party" is a 2-minute rocker where March does some interesting off-beat rhythms. After the down-tempo "Mother's Milk Elementary", we come to the meat of the album with the run of the infectious and propulsive "Heavy Like the World", the riff-tastic "Ego Central High" and the downhill assault of "The Very Second". Other songs of note are "Unfun Glitz", which is a muscular banger and "Your Cricket is Rather Unique", featuring Kevin March on lead vocals and Mark Shue on backing vocals. Robert Pollard is in top form on tracks like "Immortals". And just for good measure, they throw in "My Wrestling Days Are Over", which sounds like a lost song from the Propeller sessions. Sweating the Plague is an impressive, solid 4-star album. 

     On the housekeeping front, I am currently working on my 1974 album deep dive, while also plowing through these Guided by Voices albums. So, if I don't post for a couple days it's because I'm trying to make more headway on the deep dive. Ideally, I can squeeze 1974 into the middle of the Guided by Voices series since I have time before the new album comes out in late June. After that, I will move on to 2004. Peace. 

 

     

Guided by Voices: Zeppelin Over China ( 2019 )

      Ok. I'm on the record as being generally in favor of double albums. Love the White Album. Love Physical Graffiti. Exile on Main Street should just be a single album. I'm also on the record that there should be no limits to the amount of music Robert Pollard releases...ever. That said, we are about to enter an era of Pollard-ian excess. I'm still alright with that, but it's a bit of a slog. Guided by Voices begin 2019 with the release of another double album, consisting of 32 tracks, called Zeppelin Over China. They will also release a compilation album, Warp and Woof, which is a collection of four EP's from 2018-9 that has 24 tracks. Finally, they would put out a tight 12 song album, Sweating the Plague. If my math is correct, that's 68 songs. In addition, they will release three more albums in 2020. At the time, it was too much even for me to take in. For this exercise, I will be listening to most of these albums for only the second time. I couldn't keep up. 

     As I re-listened to Zeppelin Over China the other day, my initial reaction after the first 20 songs was that this would be a solid 4-star album. Unfortunately, there were 12 more tracks that consisted of mostly of demo quality scraps and assorted filler. The exceptions being "Cold, Cold Hands" and "My Future in Barcelona". Both of these tracks are well-conceived rockers that are reminiscent of early 2000's Guide by Voices. I'm not going to argue that ZOC should have been a really good single album, but I did have to knock it down to a high 3.5 stars. 

     In general, I love the fleshed out, 3+ minute songs here, such as, "Step of the Wave" with its turbo-charged chorus, "Your Lights Are Out" with its masterful vocal performance by Uncle Bob, "You Own the Night", and the exquisite chord play on "Charmless Peters". Somewhere in here is a 5-star album, but I will never begrudge Pollard following his muse wherever it leads him. These early albums serve as a testing ground for this new lineup. You can hear them launch off from the solid ground of Earthquake Glue and Half-Smiles of the Decomposed where Pollard, Gillard and March carry most of the load. Soon, this band will develop its own unique sound with Mark Shue and Bobby Bare Jr. featured more prominently. A perfect example is the dynamic track "Windshield Wiper Rex" which features some excellent bass work by Shue. "Holy Rhythm" is a stomping, prog song that is the template for many a future Guided by Voices track. "Jack Tell" is like a rock opera by The Who crammed into 3:20. 

     Maybe after repeated listens to the scrap songs, I could get back up to 4-stars on ZOC, but for now I need to keep pressing on. I will be skipping Warp and Woof, because it's a compilation, not a proper album. Maybe some time in the distant future I will circle back to it. I will leave you with the single from ZOC, "The Rally Boys". Peace.

David Sanborn: Straight to the Heart ( 1984 )

      I just want to take a few minutes to remember the legendary alto saxophonist, David Sanborn, who passed away a couple days ago. I played the saxophone in my youth and David Sanborn was one of my heroes. I played the tenor sax, and I'll admit I was kind of snobby about the alto sax. I thought the alto was too squawky. That is until I was exposed to David Sanborn. In his hands, the alto sounded smooth and soulful. It's safe to say, every saxophonist of the past 40 years is standing on the shoulders of Sanborn. His sound is ubiquitous. 

     David Sanborn was afflicted with polio as a child and his doctor suggested playing the saxophone to build up his chest muscles. Hank Crawford of the Ray Charles band was a major influence on Sanborn's style. By the age of 14, he was playing with Albert King. In the late 60's he was in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and performed with them at Woodstock. He played the amazing sax solo on James Taylor's version of "How Sweet It Is". The list of people he played with and albums he performed on is vast and all-encompassing. Bowie, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and even Ween. 

     When my wife's uncle passed earlier this year, I acquired a couple of David Sanborn records from his collection. As I'm typing this, I have the album Straight to the Heart playing in the background. The album came out in 1984 and won the 1986 Grammy for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. The brilliant Marcus Miller produced and played bass on this record. In addition, the tremendous Hiram Bullock is on guitar. Straight to the Heart features the Sanborn track, "Hideaway", the fantastic Marcus Miller track, "Run For Cover" and a couple great covers of "Love and Happiness" and "One Hundred Ways". Most, if not all, of these songs were live recordings. 

     When great jazz musicians are discussed, David Sanborn is seldom mentioned. For better or worse, he is credited with starting the "smooth jazz" genre, which is looked down upon in jazz circles. It's a great disservice to Sanborn's career to pigeon-hole him in this way. He is easily one of the most influential jazz musicians of the past 50 years. David Sanborn's fingerprints are all over the playing of every saxophonist of the last 40 years. Hopefully, with his passing, his career will receive a long overdue reassessment. Peace. 

Guided by Voices: Space Gun ( 2018 )

      Guided by Voices really slacked off in 2018, only releasing one album. That album was the 5-star banger, Space Gun. All the promise of Robert Pollard's new lineup comes together here. Pollard is at the top of his game, as well. Space Gun is a fun, high energy, tour de force. I actually picked up this album at Sonic Boom Records in Seattle, while on vacation. 

     My favorite track by this lineup of Guided by Voices is "Gray Spat Matters". Pollard's delivery is perfect, and I love Doug Gillard's insistent chord changes. It's a classic, hit and run Guided by Voices song that clocks in at 1:29. The next track is "That's Good", which is the most beautifully produced song in the band's entire catalog. It would fit magnificently on The Flaming Lips masterpiece The Soft Bulletin. Bob's vocals are subdued, but confident. The other standout track on Space Gun is "See My Field". It's a fast-paced rocker in the tradition of the bands Earthquake Glue era when Gillard and Kevin March were originally members. 

     There are a number of delightfully bonkers tracks on Space Gun. Rather than being goofy throw away tunes like Pollard has done in the past, they are actually nice, fleshed out songs. "Colonel Paper" is a fantastic song title and it's a mash up of references to Colonel Saunders and rolling cigarettes. It has some classic Pollard lines like, "Are you like extra crispy when you wake up", "Is it fish or chicken", and "Who is this Colonel Paper of whom you speak?" Another great song title is "King Flute", which is exactly what the song is about. "Blink Blank" begins with the epic stanza, "Lighthouse black. Coffee can blue. I lost an umbrella looking for you in a shit storm". By far, the wackiest song is "I Love Kangaroos". It's a sweet pop tune about youth, growing up, and being amused by kangaroos. 

     The rest of the album is comprised of top-notch, straight-ahead rockers. "Evolution Circus" closes out the record and opens with another brilliant lyric by Pollard, "Columbus and all his troops were photographing bulldozers before they flattened back the Earth". There are no duds on this album. Oh, and the title track is pretty good too. Peace.

Guided by Voices: How Do You Spell Heaven ( 2017 )

     How do you spell heaven? I usually spell it G-b-V. Unfortunately, the second Guided by Voices album of 2017 doesn't quite reach that celestial level. Don't get me wrong, it's a good album. The band really brings it on this one. However, when the band lays back the sound is murky and turgid. Many tracks are saved by the band kicking in the door on the chorus. Guided by Voices albums are often a mixed bag. It's part of Robert Pollard's charm, but on this record his highs are higher, but not as frequent, and his lows are lower. It almost sounds like a high-quality Robert Pollard solo album. 

     If it's any indication, my favorite track is a four-minute instrumental, "Pearly Gates Smoke Machine". It was co-written by Doug Gillard, and he kills it on lead guitar. It has that strutting 70's rock vibe. If there's one thing this album does, it solidifies that Pollard has found his perfect lineup. They make nearly every song on here at least solid to really good. However, I doubt any tracks on HDYSH while make my top songs list, except possibly the instrumental. I was going to give it a 3-star rating, but after a few more listens I bumped it up to 3.5 stars. The quality picks up quite a bit in the second half with songs like "Diver Dan", "Paper Cutz", "Nothing Gets You Real" and the title track. 

     Maybe it's because Pollard has worked with them a lot over the years and they have his trust, but Doug Gillard and drummer Kevin March do all the heavy lifting on HDYSH. It's where all the forward momentum comes from. We hear this right from the jump on, "The Birthday Democrats". The second track, "King 007" starts out kind of jazzy, but when the band kicks in at 53 seconds it's a phenomenal rocker...until it rides out with the jazzy bit again. "Steppenwolf Mausoleum" is a slow burner in the verses that also kicks in on the bridge and chorus. "They Fall Silent", is the obligatory bizarre under one-minute Pollard track. Overall, HDYSH is a solid record, but it's not at the level of the best Guided by Voices albums. There's no shame in that. Peace.

Guided by Voices: August by Cake ( 2017 )

      You may have noticed that Sound Mind went through a roughly six-year period of dormancy beginning in the mid-2010's. This coincided with Robert Pollard overhauling the lineup of Guided by Voices and establishing the group's personnel that continues to the present. To celebrate the fact that this iteration of Guided by Voices will be releasing its 16th album, King of Struts, next month, and that I will be seeing them again at the Grog Shop in July, I'm planning to post about each album and come up with a top songs list at the end. 

     I was kind of at ground zero for the events that lead to the current lineup of Guided by Voices. In the early 2010's, there was a revival of Guided by Voices classic lineup with Tobin Sprout and Mitch Mitchell. I had tickets to see them again in 2014, when Pollard abruptly disbanded the group and cancelled the remaining tour dates. I still have my ticket as a souvenir. Then in 2016, Pollard put together a lineup consisting of Nick Mitchell, Bobby Bare Jr., Mark Shue and former Guided by Voices drummer Kevin March. I went to the Grog Shop show on that tour. At that show, the band didn't come out for an encore. We were all waiting and confused. Eventually, Kevin March, came out with a bemused look on his face and said that was it for the show. Turns out, Pollard fired Nick Mitchell in the dressing, room and he was replaced later that month by long-time Pollard guitarist, Doug Gillard. Now the current lineup was set. 

     "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you August by Cake!" This announcement by Robert Pollard begins their first album; a double album where everyone in the band contributes songs. The first thing you notice on the opening track, "5 Degrees on the Inside" (Baby, that's cold), is this lineup is a tight, hi-fi rock and roll outfit. The addition of Mark Shue's active bass playing to the veterans Gillard and March gives Guided by voices a new, fresh sound. Shue is easily the best bassist Pollard has ever worked with. These guys can play all of Robert Pollard's "P's" of Rock; Pop, Prog, Psych and Punk. However, there is still plenty of Pollard brand weirdness, as on the second song, "Generox Gray", and "Fever Pitch", which sounds like an outtake from Bee Thousand. Doug Gillard contributes two tracks, a fantastic straight-up rocker "Goodbye Note" and an angular, indie rock tune "Deflect/Project". Mark Shue contributes three amazing songs; "Sudden Fiction", "Chew the Sand" and the standout track "Absent the Man", which features a fantastic, 60's psych influenced guitar solo by Gillard. Kevin March's songs "Overloaded" and "Sentimental Wars" are solid, but he's not as strong a vocalist as Gillard or Shue. Bobby Bare Jr.'s songs, "High Five Hall of Famers" and "Upon the Circus Bus" are delightfully lo-fi and Pollard-esque. 

     August by Cake seems like an album where Pollard is feeling out his new band to see what he has to work with. His contributions are standard fare. I do like the lyrics for "Cheap Buttons". "10 billion Ringo fans can't be wrong. Target your audience then write them a song". For a 32 song, Guided by Voices double album, August by Cake is very consistent and doesn't overstay its welcome. I would rate it as 4 stars out of 5. Peace.

Yard Act: Where's My Utopia?

      There have been several album releases so far this year that I'm really digging; The Smile, Rosali, Friko, Ducks Ltd., Waxahatchee, Cloud Nothings and of course, Yard Act's Where's My Utopia? Their 2022 album, The Overlord, was a Mercury Prize finalist and my favorite album of the year. It was a biting commentary on Brexit and covid lockdowns and capitalism. So, how do you follow that up? You make a follow up album about making a follow up album. Where's My Utopia finds Yard Act's James Smith more introspective and reflective on success, fatherhood and his past. Musically, the band have pushed themselves with more production and grooves. Even their music videos had a running concept and plot with recurring characters. Many people I know who have listened to the album got a distinct "Gorillaz" vibe. I think that's mostly attributable to the track "The Undertow". There are several songs, such as, "We Make Hits", "Dream Job", "When the Laughter Stops" and "Petroleum" that are very much made for the dance club. 

     The pivotal track is the seven and a half minute spoken word piece, "Blackpool Illuminations". James recounts an incident from his childhood, which may or may not be true, when he went to Blackpool with his family and was injured. Toward the end we realize he's talking to his son. "Finally, I made it and for the first time, I felt truly free with my beautiful family and my dream job no longer a dream. Still now it baffles me. I attained perfection with you, I attained perfection. So why the fuck was I wondering what wankers would think of album two". In "The Undertow" he sings about the guilt of being away from his family to pursue his music career (I'm a slave to sound). The final lines of "We Make Hits" are a transition from The Overload to Where's My Utopia", "I'm still an anti- C-A-P-I-T-A-L-I-S-T. It just so happens that there's other things I happen to be. So, I'm gonna keep flinging shit until enough of it sticks. Break down the walls. And if it's not a hit, we were being ironic". 

     My favorite track is "Petroleum". It has a funky, slinky groove and the lyrics are great. "My bones burn. And the brain that's controlling them knows that the soul needs petroleum". The bass on this track is tremendous and the guitars are incendiary. Yard Act took a great leap forward on this album. I'm looking forward to seeing them this fall at The Grog Shop. Can't wait for the next album. Peace.