Guided By Voices studio albums: Worst to Best
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ย. 2024
- All 30 GBV studio records ranked from worst to best.
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Lost me at Alien Lanes. It's their White Album. Whole is greater than the sum of its parts. You need every bit. It also sounds great.
I dunno, I respect a guy who has the balls to just dislike Alien Lanes for no good reason. Like A Pink FLoyd Fan rejecting Wish You Were Here or a Soundgarden fan who can do without Superunknown.
@@lucymoody4927 I respect him. Contrarians are needed, as well as opinions.
@@lucymoody4927 I think his reason is attention. Placing it there is ridiculous. "Poorly recorded" is just a dumb, dumb comment to make about Alien Lanes. It's like he's saying lofi is bad but GBV are great and it's dumb. It's like this dude wrote a book about a band he doesn't even understand.
@@wallyosmond9204 I like when he calls the songs "half-baked". My favorite album of all time and not just in the GBV universe, but against anything. And there can't be two classic line-ups btw.
Oh, yeah, and he calls it a miss! He calls their best record a miss, lol. Hey man, maybe you should rate Chicago records instead?????
Alien Lanes at #20? Really?
Duh. Too many songs. Duh
@@LukeMcGuireoides yeah we really hate it when bands have songs
#1 will always be Vampire on Titus for me.
Great list!
Earthquake Glue is my absolute favorite. Every song is so incredible, containing daring sonic palettes with strange, muddy marimbas and soaring synthesizers, and song structures I've never heard before or since. I notice something new and beautiful every single time I listen to it. I don't know what Bob was going through at the time, but I feel like everything I perceived as a non-sequitur on first listen ended up being a glimpse into an incredibly worried but productive mind, and it's all very relatable and touching.
An underrated classic! I feel a lot of the GBV albums run out of steam by the last few songs, but this album starts out strong and finishes stronger. Love some of the close-to-prog moments on the last few tracks starting with the incredible Main Street Wizards. Probably my favorite GBV album, though it's a close race with it and Under the Bushes Under the Stars.
The one-two punch of "My Son, My Secretary, My Country" and "I'll Replace You With Machines" is gold!It always amps me up, the prog and the power-rock!!
I'm surprised they barely play "Machines" live, it's one their greatest stadium rockers ever and the weird production actually works well on it.
I am still waiting to play that one for the first time :)
Best of Jill Hives is one of my favorite tunes of all time.
I recently found my old copy and realized how much more there is on that album. Before I lost the CD I had "My Kind of Soldier" on repeat. Found a whole lot more. Great album.
Insane you rate some of the 2010s records above Alien Lanes - it's offensive
Alien Lanes isn't their best record. Same place the fly got smashed is better.
@@applescruff1969 Look at your username man what are you talkin about
@@AngelGonzalez-ij8xm There doesn't seem to be many patriots around anymore. That's what my username is about.
@@applescruff1969 no fuckin' way. Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes (Propeller) is the peak. Not to say Fly isnt awesome...but thats absurd. Nothing wrong with being a Patriot, as long as your not referring to the football team. Bee Thousand may have the edge, but Alien Lanes is either #1 or #2. Propeller is #3. its like Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers. other killer stuff, but lets establish the facts, first.
@@applescruff1969 It doesn't matter if you love smashing flys. It's still totally dumb to rate Alien Lanes at 20 and call it "a miss". It's dumb. Then he ends his video with the opening track. He called Chicken Blows, As We Go Up We Go Down, A Good Flying Bird "filler songs that don't really fit." Didn't even mention Little Whirl or Blimps Go 90. People can have opinions, that's fine, but this is dumb and stupid.
Jeff, I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your taking us all on this GBV journey with you; it’s revived my interest in the band after I had burned myself out on the glut of Pollard product in the early ‘00s (I still think the discography suffers from an over abundance of stuff and a lack of quality control, but that’s for another discussion). I really enjoy the newer albums a lot. One sign of a band’s long-term greatness is when fans wildly disagree over what the best albums are. I suppose that’s a nice way of saying that I’m kind of hurt that anyone would rank Alien Lanes so low on a GBV list. It’s almost painful as that record means everything to me. However, I do agree wholeheartedly with your pick for the best GBV song of all time. ROCKNROLLLLL!
I love Mag Earwhig! Learning to Hunt is easily a top 10 GBV song and brings tears to my eyes. Bulldog Skin rocks.
One of the really difficult things for me about ranking these albums is the fact that I was 21 or 22 when I was really into the “early stuff“ like be thousand and alien lanes, and now that I am like 47 and really into the new stuff, I feel like I’m kind of a different person at this point. It’s awesome that GBV has been a part of my life for so long, and there was even a time in the middle where I really kind of lost touch with the band. I didn’t even listen to universal truths, earthquake glue, or half smiles until about 2015. I sort of rediscovered them after forgetting about them for a long time after class clown came out. So my personal experience with the band is sort of scatter shot, and I love the new stuff, but it’s hard for me to say it’s better than Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes (which is actually my #1) although I love love love this newest incarnation of the band and am more into them than I ever have been. If I were pushed to do so, I would say that my top three is Lanes, Bee, and Bushes, but the “older” part of me likes the new stuff. It’s kind of like those Frosted Mini Wheats commercials “one side for the kid in you and one side for your grown up self” - it’s sort of like that.
you make a great point about how so many times music is connected to who you were when you first heard it, so an attack on Alien Lanes becomes an attack on you as a twenty year-old (and no one wants to hear that); music is a powerful reminder and signifier for where we were in our lives when we first heard it, and it's hard to untangle ourselves from those feelings; this is one of the reasons I like getting into prog, because I have no emotional or even cultural attachments to it, and I'm able to judge it solely on its artistic grounds, rather than being "the '90s rule!" because that was MY decade
1. Bee Thousand
2. Alien Lanes
3. Under the Bushes
4. Vampire on Titus (Honestly if it wasn't for "What About It" this would probably be #1)
5. The Bears for Lunch (I hate this album because it was so surprisingly good that now I feel obligated to listen to their whole discography)
6. Propeller
7. Universal Truths
8. Mag Earwhig
9-30 They have way too many goddamn albums
I agree with your list so much!!! You are so dead on right!!!!🩸
I just barely started getting into their stuff chronologically and MAN, Titus is soooo good
Very reasonable and well explained rankings here, though as others have noted, I'd place Alien Lanes higher, certainly in the top five somewhere. Even if we throw out the short fragments/pieces of songs, we still have Game of Pricks, Watch Me Jumpstart, Closer You Are, My Valuable Hunting Knife, Good Flying Bird, Striped White Jets, Salty Salute--all very good, classic GBV songs.
It’s an impossible task choosing a favourite song but if I absolutely had to there’s a good chance it would be “Over the Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox”
totally agree with that
“Over The Neptune” yes.
“Mesh Gear Fox” not so much.
I love this channel and your podcast and I love that I disagree with so many of your picks! You know a band is great when there are so many differing opinions amongst fans.
Please Be Honest is criminally underrated! Yes, I will die on this hill
it is absolutely underrated! almost thought i was the only one
if we all agreed, that'd be boring
How can you discuss "Same Place the Fly Got Smashed" without mentioning "The Hard Way"? Even though I disagreed with most of your choices, I did like hearing your thoughts.
The Hard Way AND Mammoth Cave
There are no filler songs on _Alien Lanes_.
Didn’t expect to stick around for the entire video/. Well done… I just got into the band and decided to start with alien lanes as the first.. now I’m excited to get to some of the other stuff in their discography.
THIS IS AMAZING. bought the book a few weeks back and absolutely love it. thanks so much for this!!! im a newer fan so this is super helpful to navigate their discography
Do you think you're going to do a Robert Pollard solo projects ranking?
glad you liked this! and I hope you like the book; I don't see myself getting into Pollard's solo stuff; maybe a top ten but not every album (since I think he has dozens at this point and I need a break from Uncle Bob)
I have always felt that Do The Collapse was super underrated. It's definitely top 5 for me.
Have you heard Before The Collapse, the demos? Blows the proper album out of the water
I was so nerding out to this.
Can’t really agree with some of your picks though.
My top 10.
10.Universal Truths And Cycles
9.Do The Collapse
8.Earthquake Glue
7.Devil Between My Toes
6.Mag Earwhig!
5.Vampire On Titus
4.Under The Bushes, Under The Stars
3.Propeller
2.Bee Thousand
1.Alien Lanes
glad you liked it; and hey, if yours are different than mine that's a-ok
I can get behind your 1-6.
That was fun. Thanks! I'd say my top 10 are not too far off: 1. Alien Lanes. 2. Bee Thousand. 3. Propeller. 4. Warp and Woof. 5. Under the Bushes. 6. Isolation Drills 7. Class Clown. 8. Bears for Lunch. 9. Space Gun 10. Please Be Honest (yes, I know i know..but I love that album because it felt like that was the time when Bob stopped segregating... here we had GBV , Pollard solo, Circus Devils weirdness... everything kinda tossed in.) Of course, this list could change in an hour. :)
Love this and all your GBV podcast stuff Jeff!
Here's my list (including the three that were released after you made this):
33. Let's Go Eat The Factory
32. Devil Between My Toes
31. Please Be Honest
30. English Little League
29. Sandbox
28. Motivational Jumpsuit
27. Surrender Your Poppy Field
26. Class Clown Spots A UFO
25. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
24. Cool Planet
23. Styles We Paid For
22. Mirrored Aztec
21. Earthquake Glue
20. August By Cake
19. Half Smiles Of The Decomposed
18. Warp And Woof
17. Earth Man Blues
16. The Bears for Lunch
15. It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them!
14. Space Gun
13. Do The Collapse
12. Sweating The Plague
11. Vampire On Titus
10. Mag Earwhig!
9. Universal Truths And Cycles
8. How Do You Spell Heaven
7. Propeller
6. Alien Lanes
5. Same Place The Fly Got Smashed
4. Bee Thousand
3. Zeppelin Over China
2. Under The Bushes Under The Stars
1. Isolation Drills
❤ty
Thank you very much for putting together the podcast and these videos. I can't begin to describe what GbV means to me , so discovering your podcast during this shutdown is a real treat! Thanks again and take care.
thanks so much! glad you're liking them
the best thing about all of the GBV albums is that this list became out of date as soon as it was uploaded!!!!
I enjoyed this! Funnily enough my favorite Pollard album is probably his first "solo" album. Maggie Turns to Flies, John Strange School and King of Arthur Ave are 3 of my favorite songs of all time. Good video!!
Bob's voice shines brightest on Keene Brothers - BLUES AND BOOGIE SHOES
Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, Bee Thousand, Mag Earwig, Do the Collapse, Alien Lanes, Isolation Drills immediately spring to mind. I don't relate as much to the band post-Half Smiles of the Decomposed. I last saw them on that 'farewell' tour, made my peace with it and moved on. But oh how I do love that music.
I like how this video is only 3 years old and since, about 25% of thier discography now has been released since
I enjoyed this breakdown. I liked that you placed August By Cake so high since I think that album is quite underrated, and I agree that it greatly benefits from the songwriting contributions from the rest of the band. I would have put it closer to the top ten, but I relate to the low placement of Alien Lanes as well. What really kills that album for me is the weaker version of "Game Of Pricks" that is on there. Your assessment of UTBUTS (my personal fave) is interesting as well. I think the sprawling nature of that one works great, but I agree that it could be considered by many more fans to be their best album if it had been a bit more streamlined with Deal at the helm for the entire process. If that album had come out in 1995 instead of Alien Lanes it seems like it could have had a huge impact. It probably didn't have a single as strong as "Motor Away" though. Also, even by '96 the sun seemed to be setting on the alternative boom of the 90s. UTBUTS is incredible as is, but it arrived a bit too late. Last but not least, I would place Warp and Woof in the top five. My favorite release by the band in years. Such a fun album.
I have a hard time separating some of the albums with what was going on in my life at the time. Like, Mag Earwhig came out the same month I graduated from high school, which means I have really fond memories of that time in my life, and the (admittedly imperfect) was on in the background for much of that. Nobody's list is going to be the same, and I appreciate your ranking.
You make a great point here, which is that it's hard to separate the record from the time in our lives when we heard it.
@@selfinflictedauralnostalgi9067 Very true!But Mag Earwig really is an incredibly varied record!
Killer list. It would be cool if you did a follow up with all the solo and side projects and newer albums, rank them or just go over them - call it a 'supplmental' 🎉
Just found your videos and really enjoyed your rundown of all these records. I especially appreciated your reasoning, not just of the music but the artwork as well. Thanks!
thanks, man; check out the whole series
Great rundown. I'm familiar with half a dozen of their albums, though this makes me want to try to listen to them all. Have seen them live in '02 and '22, in S.F. Always an entertaining show. I sort of love the lo-fi early stuff most. And, not surprisingly, my introduction to them, Bee Thousand and I am a Scientist EP.
Jeff, you're missing the greatest release of all!! King Shit & The Golden Boys ~ I know it's a comp. album, but it should certainly get a mention as it is full LP sized and is chalk full of GEMS!! Postal Blowfish, Greenface, Sopor Joe, Scissors (my fav. Tobin track all time), Crocker's fav. song.....all gold on this release!
Pollard's Coast to Coast Carpet of Love is a phenomenal album as well. But getting into all of the solo, side projects, etc would take a 10 hour video.
Love same place the fly got smashed
All day!!! Killer album.
Should do EPs..
Get Out Of My Stations
My biggest disagreements are Alien Lanes and August by Cake. I love a lot of the recent records (Mirrored Aztec, Zeppelin Over China and Space Gun especially), but I think August is a few miles below the 7 that followed. I think I would rank August at 29 (above Devil Between My Toes). And Alien Lanes....I love it. It's a singular work of genius that has an incredible flow from start to finish. For me that would be number 2 (behind Universal Truths and Cycles). Fun to watch though!
Also I think Please Be Honest deserves a re-visit. It didn't do much for me at first but grew on me a ton after ignoring it for a couple years. It wouldn't crack my top 10 but it's got some incredible stuff on it.
There are four of their albums that keep changing places, depending on which one I'm listening to at the time:
Propeller
Bee Thousand
Alien Lanes
Under the Bushes Under the Stars
Those are the best imo
This is really fun to listen to and critique! I think you got your ass on backwards when it comes to Alien Lanes; gee whiz, that album was the thrill of my life at the time. I come back to that, B1000, and Isolation Drills as pivotal.
I don’t think Alien Lanes should be marked down because there’s too much brown on the album sleeve! It’s their Magnum Opus. Every song is crammed with more melodies than half a dozen Beatles tracks and they never overstay their welcome. GBV are lo fi and don’t do 3-4 minute songs on a 12 track album.
Interesting results here: Bee Thousand, Propeller and Under the Bushes right up there, but Alien Lanes and Vampire on Titus so low on list?? (My first purchase was Vampire/Propeller too. Then, The Grand Hour, which is GBV's Watery Domestic!)
i love how weird your takes on this band's discog are. a lot of commenters have said this already but these sorts of disagreements really are a testament to the band's strength. plus you've got me reconsidering some of my own opinions now! think i'll go back and give do the collapse another shot...
I've got Alien Lanes as my personal #2, but your list is fine by me.
Great video, disagreed with most of the list (not a bad thing at all). What are your thoughts on Tonics and Twisted Chasers?
You know, I've never really gotten into it. I tried a few times, and liked the first couple of songs, but then it got sloppy and it kind of pushed me away. Should I try again?
@@selfinflictedauralnostalgi9067 If you want to, but that's more or less how I feel about it. It's one of my least favorites from their earlier years, but I like it more than most of their most recent albums.
Cant believe how low both Alien Lanes and VOT are on your list. Wild.
Alien Lanes is my favorite so crazy to have it listed far down but I liked that Do the Collapse is higher up there. I really like that album.
Imagine being a Guided By Voices superfan and your major gripe with recording artists is too many songs. I mean, cmon. WTF. _That's_ one of the things that makes GBV great. It's a trademark. Imagine if GBV only had 12 studio albums with 12 tracks each. No one would even know who they are. A surplus of tracks takes nothing from an album, especially these days. I would argue it never has.
Sel-Inflicted Ariel Nostalgia is what got me into Guided By Voices. An Earful Of Wax, White Whale and Liars Tale are amazing pure GBV tracks. Surprised you didn't mention them. You need to re-listen to this because it's no way at all where you ranked it.
I still come back to this. Thanks so much 🙂
The most utterly subjective facet of GBV you've covered on this channel and except for Bee Thousand as top, I disagree with every choice you made here!
true, this is a totally subjective ranking...and disagreeing is a-okay.
Great job, Jeff. The high placement of August By Cake was a head-scratcher. I hear lots of half-baked ideas on that album. But I agree that English Little League is a stinker. Keep up the great work- I look forward to listening to your podcast after every new release.
Being a casual fan in the 90’s of GBV and then rediscovering them last year this type of list is really helpful. Ive heard most of the albums but I would put AL at the top. Im a huge Smiths fan and would have loved if they would of put out half of what GBV has put out. GBV makes it fun again to discover new songs and hunt for the vinyl like I did with the Smiths in the 80’s and 90’s. Great video as usual.
Thank you; this is going to be helpful as I investigate GBV (via the Airport 5). Is it just me or are they the closest thing the US has to the The Fall?
I'm a simple man. I see a video of someone ranking GBV albums, and I immediately like and subscribe.
Just want to say I enjoyed this video a lot, and respect your informed opinion. Will note I friggin love Alien Lanes and saw them play on that tour with Chavez. I remember when they got on stage I was like whoa this is what Guided By Voices looks like and Pollard was completely loaded. Would love to hear your thoughts on their latest album. cheers.
Excellent video! Appreciate you sharing your thoughts and opinions, even if I disagree at times. It’s funny, the stuff you say about the “mishmash” feel of some of those matador albums is exactly what I love about them. Makes the listen interesting when you never know what the next song is going to sound like. Could be a pristine studio recording with the whole band or a lofi acoustic guitar or some random noises. Great stuff. The main takeaway for me from this video is I need to give the newer stuff more of a chance!
Such a great learning experience listening to this. I have a LOT of catching up to do on the more recent releases as I have been out of the loop for awhile. Could not agree more re: Alien Lanes being a poor recording. The first GBV cd I ever bought was 'Jellyfish Reflector' and I became an instant fan and was blown away by the intensity of the songs. When I went back to listen to tracks like Striped White Jets on 'Alien Lanes' they sounded like half baked demos - great songs that were frequently better either live or on other releases. Curious to see what you think of 'Get Out of My Stations' as this is my all time favourite release from the band and IMO has the definitive version of Motor Away...and great psychedelia with Dusty Bushworms. 'King Shit and the Golden Boys' is really really great too and would be my #2. Thanks for sharing!
Good reviews mate. For me top 3 is Lanes, Bushes and Earwig. Bee maybe 4th
Alien Lanes at number 20. Yeah, right. I really don't think you like Guided by Voices at all. I really don't. "I don't mind songs that are badly-produced". What are you talking about, dude? That album sounds AWSOME! If you had put it in the first ten, even in 9 or 10, I would have thought it a bit ridiculous, but I would have respect for you. But this is just imbecile. "Motor Away", "Game of Pricks", "King and Caroline", "A Salty Salute", "Watch Me Jumpstart", "Auditorium", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", "My Son Cool", "Little Whirl"... those are the best GBV songs ever. And you have August by Cake at 4, but you don't like filler!! Go listen to f-----g Oasis.
Shocked you rated Mag that low
Yikes. I listened to Alien Lanes recently after several years and I absolutely loved it. And I think Propeller is Pollard's 'Meddle'.
Alien Lanes at #20. 🤦♂️
Agree with many of your favourite song choices - Space Gun is an incredible track. But I really don’t understand the dislike you and others have for Bulldog Skin. It’s produced well, really catchy, great guitar solo, universal themes, interesting lyrics. What’s not to like?
Should also add - Bee Thousand is the best. People can disagree. But they’re wrong. As a piece of work it holds together objectively on so many levels.
for me, "Bulldog Skin" just sounds kind of fratboy, plus the cheap rhymes seem lazy coming from a guy who's so good with language; but you're right, it's a nice solo from Gillard
I LOVE your work... just happen to disagree on Alien Lanes. My all-time favorite GBV album, which puts it above Bee Thousand... which... yeah... opinions.
It just struck me:
"Do the Collapse" looks like a compressed Minion robot.
I have to say your list is dramatically different than what mine would be. Their earlier material, especially Self Inflicted, should be way higher on the list. Do the Collapse is underrated but its definitely not one of their best.
I just bought your zeppelin over Dayton book!
Best overall album is the Ric Ocasek produced Do The Collapse.
Love it.
really underrated one in a gbv fanbase, always see it in the back of every list
From 1995-2004 about 90% of the music I listened to was GBV to the point where I finally got a bit burned out. I've only dipped into Pollard's "Act 2" discography (mostly Space Gun) over the last decade, so this video was very fun to watch, not only to see your rankings but more importantly because it's renewed my interest in the band after so many years away and given me some good places to start with their newer albums. Like many are no doubt going to say, Alien Lanes is in my top three if not #1 (I still think the trifecta of Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes/Under the Bushes will never be topped in indie rock) but overall I respect your rankings. Thanks for the marathon session!
Ha, same for me, 1997-2007 90% Pollard! I hit burnout (albeit a short one) with all the solo albums around 2007, then got back on board with a vengeance when Boston Spaceships came out, around 2008- 2009 and from there it's been mainly Pollardian bliss once again!
You win points for I, Jonathan in front of your collection... :-)
Interesting ranking. I would rate Earthquake Glue and Mag Earwhig! much higher, probably in the Top 5 GBV albums. How Do You Spell Heaven is also probably my favorite of the recent albums but opposite of you, I haven't listened to August By Cake much (or the albums after that one) but it's their most consistent album in a very long time. Do the Collapse, Isolation Drills and Bears For Lunch rank pretty low for me.
And as much as I adore Bee Thousand, I don't understand why it's always #1 on these lists. Bee Thousand contains some of their best, but also has a few songs that are just merely ok and on top of that, the sound quality does get in the way to some extent. What I would have given for them to trim that album down by about 4 or 5 tracks and to record it with the upgraded (yet not still super Hi-Fi) sound quality of Under the Bushes Under the Stars which in my opinion is a much stronger album and probably my #1.
Great list! Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox is also my favorite GBV song
For some reason , I love sandbox coz it’s jangly and fun
I like the bears for lunch and vampire on Titus
29. english little league
28. jumpsuit
27. please be honest
26. sandbox
25. poppy field
24. devil
23. collapse
22. universal
21. cool planet
20. factory
19. bears
18. heaven
17. earthquake
16. plague
15. mag earwhig
14. self inflicted
13. class clown
12. august by cake
11. warp & woof
10. half smiles
9. same place
8. vampire on titus
7. zeppelin over china
6. isolation drills
5. space gun
4. under the bushes
3. propeller
2. bee thousand
1. alien lanes
havent heard mirrored aztec yet so can’t include it
nice, our top tens are pretty similar; and check out Mirrored Aztec, it's super solid
Love Half Smiles!
This video was awesome. As a newer fan of the band, I really appreciate the detail you went into. "Over the Neptune..." is also my fav GBV song; I just ordered the Propeller reissue on blue vinyl, stoked! I still haven't gone through the whole discography, especially the newer stuff... so I'll definitely start with "August by Cake". Personal quick top 5: 1. Propeller 2. Bee thousand 3.DAREDEVIL STAMP COLLECTOR ( i know it's a b-sides collection...but it's bloody brilliant.) 4. Alien Lanes 5. Under the Bushes
puta madre, yo también me llamo juan pablo, también compré el propeller hace poco (solo alcancé en negro), también soy un neófito, pero no he oído Daredevil
@@juanpablomorantorres1903 jaja buena hermano! Daredevil Stamp collector es una colección de lados b del disco Do the collapse.
Could someone write out the list of the 30 album?
Under The Bushes Under The Stars is the last great GBV album. All the stuff before that was great too. Dude puts Alien Lanes at bottom of list. Gimme a break.
You've got some interesting ideas.
1) Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia - I think you rate this one criminally low. It's my favorite early GBV album. Perhaps as good as, if not better than, Propeller.
2) Mag Earwhig - oof. I would have rated this much higher.
3) Alien Lanes - I know I'd get as much garbage thrown at me as thrown at you on this...I think you've got a point. This album is forgiven/loved/adored because there are a good 10+ absolute gems. But the other half or so...not so much. I'm not sure where it would rank among all 30, but I think you're on to something.
4) Universal Truths & Cycles - I guess I say you underrate this one because this is my favorite Guided By Voices album. Perhaps it could lose a song or two, but not many.
5) I am going to listen to several of these other, newer albums now. Hard to believe they're any better than Isolation Drills or Universal Truths & Cycles. I hope you're right.
Love the love for Class Clown! I did some work on that one.
Aside from a few songs I love, it's one of the rare GBV albums I actively dislike.
That was my first GBV record! I love that album!
My top 4 are almost interchangeable. Ask me tomorrow and it could be flipped. Next 4 could be flipped too. I really need to spend more time with pre-Vampire stuff.
1. Bee Thousand
2. Under The Bushes
3. Alien Lanes
4. Propeller
5. Isolation Drills
6. Mag Earwhig
7. Earthquake Glue
8. Do The Collapse
9. Half Smiles of the Decomposed
10. Vampire For Titus
11. Bears For Lunch
12. Universal Truths and Cycles
13. Class Clown Spots A UFO
After the third record or so of their reunited classic lineup, I haven't kept up. Not because of a lack of interest, just a lack of time.
I've only listened up to Alien Lanes so far. My favorites are Sandbox and Same Place the Fly Got Smashed. Least favorite is Vampire on TItus.
I've listened in chronological order as I always do.
I am in the minority with you as well regarding Alien Lanes. The “transistor radio” sound bothers me, as does the fact that if he had further developed some of the wonderful ideas on that record {musical shorthand to my ears}, it could have been so much better. In my opinion, the kind of Who-ish power pop they specialize in benefits immeasurably from better production, like an F-16 versus a Cessna. My favorite is Under The Bushes Under The Stars, followed by probably Universal Truths And Cycles. Thanks for the video!! GBV 🤘
Happy to see high praise for Zeppelin over China. Some of the songs are a bit flat, but the middle section is loaded with really incredible tracks. Einstein's Angel is a front runner for top 5 GBV. You Own the Night is not far behind.
Guess you don't consider 'Tonics' and 'King Shit' as canonical? And I think you underrate Aerial Nostalgia -- that has 6 or 7 good tracks, double that of 'Devil', their worst lp.
Anyway, top 5 are 1) Bee Thousand 2) Alien Lanes 3) Propeller 4) Under the Bushes 5) Class Clown
No, King and Tonics are a compilation and a fanclub release, and so I never consider them as regular releases.
jeremy h
Spaceman, Hank, and Captain's Dead are for me the keepers. The vocal Suitcase version of A Proud and Booming Industry is also really strong, too bad Bob only included the inferior instrumental version on Devil.
Self Inflicted Aural Nostalgia One might make the case that Tonics is as much of an official release as the 1st four albums -- perhaps more so.
There are no worst GBV albums.
Yeah there are bro
Worthless comment. You can't honestly tell me you think UT&C and Half Smiles are equivalent to AL and Propeller
I definitely got some laughs out of "The Grasshopper Eaters" cuz of the "clang!" noise every second. I don't think that was Bob's intention, but at least it served *some* purpose for me 🤣
30 - Please be Honest
29 - Let's Go Eat The Factory
28 - Sandbox
27 - Devil Between My Toes
26 - Vampire On Titus
25 - Sweating The Plague
24 - English Little League
23 - Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
22 - Mag Earwhig!
21 - Cool Planet
20 - Earthquake Glue
19 - Isolation Drills
18 - Devil Between My Toes
17 - Space Gun
16 - Mirrored Aztec
15 - Alien Lanes
14 - Do The Collapse
13 - How Do You Spell Heaven
12 - Motivational Jumpsuit
11 - Half Smiles of the Decomposed
10 - Zeppelin Over China
9 - August By Cake
8 - Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
7 - The Bears for Lunch
6 - Surrender Your Poppy Field
5 - Bee Thousand
4 - Class Clown Spots a UFO
3 - Warp and Woof
2 - Propeller
1 - Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet
nice; I see you're on my side re: Alien Lanes, though it's rare to see B1000 not be in the top 3
Nice to see Motivational Jumpsuit in the top half.
I enjoyed your video, but I think you're in the minority with your opinion on Alien Lanes, but your argument is compelling. Alien Lanes was my introduction to GBV, so its my favourite album anyway with the timeline aspect. I know Bee Thousand is the better of the two, but Alien Lanes edges it for me. I'm surprised that the recording quality of some albums bothers you. If you don't like the Lo-Fi aesthetic, I'm surprised that you like Pollards stuff so much.
I think you underrate Devil Between My Toes. The Great Songs here are quite primally GbV.
Theres no way you can get hardcore GBV fans to agree on this kind of deal. I wouldnt have ranked it as high, but Im also a fan of August by Cake. That one has tons of great stuff on it.
shocked you put alien lanes so low on the list. whats your music background? musician? collector? whats your fav bands other than gbv need some context to make sense of this opinion
Last few years have been really strong for GBV - and the new album is only ten songs! What's next a prog Album like Yes with five songs? 😅
I'm not a GBV fan whatsoever, but this is a great video.
He's pretty spot-on about Class Clown Spots a UFO.
15:03 I think there would have been benefits to GBV releasing 4-6 albums from their second reunion to the present instead of 12.
My top 3:
1. Alien Lanes. The good songs on this album are exceptionally good, timeless classics in my opinion and although the recorded sound is horrible. the guitar sound/tone itself is great.
2. Do the Collapse. Great songs, but I don't like the sound of the guitars, it is ugly, almost 'commercial' sounding and I hate Hold on Hope :-).
3. Mag Earwhig! Some excellent songs, but it is all over the place. like it's a compilation album.
I don't care much for Bee Thousand and Under the Bushes, under the Stars. The other albums I must revisit, but at the time they didn't click with me at all.
I don't know the new stuff well enough to comment. Don't have all of them. I would rate "Alien Lanes" and especially "Mag Earwhig", a lot higher. Top ten for both. "Under The Bushes", "Bee Thousand" and "Propeller", would be top three. I am working on completing the new stuff. I think I have about half of them...
Not only do I appreciate that he doesn't have Alien Lanes ranked so, why does everyone want to see a predictable "Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes are always the top two" list.
@@Jon-tt9bf they're MY two favorite, but why does EVERYONE need to feel that way?
Alien Lanes is their best album, so it’s really hard to take this list seriously.
I agree with you on #28, Let's Go Eat the Factory. I gave it a chance.
Really....? Alien Lanes at whatever number!? Wow.... I am still going to watch, though.
But, seriously! Wow.....
Great video Jeff, I enjoy the podcast. It's really hard to rank these 1 to 30, so I won't. But I will break them down into tiers:
Tier 1 (Mount Rushmore): Propeller, B1000, Alien Lanes, UTBUTS
Tier 2 (Stone Cold Classics): Isolation, Collapse, Earthquake, Class Clown, Bears, August, Space Gun
Tier 3 (Average - for GBV - but still great): Fly, Vampire, UT&C, HSOTD, Jumpsuit, HDYSH, W&W, Aztec
Tier 4 (Meh...I've tried to get into these, but can't): Devil, Mag, Cool Planet, Zeppelin, Plague, Poppy
Tier 5 (Dayton Little League): Sandbox, Nostalgia, Factory, ELL, PBH