Guided By Voices – Mag Earwhig ! LP

Description

AfterBee ThousandgaveGuided By Voicesa wider audience, it became evident thatRobert Pollardsaw himself as more than just the band’s songwriter and frontman, and as his career ambitions grew, he became increasingly frustrated with the limitations of his band. Matters came to a head prior to the recording ofMag Earwhig!asPollardbroke ties with longtime guitarist and fellow songwriterTobin Sproutand fired the rest of the group. WhilePollardandSproutsoon buried the hatchet,Sproutopted not to stay on as a full-time member of the group, andPollardwas nowGuided By Voices‘ uncontested leader. He hired Cleveland-based blues/garage rockersCobra Verdeas his backing band for the nextGBValbum, andMag Earwhig!sounded a good bit different as a result; while there were a few stray four-track experiments withSproutscattered about, most of the album had a solid, professional sheen, andCobra Verderock harder and sound tighter than any of the lineupsPollardhad worked with in the past. Unfortunately, his songwriting wasn’t quite up to his usual standards, which the new clarity of this album makes all the more evident.Pollardis incapable of making an album without a few fine songs, and “Bulldog Skin,” “Sad If I Lost It,” “Not Behind the Fighter Jet,” and “Portable Men’s Society” certainly fill the bill, but it may well be significant thatMag Earwhig!‘s most exciting song, the joyous “I Am a Tree,” was written byCobra Verde‘sDoug Gillard. While there’s plenty to enjoy here,Robert Pollard‘s next experiment in hi-fi record making,Do the Collapse, would prove to be much more successful. -All Music Guide