Guided by Voices: Sandbox

Guided by Voices: Sandbox

1987

Gotham City Music

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc (cos I'm not a gazillionaire)

Track Listing: 1. Lips of Steel  2. A Visit to the Creep Doctor  3. Everyday  4. Barricade  5. Get to Know the Ropes  6. Can't Stop  7. The Drinking Jim Crow  8. Trap Soul Door  9. Common Rebels  10. Long Distance Man  11. I Certainly Hope Not  12. Adverse Wind


For some reason, I usually see this one pointed out as being Guided by Voices worst album. I have no idea why, really. Maybe it's because Pollard himself has said so and therefore it's so? Maybe I enjoy Big Star-style power-pop more than the average GBV fan does? Maybe I have terrible taste in music and that's why I own so many Phil Collins albums? I dunno. But I love "Sandbox."

First off. I like every single song on it. I'd say about 10 out of these 12 songs are top-shelf fantastic. I can't think of many other GBV full-lengths that have such a high hit-to-miss ratio. For the record, the weak-spots (for me) are "The Drinking Jim Crow" even though it's probably the most GBV-ish song on here. It sorta sounds like "Everywhere With Helicopter" now that I think about it,  but it never comes up with a good chorus like that song did. The other weak spot is "Trap Soul Door," which is just a bit too moody and earnest for my liking, even though I highly enjoy that little "oooo" harmony at the very end. Even though, neither of these songs are bad by any stretch of the imagination. They're just the ones I'm slightly less enthusiastic about. 

Then there are a couple songs that I always forget I love until I re-listen to the album. Songs that I think have a shaky premise but ultimately overcome them. In this category are"Common Rebels" which has a fairly irritating and laughable vocal melody until the last minute or so when Bob suddenly full-throatedly belts it out and you're suddenly forced to appreciate the majesty of it. I also always kinda groan when the hickish cow-punk verses of "Certainly Hope Not" come on, but the chorus (which comes out of  absolutely nowhere) is a thing of beauty, Oh, yea. I should probably point out that Pollard's vocals are especially hick-ish on this record. No fake British accent here. If anything, it sorta sounds like a fake southern accent. 

And the fake southern accent works beautifully on "Every Day," which I place near the top of my all-time favorite GBV tracks.  The best REM song REM never wrote. Just 3 minutes of rural bliss pop. Shopping mothers rushing home to their pretty little houses (and lawns), where the guys blow all their money to put racing stripes on their shitty little cars. I don't know what it is about the song. It just seems to make every right move. It's also the type of song they would never do again, which makes me sad. I always liked it when they attempted to be a burlier version of REM. 

My other favorite on here has to be the album closer "Adverse Wind." When he wants to, Pollard sure knows how to properly close out an album and this is one of his finest examples. That soaring chorus of " I hear you crying, you're only a lifetime away..." sure gets you pumped to hit that replay button, which is my favorite kind of album closer (I've always thought there are two ways to properly close an album. 1. Put 'em through the ringer and exhaust the listener so when they're done they're like, "I am SPENT"  (see "Father Sgt Christmas Card" or (especially) "Inspiration Points") or 2. You save up one last short blast of overwhelming awesomeness (see "Adverse Wind," "Non Absorbing" or "Huffman Prairie Flying Field"). I don't know who's playing that shredding guitar line but they deserve a raise for sure. 

Just a lot of humble, rocking, poppy stuff. Rural indie rock. All beautifully sung with nice shimmering guitars. I can't recommend it enough (even though it's usually everyone's least favorite GBV album). I'd say give it a try even (maybe especially if) you're not entirely sold on GBV. Although the only way you can get it is in a big-ass box set at which point you'd be fully immersed into the deep end of GBV anyway. Oh, wait. They invented the internet and stuff. Just listen to it on youtube...Like this...

Here's "Everyday" by GBV...

oh, and "Adverse Wind." You should probably hear this one too...

Oh, yea. My ongoing real-time Pollard ranking list (from best to least-best):

1. Sandbox
2. Forever Since Breakfast
3. Devil Between My Toes

(this is going to be one absurdly long list once I'm done).