Guided by Voices: The Grand Hour

Guided by Voices: The Grand Hour

1993

Scat Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Dusk

Track Listing: 1. I'll Get Over It   2. Shocker in Gloomtown  3. Alien Lanes  4. Off the Floor  5. Break Even  6. Bee Thousand


Grand it is, but it's certainly not an hour. Quick little 10-minute EP that's vital to the GBV discography due to the ass-flattening awesomeness of "Shocker in Gloomtown" which is a flawless little pop-rock song. The perfect GBV sugar-rock rush with one of Pollard's greatest lyrics:

 "So, now tell me how the hell did we miss it? He bared his ass for all to see, and no one got to kiss it..." 

A lot of fans claim "Shocker in Gloomtown" is the only reason to buy this, but although the rest of the songs may be a bit slight, it's a super interesting release...It works as a teaser trailer of the upcoming couple years...There's a greazy, other-worldly rocker called "Alien Lanes" and a song called "Bee Thousand" (which seriously sounds like something the Who might have pulled off circa "A Quick One" or  "Sell Out"). "Off the Floor" even kicks off with "Hot Freak"'s gloomy little riff...Fun stuff for Pollard enthusiasts. Sure nothing outside of "Shocker in Gloomtown" will probably make it onto your own personal GBV best-of, but it's a lot of fun...

Oh, yea. the ranking. Y'know, I might have to separate these 10-minute or less EP's into their own category..."Forever Since Breakfast" was easier, since it was almost as long as a standard GBV album, but I can't really rank a 10-minute EP against a 35-minute album...It's just not fair. So singles and 10-minute EP's are going in their own category...So here's the official ranking:

1. The Grand Hour

There. That was easy. Now let's listen to some music. Here's "Shocker in Gloomtown" by GBV...Enjoy...