Guided by Voices: Vampire on Titus

Guided by Voices: Vampire on Titus

1993

Scat Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Wished I Was a Giant  2. #2 in the Model Home Series  3. Expecting Brainchild  4. Superior Sector Janitor X  5. Donkey School  6. Dusted  7. Marchers in Orange  8. Sot  9. World of Fun  10. Jar of Cardinals  11. Unstable Journey  12. E-5  13. Cool Off Kid Kilowatt  14.Gleemer (The Deeds of Fertile Jim)  15. Wondering Boy Poet  16. What About It?  17. Perhaps Now the Vultures  18. Non-Absorbing


Hmmm. Speaking as someone who indulges in home recording, there comes a time in every band's life when the vocalist will get the idea, "Hey. Let's try something different. Let's  run the vocals through an amp and then record the amp with a mic!" You're imagining the vocals finally soaring above the clangour of the drums but then you listen back to the day's session and realize the vocalist now sounds like he's trapped in a faraway box. 

These distant, boxy vocals do the band a great injustice because their greatest strength lies in Pollard's voice and crystal clear vocal melodies. When these attributes are obscured, the band's impact is blunted. In other words, this is an album that greatly benefits from reading along with the lyric sheet. For the much vaunted "lo-fi" sound of the band's discography, there's surprisingly little in their catalog where the rough recording quality eclipses the material but that's the case on a lot of this.  

"Wished I Was a Giant" and the fan-fucking-tastic "Sot" rise above the unfortunate vocal sound but other songs ("Unstable Journey," "Perhaps Now the Vultures" and I never realized what a great song "Dusted" was until I heard the later re-recording) don't. Still, this is GBV in their prime, so there's still much to recommend here. For one, this is where Tobin Sprout becomes a much more prominent figure and steals the show with "Sot" which just oozes that classic GBV vibe with its uplifting melodies and warm fuzzy guitars. I've also always liked "Wondering Boy Poet" but have no idea why they used this version over the gorgeous piano version on "Suitcase One." I guess the argument could have been made that it might have eclipsed the rest of the album. "#2 in the Model Home Series" has always been a minor favorite of mine, since Pollard once again taps into the dark bleariness that made "Same Place the Fly Got Smashed" such a favorite of mine.  The album ends with one of the band's all-time great closers (of which they have many, actually) "Non-Absorbing" ("Do you see me? Doo doo doot doo doo doo doo doo..."). "Non-Absorbing" actually sounds really great. Vocals are clear as day. 

But if you're into drums this might not be the album for you. A look at the line-up shows that they didn't have a drummer for these sessions so Robert Pollard mans the kit from time to time. This isn't a big hurdle for me, since a lot of GBV (and some of their finest moments) are drummerless. Y'know, Sometimes you have to do these things. You don't have enough people for a full band, but what do you do? Nothing? No. You keep things going. Write new songs. Make the most of what you do have. Again, keep it in motion. 

This might not be the place to start your long, unstable journey through Pollard's discography, but once you've thoroughly assimilated the "lo-fi" era you're in for a minor treat. Even the lesser tracks ("Superior Sector Janitor X," "Marchers in Orange," "World of Fun," "E-5," "Cool Off Kid Kilowatt," "What About It?")  have a pretty high entertainment value. Think of it as a fun afternoon sorting through the artifacts of someone else's basement. Nowhere near the high-quality of the albums on either side of it (that would be "Propeller" and "Bee-Goddamn-Thousand") but it's a key moment in GBV's history, with the total, unapologetic embrace of basement-quality recording,  the emergence of Tobin Sprout as the guy who would have a few songs each album and the moment where the "song fragments" become a regular feature. 

Here is my revised GBV ranking. I agonized over whether or not to put "Vampire on Titus" above "Sandbox." I probably listen to "Sandbox" more, but "Vampire" has that classic GBV sound and Sprout has a couple of real winners here that blow away most of "Sandbox," so I'm giving "Vampire" the nod, although I might feel differently tomorrow :

1. Propeller

2. Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

3. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

4. Vampire on Titus

5. Sandbox
6. Forever Since Breakfast
7. Devil Between My Toes

Let's listen to some music. Here's "Sot" by the Mighty GBV. Enjoy heartily...