Robert Pollard and His Soft Rock Renegades: Choreographed Man of War

Robert Pollard and His Soft Rock Renegades: Choreographed Man of War

2001

Fading Captain Series/Luna Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. I Drove a Tank  2. She Saw the Shadow  3. Edison's Memos  4. 7th Level Shutdown  5. 40 Yards to the Burning Bush  6. Aerial  7. Citizen Fighter  8. Kickboxer Lightning  9. Bally Hoo  10.  Instrument Beetle


Ahh, vacation. Kicking back in Cancun on one of their dazzling white sugar sand beaches...

Nah, just kidding. It's a stay-cation. I'm eating cold pizza and watching Diff'rent Strokes. Hopefully this week will give me an opportunity to become acquainted with my long-neglected blog...

And what's a better way to start off than with "Choreographed Man of War." This is Fading Captain Series #14. This sees Bob ably backed by GBV alumni Greg Demos and Jimmy Mac and kicking out some basic, rocking material (with just a hint of sorrowful prog).  When I first got this album it felt sorta slight. Maybe I wasn't yet used to a Pollard album having only 10 songs on it. Maybe it was the extended instrumental fucking around (the looong guitar intro on the lovely ballad "Aerial" or "Instrument Beetle"'s endless jamming).

But time has been kind to "Choreographed Man of War" and now I look back at it as a minor triumph.  An early indication that this Fading Captain thing just might work. That Bob's creativity might just carry the overly-ambitious release schedule through and result in some interesting music and some solid, beer-hoisting rock.  This album was a good digression from Bob's recent work. More raw and ass-kicking than "Isolation Drills" but not as abstract as "Tower in the Fountain of Sparks." In fact, it's just right. A good baseline Pollard album.

The big highlights for me are definitely the first four tracks. "I Drove a Tank" is as big and rocking as the title suggests (maybe a spiritual cousin to The Stranglers' album-opening "Tank" from their "Black & White" album?) and whenever Pollard busts this song out at shows it's always a pleasure. "She Saw the Shadow" is my personal favorite. Mist-covered, tongue-twisting, and above-all properly rocking prog-pop. "Edison's Memos" is another huge song for me. It's just perfect GBV. Loud guitars set somewhere between "crunch" and jangle" A huge, soaring vocal melody. Lyrics that alternate between "WTF?" and "F Yea!" "Edison's Memos" and the more laid-back "7th Level Shutdown " both remind me of the type of thing you'd find on "Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department" (minus the intricate guitar riffs). It's got that same unassuming demeanor where you can't tell if it's carefully crafted or if it's just tossed-offed, tuneful brilliance. 

The remainder of the album isn't bad at all, it's just that the first half is so strong. "Kickboxer Lightning" and "Citizen Fighter" are perfectly serviceable rockers that get the job done. "Aeriel" is a pretty cool ballad once it gets going, "40 Yards to the Burning Bush" is nice and tense, To be honest, I usually kinda space out the last two songs on the album: "Bally Hoo" would have made a decent closer, since it reprises the "Citizen Fighter" riff and eventually morphs back into the opening "I Drove a Tank." It's big and plodding and as a second-to-last song, just doesn't quite work. And the actual closer, "Instrument Beetle" gets fairly tedious after the first couple minutes. It peaks somewhere around the "Sit down, sit down..." section and then rumbles on aimlessly for the last 4 minutes...The dude pining over some chick on his answering machine is pretty damn funny, though.

Solid record. Mostly rock with a handful of ambitious weirdness. Long songs. No snippets. Lots of guitar fucking around. A good representation of the Fading Captain era (P.S. I feel that I should have somehow worked the phrase "impeccable arrangements into this post, but I couldn't quite find the proper place.) Now let's listen to some music.... Here's "Edison's Memos" by Robert Pollard...Enjoy...

Here are the updated rankings. I'm putting this at number 17. Just a notch below "Mag Earwhig!" which surprises even me...Really solid. 

1. Guided by Voices: Alien Lanes

2. Guided by Voices: Isolation Drills

3. Robert Pollard With Doug Gillard:Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department

4. Guided by Voices: Bee Thousand

5.Guided by Voices: Under the Bushes, Under the Stars

6. Guided by Voices: Propeller

7. Tobin Sprout: Moonflower Plastic (Welcome to My Wigwam)

8. Robert Pollard: Waved Out

9. Tobin Sprout: Carnival Boy

10. Guided by Voices: Do the Collapse

11. Guided by Voices: Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

12. Robert Pollard: Kid Marine

13. Guided by Voices: Tonics and Twisted Chasers

14 Guided by Voices: Sunfish Holy Breakfast

15. Robert Pollard: Not In My Airforce

16. Guided by Voices: Mag Earwhig!

17.Robert Pollard and His Soft Rock Renegades: Choreographed Man of War

18. Tobin Sprout: Let's Welcome the Circus People

19. Guided by Voices: King Shit and the Golden Boys

20. Guided by Voices: Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

21. Guided by Voices: Vampire on Titus

22. Guided by Voices: Sandbox

23. Airport 5: Tower in the Fountain of Sparks

24. Guided by Voices: Forever Since Breakfast

25. Guided by Voices: Devil Between My Toes 
26. Nightwalker: In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music by Nightwalker