[.ca] Under The Bushes Under The Sta

From Amazon.com:
Not the ultimate album side of Bee Thousand, the album that will always be their high-water mark, Guided by Voices' Under the Bushes, Under the Stars's songs are more fully realized. Familiar bits and pieces continue to shine through, with basement Beatles and backyard Who here, and New Zealand lo-fi and acoustic Led Zepplin there. Bob Pollard and Tobon Sprout's ideas, still impeccably timeless hooks that cut through the murk to reveal the scratchy pop gem within, are examined and, maybe for the first time in the band's canon, thoroughly re-examined in the drawn-out song structures. Still, you could fit a baker's dozen of Guided by Voices tunes inside somebody else's hidden track, and have room enough left over for "Girlfriend in a Coma." Comfortably. Not all the songs stand up to the scrutiny, but the majority of GBV's tunes, as always, reveal the joy of the most minute moments that the majority of rock bands crash through while admiring the forest and missing the trees (bushes?). And no one knows the lexicon more thoroughly than GBV do. --Randy Silver

while she was down there she opened a crate of secrets:
Nevermind Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, sure they were cool and had a bunch of great songs on them, but this is by far the best Guided By Voices album. Why those albums get labelled 'classics' ahead of this masterpiece is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I love them too, but where they had a scattering of amazing songs mixed in with a bunch of random weirdness, this album has simply a series of 24 perfect songs. It is also possibly the best indicator of GBV's sound overall, a combination of the lofi pop of their earlier stuff and the midfi rock that would follow. The lyrics here remain pretty obscure, but not so much so that it detracts from the emotional heft of the songs (ie there is no 'kicker of elves' here.) Hell, even the cover is better on this album, and my copy came with a disc containing the Tigerbomb ep and some other bonus tracks. Niiice.

Sadly Underrated:
Yes, the sprawling lo-fi masterpieces Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes get all the credit, but Under The Bushes Under The Stars is GBV embracing hi-fi production and letting their power-pop brilliance shine through in an easier to swallow form. Some of the best tunes on Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes had strong arena-ready melodies beneath the murky lo-fi hiss and muffles (as evidenced by the hi-fi re-recordings of "Game Of Pricks," "I Am A Scientist," "Motor Away," and "My Valuable Hunting Knife"), and while the lo-fi production allowed for a certain unearthed garage relic feel, GBV sounds just as powerful in a more crystal-clear format. Keep in mind, the production on UTBUTS may still be turn-off for people raised-on radio-ready alt-rock, but it's still a revelation for fans of GBV's earlier work. Which ever side of GBV you prefer, UTBUTS has less fragments and more solid tunes. Despite an almost dark tone at the start of the record, UTBUTS progresses into a set of bright, brilliant pop tunes. The one thing GBV doesn't get credit for is that their albums work really well as full pieces as the fragmented pieces on Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand work better in the context of an album rather than on their own. That said, UTBUTS has so many great songs to choose from: "The Official Ironman Rally Song," "Man Called Aerodynamics," "Don't Stop Now," "Big Boring Wedding," "Your Name Is Wild," "Underwater Explosions," "Drag Days," etc. For those who need a good introduction to Guided By Voices, Under The Bushes... might be the perfect introduction. And for fans, this is a must-have, a incredibly consistent album for a band with a pretty inpenitrable, sometimes spotty discography.

Perhaps GBV's greatest moment:
I doubt I'll be able to add much to what has already been said here, but I have come to believe over the years that Under the Bushes is GBV's greatest album (I'm writing this about two weeks after Earthquake Glue was released.) Though Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes always seem to be the two cds most fans and critics apparently think are the band's best work, I believe that time will show this to be the best of a brilliant trio (B1000, AL, UTBUTS). The sound is significantly better though hardly hi fidelity; the songs are better thought out and performed (and there are LOADS of excellent songs on this album); and I think UTBUTS is more consistent than either B1000 or AL. This isn't the album for a newbie to latch onto...that would probably be either any of the GBV albums released from '99 on...but ultimately this is the one! Get it if you enjoy crunchy, melodic, almost-homemade rock and roll. And this is the so-called classic line-up's greatest moment to boot.

I go Goo Goo For Bobby Pollard:
Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy!!! What can I say about Bobby Pollard and Da Boyz! Ever since I was 2 1/2 (when my grandfather introduced me to this band) I've been an avid fan. The first album he gave me was Universal Forks and Motorcycles. I fell in love with it instantly. Songs really hit home because I fell into a bit of bad luck with my sugar plum. Bobby really brought me out of this hump w/great songs from this album. I can still remember driving to Lane Bryant with my sugar plum and listening to this album. We'd stop and grab ice cream and put on track 3 and smooch for hours. Good ol Bobby Pollard! This album ranks up there w/Awsome Dre and the Hardcore Committee, Dee Lite, and Sniff and the Tears as the best albums ever. Listen to track 43, it's the hidden track. It gives me goose bumps. I love you Bobby Pollard. Thanks for reading my review. I have to go tinkle now.

Guided By Greatness:
Guided By Voices have been one of my very favorite bands for several years now, and I have the release of this phenomenal album to thank for it. Mere words can't epress how much I love this band, and I am in 100% agreement with the praise/adulation of the other fans posted here. This is one of Robert Pollard and Co.'s best, and you will definetly want to hear/own more by this fantastic band after listening to it. As long as GBV exsists and puts out new music, I will always be there in support of their creative genius..this is one band you can't afford to pass up, they are THAT wonderful!!

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