Guided by Voices
Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet EP
[Rockathon/Recordhead; 2002]
Rating: 7.8
The Bob Pollard featured in full deific glory on Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes could nearly
have out-Who'd The Who, if given a chance. But we all know what came in their wake: Bob lost the magic,
and "The Captain" entered stage left. Most people attribute that sudden decline in quality to the departing
of cohort Tobin Sprout, who had been with Pollard for a good long time and is theorized to have been the only
member of Bob's ever-revolving backing band with the balls to veto Pollard's duds. Pollard himself, it's
suspected, can hardly tell the difference between his "My Valuable Hunting Knife"s and his "A Big Fan of the
Pigpen"s, which might explain why this disc is actually better than Universal Truths and Cycles.
But it's always darkest before the release of Universal Truths and Cycles, sports fans, and the
wealth of excellent material surrounding those sessions proves that Pollard's legendary ability to trip
over solid gold wasn't dead, just sleeping. Not only did the album assuage some growing doubts, but its
spillover now threatens to momentarily redeem even the hilarious tragedy of the Fading Captain series.
The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet collects the odds-and-ends left on the cutting room floor
in the aftermath of UT&C;, and dare I say, Bob hasn't sounded this much like his old self since "Jane
of the Waking Universe". Why these tracks were left off Universal Truths in favor of obvious filler
like "Skin Parade" and "The Ids are Alright" is beyond me.
A few of these tracks have already sniffed daylight before (four, to be exact, as b-sides for the four
seven-inches released as Universal Truths singles), and no doubt, someone, somewhere, is already
grumbling that they're "no 'Echoes Myron'". Which is fine-- it's not like I'm innocent of this kind of
indie codgerism-- but it's a bit like saying, "Mother Theresa was okay, but you know, she's no God or
anything." Of course nothing on Pipe Dreams hits on that level. But there's no doubt that
Pollard's recent material is on par with some of his pre-TVT stuff, particularly the better moments
of Mag Earwhig!, and even certain highlights of Under the Bushes, Under the Stars.
This disc is evidence that Pollard has finally, gracefully adjusted to GBV's post-Sprout period. The arena
rock tendencies of recent work are softened, and soaring, anthemic choruses are largely neglected in favor
of rhythmic stompalongs. But aside from the consistency and digestability of these ten tracks, what makes
Pipe Dreams a stronger record than Universal Truths and Cycles is the album's composition--
this being an "odds and sods" compilation, none of it quite coheres. This disjointed nature is Pipe
Dreams' greatest strength, and not coincidentally, that of GBV's best work.
As I see it, one of the primary failings of the band's recent material-- including much of Universal
Truths-- is a relative homogeneity that causes otherwise quality songs to bleed together into a mush
of chiming guitars and cigarette-stained vocals. That never, ever happens on Pipe Dreams, where
each track is clear and distinct from the one that comes before. As a companion piece to Universal
Truths, it's easy to see where each cut fits into the larger picture, but the total effect of this
record is far closer to that of early GBV classics, where bizarre, half-assed tracks like "Yours to Keep"
and "Kicker of Elves" achieved a weirdly compelling power simply through proximity to plain great pop
songs.
Some of the great pop songs included here are the bite-sized "Stronger Lizards" and "For Liberty", which
both build to sublime crescendos of power and emotion before fading away less than a minute later. These
tracks bear the mark of some of GBV's best work, in that you're left wanting more, despite the knowledge
that what you just heard was an autonomous unit of songcrafting excellence. These morsels, however, merely
set the table for the superlative "Dig Through My Window" and the closer "Beg for a Wheelbarrow." The
former is a laidback pop reflection replete with key changes and a subtle orchestral backing, while the
massive three-minute closer "Beg for a Wheelbarrow" has Pollard shouting, "Dig a deeper hole/ And
then you'll feel better," over a climax of searing guitars and mounting drum fills. Pipe Dream's
crown jewels are such a return to form that I almost imagined Tobin Sprout's voice among their
backing choruses.
This, of course, is the rare collection in a Fading Captain series which has been-- and will undoubtedly
continue to be-- incredibly patchy. Still, this disc implies nothing if not potential for more of the
stunning songcraft Pollard built his good name on. Bob still has "it", to my amazement, and some to spare.
-Eric Carr, October 16th, 2002