Airport 5: Life Starts Here (2002)

After the excellent Tower in the Fountain of Sparks, Airport 5 (the duo of Tobin Sprout and Robert Pollard) returned in 2002 with Life Starts Here. Whereas Tower in the Fountain of Sparks was consistent in its low key and beautiful ballads, Life Starts Here is more or less all over the place. It has Yellow Wife No. 5 so you must own it if you are a GBV fan, but generally it does not come close to it predecessor's brilliance. This album received some fairly negative reviews on its release, which put it near the end of my GBV related purchases. However, though it is not in any way among Pollard's best work, it does still have its charms...

Airport 5: Tower In The Fountain Of Sparks (2001)

To create what may be the most beautiful album in the GBV catalog, the dynamic duo of Tobin Sprout and Robert Pollard got back together in 2001 to follow up on 1996's Tonics and Twisted Chasers. However this time around, the two decided not to fly under the banner of Guided By Voices, but as Airport 5. Airport 5 (and of course GBV's Tonics and Twisted Chasers) is characterized as having softer, beatier, and keyboard-based grooves, which strays from the rock of GBV quite a bit. With two "hit" singles already released (Total Exposure and Stifled Man Casino), Airport 5 was starting to look less like a side-project, and more like a new band. However, with a release one year later (Life Starts Here), Airport 5 would only see two releases to date...

Guided By Voices/Airport 5: Selective Service (2001)

Selective Service is simply a collection of three previous vinyl-only singles from GBV and Airport 5. Those singles being Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something and 5, Total Exposure, and Stifled Man Casino. The latter two available also on Tower in the Fountain of Sparks. Also included as a bonus track is the Airport 5 track In the Brain, which I have not been able to get into very much. I currently have it on my list of songs to re-visit for my ultimate playlist. Should someone who actually owns Airport 5's Tower in the Fountain of Sparks pick up this EP? I would answer yes due to the live version of Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something and 5, as well as the two excellent b-sides to Total Exposure. To get my take on the individual releases that make up Selective Service, see the following links:
Guided By Voices: Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something and 5 (2000)
Airport 5: Total Exposure (2001)
Airport 5: Stifled Man Casino (2001) ...

Airport 5: Stifled Man Casino (2001)

Once again, I must apologize for the lack of posts lately. It has slowed down to about one per month, which is definately not what am aiming for. This is mainly due to me spending a few weeks job hunting/interviewing, and that taking the majority of my attention. The good news is that I now have a new job, and perhaps can post a bit more often (no guarantees though). Now that that's out of the way, let's get to business. Stifled Man Casino rocks. It is such a great song, and has a chorus that is just begging for radio-play. It contains one of my favorite GBV-related lines with "Up go the stakes in Stifled Man Casino/No one gets the brakes/That's the breaks, baby". But how are the b-sides?...