Robert Pollard And Doug Gillard: Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999)

When I was first getting into GBV, and researching what order to buy their related albums, Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department was often mentioned as one of the best non-GBV releases, if not the best. In particular, the song Pop Zeus kept showing up on various best-of lists by GBV fans. It turned out to be one of my later purchases simply due to the fact that I tried finding it in Canada first (and not for some ridiculous price), and then ended up picking it up from Luna. Is it all its cracked up to be? Did it live up to the hype? The short answer is yes. Is Pop Zeus an awesome track? Once again, the answer is yes. Is it Pollard's best non-GBV album? Well, no. I do not believe it reaches the greatness of either Not In My Airforce or Waved Out (not to mention that Lexo and the Leapers album which is climbing my personal charts after every listen), though it still rocks hard and deserves respect in the GBV world, as it is full of songs begging to be played for a stadium crowd...

Nightwalker: In Shop We Build Electrical Chairs - Professional Music By Nightwalker 1984-93 (1999)

How big of a Robert Pollard/GBV fan are you? Perhaps this album (#3 in the Fading Captain Series) is the ultimate test. From the spelling on the side of the case ("in shop wwe build electrical chairs") to the music within, this Nightwalker album is as far away from another 1999 release, Do the Collapse, as you can get. I personally picked up this disc even after hearing from others how terrible it is, just so I could fill a gap in my Pollard collection, and of course review it for you on this site. I will tell you right off the bat that this disc is in no way essential for the fan, and should be among the absolute last of your Pollard-related purchases...

Robert Pollard: Kid Marine (1999)

Kid Marine's main role in the history of Guided By Voices is being the first release under the Fading Captain Series. Personally, I consider this album to be among Pollard's least interesting, though there are a few tracks that stand out among the rest. However, any visit to Disarm the Settlers will reveal that Kid Marine is often a fan favorite, and sometimes even considered Pollard's best solo effort. I however, simply cannot agree with that, especially considering the greatness of both Waved Out and Not In My Airforce. Us GBV fans for the most part run all over the spectrum when considering what is Pollard's greatest music, and what should be included in, say, a greatest hits package. If I were making a single disc of my favorite GBV/Pollard songs, however, I doubt anything from Kid Marine would make the cut...

Hey Hey Spaceman

I added Hey Hey Spaceman from Devil Between My Toes to the playlist/box set. I orginally left this off when I did the entry, but since then have grown to like the song more.

Guided By Voices: Clown Prince Of The Menthol Trailer (1994)

I finally received my copy of Clown Prince. It turns out that I got it from Amazon, as a pre-order where you set up how much you are willing to pay for something, and the moment someone posts selling the album at a price under your max, Amazon automaticaly purchases the disc for you. Therefore, it came as a complete surprise when I got an email from Amazon saying, "thank you for your purchase of Guided By Voices - Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer EP". After a couple of listens, I am under the impression that Clown Prince is the worst of GBV's stunning EP's, though it does have its charms...