TOTAL SCORE: 35, AVG: 2.69Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (SPtFGS) is a neat album, and a great companion to the previous Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (SIAN). Similar to that album, quality of recordings hurt SPtFGS, especially with some of the heavier songs like The Hard Way, Mammoth Cave, and Blatant Doom Trip. Also similar to SIAN, the sum is better than its parts, and SPtFGS does well when listened to all at once...
You can read my original review here. Part of the review was me lamenting on not really knowing what to think of Club Molluska. In the subsequent 15 years I have grown to love that song, and to be honest, I actually don't mind Ambergris either (I even thought about calling it an "almost-gem" with its infamous badness). I've also grown to enjoy GBV's droning rockers like Blatant Doom Trip (just like I love Circling Motorhead Mountain by Pollard's side project Lexo and the Leapers). I would never recommend someone new to Guided By Voices to start with SIAN or SPtFGS, but if one did become a fan, they would owe it to themselves to check them out. Here is the updated ranking:
Among Bob's Best
-- none
Gems
08 Pendulum
Almost Gems
04 Drinker's Peace
07 Club Molluska
They're Good
02 Order for the New Slave Trade
03 The Hard Way
05 Mammoth Cave
10 Local Mix-Up / Murder Charge
12 Blatant Doom Trip
13 How Loft I Am?
They're OK
06 When She Turns 50
Could Live Without
01 Airshow '88
09 Ambergris
Toss-Offs & Throwaways
11 Starboy
Given the scoring above, the album would get 35 points total (and an average of 2.69).
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