Alien Lanes

Guided by Voices | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 1995)
• Original Release Date: April 4, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000036TL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,380 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative
  • #6 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo Fi
  • #16 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Lo-Fi

Editorial Reviews

Cd in very good condition. Jewel case has a few scratches. Ships 1st class.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest pop/rock album of the 90's?, June 19, 2002

By 

David M. James (Kalamazoo, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alien Lanes (Audio CD)

Some people refer to "Bee Thousand" as Guided By Voices' crowning acheivement. I myself have to disagree. Alien Lanes has the same undefinable vibe that makes albums like The Beatles "Revolver" and White album so great. The songs flow together like one 40 plus minute mini rock opera. I don't think I can listen to songs like "Motor Away" w/o starting off with "Auditorium". Songs like "My Valuable Hunting Knife" and "Blimps Go 90" are songs that even the greatest songwriters of our time couldn't write in a million years. Even the songs that don't stand out at first you find yourself singing along w/ like the national anthem after the 30th listen. If you like pop music a la the Beatles, the Who, Big Star, R.E.M. and have a short attention span than this might as well be the only album you ever own.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beware, June 20, 2001

By 

Micah Newman (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alien Lanes (Audio CD)

I recently caved in to some burning curiosity and got the pair _Bee Thousand_ and _Alien Lanes_ used, being given to understand that those are their two best. At first listen to them both, my reaction was "This is just junk! To put this in the same boat with, say, Yo La Tengo is just ludicrous!" And I couldn't be more amazed with how my outlook turned around after about the third listen.

At first, when I was still getting into them, I thought I liked _Bee Thousand_ better, but when it really finally hit me, it was this one. I mean, _Bee Thousand_ has tons of great, great songs (I've yet to hear a GBV album that doesn't), but it's a little more on the acoustic side than I'd prefer, whereas _Alien Lanes_ just absolutely *rocks out* and *does not look back*! After the aforementioned third or fourth listen, I was addicted. The tunes here are amazing, and so incredibly prolific (on just one album out of so many!), I can hardly begin to name songs. These songs just grab hold of your brain and *do not let go*! The 'challenging' production really delays the effect as you get used to it, but once you do, it's like... like... well, like nothing I've ever experienced--like hearing music for the first time. I am not exaggerating. And now I'm hopelessly addicted to the incredible tune stylings and workmanship of Mr. Bob Pollard, dammit. ;) So, this is fair warning--don't start with them unless you're willing to shell out $150 or so (at least) when you get hooked and have to buy their entire discography.

Commitment trailblazer... you are such a daredevil... and you are such a collector...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars consistently perfect album, June 22, 2001

By 

Joseph Murphy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alien Lanes (Audio CD)

GbV's "Alien Lanes", though not even their best album, is clearly their most approachable and most even-handed work. The lo-fi quality found on tracks like "Chicken Blows"... the stadium-rock bombast of "Alright" and the little songs under 30 seconds like "Hit" and "Gold Hick"... all combine in such a supreme balance of cool: economical yet powerful.

If you're any kind of rock afficionado, you'll see right away where Robert Pollard gets his musical mojo from: early rock, Beatles, art-rock guys (I hear old Genesis all over this album), garagey "Nuggets"-punk, but his lyrics deserve a lot of attention on this album. "Watch Me Jumpstart", for example, is such a positive self-affirming lyric of change ('watch me jumpstart as the old skin is peeled / see an opening and bust into the field / hidden longings no longer concealed').

Pollard's legendary thousands and thousands of written, but as of yet unrecorded, songs seem to have sprung from whatever it is that he's thinking of, or looking at or walking past... whatever street he lives on at the moment... So, often you get some odd lyrics that go nowhere and have no meaning, but he very often redeems himself ably with little lyrical gems ("I speak in monotone / leave my f**kin' life alone") full of great imagery ("Post-punk X-Men parked his forklift like a billion stars flickering from the grinder's wheel"). Definite Captain Beefheart influence on the words.

Bee Thousand is probably better, but only my a smidgen. Both are worthy of five-stars... both are very important works of 1990's rock. Buy it.