Customer Reviews

Carnival Boy [Vinyl]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sprout's most GBV-like album is a gem of low- to mid-fi pop craftsmanship. His melodies aren't as original as former fellow bandmember Robert Pollard's, but that cuts two ways. Where Pollard's tunes occasionally meander fecklessly, Sprout's are always direct and appealing. Varied, tuneful and engaging eccentric pop.

this is one of my favorite releases, tobin shows he was very much a part of the early gbv albums, because those albums were the best, gbv is done and with no wonder, their songs became bad ''WHO'' remakes, they were much better when they had the ''BEATLE'' influence that tobin aspires to. this album is very simple but at the same time very catchy in their pop sensibility. too bad tobin was out of gbv before they really would have hit it big i hope he continues to release more and more solo stuff though this release has been out for a long time and the other solo albums don't have the same feel

I've been a big GBV fan since Vampire on Titus and was embarassingly upset when Sprout left the fold and Pollard fired the band. This cd righted the ship for me. Without the shadow of Pollard over his shoulder, it seems like Sprout could write some non-self conscious songs that really resonate. I love the vibe of this whole cd and listen to it every couple months. If you like Bee Thousand cut with a little Belle & S style acoustics, toss it on. It's like soul, man.

The Last Man Well Known to Kingpin, with lyrics that seem to merely consist of the text from handbills for old psychedelic rock club shows, is, quite simply, one of the most transcendent and exhilirating pop songs ever recorded. A fitting cap to a nearly perfect record that, like the best pop, is both meaningless and monumental in equal measures. The cover art (a detail from one of multi-talented Sprout's lovely photorealist paintings) succinctly says it all.

For all you Guided by Voices fans out there, this album is simply the best one ever put out by anyone associated with the band. Tobin Sprout was always "that other guy besides Robert Pollard" when he was in Guided by Voices, but he absolutely shines here. The songs all have a definite pop quality, but they differ from regular GBV in that Sprout doesn't take himself as seriously as Robert Pollard does. His songs float along like a summer breeze. The best in my opinion are "Natural Alarm", a great first tune, and "Gas Daddy Gas", a melancholy acoustic tune. This album will blow you away.

How on earth this got a rating above one star is beyond me. With a comendable and highly respectable pedigree of Guided by Voices one would at least expect some good songs. I find this cd weak, incipid and unlistenable, this being particularly applicable to the irritating Natural Alarm and Gas Daddy Gas. Anyone need a beer mat?