Do The Collapse

Guided By Voices | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: August 3, 1999
• Label: The Orchard
• Copyright: (c) 1999 The Orchard
• Total Length: 43:46
• Genres:
• ASIN: B002U94PJG
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,307 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How can you not love this?, November 27, 1999

By 

Patrick F Clifford - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do the Collapse (Audio CD)

I have been a Guided By Voices fan for about 6 years now and still am struck about how tenaciously Bob Pollard's melodies stick in my brain. When I bought this album, I put it on at work and hit replay without telling anyone and let it play all day. The next day, the Garth Brooks and Skynyrd fans were all humming "Liquid Indian" and "Hold on Hope" without realising that they were betraying their country inclinations. That's what is so amazing about his songwriting: Bob Pollard has a way a slicing through the ordinary and mundane (read: commercial), to let the obscenely hummable shine through. The glossy sheen thrown on this record doesn't get in the way of that aesthetic. It's amazingly easy to ignore the Cars-like keyboards and beefed up guitars. This isn't really as over-produced as other long-time GBV fans let on. The fact that Bob can write a hook better than anyone else out right now isn't lost in this immediately apppealing work. Yeah, "Bee Thousand" is a a more cohesive, complete work, but if what you need is the major label sheen and completeness, this is a good place to start. If this were 1982, Guided By Voices would be opening for The Who, not The Clash. A great date album if you were trying to impress someone who is moderately in the know. If s/he is really hip, put "Bee Thousand" on. If trying to impress someone when your "in-the-know" isn't the point, this one will have him/her remembering something about the night, even if it isn't you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GBV keeps rock alive for those that care, March 13, 2000

By 

Shamus McGillicuddy (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do the Collapse (Audio CD)

First off, my general view of GBV is that you cannot judge their work after one listen, or even three or four. Each album usually consists of 16 to 25 songs. Oftentimes, each track is so short that they tend to pile on top of each other. It's hard to absorb them when they come so quickly, one after the other. You have to listen to them and concentrate on them. Eventually each song starts to distinguish itself from the rest, and you begin to appreciate them for the beautiful blend of traditional pop, new wave, hard rock, etc... I really enjoy this about them. Everything tends to blend together until you actively listen to them. then you appreciate the crafting of each song.

I didn't know what to think when I heard that Ric Ocasek had produced this album. I was just a child when he was at the pinnacle of his career with the Cars. As a consequence, I never truly appreciated his aestheticism and his artfulness. It's palpable from the very first track (Teenage FBI, with its fantastic edge of 80s New Wave beatifully interwoven with the GBV hooks and Pollard's wordplay). You'll sing along with every chorus and hum every guitar chop. In Stitches, Mushroom Art, and Liquid Indian are inspired. The whole album is well-crafted.

An excellent intro to the band for new listeners. Don't stop here, pick up others when you're ready.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sincerity + irony = gbv, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Do the Collapse (Audio CD)

I've read through most of the negative reviews below with interest. They seem to be written by either a) outraged lo-fi fans who want GBV to keep doing pretty much the same thing forever and b) GBV virgins who obviously wanted something a bit, er, straighter. Well ... don't listen to them. This is a brilliant album.

Mr. Pollard continues to pilfer licks and effects from every known pop music style of the last 35 years and make songs that seem eerily familiar yet completely new. Like tearing a phone book into scraps, throwing them into the air and having them turn into a bird.

The polished production on the album only means that you can hear every little detail on a boom box now. I don't care whether he continues to use Ocasek or not. The songs continue to be beautiful and evocative.

It should be noted that these songs are not supposed to make perfect sense all the time. They mean something to Mr. Pollard and they mean something to me. There might be some overlap, but that would just be icing on the cake. I only need to walk around humming "Liquid Indian" to bring back that wonderful swirling feeling of an exceptional acid trip from 15 years back. Dragons awake, indeed.