Customer Reviews

Not in My Airforce

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

let's forget about GBV for a moment and just pick this one up. Bob's label (Needmore songs) pretty much says it all- he did not need to release this but what the hell! This one has the feel of Bob getting up the day after a great show, stretching and drinking coffee and casually ripping through some of the best pop songs to date. 'Get Under It', 'Flat Beauty' and 'Girl Named Captain' will consumre your waking hours. The album takes longer to digest than most, so your coworkers will hate it. Dig it! If you like this album, seek out the Box, the elusive 5 CD set of early GBV material. smokin....

forget all the hype (for the good and for bad) that has drowned gbv in their own ocean - this album stands above all the droning sounds of "i knew them when..." and shines as brightly as albums like 'devil between my toes', and 'self inflicted aerial nostalgia' - if you like(d) gbv for what made them different, not just because they were different - you will like (love) this album. that's it.

pollard solo albums used to be guided by voices records in thin disguise. GbV would dip liberally into them on their setlists and current and former bandmates stream through them, lending their skills to further promote the trademark sound. nowhere is this more the case then on this, the first solo effort. it is filled with ridiculously great pop songs: psychic pilot clocks out, flat beauty, get under it, maggie turns to flies, girl named captain. it has some song snippets that one wonders how they would have turned out if fully materialized. and ends with a barrage of short acoustic numbers that won't leave your head. some have commented on this song sequencing and how the flow of the record is negatively affected by this front loading of traditional pop/rock tracks. i for one love it. pollard puts much effort into this process. he says it's one of the things he enjoys most about his job, diddling with song order. and don't you do the same thing when burning a CD for your girlfriend or some guy who's never heard real (indie) music before?

this may be the crowning achievement in robert pollard's amazing career. highly recommended.

The most important thing to note about this record is that it has several absolute classic songs on it. They are being played live on the current 2006 solo(post GBV)tour and they are outstanding pop classics. Pollard's music can only be appreciated through thoughtful listening over time and one must be patient. I was recently drawn back to this record and astounded by how low-fi it really is, compared to the last 5 GBV efforts. It really is important to note that it was rushed out to be in time with Tobin Sprout's solo Carnival Boy. Not as a comparison, but as an effort to show what Bob wanted to showcase as a solo effort. Now stayed tuned for "Normal Happiness" as the follow up to one of the greatest song writer efforts of the new Century "From a Compound Eye."

I would stack Bob up against anyone as a touring artist-songwriter and a dues paying member of the music industry that has driven many like him from the business. What happend to the labels man, Uncle Bob said "Free Beer".

If you know Guided by Voices, you know what to expect from this: one more version of Robert Pollard's own personal White Album, with equal time for fleshed-out 3-minute epics, haunting acoustic snippets, and lo-fi experimentation. This being a solo album, it's looser and more free-flowing than any proper GBV release except perhaps "Alien Lanes."

Pollard's gifts for beautiful melodies and ingenious arrangements are in full effect throughout. "Quicksilver," "Girl Named Captain," "Get Under It," "Release the Sunbird," "The Ash Gray Proclamation," and "Psychic Pilot Clocks Out" are standouts that would fit snugly on the best GBV records, and "Good Luck Sailor" is a pretty, touching closer.

Then, of course, you have fragments like "One Clear Minute" and "Double Standards Inc." that could be called throwaways in and of themselves, but as a whole they contribute to the unique Pollard atmosphere, don't they? It wouldn't be the same without the half-baked, 45-second filler tracks, would it? No, it wouldn't. Viva Pollard!

C'mon people, this album has classic written all over it!
Released right around the time of "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" this album sees Pollard stepping out on his own with his first solo album, although most of us will see the irony in that statement. Recorded mainly by Bob w/ Kevin Fennell on drums, and a motley crew of guest stars, this really has the bittersweet feel of a somewhat defiant personal statement, a trend that continued with subsequent albums released under his own name. But there are so many classics here (Psychic Pilot Clocks Out, Flat Beauty, Get Under It, Release the Sunbird, etc) that it should be easy to forgive the inclusion of a few seemingly inconsequential songs. In particular, the album ends with a string of (seven!) solo ditties performed with just acoustic guitar; a curious decision that could be seen as a flaw upon the first several listens. But look at the titles-"Punk Rock Gods", "Good Luck Sailor", "Prom Is Coming" etc. They all seem to offer words of encouragement and/or comments on the perils of individuality; mostly obscure messages from one person to another. Maybe not the best finale, but an interesting idea nonetheless. The preceeding 15 tracks are the real highlight though. Quite a few rockers here, with a nice balance between recorded in-the-home and in-the-studio fidelity. This is still well within the "classic period" of GBV, and it even has a subtlety and maybe an obtuseness that has helped it to age remarkably well. Don't let this first chapter in the "solo Pollard" canon pass you by. It is truly transcendent rock of the highest order. Four and a half stars!

Robert Pollard is a genius. Plain and simple. We don't run into too many in a generation. Embrace him.
Not in My Airforce, Waved Out, Kid Marine, Motel of Fools.
Listen. and Listen. and Listen. and Listen. and Listen.

This is Pollard's only solo album made during the rich creative streak that encompassed his most beloved work with GBV -- Bee Thousand through Under the Bushes Under the Stars -- and it is easily in the same league as those classic releases.

About half of the album is comprised of tracks that are very similar in style/production to the full-band songs on Under the Bushes Under the Stars. Originally, these studio-recorded tracks were going to comprise 100% of Not in My Airforce, but instead were split up, and most that didn't make this album ended up being highlights on the next GBV album, Mag Earwig! -- songs like "Learning to Hunt" and "The Finest Joke is Upon Us."

The rest of the tracks are a grab bag of various fidelities, and most of them are acoustic; a couple songs recorded on Tobin Sprout's four-track (including a decent Bee Thousand outtake called "Parakeet Troopers"), and a handful that sound like they were recorded on a boombox. One of the best is "The Ash Gray Proclamation," a gorgeous song recorded with Mitch Mitchell.

The album ends with six short, ponderous acoustic tracks that were originally intended to be their own EP. When Matador didn't express interest in releasing these tracks separately they were tacked onto the album at the last minute. Although these songs don't lack hooks and have very interesting lyrics, they are not instantly catchy and are part of the reason why this album is more of a grower than, say, the similarly all over the place Alien Lanes which is more instantly appealing.

There are definitely a few songs that aren't that great on their own, but like a lot of Pollard's work, the album's secret weapon is the sequence and flow of its tracks. There are a bunch of killer standout tracks, but this really is an album that's meant to be heard all together.

Favorites:

Quicksilver - Pollard works magic with just an acoustic guitar and a couple of voices. Impeccable melody.

Get Under It - One of Pollard's best songs. This would've been a shoe-in for the GBV best-of if it had been released under the GBV name.

King of Arthur Ave. - Starts off small and acoustic before the band comes in at a couple of key moments.

Flat Beauty - Awesome hook-filled rocker in the vein of "Your Name is Wild" or "Gold Star for Robot Boy."

so packed with energy and imagination. this is essential! up with the best of Guided by Voices. blow your mind, jump up and down, who would guess that anything could be so truely catchy and absolutely non-ironic or derivative?

It seems strange to see a "solo" album by Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard. In fact, it would be about like seeing a "solo" album by Trent Reznor! Why? Because Pollard is not just the leader of GBV, he IS GBV... with an ever changing arsenal of backing musicians, of course. From what I understand Pollard released this solo because Matador could only do so many Guided By Voices albums a year, and Pollard had four (Under the Bushes, Under the Stars, the rarities collection Sunfish Holy Breakfast, this album, and Tonics for Twisted Chasers, which was BRIEFLY released as a collector's only cd). So how does this measure up?

Honestly, it could be a lot better. At least half of the album is annoying little DIY numbers that run between one and two minutes and don't seem to matter much. But then, this is a problem on all of Pollard's releases in '96... Great tracks being dragged down by inferior tracks. But of course the great tracks are so good that any GBV fan has to collect it all! And this one has some definite essentials... "Maggie Turns to Flies" is one of Pollard's best ever rockers, and "Psychic Pilot Clocks Out" imagines old Genesis meeting XTC on an amphetemine highway. Too bad the album's so cluttered, though. I wish I could recommend this to anybody, but instead I have to say "fans only". Hopefully Pollard will stick to the A-list stuff in the future. His prolific recording skills are to be admired... But Bob, you don't have to release EVERYTHING.