The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet [EP]

Guided by Voices | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 17, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: EP
• Label: Recordhead Records
• ASIN: B00006JKA6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,872 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #47 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative
  • #66 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo Fi
  • #92 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Lo-Fi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The New Old Sound, November 19, 2002

By 

George a Pletz "cult explorer" (Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet (Audio CD)

First off, this is NOT the place to start. Unless you enjoy obtuse snippets and brief flashes of crypto-pop, Prince Whippet is a confusing cul-de-sac of prog impulses and post punk florishes. Sure there is rock here but it is all filtered through that Ohio outsider vibe that has been going since the 70s. So if you are looking to brainlessly shake your booty to power pop punk, you will not even get past the door.

But if you are someone who has long been a citizen of this Wallace Stevens goes punk alternate earth, this is a veritable feast of Pollard powered indie pop. From the near textbook example of Townsend-Punk that is "Visit This Place" through the sludgy anthem of "Action Speaks Volumes" to the subtle orchestral (how often do these two words get put together?) sweep of "Dig Through My Window", you cover the many flavors of this crucial indie rock group. Like so much of the GBV catalogue, other mixed metaphor gems ("Swooping Energies, Instant Prince Whippet, Beg For A Wheelbarrow.") come to your attention with multiple listens. Coming somewhere in terms of quality between "Sunfish Holy Breakfast" and "Hold on Hope" eps, the Prince holds its title as a fantastic continuation of the long standing GBV adventure. Does what an ep is supposed to do, keep us psyched for the next long player. Not great on its own but certainly a worthwhile addition to that GBV collection you have growing in your rock'n'roll closet.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pitchforkmedia review false edit cut like tremulous eons, October 22, 2002

By 

treblekicker "treblekicker" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet (Audio CD)

The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet collects the odds-and-ends left on the cutting room floor in the aftermath of UT&C, and dare I say, Bob hasn't sounded this much like his old self since "Jane of the Waking Universe". Why these tracks were left off Universal Truths in favor of obvious filler like "Skin Parade" and "The Ids are Alright" is beyond me.

As I see it, one of the primary failings of the band's recent material-- including much of Universal Truths-- is a relative homogeneity that causes otherwise quality songs to bleed together into a mush of chiming guitars and cigarette-stained vocals. That never, ever happens on Pipe Dreams, where each track is clear and distinct from the one that comes before. As a companion piece to Universal Truths, it's easy to see where each cut fits into the larger picture, but the total effect of this record is far closer to that of early GBV classics, where bizarre, half-assed tracks like "Yours to Keep" and "Kicker of Elves" achieved a weirdly compelling power simply through proximity to plain great pop songs.

Some of the great pop songs included here are the bite-sized "Stronger Lizards" and "For Liberty", which both build to sublime crescendos of power and emotion before fading away less than a minute later. These tracks bear the mark of some of GBV's best work, in that you're left wanting more, despite the knowledge that what you just heard was an autonomous unit of songcrafting excellence. These morsels, however, merely set the table for the superlative "Dig Through My Window" and the closer "Beg for a Wheelbarrow." The former is a laidback pop reflection replete with key changes and a subtle orchestral backing, while the massive three-minute closer "Beg for a Wheelbarrow" has Pollard shouting, "Dig a deeper hole/ And then you'll feel better," over a climax of searing guitars and mounting drum fills. Pipe Dream's crown jewels are such a return to form that I almost imagined Tobin Sprout's voice among their backing choruses.

This, of course, is the rare collection in a Fading Captain series which has been-- and will undoubtedly continue to be-- incredibly patchy. Still, this disc implies nothing if not potential for more of the stunning songcraft Pollard built his good name on. Bob still has "it", to my amazement, and some to spare.

-Eric Carr, October 16th, 2002

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars essential GBV, May 15, 2005

By 

Tim "circle of irony " Steele (the D) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet (Audio CD)

This bad boy is a "lost" gem. The only thing keeping me from saying that it ranks among the finest GBV albums is it's short running time. But it's an ep. You can't hold that against it. It's like the middleweight that is considered, pound for pound, one of the best boxers in any division.

One thing I can say for sure: This, along with ISOLATION DRILLS and BEST OF..., are the only GBV albums in which "skip" isn't even in my vocabulary. Not that I press it while listening to the others, but I may consider it ever so briefly. Here, it doesn't even cross my enamored brain when I listen...Every song is a winner.

I have read that these songs are from the UTAC sessions. I consider that one to be a underrated album in the first place. Can you imagine if these were stuck on there too? Whooee, look out!