Superman Was a Rocker

Robert Pollard

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 12, 2008)
• Original Release Date: January 29, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: HAPPY JACK ROCK
• ASIN: B0010S9CEQ
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181,273 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Robert Pollard's Superman Was A Rocker is a return to old ways. This mini-album (13 songs, 30 minutes) finds Pollard using recording methods he hasn't engaged in since his time in Guided By Voices.

Pollard recently poured through a bunch of old cassette tapes and found some great, never-used instrumentals that he either wrote or co-wrote, and and he decided to go into the studio and put vocals (and melodies!) over them, just like he used to back in the old Guided By Voices days. The music spans a 20+ year period, so in essence, this is an album 20 years in the making.

Due to the span of time and body of work from which the clips were accessed, many of the classic Guided By Voices alumni appear on this album: Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, Doug Gillard, Nate Farley. This is the most fun Pollard album in years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Even hardcore fans will be disappointed., June 17, 2008

By	Me (Canada) - See all my reviews

The reviews on this site of this particular album are over-selling it just a bit. There is only really one song worth the time on this release. I guess I am what you would call a Robert Pollard fanboy (hate that word), and I own over 50 of his lp,ep,single whatevers and this is the one thing he has released that I would tell everyone to stay clear of.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Three stars for having the audacity to attempt this project, and one additional star for making it so dang infectious, March 14, 2008

By	a concerned citizen (pa) - See all my reviews

An extremely fun and infectious album that recalls the messy, haphazard, and tuneful EPs that GBV put out in its heyday. Stuff like Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer, Fast Japanese Spin Cycle, and Static Airplane Jive -- if you even recognize those titles, you will find something to love on this album. Only complaint is that it's too short.

My favorites: "Prince Alphabet," a brief, minimal song with a gorgeous vocal melody, "You Drove the Snake Crazy," a super-catchy campfire ditty, and "Surveillance," a psychedelic fever dream on which Pollard sings a spare melody over backwards music, transcending that gimmick to create something beautiful (and dare I say even better than the original, forwards version of the song, an old GBV nugget called "Stabbing a Star").

Fun lyric sheet/packaging too.

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun Record, January 26, 2009

By	jacktheidiotdunce "weezeridiot" (Racine,WI) - See all my reviews

The packaging of this album gets five stars...Excellence. Pollard hasn't failed to construct a good album layout yet. There's no denial in that...I would purchase this for that alone!

Well, Pollard believes in the disposition of "waste not/ want not" with the great number of mixes, box-sets, and director's cuts of albums released over the past few years. This album is old instrumentals recorded by Bob or previous members of Guided by Voices whether from the late Matador years(Kevin March mostly) or the early basement era (Mitch Mitchell) mostly with new vocals, lyrics, and melodies recorded over by Todd Tobias. The idea is great, and fans of early and mid-90s GbV will love this. This album isn't as strong as say Propeller, but it's just a fun record with interesting intros and outros placed randomly like the radio interview at the beginning of Back to the Farm. The lyrics of the album do not say much and it lacks the power of the recently released solo albums like "Going Off to Business" or the Circus Devils' "Sgt. Disco". Buy it if you're a big fan tho...it's worth it for the memoribilia, art and vintage sound.

Stand outs= "Go Down First", "Substitute Heaven", "Back to the Farm"(Marches' instrumental is really solid too, not just the instrumental), "More Hot Dogs Please", and "Another Man's Blood"