Customer Reviews

Vampire on Titus

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

 

 

On Guided by Voices' "Propeller" album, Robert Pollard sang, "we conjure ghosts." On "Vampire on Titus" he actually does. Melodies materialize out of ominous white noise, shamble about for a few seconds, then dissipate again. "Vampire"'s structure is similar to "Bee Thousand" and "Alien Lanes," but it is weirder, darker, and less accessible. That is its strength though; as another reviewer said, even after hundreds of listens, this album still has the power to surprise, perplex, and disturb.

The other GBV albums mentioned above are better starting points for the band's lo-fi era, but you may find yourself, as I have, coming back to the shadowy "Vampire on Titus" most often.

To Bob (and Tobin) be the glory.

There's a lot to be said about this album. Generally the first impression is that it contains underdeveloped, terribly-produced tracks that pale in comparison stuff off of Bee Thousand, Propeller, Alien Lanes, etc. I suppose there is some truth to that - even as an adamant lover of this album, I admit that I'd rather listen to "Smothered In Hugs" or "Tractor Rape Chain" than the best this album has to offer. And there's no getting around that hilarious metallic reverb that permeates on the vocals on several of the songs or the straight strangeness of things like "Superior Sector Janitor X" and "E-5".

So then, what's so appealing about this album anyway? The first thing is that it's much darker and grittier than anything else in the GBV catalog, and contains some of the best heavy songs by GBV like "Dusted", "Unstable Journey", "Perhaps Now the Vultures", and "Expecting Brainchild" (probably the catchiest of the bunch, and has a hilarious intro). The second is how brilliant the album can be, when it wants to - like the strangely epic "Marchers In Orange" or "Wondering Boy Poet", two of the best songs in the GBV catalogue, and neither is longer than 90 seconds.

The main appeal, though, is the same appeal of Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes era GBV. The songs work so well in fragments, because they isolate the most spontaneous, inspired moments of a song and then jump on to the next one. And even with the less inspired bits, they're generally so short that they become interesting and don't outstay their welcome. But unlike BT/AL, Vampire on Titus has a much more disturbed and outright weird sound than anything else by GBV. "What About It" is more than a little disturbing in how sounds like it was recorded by a completely different band in some mystery bootleg session and such a complete contrast to the song before and after. Even the sachharine pop of "Jar of Cardinals" and "Gleemer" feel more than a little bit disturbing, especially with tracks like "E-5" in between them.

After many listens of Bee Thousand, I think I have the album pretty well figured out. After many listens of Vampire on Titus, I'm still perplexed at what this album is all about and if it really is deliberately done so perfectly or just accidentally ended up working out so well or somewhere in between those two. My bet is somewhere in between, but either way I don't really care. I'm enjoying it too much.

Looking at the history of Guided by Voices, Vampire on Titus was the first in a string of four albums to really capture the sound that the GBV purist has been after ever since. Most of us outside the Dayton, Ohio rock scene didn't discover the band until 1993's Bee Thousand, an album which was an incredible blend of uplifting songs that were instantly catchy but fleetingly brief. Vampire on Titus is a much darker album than the three that would follow (Propeller, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes) and it's brilliance is often overlooked. I consider it to be much like the Stones' Beggars Banquet, an album that was the start of a string of albums that captured a sound that marked the band's high point. Although Beggars Banquet is considered by some to be the Stones finest, the same cannot be said of GBV's Vampire on Titus. I would never recommend a newcomer begin with Vampire on Titus, but instead listen to it after digesting Propeller, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes. There are some gems here, to be sure!!

GBV has always been a sailor into the depths of confused and hallucinatory imagery melted down into its spectral essence, and Vampire On Titus represents the earliest stages of their 'unstable journey'. About half of the tracks have the worst sound production they've ever recorded, but also posess some of the most coherent and intellectual lyrics ("Dusted", "Wished I Was A Giant", "Unstable Journey", etc). Meantime, the rest have the trademark lofi medium, shifting between beautiful ballads of melancholy august ("Gleemer", "Jar Of Cardinals", "Wondering Boy Poet") and creppy lapses into nightmarish lost thought ("E-5", "What About It?", "#2 In The Model Home Series", etc). This album is also the shortest of their albums, but that hardly means a thing in their universe...say Fertile Jim, shall we contemplate existence?

Vampire on Titus marks Robert Pollard's (and Guided by Voices') big jump from local heros to college cult band. Paving the way for the superior Bee Thousand the next year, Vampire still has much to recommend it.

"Wished I Was A Giant" sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom on a wire mike, but still wins you over. It also sets you up for the strange sounds ahead: "No. 2 In the Model Home Series" is a creepy thing about automated spouses and sons with guns and it just keeps going... "Unstable Journey" has a killer riff... "Perhaps Now the Vultures" is all out brashness and "Non-Absorbing" remains the penultimate ending track... just one of their best overall songs.

If you're new to the band, start with Mag Earwhig! or Bee Thousand... depending on how DIY you like it. But don't avoid Vampire, especially if you're a fan. It has some slow moments, some throw aways and a lot to be desired in sound quality, but it's a winner all the same.

What is it about lo-fi that proves so compelling, at least to those of us who cut our teeth at VU's garage a few decades ago? Maybe it's that lo-fi cuts through the crap, getting to the heart of the riff/song (and maybe it is fair to talk about riffs more than songs structures, at least at times). Lo-fi seems intent on reducing music to the atomic level--the antithesis of the fugue--while still communicating something meaningful, primal, though that's a loaded term. The fact that you can barely hear the lyrics on a cut like "Wished I Was a Giant" is a big part of the point, although I think a less conscious and pretentious decision than, say, the impulse behind REM's early inscrutable lyrics.

Just as Punk was a reaction against the arena rock bloat that's parodied in the film "This is Spinal Tap," so too does Lo-Fi seem to be a reaction against studio technology that's incredible in its sophistication. Lo-Fi asks: what can I do with these few tools? Answer: Some Drilling Implied.

This collection by GBV came right before they would receive that critical acclaim that would lead them to be known as the world best low-fi band ever. Although spotty sometime on the overall quality of the songs, there are still some great ones. Particularly the final 6 songs are awesome, and definately GBV at their best. You ad in "Jar of Cardinals","World of Fun", and "Donkey School", and you have a 5 star CD. Are there better GBV collections, of course but they still have their charm on this one, so do yourself and Bob a favor and ad this one to your collection.

Vampire On Titus is probably my favorite Guided By Voices album, which means it's among my favorite albums of all time. But the recording's pretty abrasive, so it might take a few listens for the songs to blossom in your head. When they do, though, it's like summiting a mountain just in time for sunrise. And the gritty quality of the recording becomes the hoppy bitterness of a stellar IPA. Expecting Brainchild, Gleemer, Jar of Cardinals, Wondering Boy Poet, and Wished I Was A Giant are personal favorites; but this is definitely an album to buy in its entirety.

This is the most lo-fi sounding of any of the full-length GBV recordings, and it turns out beautifully weird. Buy this album, turn it on, lay back and close your eyes. An unstable journey awaits. Bob once said in an interview that new listeners should avoid this album. It was one of my first GBV albums and it really pulled me in. The low quality puts a veil over the music that leaves you more intrigued than if it was simple bubble gum pop. As with many GBV albums, its better to listen to the whole thing than just a couple songs. I would recommend this to anyone, but please, if you are new you have to hear Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Propeller as well.

robert pollard can sing. he can play guitar. and boy can he write songs. the one thing he cannot do is drum and this he does on the amazing vampire on titus(named after the street in dayton he lived on.) there are some pure gems here:dusted, wished i was a giant and jar of cardinals, to name three. there's also alot of noise and if that's not your bag, avoid this confusing album at all costs.if, hoever, you have the ability to expand your musical vocabulary, then this is an item that may change how you see and hear pop music. it is the car crash you can't look away from. within its ugly underbelly resides an unexpected beauty. this is art at a very high level. in other words, you listen to it, like it and never quite figure out why.