Album Reviews, Part Two

I got six CDs for Christmas, so, of course, I haven't written up reviews for three of them.  Fittingly, here they are.

UNDER THE BUSHES, UNDER THE STARS - GUIDED BY VOICES - 7/10
Under the Bushes, Under the Stars was, as far as I know, GBV's first produced sounding album, which led to the eventual leaving of the basement for the studio after the original lineup broke up (Kim Deal from The Pixies is cited as producer).  This album was also, the final one (until the new GBV album, which I need to get) to include the original line-up, including my favorite Paul Simon sound-alike, Tobin Sprout.  In many ways, then, it is kind of a hybrid between new GBV and old GBV.  It follows on Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, two of the best albums of the Nineties, and features the myriad songs and the sort of Lo-Fi meets 1970's aesthetic of its more famous predecessors, but also the complete song length of their later albums.  In general, it's good, but not great.  It's probably more solid than Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes in its entirety - there is no "Pimple Zoo" or "Buzzards and Dreadful Crows" on Under the Bushes - but the highs aren't as high - there's no "Smothered in Hugs" or "My Valuable Hunting Knife", no career defining songs, although "Ghosts of a Different Dream" and "No Sky" are close to Pollard at his best.  Also, GBV purists may prefer the home-made feel of their other albums.  Even so, it's a decent album and obviously a must for GBV fans.  I probably prefer it to Isolation Drills - a post-Sprout GBV album that I have.

GOD FODDER - NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN - 8/10
First off, the title is so awkward to say in public, because it makes you sound like you have a speech impediment.  Even so, God Fodder is perhaps one of the most attitudinous and fun albums I've come across.  The famous two bassist formation makes it sound a bit like music made for video games, but it actually has some spirit (or just punk attitude) to it all the same.  Always cynical and eye-rolling, none of these songs are boring, although not particularly edgy, and songs like "Grey Cell Green", "Happy", and "Capital Letters" are somehow heartfelt at the same time.

GRAND PRIX - TEENAGE FANCLUB - 9/10
Let me preface this by noting that I still haven't found a copy of A Catholic Education, so my knowledge is incomplete, but I think Grand Prix may be Teenage Fanclub's best album.  It takes the sparkle of Bandwagonesque to the max, and while it lacks any of the grunginess or youthfulness present there, I suggest that A Catholic Education is probably a better place for that anyway, and the songwriting in Grand Prix, featuring masterpieces by Gerard Love and Raymond McGinley ("Sparky's Dream" and "Verisimilitude" respectively) that made me wonder why Blake has been the main songwriter for the band, Grand Prix is definitely an album that will lift you up.  It somehow pulls off being delightfully saccharine while remaining fresh after multiple plays, which is probably the goal of Teenage Fanclub in the first place.  "Sparky's Dream", "Verisimilitude", and "Going Places" are highlights.