The Releases: Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now (Compilation—GBVi, 2009) / Briefcase 3: Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus (Compilation—GBVi, 2009)
Even though I didn’t plan it this way, my recent sojourn through the western states made a lot of sense in the context of The GBV Project. Taking a break for the past couple of weeks ended up serving as something of a metaphor for the time between Guided by Voices’ initial breakup on New Year’s Day 2005 and the “classic lineup” reunion that began in 2010. And—outside of the release of the band’s 2004 Austin City Limits set—the only new GBV products to see the light of day during that extended hiatus were the pair of releases that I’m covering this week.
And on that note, do you hear that? It’s the sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped. Now normally—and let us remember that Bob Pollard is anything but normal—that would be the death knell for any archival project. However, some of GBV’s greatest triumphs were ones that repurposed seemingly-obvious detritus, and surrounded it with enough gold to make even the flimsiest lows shine by association.
Unfortunately, that’s not quite what we get with the third installments of Pollard’s Suitcase/Briefcase series. The parent piece, Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now, is plagued by GBV’s lowest hit-miss ratio to date. An abnormally large number of these one-hundred tracks are the discards that Pollard apparently has to work out of his system in order to write his many, many masterpieces. Even the fourth disc, a selection of acoustic tracks recorded between the twin pillars of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, is filled with too many sketches that could fairly be described as ‘meandering,’ ‘tedious,’ and ‘annoying.’ And—as if to emphasize its tossed-off nature—Suitcase 3 even lacks the thorough liner notes that provided insightful context (namely personnel and recording dates) for the first two volumes.
Despite this, there’s enough good-to-great material here to fill up at least one of the set’s four discs; curiously, a high percentage of it is clustered in the second half of disc two. And even some of the barer stretches yield revealing moments. The aforementioned acoustic disc often finds Pollard bashing out his oddball pop confections while his wife and children go about their daily routines in the background—seemingly oblivious, or even indifferent to, his antics. In stark (and perhaps telling) contrast, that disc also includes a handful of tracks in which Pollard’s friends and drinking buddies audibly cheer on some of his more absurdist impulses.
Unsurprisingly—while it does avoid some of the most baffling choices that had defined the original Briefcase—Briefcase 3: Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus isn’t quite the “best of the box” LP that it could have been. Pollard takes the expected (for him) route of matching nearly every unqualified gem with a somewhat-puzzling inclusion. Granted, this ultimately results in a far more enjoyable listen than you get with the complete set. And—given the fact that it avoids the more obvious choices—it invites GBV enthusiasts to create their own idealized Briefcase 3, which is exactly what I’ll do below.
Like my imaginary versions of Briefcase and Briefcase 2, I stick to the parameters of (roughly) twenty-two minutes per side. And, like I did for Briefcase 2, I separated those sides into two stylistic categories; whereas that playlist was split between acoustic and full band performances, this one is divided by lo-fi and mid-/hi-fi recordings. While Pollard opted to go for an album-like flow for his own Briefcase 3, I merely stuck to picking what I felt were the best available songs. And unlike Pollard’s version, my Briefcase 3 can be found on Spotify (via the link at the bottom of the page). Lastly, while Pollard’s Briefcase 3 is technically available in a physical format, don’t expect to find it at a reasonable price. As such, it’s one of only two releases (excluding the CD-only ones) that we’ve covered so far that I’m yet to procure on vinyl; the other being The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet.
Anyway, here’s Briefcase 3 (Matt’s Version):
SIDE A (21:55)
A1. “Together/Apart” — The lack of detailed liner notes keeps me from knowing exactly when this little pop gem was recorded, but it feels plausible that “Together/Apart” comes from GBV’s vaunted 1992-96 era—even if it more likely predates Propeller.
A2. “Class Clown Spots a UFO” — An eventual title track from the reunited classic lineup, “Class Clown Spots a UFO” is a prime example of GBV power pop. This take may lack the ‘power’ of the finished version, but its ‘pop’ credentials were fully formed at this early juncture.
A3. “Old Engine Driver” — Another track that should be familiar to any Bob Pollard fanatic, this one is an alternate (presumably earlier) take of Static Airplane Jive‘s charming “Hey Aardvark.”
A4. “When’s the Last Time” — Although it opens with a faintly audible bit of Propeller‘s great “Quality of Armor,” this one quickly shifts into moody garage rock territory. And if there’s anything more in my wheelhouse than GBV, it’s moody garage rock. In fact, it sounds like it could’ve emerged from a Massachusetts basement in the mid-sixties.
A5. “Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus” — I suppose I need to include at least one track from the disc of 1994 acoustic demos. “Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus” is not only my favorite of the batch, but it leant its name to the subtitle of Briefcase 3.
A6. “Smothered in Hugs” — It’s often said (especially among lo-fi enthusiasts) that a great song is great, no matter how it was recorded. Given the fact that this Bee Thousand highlight was twice recorded under conditions that could charitably be called ‘less than pristine,’ and still manages to inspire goosebumps in both incarnations, I think it’s fair to say that it’s just a great song. Simply lovely.
A7. “Janet Wait” — Also lovely—and in that classically ‘damaged’ way that only Guided by Voices and a select few other lo-fi icons could capture.
A8. “Trader Vic” — In perfectly-fitting Pollardian form, this ode to Bob’s favorite record dealer—and on-stage bartender for GBV’s ‘final’ show—is every bit as romantic as the last two songs.
A9. “Huffman Prairie Flying Field” — An early version of the excellent closing track to 2004’s Half Smiles of the Decomposed, and yet another instance in which recording info would’ve come in handy; particularly as the “for far too long” refrain seemed so neatly affixed to the end of GBV’s initial run.
SIDE B (21:45)
B1. “Dropping the Bomb” — Pollard put this one as the lead track to Briefcase 3, and his instincts for sequencing once again seemed spot-on. It gets the call to open up the ‘hi-fi’ portion of our program.
B2. “The Annex” — Complete with a robotic beat, synth/vocal effects, and a wonderfully angular guitar lead, this one sounds more like The Fall than Pavement ever did—at least to my ears. Although, I suppose it kinda sounds a bit like Pavement too.
B3. “I’ll Come (And When It Does It’s Mine)” — Despite being built around its somewhat unwieldy title, Pollard manages to turn the chorus of this one into a genuine ear worm. I guess the dude has a knack for that sort of thing.
B4. “There Are Other Worlds” — Another moodier one that easily could’ve found a home on the ‘lo-fi’ side, “There Are Other Worlds” is often cited by GBV fans as one of the highlights of the Suitcase/Briefcase series. I’m inclined to agree with that assessment.
B5. “100 Colors” — This one sounds sharp enough to have come from one of the post-classic lineups—not only in the crisp production, but also in the more ‘professional’ interplay between the musicians.
B6. “Sixland” — There are moments in this track where Bob Pollard sounds like an entirely different singer than the one that we’ve familiarized ourselves with over a couple-thousand-or-so songs (give or take a few). Still, I’m about 99% sure that it’s him…
B7. “Sonny the Monster” — …whereas I know that Pollard isn’t the lead vocalist on this one. Instead, it’s former GBV drummer Bruce “Smitty” Smith. While this new wave-y confection is nowhere near the band’s typical fare, “Sonny the Monster” is another fan favorite from the Suitcase/Briefcase collections.
B8. “Out of the House” — One last complaint about the lack of informative liner notes, as I’d love to know exactly which lineup appears on this absolute ass-kicker—that Pollard also closed out his own Briefcase 3 with. Plenty of GBV incarnations were veritable forces of nature, but the last minute or so of this track is particularly electric.
Ratings: Suitcase 3 (6.5) / Briefcase 3 (7.0)*
*Singles are star-rated by their A-side; albums and EPs use the “Russman Reviews” scale.
Bob-ism of the Week: “I’m not so indebted to your dad / Your dad’s so stupid that he thinks he’s cool” (“Cuddling Bozo’s Octopus”)
Next Week: The “classic lineup” returns, just in time to save American indie rock. Or something like that…
