...but that is to admit that this album actually is a sell-out. Robert Pollards collaboration with Ric Ocasek actually works. Yeah, it's a more over-the-top sound than ever before - but GbV was always sort of over-the-top, right?
It's cleaner and there's a little more multi-tracking than usual, and a lot more keyboards, but it succeeds. Some may complain about how the band did not really do anything new, but who cares? It's Guided by Voices, arguably at their peak. I can see how it may have been off-putting in 1999, but knowing their improved-quality records of the present decade it does not seem out of place. Additionally, this album is the first of the true new loose incarnation of the lineup after the "Guided by Verde" era. In every way, really the band is not waning, despite some filler tracks. The big sound of "Teenage FBI," "Things I Will Keep," and "Wrecking Now" are some of their best songs. With 16 tracks there is no shortage of classics - even the much maligned "Hold On Hope," which was featured on Scrubs (not just any episode, but one featuring Brendan Fraser) is a great one despite what may be said in Hunting Accidents. The album also includes many songs on die-hard Official Iron Man Stephen Soderbergh's top tracks. Ocasek's production really lends to what could be added to GbV's sound and a lot of it reccurs in subsequent albums and Pollard's better solo work.
Bottom line: Despite what you may have heard about this record, it is great, and I think, perhaps a decent starting point for Guided By Voices.
Guided by Voices - Do The Collapse (1999)
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