Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow [Box set]

Amazon.com
Eleven months after his band Guided By Voices' final show, Robert Pollard releases four more discs of outtakes, one-offs, live tunes and ephemera, to complement the original Suitcase box set. The format's the same as the first one: four discs in a box with a booklet, each CD containing twenty five tunes. The songs are even numbered beginning with 101, leading the listener to believe there might be a third volume in another five years. The amazing thing is not that there are still so many unreleased tunes in the solo Pollard/ GBV vaults, but how engaging this stuff is despite fidelity that at times is atrocious. Pollard seems to be equally reviled and admired for his ability to write dozens of catchy and surreal pop ditties in one day, but it's clear he knows which tunes are the best. There is much here for fans, such as the late ‘80s tune "Rocket Head," which later evolved into "Teenage FBI," but this unbelievably strong box is worth it for the meticulous fake band ephemera included in the booklet alone. –Mike McGonigal

Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow,Guided by Voices,Recordhead Records,Alternative Pop/Rock,Box Sets (Audio Only),Indie Rock,Lo-Fi,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop,United States of America

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Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow [Box set]

Average customer rating: Mostly good collection of songs marred by digital flaws "Each one will be worse than the one before!" a second opinion Enough's Enough?

Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow Guided by Voices Manufacturer: Recordhead Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Lo-Fi | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Box Sets | Stores | Music General | Rock | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll Bubble Guided by Voices - The Electrifying Conclusion Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft Zoom ASIN: B000AYEIPY Release Date: 2005-11-08

Tracks:

1. This Ream
2. Rocket Head
3. Golden Pickle
4. Your Charming Proposal
5. Searing Tonight
6. Somewhere, Sometime
7. If You Think It's Easy
8. His Spacetruck Is Strange
9. Tin Can Laughter
10. Sacred Space
11. Soul Flyers
12. Gods of Richard
13. It's Only Up to You
14. Dancing with the Answers
15. Waiting for Your Touch
16. Soggy Beavers
17. Invisible Train to Earth
18. Stingy Queens
19. Something for Susan in the Shadows
20. Sinister Infrared Halo
21. Happy at the Dragstrip
22. Arms
23. Solid Gold Animal Collection
24. Beach Towers
25. Cosmic Clown

Tracks:

1. I Am Decided
2. Tainted Angels with Butter Knives
3. What About the Rock?
4. Pack of Rolling Papers
5. Telephone Town
6. Hey I Know Your Old Lady
7. Headache Revolution
8. Every Man
9. Alibible
10. I Can't Help But Noticing
11. Mannequin's Complaint (Wax Dummy Meltdown)
12. Zarkoff's Coming
13. Supersonic Love Funky Love Gun
14. Perch Warble
15. You're Not the Queen Anymore
16. Ivanhoe
17. How Can You?
18. Lodger Carried a Gun
19. Metro XVI
20. My Dream Making Machine
21. Mustard Man
22. Alone in Time
23. Dusty Bushworms
24. Free It
25. Are You Faster?

Tracks:

1. Proud and Booming Industry
2. Two or Three Songs
3. Little Games
4. Daughter of the Gold Rush
5. Color Coat Drawing
6. Learning to Burn
7. Minute Before the Evil Street
8. I'd Choose You
9. You're Killin' Me
10. Old Friend
11. She Don't Shit (No Golden Bricks for Me)
12. I Have a Hard Heart
13. Shoddy Clothes
14. Sordid Forst
15. Shake It Out
16. Cowboy Zoo
17. Soul Barn
18. Phase IV (Rise of the Ants)
19. Piece
20. Lonely Town
21. Do Be
22. Boston Spaceships
23. Drugs & Eggs
24. That Ain't No Good
25. Immediate Frozen Lookalikes

Tracks:

1. Madroom Assistance
2. Man of Dimension
3. Nerve Gas
4. Do the Ball
5. Issue Presents Itself
6. Leprechun Catfish Fighter
7. Child
8. Invisible Exercise
9. All Around the World
10. Late Night Scamerica
11. World of My Own
12. She's the One
13. Daddy's in the State Pen
14. Cox Municipal Airport Song
15. Scare Me No. 3
16. Grope
17. Heavy Crown
18. So Roll Me Over
19. Home by Ten
20. Come Make My Shadow
21. Paper Girl
22. Jimmy's Einstein Poster
23. My Own Confection
24. Groundwork
25. Bye Bye Song

Amazon.com

Eleven months after his band Guided By Voices' final show, Robert Pollard releases four more discs of outtakes, one-offs, live tunes and ephemera, to complement the original Suitcase box set. The format's the same as the first one: four discs in a box with a booklet, each CD containing twenty five tunes. The songs are even numbered beginning with 101, leading the listener to believe there might be a third volume in another five years. The amazing thing is not that there are still so many unreleased tunes in the solo Pollard/ GBV vaults, but how engaging this stuff is despite fidelity that at times is atrocious. Pollard seems to be equally reviled and admired for his ability to write dozens of catchy and surreal pop ditties in one day, but it's clear he knows which tunes are the best. There is much here for fans, such as the late `80s tune "Rocket Head," which later evolved into "Teenage FBI," but this unbelievably strong box is worth it for the meticulous fake band ephemera included in the booklet alone. -Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews:

Mostly good collection of songs marred by digital flaws.......2007-06-08

Another collection of basement experiments from the resident rock and roll genius of Dayton, OH Bob Pollard. Mostly good collection of songs with some real classics thrown in but seven or eight of the tracks have digital noise glitches (as in cracking, popping, and clicking) during the track which is very distracting. Don't let that stop you though- pick up a decent sound editor, run the tracks through a declicker, and they'll be good as new.

For the hardcode, it's 100 songs of Bob and can't be missed.

For the casual fan there are better purchases out there. Get SC1 first!

"Each one will be worse than the one before!".......2006-07-28

That's *almost* an exact quote from Bob Pollard about the Suitcase series. I thought it was just a joke at the time, but there's definitely some truth there! It could be argued that each Suitcase will be more *amusing* than the previous one, but we'll have to wait for #3 to make that distinction. Personally, I really like about 50% of the first Suitcase, and closer to about 20% of what's here. I don't regret the purchase though- "I am Decided", "Your Charming Proposal", "Invisible Train to Earth" and the versions of "Perch Warble" and "Dusty Bushworms" here are all really, really good. Plus there seems to be a good recording of a very early (Forever Since Breakfast early) live show spread throughout, with songs that haven't appeared elsewhere. But the large majority of "songs" here are just complete throw-aways: weird (sometimes cool) tape collages, solo (sometimes interesting) guitar instrumentals, noisy and inebriated jam sessions with Bob improvising lyrics, etc etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these people who says Pollard "needs an editor"; a talent like his should not be censored or compromised in any way, imo. But with this, the whole point is that it's scraping the bottom of the barrel as it were, so it shouldn't be too surprising that much of this falls into the "somewhat amusing" category rather than the "simply amazing."

a second opinion.......2006-01-16

i actually dig this release a lot more than suitcase 1. though suitcase 1 had many amazing songs, including my favorite GBV song ever ("sing it out"), suitcase 2 is entirely more listenable. there are many highlights and not as many that drag (which makes suitcase 1 a rather spotty listen for me). the bulk of this set is stuff from the 80's that tends to eclipse the tracks that ended up on GBV's 80's albums. the only songs i could do without are most of the 2005 demos, which sound like they were intended for the suitcase (that defeats the purpose, right?).

favorites include two from 1992: "drugs and eggs" is an infectious little ditty with such a beautiful melody it's astounding that it was never released. "heavy crown" is a hard rocker that sadly lacks a band (another acoustic gem). a bit of melody from the latter song later showed up on the GBV hit "everywhere with helicopter" but this song is ten times better.

my advice is that if you don't own suitcase 1, get 2 first. 2 is more accsessible. both are fine purchases for a GBV nut, and provide hours of listening. the fun is sifting through the wreckage and discovering the good stuff.

Enough's Enough?.......2006-01-13

Look...I really love Robert Pollard! I REALLY do! I have dozens of GBV/Pollard discs. They're/He's easily my favorite artist of the past twelve years or so. And I truly enjoyed the first Suitcase. I still listen to it on a fairly regular basis. But this new collection truly seems (to me at least) to lend credence to some critics' belief that Pollard is in serious need of an editor. I know...as even Bob says, if ya don't want it then don't buy it. But I did want it and I did trust Bob that my $45 would buy lots of good stuff. For the first time ever, I feel more than a little let down with a GBV/Robert Pollard release. Very few of the songs on Suitcase 2 have caught my interest, even after repeated listens. It's not a matter of atrocious sound...I love lo-fi and in fact, would rather listen to 'old-skool' GBV, Pavement, Book of Kills, Rob Christensen, Daniel Johnston, et al...but this four disc set comes perilously close to scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel. That said, there are still some really good songs scattered throughout, but nothing as good as the best stuff on Suitcase 1. The most interesting thing about Suitcase 2 are the several tracks which are clearly early blueprints for later GBV classics, most notable being "Rocket Head" which later morphed into "Teenage FBI". In the end, though I don't think this is a very good collection, I'd still buy it if you're a big GBV fan. While it won't set your world on fire, there's probably a few tracks on it that will make you smile and the package is pretty cool as well.

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