Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trash Aircraft
(2000, Fading Captain Series)
For an intro to Suitcase: Failed Experiment and Trash Aircraft check here, on Disc 1.
Disc
3
Long
Way to Run-
5
Super
happy, laid back, glimmering chord rocker with perfectly sweet
melodies. Sandbox
era
recording. Why this was left off that solid LP is beyond me.
Mr.
Media- 3
Plodding, heavy electric
guitar strums with Pollard vocals beckoning. Decent bellowing
hook. Interesting sketch of a song.
Settlement
Down- 3
Heavy hitting, moody,
post-rock song. Toms thunder away under dissonant guitar chords.
Surreal and gloomy, but an interesting and refreshing break from
formula.
A
Kind of Love [Live at Gilly’s; Dayton OH ‘84]-
3
Live
recording of what would later show up on Suitcase
3 of
all places. Actually sounds like a later GBV song in it’s
melody and jangle opening. Fairly solid hooks in the verse that
show how damn easy Pollard can make it seem, even if there was a
pretty annoying bass line supporting it.
Meddle
[Orginial Version]-
3
This
would later show up on the Boston Spaceship’s Zero
to 99
LP. Eerier than that version mainly based on the sparseness of
the track. Stream of lyrics in the verses are breezy and slyly
ominous within the choral hook.
Big
Trouble-
Same song as on Hazzard Hotrods’ LP Big
Trouble. You
can read the review there.
A
Good Circuitry Soldier [Original Version]-
4
Later released on the Boston Spaceship’s Zero
to 99
LP as the closer. This one’s an acoustic guitar and vocals only
affair,
and those vocals are much better. This version is not convoluted by
production and proves to be short, simple, and intimate in a way the
Boston Spaceship’s version fails to capture.
Devil
Doll- 1
Strummed chords get bent while Pollard does some They Might Be
Giants dial-a-song voice over.
Pantherz
[Demo]-
3
Originally supposed to open what was the LP The
Power of Suck
before being changed to Under
the Bushes, Under the Stars,
“Pantherz” is a pretty standard GBV song from that time. Buzzing
chords, mid-tempo with simple but effective hooks.
Cocaine
Jane- 4
Catchy little acoustic song. The melody is reminiscent of a billion
other GBV songs, and that is not a complaint. Fun and short.
Exploding
Anthills [Original Version]-
2
Guess
what? This would later be on the Boston Spaceships
Zero
to 99
LP!!! See a pattern here? In this case, this version is pretty
crappy. The warbled, tremolo vocals are nothing but
distracting.
Perch
Warble- 4
Upbeat, and poppy
shit-fi recording. Unfortunately, the warble of the vocal once
again diverts your attention from an otherwise killer, short song.
Scissors
and the Clay Ox (In)- 4
Repetitive, three chord early ‘60s Herman’s Hermits rip-off
garage jam from the dusty bin of a record fair. So incredibly
simple, and un-GBV like but it’s undeniably infectious.
Cody’s
Antler- 1
Complete drab and
disconsolate instrumental noodling from ‘93 era GBV. This manages
to feature both Tobin Sprout and Mitch Mitchell and somehow still
suck in an incredible 2 and a half minutes.
Once
in a While- 4
OH MY GOD, what a
great little vocal melody that just sneaks up on you for a few short
seconds. Such a great hidden acoustic, double vocaled jam
hidden in the annals of the suitcase. Incredibly sad. Pollard’s
lost “In My Life," Beatles moment.
Buzzards
and Dreadful Crows [Different Version]-
1
Classic
rocker from
Bee
Thousand
was originally conceived as this maniacal,
I-Can’t-Believe-I’m-So-Drunk-and-Still-awake, howling piece of
shit over the slow chug of a guitar? How this was the origin of such
a great song is again one of Pollard's great mysteries.
Carnival
at the Morning School- 3
Some of Pollard's most mundane throwaways, at their core, have still
broken through with a quick twist of melody, or surprising vocal turn
that makes the track worth hearing. This outtake is a perfect example
of that.
Cruise
[Different Version]-
4
“Cruise”was
released in a different form under the Pollard moniker Freedom Cruise
on the split
7'' w/ Nightwalker. This version's a dizzying, and subtly
effective psych rocker. Stoner dirge, with psych-hope vocals.
Ultimately, this proves to be the better version
Gayle-
1 Pollard
strums guitar. Then Mitch Mitchell and him wail “Gayle, Gimme some
of your loving,” over and over in variations. Sounds
like “Death Trot and Warlock Riding a Rooster.” But this is
somehow even stupider.
Gift-
1 Someone
accidentally hit the record button after a noisy jam and cheering
session. Then a pulsating post-punk track was improvised while the
tape was still rolling. Unbelievable. (sigh)....
The
Flying Party- 3
Sprout/Pollard
composition with the inimitable Jim Greer on organ. Surreal,
short, and sad. How about that for alliteration?
Trashed
Aircraft-
2
Aggressive
sketch of a song with mildly hooky and distant Pollard melodies.
Later tested to be added to Do
the Collapse after
6 years in the Suitcase, but was vetoed off that album.
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