I've Owned You For Centuries

1. BEE THOUSAND (Scat/Matador, 1994) There's no better place to start than here. Recorded in the midst of the band's lo-fi, four-track period, Bee Thousand is nonetheless a highly accessible and hooky effort that started all that "British Invasion recreated" hype rolling. Nearly every song is a classic, and six songs still see action in GbV's live set (no small feat). Focus first on the Lennon/McCartney/Syd Barrett charms of "Hardcore UFOs", "Echos Myron" and "A Big Fan Of The Pigpen", then marvel at the original, melancholy reading of "I Am A Scientist", the monumental "Smothered In Hugs", the gorgeous "Peep-Hole" ... you can see where this is leading.

2. ALIEN LANES (Matador, 1995) Hot on the heels of Bee Thousand came this 28-track labyrinth, a disc that showcases much of what is great about mid-period Guided by Voices (jingle-jangle hooks and melodies recorded with that trademark hiss n'crackle) while retaining a "sound-collage" vibe largely unique to the catalog. A triumph in sequencing, Alien Lanes consists of many short song "fragments" linking the more fleshed-out numbers, edited seamlessly. The effect is like one incredibly catchy 41-minute song. Time-tested anthems like "Game Of Pricks", "Motor Away", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", "Striped White Jets" and "Watch Me Jumpstart" are present, but listen for hidden gems like the arena-sized throttle of "My Son Cool", the adrenaline blastoff "Gold Hick" and the harmony-laden, psych-Beatles swooner "Chicken Blows". Goes well with a case of lukewarm domestic beer.

3. MAG EARWHIG! (Matador, 1997) Recorded intermittently with the crack Cleveland rock combo Cobra Verde and the old GbV wrecking crew (Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, Jim Pollard, Tobin Sprout and the infamous Tascam four-track), Mag Earwhig! benefits from clearer, punchier sound and some of Pollard's most sure-handed, dramatic songcraft. Majestic, Who-style anthems like "I Am A Tree", "Bulldog Skin", "Portable Men's Society", "Little Lines" and "Bomb In The Bee-Hive" fly out of the speakers with a previously unheard-of force. In between, a la Alien Lanes, are pretty acoustic ditties ("Now To War"), bouncy pop ("Jane Of The Waking Universe"), and condensed prog bizarros ("I Am Produced", "Hollow Cheek").

4. PROPELLER (Rockathon, 1992) Released just before the band broke nationwide, Propeller is basement stadium rock, oddly sequenced and haphazardly performed, but indispensible due to epics like "Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox" (which opens with the riveting and surprisingly convincing sound of the GbV guys recreating a chanting arena audience in the studio) and "Weed King". Other can't-miss tracks include the rampaging "Some Drilling Implied", the garage-metal meltdown "Lethargy", the shout-along "Exit Flagger", Sprout's beautiful acoustic number "14 Cheerleader Coldfront", and maybe the weirdest GbV song ever, "Back To Saturn X Radio Report". "Saturn X" is a brisk, tape-spliced medley of GbV songs, including some that would appear in their entirety on later albums (including "Chicken Blows" and "Buzzards and Dreadful Crows") and some laughably corny snippets that would never be heard from again. For the best value, comb the used bins for the out-of-print Scat CD that contains both Propeller and Vampire On Titus.

5. FAST JAPANESE SPIN CYCLE (Engine, 1994) More gold from the Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes era, this is a very short but irresistable EP with the classic rocker "My Impression Now", superior versions of Vampire On Titus tracks "Dusted" and "Marchers In Orange" (a headphone must), and acid-fried nursery rhymes like "3rd World Birdwatching" and "Indian Fables".

6. Under The Bushes, Under The Stars (Matador, 1996) Among the darkest and heaviest, but also the most emotional, things the original GbV lineup put to record, Under The Bushes was the first to draw disfavor from critics, and many fans, including myself, were slow to discover its worth. Pollard himself seemed unsure about the record, pointing to the belabored recording sessions (Kim Deal and Steve Albini both tried their hands at producing, with unsatisfactory results) as one reason for its initial lackluster impression. Repeated listens reveal a remarkably complete, cohesive, fleshed-out record with songs that actually hang around for three or four minutes. Like all fine GbV albums, Under The Bushes is a mix of thunderous rockers ("Man Called Aerodynamics", "Cut-Out Witch"), pop ("No Sky", "Underwater Explosions") and pretty Sprout contributions ("To Remake The Young Flyer", "Atom Eyes"). Dig deeper, however, and the hidden beauty of Under The Bushes is in the dark experiments that would foreshadow Pollard's solo output ("Look At Them"), some simmering, ultimately explosive rockers ("Sheetkickers") and deeply heartfelt, sensitive songs that would serve as anthems for the band ("Don't Stop Now", "Your Name Is Wild").

7. Box (Scat, 1995) You know you're in for the long haul when you cough up the cash for this (actually, fairly inexpensive) five-disc set. Spanning the group's ultra-obscure first four full-lengths plus a bonus LP of unreleased material, King Shit and the Golden Boys, Box canvasses the musical growth of '87-'93, when Guided by Voices were barely known in Dayton, much less the rest of the country. The debut, Devil Between My Toes, sets the template for the decade to come, careening from R.E.M.-influenced tracks ("Discussing Wallace Chambers") to art-damaged freakouts ("A Portrait Destroyed By Fire") to glowing, harmony-laden pop ("Hank's Little Fingers") to crushing rock ("Captain's Dead"). Sandbox is more concise, an underrated stab at power pop with the can't-miss, Beatlesque ballad "Long Distance Man". Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is the sleeper, a complex and surprisingly musical prog-rock-oriented collection that dips into metal ("Chief Barrel Belly") and features the otherworldly, teen-ido throwback "Liar's Tale". Same Place The Fly Got Smashed is a quasi-concept record (allegedly about the demise of an alcoholic - a subject pretty close to home for the hardest-drinking band in show business), intense and involving. Opening with the anguished "Airshow '88", Same Place makes up for its vague-at-best thematic flow with dark, affecting songs like "Drinker's Peace", the gorgeous "When She Turns 50", the chilling "Starboy", and the epic "Order For The New Slave Trade" alongside catchy, garagey rock like "The Hard Way" and "Mammoth Cave". King Shit has a little of everything as you might expect, dealing equally in great songs ("Dust Devil", "Indian Was An Angel", "Crutch Came Slinking") and shambolic silliness ("Deathtrot and Warlock Riding A Rooster"). Also notable are GbV's successful foray into skin-flaying noise rock, "Squirmish Frontal Room", and the rocking live fave "Postal Blowfish".

8. Robert Pollard's solo albums. Many argued at first that a Pollard solo project would be indistinguishable from GbV releases, but Not In My Airforce (Matador, 1996), and especially Waved Out (Matador, 1998) and Kid Marine (Fading Captain, 1999) have served as challenging, experimental sidenotes to the increasingly accessible (in a manner of speaking) GbV albums. Airforce trails off a bit with the seven acoustic cuts at the end, but tracks 1-15 are a lovingly sequenced tour de force with epic rockers ("Maggie Turns To Flies", "Psychic Pilot Clocks Out"), brief, catchy curiosities ("Parakeet Troopers"), acoustic marvels ("King Of Arthur Avenue"), and beautiful pop songs ("Flat Beauty", "Release The Sunbird"). Two years later, Waved Out incorporated Pollard's prog rock and post-punk influences into a dark, edgy soundscape that is daunting at first but ultimately mesmerizing. New wrinkles and details abound, most notably the dual-melody trick of "People Are Leaving" and the creepy/beautiful vocal effects on the acoustic stuner "Pick Seeds From My Skull". Elsewhere, expect bleak balladry ("Artificial Light"), psychedelic mischief ("Showbiz Opera Walrus"), severe Wire-influenced rock ("Waved Out"), and as always, a couple of king-hell anthems ("Make Use", "Subspace Biographies"). A collection of Pollard poems set to music, Kid Marine covers similar ground to Waved Out but with a brighter, more optimistic sound and feel. Inspired wordplay, weird vocal effects and unusual song structures chart further development.

9. Vampire On Titus (Scat, 1993) Imagine the band playing live and recording into a boombox. Often singled out by Pollard as GbV's finest moment, but befuddling to most, Vampire swerves and wobbles through its 18 tracks. Fragile melodies disintegrate amid cacophonous lo-fi treatments. Even arena-strength soarers like "Wished I Was A Giant" and especially "Expecting Brainchild" are buried in distracting noise, leaving your imagination to create proper contexts for the songs. Maybe that's the point. Charming ballads "Jar Of Cardinals" and "Wondering Boy Poet" do manage to gleam through the murk.

10. The Grand Hour (Scat/Matador, 1993) Notable for the longtime GbV live staple "Shocker In Gloomtown" (often introduced by Pollard as a "hit single that's popular with the kids"), this EP also contains the unbelievably nasty garage rocker "Alien Lanes" (scorching wah-wah solo!), the metallic skull-rattler "Break Even", and "Bee Thousand", another infuriating/exhilarating tune that drenches a glorious melody in static and scrap, in addition to boasting the most ridiculous refrain in the entire GbV canon.

11. Sunfish Holy Breakfast (Matador, 1996) "If We Wait" is the big draw here, a heart-swelling anthem that many call the best GbV song ever. If that one doesn't get your eyes wet and your Bic flicking, the stately ballad "Heavy Metal Country" should do so. The other eight tracks of this EP are sketchy if occasionally fun, most notably the sweeping, pretty rocker "Cocksoldiers and Their Postwar Stubble" (suitable to be covered by Oasis) and the garage raveup "Stabbing A Star" (which contains the laughably un-Pollard-like lyric "I'm starving for a fun fuck"). The catchy, low-key "Trendspotter Acrobat", onetime bassist Jim Greer's lone contribution to the GbV books, can also be found here.

12. Tonics and Twisted Chasers (Rockathon, 1998) A limited-edition release, Tonics is a collection of Bob/Tobin songs with a bizarre vibe that didn't fit other albums. Many tracks are concise, compact, laid-back pop songs, often wiht just guitar and vocals. Highlights include the bittersweet "Look, It's Baseball", the jubilant "Ha Ha Man", the chilling "Long As The Block Is Black", and the Beefheartian goof "Jellyfish Reflector". Contains a song that sounds like GbV on 78 rpm ("Universal Nurse Finger"), a song in which Tobin Sprout actually sings "no more fuckin' blues" ("Sadness To The End") and a song called, yes, "158 Years Of Beautiful Sex".

13. Singles of album cuts. The accompanying EPs for "I Am A Scientist", "The Official Ironmen Rally Song", "Bulldog Skin" and "I Am A Tree" all contain about one great song apiece. If you find them for $5 or under, bite.

14. Clown Prince Of The Menthol Trailer (Recordhead, 1998) Contains the much-loved GbV "drinking anthem" "Johnny Appleseed" (in which Pollard audibly forgets the lyrics) and six other quite sloppy lo-fi nuggets. Buy only if you worship the band and get a kick out of this sort of thing.

15. Crying My Knife Away (Simple Solutions, 1998) A 24-cut live disc from Stache's in Columbus, Ohio, Crying was recorded in the midst of a friend's birthday festivities and features the Bee Thousand-era fivesome at their drunkest. Notes are missed, tempos are enigmatic, the guitars seem not to have bene tuned since leaving the factory. Bob's between-song banter is amusing, but the music itself will clear the room at a party faster than a Jad Fair/Lou Reed duets LP.

--Lane Hewitt