Bee Thousand
Guided by Voices
Scat, 1994
Reviewed by
Mark Groeschner
With only a four-track recorder and his utility band of cronies, elementary
school teacher/Guided By Voices leader Robert Pollard managed to record one of the most
visionary albums in the last 25 years. Garage rock anthems such as “Hardcore
UFO’s,” “Buzzards and Dreadful Crows,” and “Tractor Rape
Chain,” embrace everything that is rock and roll while somehow breaking the mold.
Pollard’s obscure song titles, twisted lyrics and irresistible melodies hark back to
everyone from The Who to J.R.R. Tolkien to the Beatles, but Pollard’s real genius
lies in the overall concept of Bee Thousand.
Taking cues from artists like Brian Wilson and Wire, Pollard is able to craft a
rock-and-roll masterpiece boasting 20 songs in a mere thirty-six minutes. Between acoustic
heartbreakers like “Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory,” “Ester’s
Day,” and “Awful Bliss,” Pollard gives the listener a private tour of the
house that rock built. The art-rock meets bar-room-blues of “Hot Freaks” is the
perfect intro to the eerie memoir that is “Smothered in Hugs.” Pollard then
slows things down with the offbeat “Yours to Keep,” before launching into the
impeccable classic pop of “Echos Myron,” and “Gold Star for Robot
Boy.”
Using Tobin Sprout as the Lennon to his McCartney (or Kannberg to his Malkmus, for you
true lo-fi stallions) Pollard is able to construct an album full of secret nooks and
hiding places where any fan of rock and pop could lose themselves for hours. Despite the
intentional tape hiss and occasional clipped guitar solo, the songwriting and sequencing
on Bee Thousand is near perfect.
