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by: James Greer  List Price: $16.00 Amazon.com's Price: $12.00 You Save: $4.00 (25%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 782.421660922 EAN: 9780802170132 ISBN: 0802170137 Label: Grove Press, Black Cat Manufacturer: Grove Press, Black Cat Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 336 Publication Date: October 10, 2005 Publisher: Grove Press, Black Cat Studio: Grove Press, Black Cat Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: Guided by Voices was one of the most popular indie-rock bands of the 1990s. Critics internationally have lauded the band’s brain trust, Robert Pollard, as a once-in-a-generation artist. Pollard has been compared by The New York Times to Mozart, Rossini, and Paul McCartney (in the same sentence) and everyone from P. J. Harvey, Radiohead, R.E.M., the Strokes, and U2 has sung his praises and cited his music as an influence. But it all started rather prosaically when Pollard, a fourth-grade teacher in his early thirties from Dayton, Ohio, began recording songs with drinking buddies in his basement. James Greer, an acclaimed music writer and former Spin editor, enjoys a unique advantage in having played in the band for two years. This personal connection grants him unparalleled insight and complete access to the workings of Pollard’s muse. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Robert Pollard and his Band! I was excited to read this book since being turned onto Guided By Voices about 5 years ago. I was reluctant in a way to read this because a bandmate of mine who is the biggest GBV fan I know said after he read it he hated Robert Pollard. I was taken back a bit but after reading this book I can see why. On the other hand I can see why he was the way he is and why he's the songwriting genius he is today. The book should be called "Robert Pollard and his Band of Friends or Enemies." The guy was a stuck ... Read More Rating:  - No better coverage is available.Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard has been involved in the rock scene for over twenty years, has been compared to Paul McCartney to Rossini, and has staged live rock performances which stand out from the crowd. Written with exclusive cooperation from Pollard, GUIDED BY VOICES: A BRIEF HISTORY delves into his music and the vast circle of rock musicians which have contributed to his development. From the band's many incarnations to Pollard's constantly changing sound, no better coverage is available. Read More Rating: - Human amusementsThis is a pretty good book, sez this non-obsessed GBV fan. Greer's intro was too cute by half, and fortunately he tones his writing down a bit for most of the book. Unlike other reviewers, I found Greer's fawning was balanced by many examples showing that Robert Pollard is a flawed individual. I enjoyed the contributions by Pollard's son. I didn't think much of the analysis of songs because Bob's answer for half of them is that they were about nothing. One correction for the author: The Denver show at ... Read More Rating: - a nice resource for the unobsessedIt is interesting to read the different reviews here. I think the criticisms reveal more about the critics than the book. I agree with the following shortcomings: not enough about the musical process, approach, and details of album making. (Bee 1000 is a masterpiece and it is good to hear from Pollard's website that a scholar is devoting a single work to the album.) Even if Greer is a "yesman" as a reviewer suggests, he still provides fruitful insights and titillating minutae that the lay-listener ... Read More Rating:  - Sigh"Hunting Accidents" is a poorly written, poorly researched and poorly structured disappointment from a sychophant former band member. Robert Pollard is a great songwriter and musician, and based on a handful of encounters I've had with the man, a very nice guy. But he is not Jesus Christ. Whether James Greer is unaware of this this, or Pollard's camp wouldn't allow a more balanced portrait, I don't know. But the sickening level of butt-kissing on display here makes it impossible to take even the good bits ... Read More 
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