Given
Robert Pollard's skewed but enthusiastic embrace of rock classicism (evidenced by his shared obsession with
the Beatles and
the Who), it's surprising that
Guided by Voices never got around to releasing that staple of rock & roll traditionalists, the double live album (beyond giving their blessings to a couple of authorized semi-bootlegs, Jellyfish Reflector and Crying Your Knife Away). But two years after
Pollard retired
Guided by Voices, the band finally gets the twin-disc concert document treatment with
Live from Austin TX, which preserves the 30-song set
GBV played during a November 2004 taping of the PBS series Austin City Limits on their farewell tour. While the DVD Guided by Voices: The Electrifying Conclusion offers a writ-large record of
GBV's last days (taped during the band's marathon final gig), this more compact offering serves a similar function -- while not the definitive word on a live
Guided by Voices gig, it captures their many strengths and occasional weaknesses very well indeed. While
Guided by Voices lost a bit of their semi-pro charm in their last years, as a live act they were near the peak of their abilities when they set out on their final road trip, and the band sounds little short of remarkable during this set;
Doug Gillard and Nate Farley's guitars channel the melodic glory of
Pollard's songs through the thunder of a stack of amps as bassist
Chris Slusarenko and drummer
Kevin March drive these songs like Mario Andretti. The set list for this show jumps back and forth through the
Guided by Voices time line, and nearly everything sounds like a winner as these musicians spin gold from their leader's singular pop hooks. And as for
Robert Pollard, he was clearly allowed to drink as much beer as he wanted during the course of the taping, and over the course of 88 minutes he gets progressively sloppier, and while there's no arguing he was giving the crowd his all during this concert, his devolution from the confident frontman shouting "Say it! Learn it! Know it!" as his fans shout "Gee! Bee! Vee!" at the outset to the mush-mouthed guy who can barely pronounce the words to "Echoes Myron" at the end of the night is either amusing or a little sad depending on your perspective (though
Pollard's drinking was also an integral part of
GBV's live show for years).
Live from Austin TX is
Guided by Voices presented warts and all, and if the band's shortcoming are sometimes audible, their great music also rings out loud and clear and it's a valuable addition to their recorded legacy. ~ Mark Deming