Reissue of highly collectible first collaboration between GBV frontman and Doug Gillard from 1999
Guided By Voices brings you a 20th anniversary vinyl reissue of an early gem from the Fading Captain Series. Originally issued as a small vinyl pressing (1000 copies) in 1999, used copies of this Guided By Voices “side-project” have regularly re-sold for hundreds of dollars.
Remastered from the original analog tapes. Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department is the first album of Robert Pollard’s fruitful collaboration with long-time guitarist Doug Gillard (later to be known as Lifeguards).
Gillard recorded all the instruments on Tascam 4-track cassette in Cleveland, then sent them via US Postal Service to Pollard who added vocals in a studio in Dayton. Eleven Pollard compositions followed, along with four songs which Pollard wrote and recorded melodies over Gillard-penned instrumentals, starting an unusual songwriting process that Pollard pursued for several years with various long-distance collaborators.
Nearly half the songs on the album became staples of the GBV live set for several years, including “Pop Zeus,” “Tight Globes,” “Frequent Weaver Who Burns” and “Do Something Real,” which was featured in the Stephen Soderbergh film, Full Frontal.
Frequent Weaver Who Burns 2:48
Soul Train College Policeman 1:38
Pop Zeus 2:27
Slick As Snails 4:19
Do Something Real 2:55
Port Authority 4:05
Soft Smoke 0:44
Same Things 1:18
And I Don't (So Now I Do) 2:10
Tight Globes 3:07
I Get Rid Of You 2:49
Life Is Beautiful 2:27
Messiahs 2:25
Larger Massachusetts 2:52
And My Unit Moves 1:41