GUIDED BY VOICES - WORKING VERSIONS

Robert Pollard is always changing his albums at the last minute. This page highlights early copies of album that were later released officially.

HARDCORE UFO's

The first tracklisting for Bee Thousand, which originally was intended to be a double album. Most of the tracks appeared on King Shit & The Golden Boys (included in Box), while others still remain unreleased (officially).

  1. Demons Are Real
  2. Deathtrot And Warlock Riding A Rooster
  3. Postal Blowfish
  4. Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
  5. At Odds With Dr. Genesis
  6. Hot Freaks
  7. Queen Of Cans and Jars
  8. Bite
  9. It's Like Soul Man
  10. Supermarketing The Moon
  11. Stabbing A Star
  12. Ester's Day
  13. Her Psychology Today
  14. Good For A Few Laughs
  15. Smothered In Hugs
  16. What Are We Coming To?
  17. Peep-hole
  1. The Happy Song
  2. Indian Was An Angel
  3. Zoning The Planet
  4. Scissors
  5. Crayola
  6. Kicker Of Elves
  7. 2nd Moves To Twin
  8. I'll Buy You A Bird
  9. Awful Bliss
  10. Echos Myron
  11. Why Did You Land?
  12. You're Not An Airplane
  13. Crunch Pillow
  14. Rainbow Billy
  15. Tractor Rape Chain
  16. Crocker's Favorite Song

ALIEN LANES

All songs here are previously released, aside from the "rawking organ" version of "Motor Away".

  1. Cigarette Tricks
  2. My Son Cool
  3. Always Crush Me
  4. Watch Me Jumpstart
  5. They're Not Witches
  6. As We Go Up We Go Down
  7. Hit
  8. My Valuable Hunting Knife
  9. Big Chief Chinese Restaraunt
  10. The Closer You Are
  11. Lariat Man
  12. Auditorium
  13. A Salty Salute
  14. Pimple Zoo
  15. Motor Away
  16. Ex-Supermodel
  17. Straw Dogs
  18. Striped White Jets
  19. My Buddy Bill
  20. Blimps Go 90
  21. Gold Hick
  22. King & Caroline
  23. Evil Speakers
  24. Motor Away
  25. Alright

THE FLYING PARTY IS HERE (version 1)

Other than "Bender's Bluffing Muscles", all songs have had an official release, but here they are mixed to flow as an album.

  1. Deaf Ears
  2. Official Iron Man Rally Song
  3. Cocksoldiers (aka Sheetkickers)
  4. Key Losers
  5. Why Did You Land?
  6. He's The Uncle
  7. Winter Cows
  8. Drag Days
  9. Big Boring Wedding
  10. Kind Sister Repeater (aka Contest Featuring Human Beings)
  11. It's Like Soul Man
  12. Bender's Bluffing Muscles
  13. Systems Crash
  14. Redmen & Their Wives
  15. Take To The Sky
  16. Don't Stop Now
  17. Applehead (aka Ash Gray Proclamation)

THE FLYING PARTY IS HERE (version 2)

posted to Postal Blowfish, the Guided By Voices mailing list
From: bmelendy@nowwhat.com (Bruce Melendy)
Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 13:00:59 -0800
Subject: Oops

Jarrett (and all the other people I've bamboozled)--

Sorry about the confusion. I thought I'd fixed all the extraneous line breaks etc.

1. "Sheetkickers" was originally titled "Cock Soldiers" (sans stubble; ie, this is *not* the song on Sunfish Holy Breakfast called
"Cocksoldiers and Their Postwar Stubble").

2. The correct title is "Delayed Reaction Brats" You asked about the "long version," but I'm not sure there is one. According to the fragmentary information I've got over the last year, the "long version" is actually two separate pieces. The first song (or part) begins with just a strumming guitar, then Sprout sings something like "stirrups" (it sounds like a word being cut off, but if Turner is a cowboy, it makes sense). I can't really make out the words after that, but a second guitar kicks in and Sprout (in double-tracked vocal?) starts singing about sacred seals and "our strength is our mind" or something. The last line--wait!! I just figured it out! It's "Bender's Bluffing Muscles"! Whew! That was driving me crazy. I knew there was another tune I'd seen the title of and had forgotten. Okay. So there is no "long version" of "Delayed Reaction Brats"; they just dropped "Bender's Bluffing Muscles." So Michael Davies's claim that "Uprooted" is the original title of "The Who vs. Porky Pig" is probably correct.

3. "Ash Gray Proclamation" was orginally titled "Applehead"

All the songs on the tape are the same as the released versions. The only difference is the title and, in some cases, the relocation to another release. So "Delayed Reaction Brats" ended up as a bonus track on the UK release of UBUS with "He's the Uncle" and "The Key Losers"; "Applehead" was retitled "Ash Gray Proclamation" and moved to Not in My Airforce, etc. As far as I can tell, none of the songs were redone or altered between the proto-UBUS and the final (released) version.

I think the concept version was the first one, back when it was called something else (heck--I've forgotten all the sudden). Oh yeah, The Flying Party Is Here (thanks, Ramby baby--you are *my* hero--I'll send you a tape ASAP). (I hope you're all enjoying this journey through my rusty mind as much as I am.) Different versions and sequencing, but I never got to hear it.

So here is the list again (sorry), corrected, rested, rallied:

  1. Big Boring Wedding
  2. Why Did You Land? [released on OIRS EP]
  3. A Life in Finer Clothing [released on Plantations of the Pale Pink]
  4. He's the Uncle [released on UK version of UBUS]
  5. Deaf Ears [released on OIRS EP]
  6. The Official Iron Man's Rally Song [retitled Official Ironmen Rally Song]
  7. Cock Soldiers [released on UBUS as Sheetkickers]
  8. Systems Crash [released on Plantations of the Pale Pink]
  9. Beneath a Festering Moon [released on the Lounge Ax Defense and Relocation Compact Disc]
  10. June Salutes You! [released on OIRS EP]
  11. Drag Days
  12. Bender's Bluffing Muscles [unreleased]
  13. Delayed Reaction Brats [released on UK version of UBUS]
  14. Soul, Man
  15. Key Losers [released on UK version of UBUS]
  16. Red Men and Their Wives
  17. Take to the Sky
  18. Don't Stop Now
  19. Applehead [released on Not in My Airforce as Ash Gray Proclamation]


I hope that clears everything up.

Bruce

PS. Sunfish Holy Breakfast (oringinally titled Cash for Suits) was in the can around summertime last year. I think they originally planned to release it around October 95

MAG EARWIG

posted to Postal Blowfish, the Guided By Voices mailing list
From: jreineke@alaska.net (Josh Reineke)
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 17:25:02 -0800
Subject: Demons do not dare...

Christmas wrote:
>THen I thought about this: since Mag Earwhig was all high-fi,
>there has to be demo versions laying around somewhere, right? Or were
>they all made up in the studio? 'Cause if we could compile the demos, and
>sequence them into Mag Earwhig, there's one killer album old-school
>style! I know it's not what Bob wanted, exactly, but it would be
>interesting, no?

Well, I don't know about how many demos are floating around, but there was a working version of Mag Earwhig that's floating around. All the songs have been released with the two CD singles containing the songs that didn't make the album. The officially released version of "Mannequin's Complaint" is heavier and different to the working version, as well as adding (Wax Dummy
Meltdown) as a subtitle. "Cherub Blown Apart" was extended by a couple of minutes and retititled "(I'll Name You) The Flame That Cries". "Fairy Wings Are Green" was simply retitled "Mute Superstar". Those are the track differences. Here's the track list:

  1. Sad If I Lost It
  2. The Singing Razorblade
  3. Not Behind The Fighter Jets
  4. Did They Teach You The Chase?
  5. I Am A Tree
  6. Choking Tara
  7. Cherub Blown Apart
  8. Fairy Wings Are Green
  9. The Old Grunt
  10. Bulldog Skin
  11. Now To War
  12. Knock 'Em Flying
  13. Mag Earwhig
  14. Little Lines
  15. Mannequin's Complaint
  16. Hollow Cheek
  17. Portable Men's Society
  18. Ascended Master's Grogshop
  19. Jane Of The Waking Universe


The songs segue together like an album, which is kinda cool, but there were no really drastic changes or totally unreleased songs. There was only one song from the early UTBUTS that hasn't been released, Toby's "Bender's Bluffing Muscles".

Cheers,

Josh in AK

CREDITS:

Page originally written by Josh Reineke. Formatting and very minimal additions by Andy Gower.