Even Superman had his off days
I've said before that I don't like to write about albums I'm less than enthused about, but given that this is one I was particularly looking forward to, I feel like I've got to say at least something. Superman Was A Rocker is the new record (well, new as in released last month) from Robert Pollard. Billed as a mini-LP (it actually clocks in at 30 minutes, though some of that is between-song incidentals), Superman is a collection of old instrumentals recorded mostly during the GBV-years updated with new Pollard vocals. In theory, you're getting vintage GBV material featuring an older, wiser Pollard up front. In actuality, it's more like a bunch of stuff from the cutting room floor topped off with a little bit of icing. Keep in mind, the songs are coming from one of the best cutting room floors in rock history, but you're not getting grade-A, long lasting gems here.
Viewed in its best light, Superman comes off as a half-hour broadcast that would've fit well on WYSO or Flyer Radio back in the day -- a loose, sorta free-flowing broadcast featuring GBV outtakes from deep within the famous Pollard suitcase. The record has a good helping of interludes from DJ Turiel and some drops from Pollard (once we hear "Hey Nashville, you feel like letting your freak flag fly?" and later Pollard posits, "You know, well-behaved women rarely make history"). The highlight of the between song banter (maybe of the whole record?) is a recording of Mitch Mitchell and Kevin Fennell gleefully handling a call from Northridge, Ohio GBV detractor Hiram Campbell at the begining of "Back To The Farm." Is Hiram legit, or is he really Pollard or a Monument Clubber? I dunno, but either way it's funny when he says, "The Highwaymen're better than you guys."
Interludes aside, the songs are what you expect to hold up a Pollard record. There's nothing really great here, though. The "Back to the Farm" instrumental is nice enough, and "Love Your Spaceman" (the "Farm" instrumental with vocals) is ok. "You Drove the Snake Crazy" has its catchy, poppy moments. "St. Leroy" might be the best one, a plaintive piece in the mold of Pollard's sparse vocal/acoustic guitar outtakes. I guess "Another Man's Blood" and "Peacock," both haphazard rockers, are decent, but they drag on too long.
I'm sure some hard-core Pollard fans will find this one worth repeated listens, but it's not for me. I know Pollard still has the goods -- the two records released on Merge last year are keepers, and his show at the Southgate House in December proved he can still kick it live. This one strikes out for me, though.
I guess I've sunken into my "only get the major releases" phase in my GBV/Pollard record-buying life. I know there are people who pretty much exclusively listen to Pollard stuff, but that's never been me, even circa '96. Maybe what I want to say is that Pollard should keep putting out all these records -- people really like them, and he, more than most, should have creative license to do whatever he wants and make a living off of it. I'm not one who says he should focus his efforts on putting out one great record a year -- the world is probably somehow a better place for Pollard putting out a record every month or two. The thing is, there's a lot of music out there, and a lot of it is great, and I've realized that records like Superman are beyond my attention span.
Anyway, if the new Psycho and the Birds record is really unbelievably fantastic, let me know . . . .
