Robert Pollard albums
	Band Members:                Robert Pollard - Vocals, Guitar                                       Todd Tobias - Drums, Bass                                       Chris Sheehan - Keyboards Best Album: not one I have heard yet Biggest Influences: Wire, David Bowie, The Beatles                                                            2006                                                            From a Compound Eye -  5/8    This former leader of Guided by Voices is known for being prolific, unstable, and inconsistent. Why bother then? Because when he is "on" like past works such as Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, his music is so good you crave more. So many people flock to his first post-GBV release (though he has many other solo records) and what do we get for our troubles? A mess of stuff that while not necessarily bad, is not the enjoyable mess GBV albums were. There are some rewarding songs for sure, "Dancing Girls and Dancing Men", "Love is Stronger then Witchcraft", "Blessed an Orphan Head", "The Numbered Head", "I Surround you Naked",  and "50 Year Old Baby" are all worthy of Pollard's high standards. There are also many songs littered throughout the record that add to the flavor and context of the record, as random as From a Compound Eye actually sounds when heard all the way through. In all honesty though, it is not enough. Half good and half bad never makes you glad you bought something, it doesn't matter how good the good songs are; this is especially true of a double record. 70 minutes of music to sit through is a lot for anyone, and it should be noted that Pollard has said that many of these songs are old b-sides. That is kind of what the record as a whole sounds like: less than the sum of its parts because it is just a jumbled mess. People that like this release just because it is Robert Pollard are part of the problem, and sub par material should not be praised as good just because of who released it. So should this work be looked at as worth the effort? Only for the obsessed fan in the clan of Pollard, and there are plenty of them. Personally, I love Robert's albums, when they are not filled with pointless garbage. Sorry, but there is just no excuse for that. - Trevor e.y. 1.gold- 2 2.field jacket blues- 2 3.dancing girls and dancing men- 4 4.a flowering orphan- 2 5.the right thing- 3 6.u.s. mustard company- 4 7.the numbered head- 4 8.i'm a widow- 4 9.fresh treats at salad shooters and zip guns- 2 10.kick me and cancel- 3 11.other dogs remain- 2 12.kinsington cradle- 2 13.love is stronger than witchcraft- 4 14.hammer in your eyes- 2 15.50 year old baby- 4 16.i surround you naked- 4 17.cock of the rainbow- 2 18.conquerer of the moon- 3 19.blessed an orphan head- 4 20.a boy in motion- 2 21.denied- 1 22.lightshow- 3 23.i'm a strong lion- 2 24.payment for the babies- 2 25.kingdom without- 1 26.recovering- 3