Hold on Hope EP

[gelgis olowana]

under-rated

great songs

when people ask me what GBV is all about I usually lend them Hold on Hope first, then move them along to Isolation Drills and UTAC and then back to B000, Alien Lanes, UnBuUnSt and beyond

good starting point
good entry point

[cungar]

I think it's got some great songs: Fly Into Ashes, Tropical Robots, Uphill Creek, but some of the songs are pretty generic (ie the first two).

Have you heard the Pipereams of Instant Prince Whippet? I feel this is a much stronger "EP" because it's got 9 great songs that all sound different. Plus if you've never heard Dig through my Window, you're in for a treat. One of the coolest GBV songs ever to not make a full album.

[johansen smith]

is the "Static Airplane Jive" EP still in print? that's always been my favorite.

[Jason]

I agree with the top post completely, though I wonder what the motivation was for putting the instrumental track from "Girl From the Sun" on there ("Do the Collapse").

[interrust]

i was just listening to pipe dreams in the car today, why some of those songs were left off ... request pharmaceuticals, for liberty, and yes..dig through my window should've made it on UTAC.

oh well. at least its out.

-- rsuty

[Ladt]

Dig through my window is one of my favourite GBV songs ever!

[portablefire]

The I Am A Tree cd single blows the Hold On Hope ep out of the water.

The Ascended Master's Grogshop may be the best 45 or so seconds in the history of recorded music.

[evil_speakers]

I love the Hold on Hope EP, some of my favourite Bobism resides there, like A Crick Uphill and Avalanche Aminos. Stand out tracks, both.

[Jason]

I remember when I first heard the I Am a Tree CD single, I couldn't understand why "I'll Name You the Flame that Cries" didn't make it onto Mag Earwhig. That song floored me. It became one of my favorite Pollard songs.

And then a little later, when I finally began to listen to Genesis (inspired by their influence on Bob) and heard "Dancing With the Moonlit Knight" I understood why "Flame" was a b-side. It's almost a rewrite of that old Genesis song. The melody is different but the structure is the same and it puts the same mood across (a two-part structure with a quiet, mystical opening that explodes into a huge anthem).

The similarities are instantly obvious. I still like "Flame", though now I hear it as homage. I like both songs a lot.

[cungar]

Wow. I've heard both songs and I never noticed that. I'll have to compare them. The only song I ever thought had the Gabriel Genesis influence was Goldstar Mountaintop Queens Directory when he sings:

she runs through the night as if nobody cares
she screams and she cries and ignores all the stares
she wants me to come, but i'm never going there

which I thought sounded like part of Supper's Ready or something.

Isn't Dancing Out With the Moonlit Night the one that goes:

Can you tell me where my country lies...

Cools stuff

[Jason]

Yeah, that's "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight".

That part of "Goldheart Mountaintop" actually reminds me more of The Moody Blues. I don't know if Bob likes them. Lotta people think The Moody Blues are cheeseballs, but I think they're underrated.

[captain]

the Hold on Hope EP slays, it just freaking slays. Front to back that EP is so ON it's unbelievable--you could have interchanged the first 8 songs (everything save "HOH") with practically any 8 on Do the Collapse and the quality of the record would have instantly increased 10-fold. In fact, in the entire history of GBV EPs, I'd have to say that I only like Sunfish Holy Breakfast more than Hold On Hope.

[curly]

quick question...is Sunfish the outtakes from a specific record? which one?

[cle-rat]

SHB and PPP and NiMA and UtBUtS and TaTC are all from a huge surge in songwriting Bob did in '95 and '96. Toby's mentioned how Tonics, although not released until late '96/early '97, includes a lot of songs Bob and him recorded right after AL, that it could be perceived as the logical extension of AL. I've checked: AL and Tonics do fit on one 80-minute cdr! Over 40 tracks!

[portablefire]

Huge fan of Tonics & Twisted Chasers ...

Since i bought the vinyl i am missing the 5 or so bonus tracks ... are any of them essential to my musical well-being?

[Ladt]

Please excuse my ignorance, this is probably really obvious, but PPP?

[James Riot]

I couldn't figure that one out either.

[portablefire]

Plantations of Pale Pink.

[Ladt]

Oh, bit of an obscure one that.

[Jason]

Originally posted by portablefire
Huge fan of Tonics & Twisted Chasers ...

Since i bought the vinyl i am missing the 5 or so bonus tracks ... are any of them essential to my musical well-being?

I wouldn't call any of the bonus tracks essential, but they are good and if you heard them you probably wouldn't be disappointed.

They all sound like things that would fit on Alien Lanes.

[captain]

curly--to answer your question specifically, many of the tracks on Sunfish Holy Breakfast are in fact outtakes from the UTBUTS sessions (with songs produced by Kim Deal and I think at least one from the sessions with Albini).

portablefire--the last five songs are pretty good, but one I would say you should really try to hear is "The Kite Surfer." That song can make me cry.

[bmmello]

I agree that The Ascended Master's Grogshop is simply awesome.