Robert Pollard

The difference between a Robert Pollard release and a Guided By Voices release is not exactly clear. Both records often contain the same cast of folks playing the role of the backing band. Both feature Pollard's heaven-sent sense of melody coupled with power-mad Brit-flavored rock action. Both come in lo-fi mode or hi-fi glory. Either way, the listener wins. Pollard's ceaseless skill for songcraft and his success ratio in the war of genius vs. crap is truly profound. After 21 years, Robert Pollard put an end to Guided by Voices with a farewell tour that ended in Chicago on New Year’s Eve, 2004. He also quit smoking and dying his hair. Post-GBV, Pollard’s career as a solo artist continues, the proof being his 2006 release, From A Compound Eye, a double disc recording that gloriously proves that there is no stopping his overflowing musical output.