| Carnival Boy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 10, 1996 [1] | |||
| Recorded | Cro-Magnon Studio, Dayton, Ohio and Tobin Sprout's house. | |||
| Genre | Indie, pop | |||
| Label | Matador [2] | |||
| Producer | Tobin Sprout | |||
| Tobin Sprout chronology | ||||
| ||||
Carnival Boy is the debut solo album by the former Guided by Voices member Tobin Sprout, released in 1996. [3] [4]
The album was produced by Sprout. [5] "The Bone Yard" is an instrumental track. [6] GBV's Kevin Fennell played drums on the album; Sprout played all of the other instruments. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− [9] |
Entertainment Weekly called the album "more carefully crafted and compositionally linear but no less infectious" than Robert Pollard's Not in My Airforce , released at the same time. [9] Rolling Stone deemed it "a collection of 14 pristinely crafted baubles, all in the manner of GBV's trippy, hard pop ... Of the two solo albums, Carnival Boy feels more vital, possibly because Sprout's musical voice isn't as familiar as Pollard's." [10] Newsday thought that "the album's disposition goes from plaintive folksiness ('Gas Daddy Gas'), which gives way to a rave-up punker ('White Flyer') and back to a wistful bucketful of excuses ('I Didn't Know')." [11]
AllMusic wrote that "even though Sprout has a bit more focus than Pollard, Carnival Boy is still hit-and-miss, featuring as many rough pop gems as outright duds, but it does confirm that he is a talented songwriter in his own right." [8] The Chicago Reader deemed the album "mellow, sentimental pop." [12]
Guided by Voices (GBV) is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted of Pollard, his brother Jim, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, Kevin Fennell (drums), and bassist Greg Demos. Noted at first for its lo-fi aesthetic and Portastudio four-tracks-to-cassette production methods, Guided by Voices' music was influenced by early post–British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, punk rock and post-punk. The band has had a prolific output, releasing 35+ full-length albums along with many other releases, and has garnered a dedicated cult following. Their songs are known for their frequent brevity and for ending abruptly or intertwining with homemade sound effects.
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prolific solo career with 22 solo albums released so far.
Tobin Sprout is an American visual artist, musician, songwriter, and children's author. He is best known as a former member of the indie rock band Guided by Voices. He served as a secondary major songwriter and guitarist of the group from 1987 to 1997 and again from 2010 to 2014.
Bee Thousand is the seventh album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on June 21, 1994, on Scat Records. After its release the band became one of the more prominent groups associated with the "lo-fi" genre, a movement defined by the relatively low fidelity of audio releases. Musically, the album draws inspiration from British Invasion-era rock music and punk rock. Following the release of Bee Thousand, the band began to attract interest from other record labels, eventually signing with Matador for their next album.
Alien Lanes is the eighth full-length album by American lo-fi band Guided by Voices, released on April 4, 1995.
Isolation Drills is the 12th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It was their second and final LP released under TVT Records and their second to feature a major rock producer in Rob Schnapf. The album was also their first to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 168. The album notably features instrumental contributions from Elliott Smith and David Sulzer. Previous longtime band member Tobin Sprout also returned as a guest and contributed with playing piano. While Jim MacPherson plays drums on the album, his replacement Jon McCann is featured in the cover photos, as MacPherson had left the band immediately after the recording to focus on his home life.
Vampire on Titus is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Propeller is the fifth album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Devil Between My Toes is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Tonics and Twisted Chasers is a standalone album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices initially released as a 19-track limited-edition fanclub-only vinyl LP in 1996. The following year, it was released in a limited CD edition, with five additional tracks. The album was primarily recorded by principal songwriters Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout.
Waved Out is the second solo studio album by the American indie rock musician Robert Pollard, released in 1998 on Matador Records.
Not in My Airforce (1996) is the debut solo album by American indie rock musician Robert Pollard, released simultaneously with Tobin Sprout's Carnival Boy, just as the "classic" Guided by Voices lineup was dissolving.
Under the Bushes Under the Stars is the ninth Guided by Voices album overall, and the last until 2012's Let's Go Eat the Factory to feature the "classic" lineup including Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, and Kevin Fennell in addition to leader Robert Pollard. The album is noted as Guided by Voices' first stab at professionalism, being recorded in 24 track studios rather than their customary 4 track. Sessions for the album were reportedly arduous, spread as they were across at least four studios and as many sets of producers, and many titles and configurations were vetted before a final sequence was reached.
Superman Was A Rocker is the 9th studio album from singer-songwriter Robert Pollard. It was released on January 29, 2008. Superman Was a Rocker marks the first LP released by Pollard's Happy Jack Rock Records label. It differs from Pollard's past solo albums in that it is very lo-fi in comparison to his more polished releases.
Crickets: Best of the Fading Captain Series 1999–2007 is a collection of songs from releases in the Fading Captain series of Dayton, Ohio rock singer-songwriter Robert Pollard. Pollard launched his Fading Captain series of record releases in 1999, eventually releasing 44 works before ending the series in 2007. The compilation Crickets was the 44th and final release in the series. The series included albums, singles, and EPs, and featured collaborations with musicians including Tobin Sprout, Mac McCaughan, Doug Gillard, and Tommy Keene.
More Light is the debut album by the alternative rock band J Mascis + The Fog, released in 2000. It can be seen as a solo album of sorts because Mascis played almost all of the instruments on the recording.
Moonflower Plastic (Welcome to My Wigwam) is the second studio album by the rock artist Tobin Sprout, member of the band Guided by Voices. It was released in 1997 on Matador. Fellow GBV bandmate Kevin Fennell helped with the drumming on this release.
Let's Welcome the Circus People is an album by the Guided by Voices member Tobin Sprout, released in 1999.
In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music by Nightwalker 1984–1993 is an album by Nightwalker, a pseudonym for archival Guided by Voices recordings, a side project by Robert Pollard, released in 1999.
Scalping the Guru is a 2022 compilation album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. The collection includes tracks from the extended plays Static Airplane Jive, Get Out of My Stations (Siltbreeze), Fast Japanese Spin Cycle, and Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer (Domino), released in 1993 and 1994 and has received positive reviews from critics.
