| Devil Between My Toes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 15, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | October 1986 – February 1987 | |||
| Studio | Steve Wilbur's home studio (Dayton, Ohio) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 31:13 | |||
| Label | Ə | |||
| Producer | Robert Pollard | |||
| Guided by Voices chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Devil Between My Toes is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
After consistently receiving lukewarm reception from Dayton locals and poor sales of their first release, 1986's Forever Since Breakfast , GbV had stopped playing live and dedicated themselves to be a studio band only.
This would be the first of multiple GbV releases (until Vampire on Titus ) produced by Steve Wilbur in his 8-track studio. With the exception of "Crux", "3 Year Old Man", "A Proud And Booming Industry", "Artboat", and "Bread Alone", which were recorded in R. Pollard's basement, all songs were recorded with Wilbur. The album was self-financed and only 300 original pressings were released. [2]
The cover art was initially supposed to be a painting done by a high school friend's of Pollard depicting a "colonial-era cockfight" that would be redone to include “bikers and businessmen and shit”, [7] but when the friend could not be located, the band instead used an image of Pollard's rooster, Big Daddy, that then-bassist and later-guitarist Mitch Mitchell took through a chain link fence. "Big Daddy" was later referenced in the song "Don't Stop Now", off of 1995's King Shit and the Golden Boys, with a studio version appearing in 1996's Under the Bushes Under the Stars . [8]
Several of the songs would be re-issued on the 1993 European GbV compilation "An Earful 'o Wax", and then the whole record would be re-issued later in 1995 on Scat Records as a part of the Box compilation. Scat Records reissued it again in 2021.
Devil Between My Toes has been described as post-punk. In an article for HHVmag, writer Bjorn Bischoff stated, "Influences of R.E.M. and post-punk can be heard, but also the charming touch of Guided By Voices itself. While in "A Portrait Destroyed by Fire" the guitar intones a swan song, "Discussing Wallace Chambers" delivers much more light-hearted tones that anticipate part of the band's future sound. [2]
The song "Hank's Little Fingers" is about a friend of Pollard's, who had a birth defect on his right hand and played guitar.
All tracks are written by Robert Pollard except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Old Battery" | 1:46 | |
| 2. | "Discussing Wallace Chambers" | 1:48 | |
| 3. | "Cyclops" | 1:50 | |
| 4. | "Crux" | R. Pollard, Jim Pollard, Mitch Mitchell | 2:24 |
| 5. | "A Portrait Destroyed by Fire" | R. Pollard, Mitchell | 5:09 |
| 6. | "3 Year Old Man" | R. Pollard, J. Pollard | 1:39 |
| 7. | "Dog's Out" | 2:09 | |
| 8. | "A Proud and Booming Industry" | R. Pollard, J. Pollard, Mitchell | 1:03 |
| 9. | "Hank's Little Fingers" | 2:13 | |
| 10. | "Artboat" | 2:27 | |
| 11. | "Hey Hey, Spaceman" | 2:51 | |
| 12. | "The Tumblers" | 2:39 | |
| 13. | "Bread Alone" | R. Pollard, J. Pollard | 1:09 |
| 14. | "Captain's Dead" | 2:00 |
Guided by Voices 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 40 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.
William Sherille Levise Jr., known professionally as Mitch Ryder, is an American rock singer who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. is an American singer and songwriter. He is the leader of indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to this, he has also released 22 solo albums.
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.
Mag Earwhig! is the 10th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. Following the dissolution of the group's "classic" lineup, band-leader Robert Pollard recruited Cleveland group Cobra Verde as his backing band, while retaining the Guided by Voices name. It was the second release to feature future long-term collaborator Doug Gillard. Gillard had previously played on and co-wrote the song "Mice Feel Nice " on the Tigerbomb EP. Most of Mag Earwhig! was recorded in a professional studio in Cleveland by the new lineup and marked a departure from band's trademark lo-fi sound; additional songs were also recorded in Dayton, Ohio.
Propeller is the fifth album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Sandbox is the second studio album from American indie rock band Guided by Voices.
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is the third album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It is considered to be the first album in the group's discography to have their signature sound which was achieved by using low fidelity recording techniques.
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.
Forever Since Breakfast is the first release by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on vinyl in 1986. In contrast to the lo-fi sound they would cultivate in the coming years, this EP was recorded in a professional studio, and features a nearly slick sound that anticipates their late 1990s major-label efforts. Robert Pollard, the band's driving force, has since derided the EP's sound as sterile. Like much of their early output, the songs featured bear a prominent college rock influence, particularly from R.E.M. The title reportedly comes from Charles Manson's response to an interviewer when asked to state his age.
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.
Scat Records is a St. Louis, Missouri-based independent record label. It was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1989, and many of the bands released on the label are from Ohio. The label is notable for featuring Guided by Voices, The Mice and Cobra Verde on its roster. Scat Records' owner Robert Griffin himself played in the band Spike in Vain. Griffin discovered Guided by Voices from Matt Sweeney, and their 1994 release Bee Thousand helped launch the band before they signed with Matador Records. Scat also released a compilation of Cleveland pre-punk.
Atlas Strategic was an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Superman Was A Rocker is the ninth 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.
Ersatz GB is the 28th studio album by the post-punk band the Fall, released on Cherry Red Records 14 November 2011. It is the Fall's first album on Cherry Red.
"The Devil Beneath My Feet" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It was released as the second promotional single from the band's ninth studio album, The Pale Emperor (2015).
Zeppelin over China is the 27th studio album by American indie rock group Guided by Voices. It was released on February 1, 2019 on the Rockathon Records label and was recorded at Magic Door in New Jersey, Serious Business Records in New York and Stillwater Lodge in Dayton, Ohio. The double album received mixed to favorable reviews from critics scoring 65 out 100 on aggregate website Metacritic and four out five stars on AllMusic, with several critics commenting on the positive output of the band's current lineup.
Welshpool Frillies is the 38th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It was released on July 21, 2023.
