Entry Six: Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy

From "Propeller," 1992.

With the rise of Mp3s, there has arisen a legitimate concern that the album as a unified entity is on the outs. While I think that Chicken Little-ism is often foolish, it is undeniable each major mutation in how music is stored has caused a shift away from the album as the meaningful rock unit. Hell, that we focus on individual Pollard/GBV songs in this very blog is probably evidence that we (the bloggers of Apollardgist) have taken this shift to heart. Of course songs matter and of course the concept of song-as-independent-unit significantly predates the medium of album. To wit, I'm pretty sure Negro spirituals stood alone when sung in the field. The decline of the album as the unit-of-rock is undeniable, however, and there has been collateral damage as a result. The switch from LP to CD caused a noteworthy decline in the size, and therefore importance, of album art. The switch from CD to Mp3 has led to a decline in the importance of song-sequence because one can sort his Mp3s as he sees fit, erase the ones he doesn't want, or may never get them in the first place because he only downloaded the single.

Song-sequence, of course, is one of the things that makes albums great as unified works of art, and it is especially important with regard to LPs. While "Propeller" was released at the point when vinyl was dying and CDs were rising, it is important to note that this album was originally sequenced for vinyl. There is a definite Side A and a definite Side B. Obviously, one needs a hook to start Side A, but to start Side B you always need a real ass-kicker as well, and one that transfers from the end of Side A fairly neatly. This is precisely what "Unleashed! The Large-Hearted Boy" does. Following the muddy, metally sludge-fest of "Lethargy," one must follow with a real-rocker, and "Unleashed!" rocks.

At the same time, the Side B opener has cannot be a filler song...it's got to stand up enough to reel you back in, in case you went to get a beer before flipping the album. "Unleashed!" rocks, but it stands on its own more proudly than its Side A lead-in "Lethargy.'

"Unleasehed!," essentially, is the best song you could have ever hoped for from the punk-ish band at your high school's "Battle of the Bands." No polish, but plenty of balls. Bob's a little off-key, the bass-line is driving, the drums pound away in an unrelenting 2/4, and the song as a whole seems like the band fell into a groove and were too eager and energized to put in any variations for fear the whole thing might fall apart if they slowed down or changed things up. It's mostly a feed-backy, balls-out garage rock tune...and that's a helluva good way to start out Side B before moving into more clever tunes like "Exit Flagger" or "14 Cheereader Cold Front" or "On the Tundra."

B

Favorite Lyric: (Not that this is by any means a great line, but there just ain't much to work with in this song...and I'm hesitant to break with format) "It's up to you to stay put / The shoe is on the other foot..."