Lie to the Rainbow

In an interview I did with Robert Pollard a few years ago for PopMatters, we talked about the instant collectibility of some of his releases, in this case, the very limited edition of the Acid Ranch LP, Forever. He was unapologetic, both about sending fans who missed out the first time to eBay to buy it for $150 or more, and for releasing such marginal music in the first place. "Acid Ranch is the bottom of the barrel crap," he said. And yet, there are things of interest to be found there for the most obsessive Pollard fans.

I'd never go so far as to suggest that "Lie to the Rainbow" from the third Acid Ranch LP, The Great Houdini Wasn't So Great, is a good song, and from Pollard's comment above, he wouldn't either. Still it's interesting to hear Pollard sing with such abandon here. There's no trace of the uber-cool British accent, just spirited, full-throated performance. He oversings, purposefully, it seems, in such a way that almost everything save for the lyric that gives the song its title, is unintelligible. In fact, he comes as close to yodeling as I've heard him get, and closer than I ever want him to again. I do make out the word "mama," one rarely heard in Pollard's lyrics (the only other instance, according to the Guided by Voices Database, is in another Acid Ranch song, "Cherry-Ann Doesn't Love Me No More" from Some of the Magic Syrup Was Preserved), which would give this a decidedly '70s rock feel, if the music came anywhere close to supporting it.