Carnival Boy
Studio album by
Tobin Sprout
ReleasedSeptember 10, 1996[1]
RecordedCro-Magnon Studio, Dayton, Ohio and
Tobin Sprout's house.
GenreIndie, pop
LabelMatador[2]
ProducerTobin Sprout
Tobin Sprout chronology
Carnival Boy
(1996)		 Moonflower Plastic
(1997)

Carnival Boy is the debut solo album by the former Guided by Voices member Tobin Sprout, released in 1996.[3][4]

Production

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[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]

Track listing

  1. "The Natural Alarm" – 2:59
  2. "Cooler Jocks" – 1:16
  3. "E's Navy Blue" – 2:43
  4. "The Bone Yard" – 1:17
  5. "Carnival Boy" – 2:48
  6. "Martin's Mounted Head " – 2:17
  7. "Gas Daddy Gas" – 2:20
  8. "To My Beloved Martha" – 2:09
  9. "White Flyer" – 1:43
  10. "I Didn't Know" – 2:33
  11. "Gallant Men" – 1:26
  12. "It's Like Soul Man" – 2:34
  13. "Hermit Stew" – 2:01
  14. "The Last Man Well Known to Kingpin" – 2:23

References

  1. ↑ Greer, James (December 1, 2007). Guided by Voices: A Brief History. Grove/Atlantic, Inc. ISBN 9781555846411 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Matador Records Released Albums By Cat Power, Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout And Yo La Tengo 25 Years Ago Today". Magnet. September 10, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Tobin Sprout Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ "Genius Rock From Guided By Voices Tobin Sprout". MTV News.
  5. ↑ "Albums". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 36. Sep 7, 1996. p. 97.
  6. ↑ Roe, Tom (Oct 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (38): 44.
  7. ↑ Simmons, Carol (6 Sep 1996). "GUIDED BY VOICES SOLO EFFORTS INCLUDE PLENTY OF HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS". Dayton Daily News. Go!. p. 18.
  8. 1 2 "Carnival Boy - Tobin Sprout | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  9. 1 2 "Carnival Boy". EW.com.
  10. ↑ Diehl, Matt (Nov 28, 1996). "Not in My Airforce/Carnival Boy". Rolling Stone. No. 748. p. 130.
  11. ↑ Amorim, Kevin (12 Jan 1997). "Voices Sound Familiar". Newsday. p. C19.
  12. ↑ Cimarusti, Luca (April 20, 2017). "Tobin Sprout's lo-fi pop majesty rides again". Chicago Reader.
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