''Devil Between My Toes'' is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices.

Background

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 ''Vampire on Titus'' is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. Background ''Vampire on Titus'' was recorded after a short-lived dissolution of the band (after 1992's "farewell" album ''Propeller'') but prior to the ...

) 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. 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”, 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 John Graham "Mitch" Mitchell (9 July 194612 November 2008)In his book about the Experience, Mitchell states he celebrated his 21st birthday while on tour on 9 July 1967, which makes his birth year 1946.Mitchell's obituaries in ''Billboard' ''T ...

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 ''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 (GBV), Mitch Mitchell, and Kevin Fennell i ...

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF9RVrN6m24 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 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 Cobr ...

as a part of the Box compilation. Scat Records reissued it again in 2021.

Music and lyrics

''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. 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.

Track listing

Personnel

Guided by Voices

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) 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 prol ...

– guitar, vocals * Kevin Fennell – drums * Peyton Eric – drums * Steve Wilbur – guitar *

– bass guitar *

Tobin Sprout Tobin Sprout (born April 28, 1955) 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 o ...

– guitar, backing vocals

Technical

* Donnie Kraft – mastering * Steve Wilbur – engineering

References

{{Reflist Guided by Voices albums 1987 debut albums