Under the Bushes, Under the Stars is the 9th Guided By Voices album overall, and the final to feature the "classic" lineup including Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, and Kevin Fennel 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 ardurous, 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.