One early theory suggested that all the music was recorded in a single, feverish, possibly manic phase and that after 19 albums the releases would stop. This appeared, at the time, as if it might have some validity – the 21st album, "Lost Cause", finished with a sidelong piece called "The Electric End", a crazed instrumental featuring shouted vocals, electric guitar, and microphone feedback. Instead, this seems to have marked the end of the "first band phase." Then the 22nd album arrived and returned to the acoustic and vocal sound that is found on most of the first six Corwood albums (often referred to as "the first acoustic phase"). This continued unabated for seven albums until, in 1999, "The Beginning" was released, which ended with a fifteen-minute-long work of instrumental piano. This ushered in the most controversial period of albums in Corwood's history – three albums of unaccompanied voice. Seemingly recorded on a voice-activated tape recorder, these "spoken word songs" ran up to half an hour in length and taxed even the most devoted followers. After these albums, though, the direction changed again and Jandek returned to a voice and guitar mixture with occasional harmonica, though the approach was different than the earlier recordings. The guitar was often electric and the voice was decidedly older than that on the previous albums. Further albums have continued the solo approach, though the instrument used has occasionally been a fretless bass, and the songs have stretched progressively longer and the lyrics have become even more personal. Though Corwood still releases albums like this (the most recent is "What Was Out There Disappeared"), they are now alternated with releases of the live band shows, which are remarkably different and feature unusually tight playing.