Search - Frank Black, Black Francis :: Frank Black Francis

Tired And Emotional

The Wasp | Australia | 02/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Kurt Cobain said Nirvana stole all their best ideas from them, key Radiohead members Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke have similarly emphasised their debt to them, U2 were so enraptured with them that they took them on the Zoo TV tour as special guests and even David Bowie claims they breathed new life into music in the 1980s. If you're new to this act The Pixies that everyone is raving about since their reformation, don't start your collection by snapping up this solo CD set from head Pixie Charles Thompson IV (hunt down Death To The Pixies as a greatest hits taste-test to begin with, then grab a copy of Doolittle and Surfer Rosa). However, if you're a fully fledged fan of The Pixies, Frank Black Francis acts as an even greater revelation than the less expansive but similar period's Pixies (also known as The Purple Tape), with the first of the two CDs (Demo) showcasing Black Francis's 1987 acoustic outlines of all the tracks (bar Levitate Me) that would make it to debut album Come On Pilgrim, as well as Surfer Rosa's Broken Face, Break My Body and Oh My Golly. I've Been Tired reveals a measure of Jack White in Frank's erratic yelps, while the sketchy demos also interestingly include Frank's comments to producer Gary Smith such as "There's supposed to be screaming here" mid-song. Such a rough compilation was never meant to be released, yet Black's fully-formulated idea of how he wished Come On Pilgrim to sound makes the first disc compelling for completists. Of lesser note is the woozy bass-heavy revisionism of The Pixies' legacy on disc two (Treated), although Frank concedes in the liner notes this re-recorded and re-interpreted collection was only put together to bolster the musical content of the Frank Black Francis package. While Where Is My Mind? and Nimrod's Son are interesting due to their `Frank On Tranqs' malaise, similarly classic tracks such as Cactus and Levitate Me don't work quite so well in this sluggish sonic territory. Nonetheless, replacing savage guitars and shrieking howls for tubas and keyboards on awesome tunes such as Monkey Gone To Heaven and The Holiday Song shows Frank is commendably unafraid to experiment with his classic tracks. While such reinvention has divided many fans, the creativity on display on both discs creates an exceptional stop-gap between his 2003 solo album Show Me Your Tears and (fingers crossed) the next Pixies album."

Not sure what to make of it

M. Dodge | Nor. California | 09/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This set comes on two discs. One is early demo tracks of Pixies songs performed by just Frank Black and his guitar. Two is what I can only describe as reminaginings of classic Pixies songs.

The demos are amazing. Raw, a little dirty in the sound quality, and rough around the edges. It's like listening to old friends who were recorded before I met them.

The re-imagined versions are a whole other thing. It's not that I feel like hey have no business messing with classic songs this way. I love to hear different versions of the same song. It's just that I'm not sure I like the style in which it was done. Some, like "Cactus" and "Where is My Mind" are cleverly done enough. But as a whole the tracks come off as unfocused and even, in a couple of cases, boring.

Still, they are Mr. Black's songs to let people mess with as he wishes.

I'm not going to call it horrible, but I'm not sure very Pixies fan will be into this. In fact I'm sure some will outright hate it."

A must-have for hardcore fans

Ilya Wick | Madison, WI USA | 12/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Frank Black/Black Francis is one of the most significant artists of the last 25 years and is still making incredible music with his latest band. These 2 discs are really an oddity, but for any hardcore fan they offer unique musical perspectives on some of the most classic Pixies stuff ever. Yes, the first disc is much more lively interesting, a rare sonic insight into early Pixies. But the second disc will sneak up on you as well if you love the songs.

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