With the success of the recent Pixies reunion, people have been clamoring for any new material from the band, whether it be new or old as long as it has been unheard and unreleased. With exception of an acoustic version of “Wave of Mutilation” from the “Pump up the Volume” soundtrack, and “Bam Thwork” a new song turned down for the Shrek 2 soundtrack, there has been very little unreleased material from the Pixies, which makes the recent Frank Black (aka Black Francis, real name Charles Thompson) release FrankBlackFrancis, all the more interesting. A double disc of Pixies songs would be nothing special, but this double disc is made up of two very distinct releases.
The first disc is a collection of unreleased demos from 1987, the day before the Pixies went into the studio to record their first album “Come on Pilgrim”. Producer Gary Smith wanted to get some “audio notes” for the next days session. Thompson recorded the songs solo into a cassette walk-man with Smith. The seeds are present on that cassette for the songs that would make a majority of the Pixies first two albums. The soft-loud dynamics, the screeching howl, and the breakneck pace all show their face. Thompson’s comments through out the recording provide a fascinating listen to the genesis of these songs; “Now I am going to sing the bass players part here” from “I’m Amazed”, to singing Joey Santiago’s guitar solo during “I’ve Been Tired”.
The second disc is brand new interpretations of these classic tunes. Thompson teamed with England’s Two Pale Boys, to completely redesign the familiar structure of the songs, or as he says in the linear notes, “we’ve messed with gospel.” The first thing noticeable is the dreamy pace that they chug along at, floating and stretching out across a brand new ambient landscape. The vocals that are usually buried beneath a barrage of guitar and disguised by Thompson’s ear-splitting howls have now moved front and center. For the first time the words that have been buried for so long now provide the songs with much more of their shape and life. “He was the son of a motherfucker” from “Nimrod’s Son” has never sounded so potent. Chances that never seemed possible with the Pixies come to fruition. “Where is my Mind?” has a spooky ethereal feeling brought on by the slow wailing sound of a distant trumpet. Some of these chances seem to have been the perfect direction to take, the slowed to a crawl “Wave of Mutilation”; while others are more of a misstep like the horn backed “Levitate Me”.
For someone who is looking for an introduction to the greatness that is the Pixies, they are better off starting at with the seminal albums, Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. This collection is not for everyone, as Thompson states, “the uberfans would be happy”, it does impart a before and after picture of the evolution of these songs. From a young man sitting on a friends couch, screaming into a walk-man, into a mature confident artist who is unafraid to change and evolve, even mess with the gospel.
