Customer Reviews

Death to the Pixies

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're reading this review, you're probably thinking about buying this compilation. If you don't already know that the Pixies are the greatest band of the late eighties and early nineties and one of the greatest bands of all time, this will prove it to you. If you know that already, but for some reason don't yet have this album, get it immediately.

The first CD, the "greatest hits" compilation, is a good mix of Pixies songs. Because the Pixies were so consistent in their greatness from one song to the next, it's hard to say what their greatest songs are. Still, this does a good job of picking ones that no one would argue against, the obviously great songs (as opposed to some of their more subtly awesome songs). The second CD, the live performance, is an incredible taste of what the Pixies must have been like in their hey-day. None of the songs on it sounds like the original, album version, and some of them sound very different. Highlights include the more mellow, slowed-down version of Wave of Mutilation, and Into the White, a B-Side from one of their singles that's simply gorgeous. Well, it's hard to write so little about such an incredibly original and outstanding band. If you don't have any Pixies material yet, hurry and buy this. If you're already a fan and have questioned if this is just a sell-out box set, it's not; it's a nice "greatest hits" CD coupled with an incredible live performance.

There are 2 reasons to want this album: a. You're looking into this band called the Pixies and figure a greatest hits comp is a good place to start (Disc 1), or b. you're a huge fan and want the live recording (Disc 2).

If you fall under reason (a), don't bother with this record- yet. You're better off with Come On Pigrim or, if you only heard of them through Fight Club, Surfer Rosa. The Pixies generally have three sounds: The beautiful and melodic, the screamy and noisy, and the creature you get when the two are glued together. The "greatest hits" selections are a bit suspect, leaving some of the best melodic songs (Motorway to Roswell) in favor of good, but not great tracks (Gouge Away). (Of course, if the tracks were indeed chosen by engineer Steve Albini, it would explain the preference towards the louder, noisier tunes.)

However, if you can file yourself under reason (b), despite the hefty price tag, the live album is absolutely fantastic. The sound quality is as good as I have ever heard on a live album and you can tell the band's having a hell of a good time on stage. The two highlights of this disc easily go to Into the White, one of the Pixies lesser known but most rocking songs, and Where is My Mind? where the crowd's ghostlike singing is even more haunting than Kim Deal's moaning on Surfer Rosa.

The flaw of the album is the price tag, because most prospect purchasers are only interested in one of the two discs, so my recommendation would be to buy it if you consider yourself the completist superfan, otherwise, just wait to find it in a used bin (if there ever is one there).

As one of the most influential bands of all time, it is about time The Pixies receive the respect they deserve. The back catalogue of albums have been recently been re-released on mid-price in the UK to give those curious a chance to experience the group years after they split up. This compilation draws on the four albums and one mini-album The Pixies released in their short but prolific career. The majority of 'Death To The Pixies' is culled from the early part of their career, while last album 'Trompe Le Monde' sadly only has two songs on offer, 'U-Mass' and 'Planet Of Sound'. The special limited edition CD came with a live recording performed just as 'Bossanova' was in the shops, displaying the band at the peak of their career. The songs themselves as timeless classics that have not aged, with all the well-known and celebrated complied together on one album - 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', 'Debaser', 'Gigantic', 'Here Come's Your Man' and 'Velouria'. Many fans will wish to see other favourites on the album such as 'Hey' and 'Break My Body' but you cannot please everyone. The perfect history lesson in alternative music.

"Death to the Pixies" is a great marketing concept: couple a best of disc with a rare live disc and sell it to thousands of Pixes fans around the globe who will be forced to buy it for the live tracks. For those die-hard fans who already own everything the Pixies have released, this compilation is a huge waste of money, as none of the tracks included on the best of disc are new or rare. So, knock off one star.

It doesn't end there. Whoever chose the tracks for the first disc seemed to have done so arbitrarily, and each of these 17 tracks could have easily been replaced by 17 others. Furthermore, the tracks aren't even in chronological order, but instead the disc jumps around in time, fragmenting even more the already disjointed flow of the disc. Knock off another star.

The bottom line: if you're a die-hard Pixies fan who can afford this double-disc set, it's probably worth it for the live disc; if you're a rich soon-to-be Pixies fan, skip it and buy "Come on Pilgrim," "Surfer Rosa," "Doolittle," "Bossanova," and "Trompe le Monde"--in this case, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts; if you're poor and want to get into the Pixes, buy "Death to the Pixies" used and borrow your friend's Pixies albums and burn or tape them.

"Surfer Rosa" and "Doolittle" are much better introductions to the Pixies. I'm sure a lot of people new to the group enjoy this compilation, but it's nowhere near as cohesive or brilliant as those early masterpiece albums, which are filled to the brim with awesome material and arranged perfectly. In fact, Death To The Pixies puts too much focus on some of their lesser, later work. Disc Two, the live portion, is a nice show but it's a shame for Pixies fans to have to shell out extra cash for the accompanying 'best of' CD just to get it.

I give it two stars because the music is good, but the arrangement is not. Pixies were an album band, and compilations only degrade their impact.

I don't care what anybody says--this is NOT a good introduction to the Pixies. Buy the studio albums, starting with Surfer Rosa and Doolittle. Trust me, you'll be a lot more satisfied.

As for the first disc--no River Euphrates? No Hey? No Alec Eiffel? No No. 13 Baby? Come on! While I can't complain with what they did pick (simply because 99% of the Pixies' material is flawless anyway) they seem to have skewed their choices toward the loud, aggressive songs and almost completely ignore the quieter, yet equally masterful compositions. I could name 17 other tracks that are just as worthy of inclusion as the tracks selected here, which is a testament to just how good the Pixies were.

Now, onto the live disc, which was recorded pre-Trompe Le Monde. Definitely some gems, including a great performance of B-side Into The White and an amazing rendition of Where Is My Mind? (complete with audience singing!). However, the steep price tag of this set will deter all but completists who probably already have Pixies Live At The BBC anyway (which is far from comprehensive but has some very interesting selections). So...why don't they release a separate live CD? Damn cheapskates.

Only recommended for serious completists (for the live CD). For the uninitiated, start with Doolittle and Surfer Rosa and move through the catalog.

The late Kurt Cobain, formerly of Nirvana superstardom, once quoted the Pixies as one of his greatest influences...and one can hear the similarities on this must-have 2-disc Greatest Hits/Amazing Live Show combination. Songs like "Debaser" and "Tame" with great pop hooks and the punkish Black Francis screaming his lungs out make this a total keeper. Their multi-dimensional capabilities are exhibited in songs like "Gigantic" (written and sung by Kim Deal, now of the Breeders), "Here Comes Your Man", and "Where Is My Mind?" (also on the Fight Club soundtrack). Though short-lived and ultra-underground, the Pixies had so much influence on the alternative movement. Listen to "Velouria" and you'll think to yourself..."Oh my God, Weezer must love this song!" And interestingly enough, Weezer covers it on the excellent Pixies tribute CD. And Kurt Cobain must have played "Debaser" over and over on his stereo. This CD is definitely worth the cash--the live CD has great sound and wastes no time between tracks. If you love the alternative movement, I encourage you to buy this CD and see what helped it all begin...

This is a great collection. It's one disc of "hits", and one excellent live disc. However it's out of print, so you can only get it as an import or used. BUT, there is a new 23 track "Best Of" coming out, that includes everything from "Bone Machine" to "Alec Eiffel", and a "Neil Young" cover. I'd wait for that. They're touring too.

I agree with some of the reviewers that a number of the selections for the compilation-of-the-studio-albums CD are questionable. The last two studio albums, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde, while good, are inferior to the outstanding first three (Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, and Doolittle) so the compilation may have been improved by cutting one or two of the five songs from the last two albums and replacing them with selections from the first three. Also, neither Bone Machine from Surfer Rosa nor Nimrod's Son from Come on Pilgrim are, to my mind, among the strongest cuts of those releases. Still, this is a good compilation CD with lots of great songs including many of the Pixies' very best. The Pixies had so many great songs in their all-too-short career that a compilation limited to 17 songs would necessarily suffer from grevious omissions.

As for the second disk - a live set apparently recorded sometime around the release of Bossanova - this CD is worth the hefty price tag by itself. Many fine Pixies songs not included in the first disk are included here making the package a truly fine overall greatest hits collection. The performances here are exhilarating. The lead-off, a live version of Debaser, seems a little tired and slow compared to the studio version on the first disk, but the three song sequence of Rock Music, Broken Face, and Isla de Encanta that follows it blazes like pure punk/pop ferocity pare excellence. Hard to believe, but Rock Music seems scarier here than on Bossanova and Broken Face seems even more intense than on Surfer Rosa. The disk has a number of similarly driving sequences that are interspersed among milder numbers. Other highlights of this terrific disk are Into the White with Deal's breathy vocals, driving bass lines, and Santiago's punctuating guitar; better versions of Dead and Crackity Jones than on Doolittle; the propulsive but dreamy Gigantic, and the weary melancholia of Gouge Away and Where Is My Mind. But, the whole disk is great marred only by the inclusion of one of Bossanova's clunkers, Hang Wire. If you're already a Pixies fan, get this for the live disk. If you're just starting to explore the band, this collection is a fine way to start appreciating one of the most truly original and enjoyable bands in rock and roll history. I'm afraid that we'll never see the likes of them again!

but it's really only a decent way to get your first taste of the band. The first cd, a best of compilation, is probably the best 45 minute encapsulation of the bands' career that can be made, but there's a good deal of things that could have gone on here that aren't. If you're new to the pixies I'd reccomend trying to get one of your friends who's a fan to make you a mix cd first, but if not, this is a fine introduction to one of the greatest bands ever. Follow it up with Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. Oh, and great liner notes too.

That leaves us with disk 2, the primarily fanbait live cd. It captures a really great energetic live performance with stuff from every album represented (except trompe le monde, leaving me to believe it was a show from the tour before that came out), starting off with an incredibly intense performance of "debaser" and never letting up, aside from a short stretch towards the end where Frank Black breaks out the acoustic guitar for a few numbers. It's definitely something worth throwing money at even if you own everything on the first cd, especially if you never got the chance to see them live. I'd try to find it cheap or used though. Good as the live cd is, I wouldn't pay the full cost of two cds when I only wanted one of them.