Frank Black Francis

Frank Black (Artist), Black Francis (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Spin Art
• ASIN: B0006213SA
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Holiday Song

2. Nimrod’s Son

3. Caribou

4. Vamos

5. Isla De Enchanta

6. Ed is Dead

7. Oh My Golly

8. Build High

9. I’ve Been Tired

10. Break My Body

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Monkey Gone to Heaven (Doolittle)

2. Wave of Mutilation (Doolittle)

3. Where is My Mind (Surfer Rosa)

4. Cactus (Surfer Rosa)

5. Into the White (Here Comes Your Man EP)

6. Caribou (Come on Pilgrim)

7. Nimrods Son (Come on Pilgrim)

8. Levitate Me (Come on Pilgrim)

9. Holiday Song (Come on Pilgrim)

10. Velouria (Bossanova)

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Sometime back in 1986 I think, the producer for what would become the Pixies first record, Gary Smith, asked me to drop by his apartment in the Allston section of Boston, just down the street from the building I was born in, to play some songs into his cassette walkman. Gary and the band were scheduled to go into his studio, the original Fort Apache in the Roxbury section of Boston, the following day to record Come On Pilgrim, although it did not have a title at that time. Gary wanted to have some audio notes on the songs for the session. We were both excited about the session, to take place over three days; my father had given me the 1000.00 dollars to pay for it. One of the cd’s in this package is that cassette tape. A few years ago a couple of record companies had expressed interest in releasing the tape, kind of a time capsule thing, and I signed some papers. The project sat around for a couple of years, mostly because my manager, Ken Goes, and I always felt a little uncomfortable about releasing only that tape to the buying public, as it was not a planned performance, a little casual, and very bootleg in sonic quality. Sure, the uberfans would be happy enough about the content, but we both felt that a potential new fan might feel a bit ripped-off. Ken suggested I re-record some of the old repertoire in some new way, especially a well recorded way, so as to balance this product out a bit. I realize some fans or critics might feel like I’m messing with the gospel here, but really these are the reasons for all these recordings here and now. I first met the Two Pale Boys, Andy and Keith, at a gig some years ago in West Hollywood, the trumpet and guitar members of that trio formed with David Thomas. When David asked me to perform at UCLA as part of his Mirror Man improvopera in early 2003, Andy and Keith were in the band again, and I asked them to come down on their one day off to record with the Catholics on Show Me Your Tears. The two pale fellows from England offered their! studio and input on some undefined project in the undefined future. In the hot summer of 2003, July I think, I went down to the Hackney section of London and belted out the numbers and let the boys do their thing. Those sessions represent the other cd. I enjoy their work, with me or with others. I like these guys a lot. Sure, we’ve messed with the gospel, but I am satisfied with it. -Frank Black Francis, Copenhagen 2004

Product Description

Tentatively due Oct. 12 via spinART is "Frank Black Francis," the first disc of which features his pre-Pixies demos, while the second disc sports new recordings of more than a dozen Pixies songs with Two Pale Boys' Andy Diagram and Keith Moline.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A View From a Life-long Frank Black Fan, October 29, 2004

By 

ParakeetHorizon (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Black Francis (Audio CD)

Yet another superfluous posthumous Pixies release. Even a fan as ardent and dedicated as myself, having purchased every FB, Pixies and Kim Deal CD, will find this cache of rarities hardly worth the trouble or money. Why not release all these pre-Pixies rarities in one fell swoop, rather than parsing them out incrementally to release as many CDs as possible? This, coming from someone whose favorite band---period---is the Pixies.

Though a dedicated FB and the Catholics fan, I'm all for the reunion thing. In fact, I consider it a blessing in disguise, given FB's last few releases, and the easy-listening acoustic CD on the near horizon. It's always a bad sign when an artist apologizes about the quality of the work in a CD's liner notes. FB writes something to this effect: "Well, I kind of felt like this didn't warrant a release, or that its sound quality was poor, so I thought I'd add this extra disc of Pixies reworkings. Take it or leave it, basically."

I'll leave it, and not because my ear responds unkindly to "experimental" or "electronic" music; I listen to Aphex, Radiohead, Boards of Canada, Autechre, others on the Warp roster, so I'm not unused to this genre. Only, this isn't electronica. Rather, most of it just sounds awkward, tired, half-baked and disingenuously off-kilter. Experimental is not a synonym for bad.

If it sounds like I'm being harsh, perhaps it's because I'm disappointed. Frank Black is, in my opinion, the most talented song-writer of his generation. I love his bravado, his versatility, his voice, his songcraft intuition. His talent dwarfs that of other artists and bands, and it should be dedicated to something a little more worth his---and our---while.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars WILL THE REAL FRANK BLACK FRANCIS PLEASE STAND UP?!?, October 15, 2004

By 

James R. Thompson "walking warehouse worker f... (Albany, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frank Black Francis (Audio CD)

The Pixies are quickly becoming one of those bands like The Police where they have more posthumous releases than original ones. Unlike The Police however, the Pixies have reformed and will hopefully release new material. Until then we have oddities like this two-disc collection, credited to Frank Black Francis (is this an album title or just Charles Thompson finally as confused as the rest of us about his many identities?).

The first disc is for fanatics only and even they probably won't get too jazzed about hearing Pixies songs (recorded on acoustic guitar into a walkman) sans three of the bandmembers, although Frank's jittery in-between and sometimes during-song banter is amusing and somewhat enlightening in regards to what these songs became in their better-known incarnations.

The second disc is a revelation not only because it raises the question, did Frank Black actually pen the live Kim Deal staple "Into The White"? Apparently Frank heard Nada Surf's version of "Where Is My Mind?" and was impressed enough that he recorded an album's worth of Pixies recreations (with the help of two multi-instrumentalists that add horns, violin, and various electronic effects) that, in many cases, stand up nicely to the originals. These songs, which range from lush electronica to oddball jazz/folk and many musical destinations in between remind me of what Bob Mould has been doing live to Husker Du, Sugar, and solo material to keep things interesting for himself. One sour note: since we're speaking of keeping things interesting, did anyone really think a 15-minute version of "Planet Of Sound" would qualify (I was done with it around the three-minute mark, and could've lasted another three, but 15?!?)?

Another nice aspect of the second disc is Frank's voice (more Sinatra than Black in some places). While many Pixies songs required (caused?) him to twist his voice into something ugly and brutal, these variations on the originals allow him to utilize a much more soothing, melodic croon that enables the listener to better hear what a uniquely gifted lyricist Frank is.

While this release definitely seems oddly timed (or perhaps perfectly) considering the Pixies recent reunion and resurgence, it is certainly worth the attention of diehard fans.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tired And Emotional, February 7, 2006

By 

The Wasp (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frank Black Francis (Audio CD)

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.