Nonstoperotik

Black Francis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 30, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cooking Vinyl
• ASIN: B0038FI7QI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,009 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

I finally came into possession of an old guitar someone had given me at a nightclub in San Francisco awhile back; Eric Drew Feldman has been holding it for me there on Haight Street. He convinced me that it looked cool (it was black) and had been given in the spirit of benevolence. Every time I picked it up a nice chord came out and so I lovingly cleaned it with red wine in the dressing room the following night and began to write. I told the tour manager that we could drive in my Cadillac directly to a recording studio in Los Angeles (and he could book one, oh, and a rhythm section, too?) from the gig in San Luis Obispo which would put us at the studio at about 4am. It all happened according to plan and we cut the initial tracks there in the wee hours over a few days, and then moved onto an equally haunted studio in London and Eric Drew Feldman joined us there and we finished the record in St John s Wood. Like I said, the studio was haunted and I wrote many a couplet by candlelight in the studio accommodation, slept very little, and only felt the need to get out of there fast on the last night. The spirits had not ever bothered me, other than low drama moral support, but I was informed that they had heard enough and it was time to move on; plus I had a gig in Ireland.

When I was a boy the planet we boys called a fern was code for vagina, and to this day I love fern plants. The love of the father, dead or alive, the pain of too much pleasure, till death do us part, the voice of another song man from the other side, with or without God, Teri and the Possibilities, were ever you may be, the smell of sex in the air, seduced, slain, on my knees in prayer, sucking at the only thing that matters, my own personal Meret Oppenheim, I am Man Ray and I want you and to be all the way inside you, the cameras whirring as we put some elbow grease into the scene, the audience watching us in the dark.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Competent as always, April 4, 2010

By 

Nobody - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nonstoperotik (Audio CD)

Probably it's impossible for Charles to ever be taken seriously when he pens a song worthy of a Waterboys greatest hits album and calls it "When I Go Down on You", despite the fact that he totally pulls it off and belts out the song without a trace of sarcasm. As usual, Black is really good here, but manages to pigeon hole himself as a semi-novelty act by the lyrical content, which may or may not be a fault, depending on your point of view.

What we got here will be instantly comfortable for most Black fans, the song writing touches are almost uniquely his. There's no mistaking who put together a song like "Cinema Star" from the early quirky excursions from the main theme, and no surprise when the song settles down into a rocking good coda and ends up sounding like a anthem. A very typical performance, a little rough at first, but eventually turning into melodic gems, as if all those good melodies inside him forced their way to the surface past the Frank Zappa style weirdness. And some, like "Lake of Sin" proceed the other way, but regardless there's a lot of memorable music here. The guy can just flat out write hooks, who knows what would happen if he deliberately sat down to write anonymous pop songs.

So, another album from Black Francis, what's it all mean? Probably nothing to the world at large, but another CD of killer music from a guy who doesn't miss much, at least within his own planet of sound. One star down for only being 37 minutes long, add 8 minutes in the "deluxe" version, which is the one to buy, the three "bonus" songs are all worth having.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More broad than SVN FNGRS of Bluefinger, April 5, 2010

By 

N. Taggart "ideasoforder" (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nonstoperotik (Audio CD)

NOTE: This review is for the import version of this album that includes the three bonus tracks (I purchase directly from a Japanese merchant):
12. 'Taint No Use
13. Rocket USA
14. The Grindsman
This collection spans more stylistic territory than recent output. Portions of this album would fit into the Catholics catalog, the Nashville period (Honeycomb and FMRM) as well as the Blue Finger/SVN FNGRS. That may not sound enticing to the folks that have been critical of any of those periods, but for folks that have largely enjoyed the span of Black/Francis' solo career, this collection is a treat.

"Corrina" is one of the best pure rock n' roll songs Black has done since (IMO) Black Letter Days. "Rabbits" is low key and atmospheric and has a sound that could have fit in nicely on "Christmass." I'm loving this record, and I highly recommend getting the import version. The three extra tracks are all keepers and add another facet to the album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Classic..., December 28, 2010

By 

Kelvin Scott Tyson "Scooter" (Portland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nonstoperotik (Audio CD)

I really dig this album, even though I haven't had it that long. "Oh My Tidy Sum" (whatever that means) and "Rabbits" are the two best mellow songs of the year (imho). There's some other great rocking tunes on here as well. "When I Go Down On You" is my least favorite, but it has a great title so how can you not leave it out. I first heard "Dead Man's Curve" on his album Christmass (Bonus Dvd) and so I thought it not awesome to also put it on this album, years later; but it wasn't until I got this album that I finally appreciated the song. I thought it was a really good song but it took me almost five years to realize it was great. This probably is one of my favorite albums of the year, if not my favorite.