Complete B-Sides [ENHANCED]

Pixies

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 12, 2001)
• Original Release Date: March 5, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: 4ad / Ada
• ASIN: B000056Q1P
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,506 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Title says it all...now you can finally unload all those singles. No U.S. release is scheduled. 19 tracks, 'River Euphrates', 'Vamos' (Live), 'In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator)', 'Manta Ray', 'Weird At My School', 'Dancing The Manta Ray', 'Wave Of Mutilation' (UK Surf), 'Into The White', 'Bailey's Walk', 'Make Believe', 'I've Been Waiting For you', 'The Thing', 'Velvety' (Instrumental Version), 'Winterlong', 'Santo', 'Theme From Narc', 'Build High', 'Evil Hearted You' and 'Letter To Memphis'. Also the CD-ROM videos for 'Here Comes Your Man' and 'Allison'. Standard jewel case. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SO Good!, March 12, 2001

By	Paula Abilheira "mudpup30" (East Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

With 19 tracks and 2 enhanced CD videos of "Allison" and "Here Comes Your Man," this CD is definitely worth the price and the effort.

For diehard Pixies fans, this CD will not disappoint. There are alternate versions - or as Frank Black puts it in his liner note blurbs, "re-recordings" - of familiar tunes such as "River Euphrates" and "Manta Ray." There is also a live version of "Vamos" and the infamous UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation," which fans will recognize as one of the tracks in the "Pump Up the Volume" soundtrack.

There are also two Neil Young covers which were part of the regular Pixies live sets, and a few very "early days" songs recorded in a "hairdressers basement" because as Frank says, "I Like the sound in there."

The CD design is once again by V23 - the Vaughn Oliver studio responsible for most of the 4AD packaging through the 80's. And, the interior features liner notes written by Frank Black which explain the history behind the songs.

I always forget how much I love this band until I stumble on a CD like this or until I finally get around to dusting off the entertainment center and knock off Surfer Rosa - thereby promtping me to play it and everything else I own by The Pixies.

For those of us who don't want to think of them as "no more," this Cd offers seemingly "new" material, giving the illusion that they are still around making incredible music.

33 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Pixies that you've never heard before, April 29, 2001

By	Omer Belsky (Haifa, Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I can quite honestly say, that I know of no one who is a larger fan of the Pixies or of Frank Black. I have all the CDs, several live shows, tons of Napster tracks, all the bootlegs I could find. I've been to five Frank Black concerts ( and counting...) even when it required travel. I'm a FAN.

The Pixies were something truly unique. A band like that doesn't come around often. The Pixies are unique in the way the Velvet Underground were, and perhaps Television. That's more or less it. An Underground band that rocked the universe away.

This is a CD of their b-sides, immaginatively called 'The Complete B-Sides'. It really isn't, though. I have several b-side tracks in my collection which aren't here - mostly live recordings.

But this IS a record of Pixies songs most non-obsessed fans haven't heard before. So... what are they like?

Well, generally speaking, the first ten tracks are very good, and the last 8 not nearly as much.

Amoung the first 10 tracks, you have 'In Heaven', certainly one of the better covers the Pixies or Frank Black has ever done. Black Francis's screaming here are priceless... and the lyrics are obscure and haunting enough to have been written by our man himself.

Dancing the Manta Ray is a terrific song, and one which Frank Black is currently performing in his live shows. The intro of guitars, drums and screams is terrific, as well as Francis's singing 'Your head can go real screw... with saucers cha-sing you'.

The UK surf version of 'Wave of Mutilation' is haunting and probably better than the original.

Into the White is Kim Deal's moment. Her singing proves again that she has the sexiest voice in Rock'n'Roll. I'm also very fond on the rythem guitar here, especially the distortion filled part in the chorus.

Make believe is a hysterical song about Debbie Gibson, sang by David Loveering. It is honestly strange, to here the Pixies with a NORMAL singer. Lovering is very competente, and he sings sweetly, which in a way comes as a shock.

My favorite track in this CD, and one of my top 10 Pixies songs, is Baily's Walk. A song about a homeless who after every few steps had to stop, spin, and tap himself on the head. It's one of Black's most powerful vocal achievements, a song that is eery and appealing at the same time, quite yet powerful. In short - the Pixies at their very best.

Even the weaker songs in the first 10 are very interesting - Manta Ray and Wierd in My School shine through Joey's guitars and Kim's hyper backup vocals, and it's allways nice to here songs like Vamos again...

The next 8 songs aren't quite as good, mostly because they don't contain original songs. 'The Thing' is just a cut from the Pixies's 'The Happening', and 'Letter to Memphis' is an instrumental version of one of the Pixies's best. Velvety is another instrumental, while 'theme from Narc' is a bizarre injoke, which really doesn't work for me. As for the Niel Young covers, the most interesting is 'I've Been Waiting For You'. It is interesting because it sounds like a Breeder song, and you can see the great influence Young had on Kim Deal. Build High is silly and Santos is cute, but not much more.

Overall, this is a great purchase for Pixies fanatics like me. If you're not a Fantatic, get all their albums first, than buy this.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars the rest of the best, March 30, 2001

By	Bryan Wilson (Lexington, MA United States) - See all my reviews

without any "new" material to please fans for the past decade, the pixies have finally decided to give in and release a collection of the tracks that didn't make the final cut on their albums, but still exhibit their unique character and incredible talent for writing songs that just blow a listener away. it's true that the tracks here are dated, but that doesn't take anything away from the power of numbers like "bailey's walk," an understanding take on a homeless man, or the insanity of "weird at my school." it's easy to forget that without the pixies, nirvana and pearl jam may never have brought "alternative rock" to the forefront. in spite of that fact and considering the lack of a true commercial appeal, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that they are still ignored. lead singer black francis' lyrics are often impenetrable and perhaps silly, and he tends to scream more than sing. that's his style though, and he does change his intonation and voice every now and then, especially on "the thing," where he does his best robert palmer impression. the live take on "vamos," a classic from their 80s EP, Come On Pilgrim, doesn't really bring anything new to the table, as it's a simple rehash of the album version. what is impressive on this compilation though, is the success with which it demonstrates the multifaceted sounds that the pixies had in their repertoire. there are hints of latin influences on "santo," full-blown punk explosions on the reworking of "river euphrates," and even country-bluegrass touches on "build high." black pulls off the entirely spanish-sung "evil hearted you" with surprising ease, to top all that off. with at least two of their albums acknowledged as seminal works that redefined rock music, this release is a testament to their devotion to pushing the limits of music, and that is what makes complete 'b' sides a success. it's a shame they broke up, because we need more bands like the pixies.