Day 0757 - Teenager of the Year

Frank Black "Teenager of the Year" (1994)

 

Black Francis broke up the Pixies (announcing it in an interview before informing his bandmates) then changed his name to Frank Black and headed right back into the studio to record his first solo album.   That album didn't make it to the 1001 albums but this, his second album did.

It's a sprawling beast of a thing, with 22 tracks and a runtime of well over an hour.   Styles as varied as punk, reggae, rockabilly and Beatles-esque pop vie for space.   "Olé Mulholland" has a definite Lou Reed swagger to it, while album-closer "Pie in the Sky" has a kind of shouty rock that wouldn't be out of place on a Foo Fighters album. "Headache" has shades of Beatles.

Black has a keen instinct for melody and interesting melodic ideas, one of those songwriters whose melodies take unexpected (but not unwelcome) little twists and turns, like in "Fazer Eyes"

There was nothing on here I particularly disliked, and I actually find Black's lyrics more interesting than most, but it's unlikely that I'd sit down and listen to this in its entirety again which I did 3-4 times to get the measure of it.

Day 0670 - Bossanova

Pixies "Bossanova" (1990)

 
To be honest, to my 'non-Pixies-fan' ears, this sounds like a similar flavour to its (in my opinion) far superior predecessor "Doolittle".

There is an added touch of surf music with the reverb drenched opener "Cecilia Ann" and the far-out theremin of "Velouria".  The Pixies' more abrasive side is still very much on display with "Rock Music".

Bassist/vocalist Kim Deal had stayed in the UK to record the debut album by her band the Breeders.  She eventually joined the other members of the Pixies back in the US, but her songwriting is absent from the album with all songs (other than the opening cover) being written by Black Francis.

The Pixies' more melodic side is still present, but again, to me the melodies just feel like 'more of the same' after "Doolittle".

Day 0656 - Doolittle

Pixies "Doolittle" (1989)

The Pixies switched up producers with a noticeable change in sound.  Where "Surfer Rosa" producer Steve Albini favoured dirty, punky production with unconventional techniques; "Doolittle" producer Gil Norton favoured more of a conventional studio sheen.   Given that the Pixies were a band who mixed pleasant melody with abrasive noise, they were clearly amenable to either approach.  

Norton's production sees clean, prominent bass-lines and drums with a noisy squall of guitar over the top.  Black Francis' vocals alternately scream, or sink into melodic harmony with bassist Kim Deal's voice.   The album is a great cohesive mix of styles that lays further groundwork for the wave of Grunge (Cobain was a vocal fan of the Pixies) and the noisier areas of 90s indie-rock and indie-pop alike.

Day 0624 - Surfer Rosa

Pixies "Surfer Rosa" (1988)

The Pixes were another band who had circulated some demos/EPs before releasing their first proper full-length album.   The band were paired with Shellac/Big Black frontman Steve Albini who had been swiftly moving more and more into his no-nonsense style of production.

The band had one meeting with Albini and were recording less than a week later.  Albini charged the band a flat fee, refusing to take a share of royalties (as was often standard practice) believing it to be an insult to a band to take a percentage for their work.  A principle he would continue to hold throughout his career.

This pragmatic approach to recording led them to spend only one day recording vocals (including recording some of bassist/vocalist Kim Deal's vocals in a bathroom for natural reverb) but a week or two on guitars.   The arresting debut is an onslaught of noisy guitars, and screamed vocals, but with this cacophony often wrapped around tight, melodic songs.   The album served as inspiration for many 90s alt-rock luminaries such as PJ Harvey, Billy Corgan and the members of Nirvana.