Tag Archives: Black Francis

April 18: Pixies released Doolittle in 1989

the pixies doolittle-cover

..the songs on Doolittle have the power to make you literally jump out of your skin with excitement.
~NME

 

 

Doolittle is a mix of the band’s earlier hardcore storms, Black Francis’ self­described “stream of unconsciousness” rants, and the strange melodicism and surf-metal guitar that defined its creepy magic.
~rollingstone.com

April 18: Pixies released  Doolittle in 1989

Continue reading April 18: Pixies released Doolittle in 1989

Today: The Pixies released Doolittle in 1989 – 24 years ago

the pixies doolittle-cover

..the songs on Doolittle have the power to make you literally jump out of your skin with excitement.
~NME

Doolittle is a mix of the band’s earlier hardcore storms, Black Francis’ self­described “stream of unconsciousness” rants, and the strange melodicism and surf-metal guitar that defined its creepy magic.
~rollingstone.com

Debaser:

Wikipedia:

Released April 18, 1989
Recorded October 31 – November 23, 1988 atDowntown Recorders in Boston, Massachusetts and Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut
Genre Alternative rock
Length 38:38
Label 4AD, Elektra (initial U.S. distribution)
Producer Gil Norton

Doolittle is the second studio album from the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in April 1989 on 4AD. The album’s offbeat and dark subject material, featuring references to surrealism, Biblical violence, torture and death, contrasts with the clean production sound achieved by the newly hired producer Gil Norton. Doolittle was the Pixies’ first international release, with Elektra Records acting as the album’s distributor in the United States and PolyGram in Canada.

Pixies released two singles from Doolittle, “Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, both of which were chart successes on the US chart for Modern Rock Tracks. The album itself reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart, an unexpected success for the band. In retrospect, album tracks such as “Debaser”, “Wave of Mutilation”, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, “Gouge Away”, and “Hey” are highly acclaimed by critics, while the album, along with debut LP Surfer Rosa, is often seen as the band’s strongest work.

pixies doolittle inlay

Doolittle has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and in 1995 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album has been cited as inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever. A 2003 poll of NME writers ranked Doolittle as the second-greatest album of all time, and Rolling Stone placed the album at 226 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”.

Tame:

Music:

Doolittle features an eclectic mix of musical styles. While tracks such as “Tame” and “Crackity Jones” are fast and aggressive, and incorporate the band’s trademark loud–quiet dynamic, other songs such as “Silver”, “I Bleed”, and “Here Comes Your Man” reveal a quieter, slower and more melodic temperament. With Doolittle, the band began to incorporate further instruments into their sound; for instance, “Monkey Gone to Heaven” features two violins and two cellos. Several tracks on Doolittle are constructed around simple repeating chord progressions.

“Tame” is based on a three chord formula; including Joey Santiago’s playing a “Hendrix chord” over the main bass progression. “I Bleed” is melodically simple, and is formed around a single rhythmical repetition. Some songs are influenced by other genres of music; while “Crackity Jones” has a distinctly Spanish sound, and incorporates G♯ and A triads over a C♯ pedal, the song’s rhythm guitar, played by Francis, starts with an eighth-note downstroke typical of punk rock music.

the pixies

the pixies here-comes-your-man

Here Comes Your Man:

Accolades:

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Hot Press Ireland Top 100 Albums
2006 #34
Juice Australia The 50 Best Albums of All Time
1997 #2
NME UK 100 Best Albums
2003 #2
Panorama Norway The 30 Best Albums of the Year 1970–98 1999 #1
Pitchfork Media US Top 100 Albums of the 1980s
2002 #4
Q UK Ultimate Music Collection
2005 *
Rolling Stone US The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2005 #226
Spin US 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005
2005 #36
Slant Magazine US Best Albums of the 1980s
2012 #34

Tracks:

All tracks were written by Black Francis, except where noted.

  1. “Debaser” – 2:52
  2. “Tame” – 1:55
  3. “Wave of Mutilation” – 2:04
  4. “I Bleed” – 2:34
  5. “Here Comes Your Man” – 3:21
  6. “Dead” – 2:21
  7. “Monkey Gone to Heaven” – 2:56
  8. “Mr. Grieves” – 2:05
  9. “Crackity Jones” – 1:24
  10. “La La Love You” – 2:43
  11. “No. 13 Baby” – 3:51
  12. “There Goes My Gun” – 1:49
  13. “Hey” – 3:31
  14. “Silver” (Francis/Deal) – 2:25
  15. “Gouge Away” – 2:45

Monkey Gone To Heaven:

Personnel:

Pixies
  • Black Francis – vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Kim Deal – bass guitar, vocals, slide guitar on “Silver”
  • Joey Santiago – lead guitar
  • David Lovering – drums, lead vocal on “La La Love You”, bass guitar on “Silver”
Additional musicians
  • Arthur Fiacco – cello on “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
  • Karen Karlsrud – violin on “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
  • Corine Metter – violin on “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
  • Ann Rorich – cello on “Monkey Gone to Heaven”
Production
  • Steve Haigler – mixing engineer
  • Matt Lane – assistant engineer
  • Simon Larbalestier – cover image, album booklet imagery
  • Gil Norton – production, engineering
  • Vaughan Oliver – album booklet imagery
  • Dave Snider – assistant engineer
  • Published by Rice ‘n’ Beans Music BMI

the pixies 2

Playlist of the day:

Other APR-18:

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