ALBUM REVIEW: Frank Black – Frank Black Francis
(Demon Records/Cooking Vinyl)
As frontman of Pixies, Black Francis was at the helm of one of the most influential alt-rock bands of the late 1980s, with their loud-quiet-loud dynamics inspiring many bands from the grunge and Britpop eras.
He was the singer, main songwiter and beating heart of the band, best known for his yowling vocals and often surreal lyrics.
As well as his work with Pixies, he’s enjoyed a successful solo career. It’s that which is being celebrated with a year-long campaign of vinyl releases of albums previously only available on CD, or long out of print.
Reissue campaign
February saw the release of 1996’s The Cult Of Ray on blue vinyl, and the 2013 B-sides compilation Oddballs, but the other 10 albums which make up the campaign have never been on vinyl before.
The latest swathe of releases sees three reissues on 140g coloured vinyl: Frank Black Francis (2LPs on white vinyl), Honeycomb (translucent-honey) and Fast Man Raider Man (2LPs on translucent).
Frank Black Francis is a double album released in October 2004, to cash in on the long-awaited Pixies reunion.
The first LP is a solo acoustic demo from March 1987, the day before the Pixies session known as ‘The Purple Tape‘.
Fully formed
Despite not featuring Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering, it’s a fascinating recording. Many songs already sound fully formed as their creator rattles through them with just his acoustic guitar for company.
Most appeared on Pixies’ 1987 mini-album Come On Pilgrim or 1988 debut full-length Surfer Rosa. A few more surfaced on ‘The Purple Tape‘ when it was released as the posthumous 2002 collection Pixies.
The forgotten solo demo resurfaced in 2003, just as the band, who’d split in 1992, were talking about getting back together.
They’ve gone from strength to strength since then, despite the departure of Kim Deal. They’ve made three new albums and inspired a whole new generation of devotees with life-affirming live shows (like the one reviewed here).
Back to 2003, Black Francis said of the 1987 tape: “As a time capsule it seemed fairly interesting, as a full release it seemed lacking for the customers”.
Reworked classics
His solution was to rework a number of Pixies songs with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram, from Two Pale Boys, who’d recently collaborated on a Frank Black And The Catholics album.
Working their way through Pixies’ back catalogue, they produce very different versions of some stonewall classics, adding trumpet, violin and electronics.
They include Where Is My Mind? (from Surfer Rosa), Wave Of Mutilation and Monkey Gone To Heaven (both from Doolittle), and Velouria (from Bossanova).
Where Is My Mind? sounds truly otherworldly, while Nimrod’s Son is slowed down and given a wonderful brass-drenched makeover.
The latter is one of a handful of songs which appear on both LPs, though like Caribou, The Holiday Song and Subbacultcha, it sounds very different.
The solo demos also include ‘lost’ Pixies song Boom Chickaboom, which you’ll only find on live recordings.
As a document of where Black Francis was just before Pixies were signed by 4AD, and then as they prepared to return , the albums complement each other perfectly.
They’re also the sort of recordings that were made to be listened to on vinyl. Go on, treat yourself, you know you want to… 8/10.
