Pixies
Black Francis (original name Charles Michael Kitteridge Thompson IV date of birth 1965) was studying anthropology at the University of Massachusetts in 1986 all of a sudden he realizes absolute absurdity of this job and created his own group. First of all he invited to the group his neighbor the guitar player Joey Santiago (10.06.1965) and moved with him to Boston. In order to find bass guitar they put an advertisement in the newspaper about search of the musician for the band. Only one candidate replied to it Kim Deal (10.06.1961, sometimes called Mrs. John Murphy), she brought the drummer David Levering (6.12.1961). The band started rehearsals playing experimental, chaotic and loud music in the local clubs.
The band was named Pixies due to Santiago who took the name just looking through the dictionaries. Soon Pixies demo version was forwarded to all more a less good record companies. One copy was given to the manager Throwing Muses who brought the it to the office of the British alternative company 4AD. The head of the company released these songs without thinking in the format of mini album‘Come On Piligrim’ and it surprised the music society since Pixies music was beyond pos-punk frames of traditional 4AD production. ‘Come On Piligrim’ included half-acoustic and semi-punk songs that were partially in Spanish (Black used to study Spanish by exchange program in Puerto Rico). The album boosted cheering among music critics and made many customers to pay. That fact brought the album to the top of British independent chats. The first long play 'Surfer Rosa' was released in 1988 and it got the title instantaneously underground classics. It triggered Pixies to move deeper in their hard, melancholic music with surrealistic texts lame tunes and abstract structures. Someone among the critics noticed that Pixies songs have neither beginning nor the start. The second gigantic CD 'Doolittle' was presented with a bit less of punk music but not less exciting that bounces from side to side – from serf-pop to gothics, from post-punk to grunge. Pixies became the first American alternative breakthrough – the album got the eighth position in the British national chats and the public announced about a new music epoch that could not be revealed by Husker Du due to lack of commercial proficiency. But the true epoch started after Pixies fell apart and the triumphs of their grunge followers like Nirvana. Nevertheless in March 1990 the Rolling Stone critics called Pixies the best new American band. It is funny but only ‘Doolittle’ became the first Pixies CD that was released in USA.
In June Kim Deal started up her side project Breeders that kept Pixies musical traditions and gave her the possibility to manifest her own talent as a composer. The project involved the guitar player Tanya Donnelly from Throwing Muses, bass player Josephine Wiggs from Perfect Disaster and the only guy Shannon Doughon to watch the drum section. Great Britain met their dirty and in some parts nasty album ‘Pod’ by the twenty second place. Two month later on the third place appeared Pixies CD ‘Bossanova' that was in the 'Doolittle' style but clearly lacking interesting melodies and former excitement. In America the album was expected by seventieth place.
The band looking back realized that sometimes it is better to make a step backwards. ‘Trompe Le Monde' that was called by the critics “Pixies metal album” was obviously harder and the most intensive thing that the band made. It made the listener to memorize the punk roots of all modern alternative music.
Britain was well-affected by Pixies style deformation and gave the album the seventh place, meanwhile, in USA it was barely among the first hundred. In January 1993 while radio performance Black Francis confirmed the rumors about the fact that the band is falling apart – his misunderstandings with Kim Deal made the desire to work apart. Santiago kept cooperation with Black, meanwhile Kim devoted herself completely to Breeders and Lovering was recorded together with Nitzer Ebb, Francis switched his fake name and last name and became Frank Black. His debut album out of Pixies net was cheered by the public and did not lose any power that was generated by Pixies.
The second longplay Breeders was recorded with completely brand new cast – Kim Deal still was playing the guitar and singing, Wiggs played bass guitar and the second guitar player became Kelley Deal, and Jim MacPherson was a drummer. Perfect and bracing ‘Last Splash' became more mature and exciting work – the best among all post-Pixies works and, of course, one of the brightest alternative works US 90s , it could be found on the 33d place and in Great Britain – on the 5th.
Frank Black could not say anything about stability – his second solo album failed by all points and 4A.D decided to get rid of the artist. The only good news was that 'Doohttle' finally got golden status. Moreover Black became friends with old punk Glen Matlock ( from Sex Pistols) in order to make a temporary band Frank Black & The Stax Pistols. But the new exciting disc had the heading Frank Black & The Catholics. Breeders by Kim Deal stopped working since she decided to switch on the band Amps. But the album ‘Pacer’ was so dull that Deal decided to go back to the previous name. In 1997 she had American tour again with the slogan Breeders and promised to make a new album. The album 'Death to the Pixies' that was a tribute to 10 years of Pixies debut had in the limited edition an additional concert album.
Discography:
Come On Piligrim EP 1987
Surfer Rosa 1988
Doolittle 1989
Bossanovo 1990
Trompe Le Monde 1991
Death To The Pixies (compilation) 1997
Pixies At The BBC 1998
BREEDERS:
Pod 1990
Safari EP 1992
Last Splash 1993
Cannoball EP 1993
Live In Stockholm 1994
AMPS:
Pacer 1995
FRANK BLACK:
Frank Black 1993
Teenager Of The Year 1994
The Cult Of Ray 1996
John Peel Sessions EP 1997
Frank Black & The Catholics 1998
KELLY DEAL 6000:
Go To The Sugar Altar 1994
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Рекомендуемыеальбомы:
Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Last Splash
