Post by ChrisB on Sept 1, 2020 9:53:58 GMT
Sept (1) 2020 - Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
Boston band Pixies third release - the second true full album (the first was a mini-album). Before this album, Pixies were much vaunted by the UK music press and had a fairly small following but this one was their biggie. The single 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' helped a lot in getting it heard.
On first listening the whole thing might come across as a schizophrenic nightmare, with Black Francis' howling vocals and Kim Deal's almost angelic counterpoint. There's also the light and shade from Joey Santiago's sometimes vicious electric guitar playing and a good measure of simple acoustic playing. The lyrical content has the same yin/yang character, drawn from tales of old testament sin, sexual weirdness and la-la-la sing-alongs. I love the tight but sparse rhythm section of Kim Deal and David Lovering which is most evident the interludes of quieter material.
It could be one of the most influential albums of the '80s, with praise heaped on it by all sorts of unlikely people like David Bowie and it was practically the blueprint for Nirvana's sound on 'Nevermind' and the first two Radiohead albums. A BBC review mentions "short sharp chunks of immense catchiness" mingled with "unearthly howls", which pretty much perfectly encapsulates the feel of this record.
It's not an easy listen but it's a wild ride!
Sound quality is mostly pretty good.
When my daughter was in her teenage years, she always asked for an CD for birthdays and Christmas and we used to give her one that she selected and and a second one that we chose. This was one of those that we chose, probably for her fifteenth or sixteenth birthday and she's still an avid fan of the band.
Doolittle Wikipage
Spotify Link:
YouTube Playlist:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0F9E68986575D55
Suggested related listening:
You could try their previous album, 'Surfer Rosa' but fair warning, it's more raw and savage than this one!
The two following releases, 'Bossanova' and 'Trompe le Monde' are good but not as consistently strong as Doolittle. All are essential though, as is the mini-album 'Come On Pilgrim'!
Boston band Pixies third release - the second true full album (the first was a mini-album). Before this album, Pixies were much vaunted by the UK music press and had a fairly small following but this one was their biggie. The single 'Monkey Gone to Heaven' helped a lot in getting it heard.
On first listening the whole thing might come across as a schizophrenic nightmare, with Black Francis' howling vocals and Kim Deal's almost angelic counterpoint. There's also the light and shade from Joey Santiago's sometimes vicious electric guitar playing and a good measure of simple acoustic playing. The lyrical content has the same yin/yang character, drawn from tales of old testament sin, sexual weirdness and la-la-la sing-alongs. I love the tight but sparse rhythm section of Kim Deal and David Lovering which is most evident the interludes of quieter material.
It could be one of the most influential albums of the '80s, with praise heaped on it by all sorts of unlikely people like David Bowie and it was practically the blueprint for Nirvana's sound on 'Nevermind' and the first two Radiohead albums. A BBC review mentions "short sharp chunks of immense catchiness" mingled with "unearthly howls", which pretty much perfectly encapsulates the feel of this record.
It's not an easy listen but it's a wild ride!
Sound quality is mostly pretty good.
When my daughter was in her teenage years, she always asked for an CD for birthdays and Christmas and we used to give her one that she selected and and a second one that we chose. This was one of those that we chose, probably for her fifteenth or sixteenth birthday and she's still an avid fan of the band.
Doolittle Wikipage
Spotify Link:
YouTube Playlist:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF0F9E68986575D55
Suggested related listening:
You could try their previous album, 'Surfer Rosa' but fair warning, it's more raw and savage than this one!
The two following releases, 'Bossanova' and 'Trompe le Monde' are good but not as consistently strong as Doolittle. All are essential though, as is the mini-album 'Come On Pilgrim'!
