Pixies "Death to the Pixies" 4x 10" Box Set vinyl LP Frank Black Breeders OOP

$

155

Pixies "Death to the Pixies" 4x10" Box Set 4AD Records (UK)

Vinyl is NM-, Box is EX.

Includes Book.

Limited Edition

Track Listing:

A1   Cecilia Ann (2:06)     Engineer - Al Clay*
  Engineer [Assistant] - Andrew Ballard , Gregg Barrett , Jack Benson , Moses Schneider , Scott Blockland
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton A2   Planet Of Sound (2:06)     Engineer - Steve Haigler
  Engineer [Assistant] - Andrew Ballard , John McDonnell , Ken Gardner , Philipe Tousche , Scott Blockland
  Producer - Gil Norton A3   Tame (1:56)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton A4   Here Comes Your Man (3:21)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton A5   Debaser (2:51)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton B6   Wave Of Mutilation (2:04)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton B7   Dig For Fire (3:02)     Engineer - Al Clay*
  Engineer [Assistant] - Andrew Ballard , Gregg Barrett , Jack Benson , Moses Schneider , Scott Blockland
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton B8   Caribou (3:14)     Engineer - Paul Q. Kolderie
  Producer - Gary Smith B9   The Holiday Song (2:14)     Engineer - Paul Q. Kolderie
  Producer - Gary Smith B10   Nimrod's Son (2:17)     Engineer - Paul Q. Kolderie
  Producer - Gary Smith C11   U-Mass (3:00)     Engineer - Steve Haigler
  Engineer [Assistant] - Andrew Ballard , John McDonnell , Ken Gardner , Philipe Tousche , Scott Blockland
  Producer - Gil Norton C12   Bone Machine (3:05)     Engineer - Steve Albini C13   Gigantic (3:08)     Engineer - Al Clay*
  Engineer [Assistant] - Marc Crellin
  Producer - Gil Norton C14   Where Is My Mind? (3:51)     Engineer - Steve Albini D15   Velouria (3:40)     Engineer - Al Clay*
  Engineer [Assistant] - Andrew Ballard , Gregg Barrett , Jack Benson , Moses Schneider , Scott Blockland
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton D16   Gouge Away (2:43)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton D17   Monkey Gone To Heaven (2:56)     Engineer - Gil Norton
  Engineer [Assistant] - Dave Snider (2) , Matt Lane
  Mixed By - Steve Haigler
  Producer - Gil Norton E1   Debaser (2:55)     Producer - Ronald Trijber E2   Rock Music (1:51)     Producer - Ronald Trijber E3   Broken Face (1:21)     Producer - Ronald Trijber E4   Isla De Encanta (1:42)     Producer - Ronald Trijber E5   Hangwire (1:59)     Producer - Ronald Trijber E6   Dead (2:30)     Producer - Ronald Trijber F7   Into The White (3:30)     Producer - Ronald Trijber F8   Monkey Gone To Heaven (2:58)     Producer - Ronald Trijber F9   Gouge Away (2:53)     Producer - Ronald Trijber F10   Here Comes Your Man (3:12)     Producer - Ronald Trijber F11   Allison (1:15)     Producer - Ronald Trijber G12   Hey (3:54)     Producer - Ronald Trijber G13   Gigantic (3:26)     Producer - Ronald Trijber G14   Crackity Jones (1:35)     Producer - Ronald Trijber G15   Something Against You (1:46)     Producer - Ronald Trijber G16   Tame (2:05)     Producer - Ronald Trijber H17   Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf) (3:05)     Producer - Ronald Trijber H18   Where Is My Mind? (3:36)     Producer - Ronald Trijber H19   Ed Is Dead (2:52)     Producer - Ronald Trijber H20   Vamos (4:34)     Producer - Ronald Trijber H21   Tony's Theme (2:27)     Producer - Ronald Trijber

Pixies are an American rock band that formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The band disbanded in 1993 under acrimonious circumstances but reunited in 2004. Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal, and David Lovering have been the band's continual members. The Pixies found only modest success in their home country, but were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, although never achieving mainstream success with their studio albums.

The Pixies' style of alternative rock music is heavily influenced by punk and surf rock, and while highly melodic, is capable of being tremendously abrasive at the same time. Francis is the band's primary songwriter and singer and has a distinctly desperate, yowling delivery. He has typically written cryptic songs about offbeat subjects, such as UFOs and surrealism. References to mental instability, violent Biblical imagery, physical injury, and incest feature in many of the band's songs.

The group is seen as the immediate forebear of the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, though they disbanded before reaping any of the benefits this might have brought them. Avowed fan Kurt Cobain's acknowledgement of the debt Nirvana owed to the Pixies, along with similar tributes by other alternative bands, ensured that the Pixies' legacy and influence grew substantially in the years following their demise.

Formation

The Pixies' history began when undergraduates Joey Santiago and Black Francis (born Charles Thompson IV) shared a room at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Santiago soon introduced Francis to the music of David Bowie and 1970s punk rock, and the pair began to jam together. Francis then embarked on a student exchange trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, but upon arriving struggled to grasp the Spanish language. After spending six months in an apartment with a "weirdo, psycho, gay roommate", he returned to Boston and dropped out of the university. The two spent 1984 working in a warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train.

The pair formed a band in January 1986. Bassist Kim Deal joined Santiago and Francis two weeks later after responding to a classified advertisement Francis had placed, seeking a female bassist who liked both folk music icons Peter, Paul and Mary and the hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü.Deal was the only person to respond, but arrived at the audition without a bass guitar as she had never played the instrument before. She claimed her twin sister Kelley Deal had a bass back in Dayton and that she had no money to get it. Francis lent her $50 for the airfare and Deal returned with the bass guitar. The trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment, "because the old lady upstairs couldn't hear."

After recruiting Kim Deal, the band tried to get Kelley to join the band on drums, unsuccessfully. Kim's husband suggested they hire drummer David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception. They arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word randomly from a dictionary and took a liking to the definition, "mischievous little elves". The group was originally named "Pixies In Panoply" ("Things on Fire" was considered), but soon shortened it to "Pixies". Once the band had settled on a name and stable line-up, they moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in the summer of 1986. Their first show—named as "possibly the worst gig in the history of rock" by the band—took place at the The Rathskeller, Boston, where they performed early versions of "Here Comes Your Man", "Dig for Fire", and "Build High".

Hiatus

It was after Doolittle that tensions between Deal and Francis came to a head (for example, Francis threw a guitar at Deal during a concert in Stuttgart), and Deal was almost fired from the band. Santiago, in an interview to Mojo, explained:

“ Kim was headstrong and wanted to include her own songs, to explore her own world. The way I think Charles [Black Francis] saw it, the band made pizzas, not cookies. Before we made Bossanova, we were even going to fire her after a gig in Frankfurt where we found her hanging out in her hotel room with no intention of playing. But our lawyer convinced us to try and work it out, to give her a warning or something. You know, I blocked that incident out of my head, that was too heavy for me. Kim couldn't believe I'd be party to it but I told her, she didn't seem happy, so why hang around? In the end, Kim realized it was Charles's bag, that he was the singer, but they kinda stopped talking after that. ”

During the post-Doolittle "F*ck or Fight" tour of the United States, intended to promote the release of the album, the band's hectic schedule took its toll on the band members; the Pixies had released three albums in two years, as well as constant touring. Near the end of the 1989 tour, during their homecoming Boston concert, Deal was in a drunken state, and Santiago smashed up his instruments and stormed off-stage. After the tour's final date in New York, the band was too exhausted to attend the end-of-tour party the following night and soon announced a hiatus.

During this time, Santiago traveled to the Grand Canyon to "find himself", and Lovering jetted off to Jamaica. Francis bought a yellow Cadillac and crossed America with his girlfriend (due to an aversion to flying), and while doing so performed solo gigs in order to raise money for furniture in his new Los Angeles apartment. Deal formed a new band, The Breeders, named after a band she had formed with her sister as a teenager, with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and bassist Josephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster. Their debut album, Pod, was released later that year.

Bossanova and Trompe le Monde

After Doolittle, Francis began to limit Deal's contributions to the band and assert more control over the Pixies' output; the first three records had been partly written by Deal, but when Bossanova was released in 1990, all the original songs were by him. Deal was not pleased and unilaterally announced an apparent break-up of the band on-stage during the following tour. The Pixies were at the height of their popularity, however, and while headlining at the Reading Festival in 1990, they played a highly enthusiastic version of "Debaser" which has become legendary among fans.

The subject matter changed from earlier albums, to a more sci-fi, surreal focus on UFOs and alien abduction. The musical style of the album was inspired by surf-rock, as Bossanova started with a cover of "Cecilia Ann" by The Surftones. In general, the style of music in Bossanova was a departure from previous albums. For example, songs such as "Havalina" and "Ana" showed a dreamy side to the band, and Francis' vocals were notably more tuneful (although on "Rock Music", he displayed his trademark screaming). "Dig For Fire" was, according to Francis, a Talking Heads tribute. The lead guitar of Santiago was less prominent, with none of the wilder solos that were present in Come On Pilgrim or Surfer Rosa. The track "Allison" was a tribute to one of Francis' musical heroes Mose Allison (an American jazz and blues artist). The track references space and the universe – ideas commonly explored in Mose's work.

The band continued to tour, and, break-up announcements notwithstanding, one more album was to follow. Trompe le Monde, released in 1991, still featured little creative input from Deal and was not as immediately well regarded as their first few albums. Before its release, it was rumoured the album drew inspiration from heavy metal, and the band's pre-album release of "Planet of Sound", a heavier song than their usual output, did not quell the rumors.

In the end, Trompe Le Monde expanded on the UFO and sci-fi themes (including a song on space travel, "Planet of Sound" and "Motorway to Roswell" about an alien vacation gone bad). Songs such as "Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons" and "Lovely Day" were written in a similar style to songs on Bossanova (such as "Havalina"). The album saw the band move in a more popular direction with songs as "Palace of the Brine" and "Trompe Le Monde". The songs "U-Mass" (sample (info)) and "Alec Eiffel" included the keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman—a move unthinkable in the band's Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa days. The album also featured a cover of "Head On" by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Trompe Le Monde was to be the Pixies' last studio album before their breakup.

Following the release of Trompe Le Monde, the band contributed a cover of "I Can't Forget" to the Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan and went on a sellout winter tour of the USA, culminating on a TV appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. They then embarked on an uncomfortable tour supporting fans U2 (on their Zoo TV tour) in 1992. However, tensions rose between band members, and, at the end of the year, the Pixies went on sabbatical and focused on separate projects.

In early 1993, Francis announced in an interview to BBC Radio 5 that the band was finished and offered no explanation at the time, unbeknownst to the other members of the band. He later telephoned Santiago and subsequently notified Deal and Lovering via fax, in January 1993. Francis later regretted breaking up the band in that fashion, as he did not allow the rest of the band an opportunity to discuss the move.

After the breakup

Black Francis renamed himself Frank Black, and released three solo albums. He then went on to form a band with the former Miracle Legion rhythm section Scott Boutier and David McCaffrey, plus session man Lyle Workman, called Frank Black and the Catholics. For the second Catholics album Workman was replaced by Dave Gilbert and a third guitarist, Dave Phillips, was added to the mix for the third Catholics album. Although there is a still a strong rock element in the Catholics albums the addition of steel guitar lends the music a country flavour. In 2005 the Catholics were disbanded and Black released his fourth solo album, Honeycomb, featuring a mellow, rhythm and blues-styled approach and backing from seasoned Nashville musicians. He released a further double album from the same sessions, Fastman Raiderman, on July 19, 2006. Having reverted to his pixies nom de guerre, Black Francis then released an LP (Bluefinger) and CD (Svn Fngrs). In May 2008, Black Francis and his band (including Eric Drew Feldman) performed an original score for the silent horror movie The Golem at the San Francisco Film Festival (at the Castro Theatre); an exclusive poster was sold at the event.

Deal returned to The Breeders and scored a hit with "Cannonball" from that group's platinum-selling Last Splash in 1993. However, for several years they struggled to produce another album, mainly due to her sister and fellow band member, Kelley Deal, and her struggles with heroin. While on hiatus from the Breeders, Deal formed and recorded with The Amps, who released their only album Pacer in 1995. A new Breeders album, Title TK, finally appeared in 2002, with only Kim and Kelley remaining from the previous Breeders lineup.

Lovering went on to become a magician and make occasional appearances as "The Scientific Phenomenalist", performing experiments on stage and occasionally opening for Frank Black and The Breeders. Lovering continued to drum, playing on one of Tanya Donelly's solo albums. Santiago played lead guitar on one of Frank Black's solo albums, and on other albums such as Statecraft, by indie-rock musician Charles Douglas. Santiago also wrote theme music for Fox television, and formed a band called The Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari. They released their debut album, Smitten, in 2004.

After the band broke up, 4AD and Elektra Records released compilation albums such as Death to the Pixies and Complete B-Sides, along with Pixies (The Purple Tape) and Pixies at the BBC.

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