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Album Details

• Artist: Frank Black
• Album: Frank Black Francis
• Label: Sonic Unyon/Spinart
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2004-12-18

Upon the newfound success of the Pixies, leader Frank Black (Black Francis if you are dealing with the Pixies era Frank) has decided to completely capitalize on it. Frank Black Francis is a double album of sorts. The first album is a demo of a youthful Charles Thompson before he even stepped into the studio with the soon to be classic Pixies songs like "Subbaculta", "Nimrod's Son", or "Caribou". They are complete with, "Then you do a little scream here/drums fill in here" etc. They are raw but they do show a talented Black sounding a little too much like Bob Mould. I would say that this disc would only appeal to a hardcore Pixies fan.

The second disc is a post-Pixies Frank Black reworking of the classics. Frank states in the liner notes that he admits he is messing with gospel but on a couple of the tracks it proves worthwhile. Don't come in expecting the typical "Is She Weird" because that's just not going to happen here. That includes a way too long version of "Planet of Sound", in fact it goes on for a painful 14 minutes. I felt like I was going into a coma on that one. Some of the more interesting tracks that Frank reworked include "Wave of Mutilation", "Monkey Gone To Heaven" (sounding like a hallucination in a New York subway) and the opening "Caribou". I could go through them all but rest assured, these versions are very different than what you are used to. There is one thing I have learned from Frank Black Francis and it is that Frank Black is so proud of these songs. Ultimately, if you are a huge Pixies fan or Frank Black fan Frank Black Francis will fit in nicely among your Pixies catalog.

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