Complete 'B' Sides

Last updated
Complete 'B' Sides
Complete b sides.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedMay 3, 2001 (2001-05-03)
Recorded1988–1991, various studios
Genre Alternative rock
Length48:35
LanguageEnglish
Label 4AD GAD 2103
Producer Gil Norton, Gary Smith, Pixies
Pixies compilations chronology
Pixies at the BBC
(1998)
Complete 'B' Sides
(2001)
Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 89/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Drowned in Sound 10/10 [4]
NME 7/10 [5]
Pitchfork Media 9.6/10 [6]

Complete 'B' Sides is a compilation album of songs by American alternative rock band Pixies. It features the B-sides for seven out of eight of their UK singles, as well as for one USA single, from the 1980s and 1990s. The eighth, "Letter to Memphis", had no B-sides. These singles are:

Contents

  1. "Gigantic" (1988)
  2. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" (1989)
  3. "Here Comes Your Man" (1989)
  4. "Velouria" (1990)
  5. "Dig for Fire" (1990)
  6. "Planet of Sound" (1991)
  7. "Alec Eiffel" (USA) (1991)

The album's booklet also features commentaries for each song by Pixies frontman Black Francis. Of "Velvety Instrumental Version", he writes, "The title implies that there was a version with lyrics, but there wasn't." A non-instrumental version, titled simply "Velvety", would later appear on Frank Black and the Catholics' 2002 album, Devil's Workshop .

Track listing

All songs written by Black Francis unless otherwise noted.

  1. "River Euphrates" – 3:23
  2. "Vamos" (Live) – 3:28
  3. "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" (Live) (Peter Ivers, David Lynch) – 1:46
  4. "Manta Ray" – 2:39
  5. "Weird at My School" – 1:59
  6. "Dancing the Manta Ray" – 2:13
  7. "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)" – 3:00
  8. "Into the White"  – 4:42
  9. "Bailey's Walk" – 2:23
  10. "Make Believe" – 1:54
  11. "I've Been Waiting for You" (Neil Young) – 2:45
  12. "The Thing" – 1:58
  13. "Velvety Instrumental Version" – 2:04
  14. "Winterlong" (Neil Young) – 3:07
  15. "Santo" – 2:16
  16. "Theme from Narc" (Brian L. Schmidt) – 1:48
  17. "Build High" – 1:42
  18. "Evil Hearted You" (Graham Gouldman) – 2:37
  19. "Letter to Memphis" (Instrumental) – 2:43

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pixies (band)</span> American alternative rock band

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering (drums). They disbanded acrimoniously in 1993 but reunited in 2004. After Deal left in 2013, the Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist; she was replaced later that year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a permanent member in 2016.

<i>Cosmic Slop</i> Album by Funkadelic

Cosmic Slop is the fifth studio album by Funkadelic, released in July 1973 on Westbound Records. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles, and reaching only #112 on the Billboard pop chart and #21 on the R&B chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Francis</span> American singer, songwriter and guitarist

Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.

<i>Doolittle</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Pixies

Doolittle is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in April 1989 on 4AD. Doolittle was the Pixies' first international release, with Elektra Records as the album's distributor in the United States and PolyGram in Canada. The album's lyrics invoke surrealist imagery, refer to instances of biblical violence, and allude to themes of torture and death.

<i>Surfer Rosa</i> 1988 studio album by Pixies

Surfer Rosa is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British label 4AD. It was produced by Steve Albini. Surfer Rosa contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, including Spanish lyrics and references to Puerto Rico. It includes references to mutilation and voyeurism alongside experimental recording techniques and a distinctive drum sound.

<i>Bossanova</i> (Pixies album) 1990 studio album by Pixies

Bossanova is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies. It was released on August 13, 1990, by English independent record label 4AD in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Because of 4AD's independent status, major label Elektra handled distribution in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's Stay Together (Al Green song)</span>

"Let's Stay Together" is a song by American singer Al Green from his 1972 album of the same name. It was produced and recorded by Willie Mitchell, and mixed by Mitchell and Terry Manning. Released as a single in 1971, "Let's Stay Together" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained on the chart for 16 weeks and also topped Billboard's R&B chart for nine weeks. Billboard ranked it as the number 11 song of 1972.

<i>Pixies</i> (EP) 2002 EP by Pixies

Pixies is an EP by the American alternative rock band of the same name, released in 2002 by SpinART Records in the U.S., Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Sonic Unyon in Canada. It consists of the remaining songs from the band's original 17-track demo tape, eight songs of which were released in 1987 as the band's debut, Come On Pilgrim. All 17 songs were recorded by Gary Smith at Fort Apache Studios in March 1987.

<i>Pod</i> (The Breeders album) 1990 studio album by the Breeders

Pod is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released by 4AD records on May 29, 1990. Engineered by Steve Albini, the album features band leader Kim Deal on vocals and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, Britt Walford on drums, and Tanya Donelly on guitar. Albini's production prioritized sound over technical accomplishment; the final takes favor the band's spontaneous live "in studio" performances.

<i>Death to the Pixies</i> 1997 greatest hits album by Pixies

Death to the Pixies was the first Pixies best-of compilation, released by 4AD in the UK on October 6, 1997, and 4AD/Elektra the following day in the United States to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the band's debut. It covered the years 1987 to 1991. It is now out of print, having been replaced by the 2004 compilation Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies. A limited edition of the compilation also included a second CD with a live performance taken from Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands on September 25, 1990.

<i>Pixies at the BBC</i> 1998 live album by Pixies

Pixies at the BBC is a compilation of BBC radio sessions by the American alternative rock band Pixies. Released by 4AD on July 6, 1998 in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records on July 14, 1998 in the United States—five years after the band's initial split—it was recorded over several sessions between 1988 and 1991 at the BBC. The album is characterized by its raw, under-produced sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monkey Gone to Heaven</span> Song by Pixies

"Monkey Gone to Heaven" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. Recorded in November 1988 during the sessions for the band's 1989 album Doolittle, it was released as a single in March, and included as the seventh track on the album when it was released a month later in April. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton. Referencing environmentalism and biblical numerology, the song's lyrics mirrored themes that were explored in Doolittle. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" was the first Pixies song to feature guest musicians: two cellists, Arthur Fiacco and Ann Rorich, and two violinists, Karen Karlsrud and Corine Metter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dig for Fire</span> 1990 single by Pixies

"Dig for Fire" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. The song appeared on their 1990 album Bossanova, and was released as a single in October 1990. The song reached number 11 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 62 in the UK. According to Pixies frontman Black Francis, the song was "a bad Talking Heads imitation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just Like Heaven (The Cure song)</span> 1987 single by the Cure

"Just Like Heaven" is a song by British alternative rock band the Cure. The group wrote most of the song during recording sessions in southern France in 1987. The lyrics were written by their frontman Robert Smith, who drew inspiration from a past trip to the sea shore with his future wife. Smith's memories of the trip formed the basis for the song's accompanying music video. Before Smith had completed the lyrics, an instrumental version of the song was used as the theme for the French television show Les Enfants du Rock.

<i>Devils Workshop</i> 2002 studio album by Frank Black and the Catholics

Devil's Workshop is the second of a pair of albums by Frank Black and the Catholics to be simultaneously released on August 20, 2002. "His Kingly Cave" was originally recorded for an aborted album project in mid-2000 entitled Sunday Sunny Mill Valley Groove Day. "Velvety"'s music comes from an earlier Pixies B-side, appropriately named "Velvety Instrumental Version". The track first received lyrics when it was revived for this album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letter to Memphis</span> 1991 single by Pixies

"Letter to Memphis" is a single by the alternative rock band Pixies, from their 1991 album Trompe le Monde. The song was frontman Black Francis' take on Chuck Berry's song "Memphis, Tennessee". An instrumental version was included as a B-side to the "Alec Eiffel" single and later became the closing track of their compilation Complete 'B' Sides.

"In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" (often referred to as simply "In Heaven") is a song performed by Peter Ivers, composed by Peter Ivers, with lyrics by David Lynch. The song is featured in Lynch's 1977 film Eraserhead, and was subsequently released on its 1982 soundtrack album.

<i>Clocking Out Is for Suckers</i> 1994 studio album by Drake Tungsten

Clocking Out Is for Suckers is Drake Tungsten's first album, released in 1994 on cassette only and distributed to the Austin, Texas area. Many of the tracks were re-recorded and re-released on later Spoon albums.

<i>Doggerel</i> (album) 2022 studio album by Pixies

Doggerel is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 30, 2022, by BMG Rights Management. It was produced by Tom Dalgety and preceded by the singles "There's a Moon On", "Vault of Heaven" and "Dregs of the Wine".

References

  1. "Complete B-sides review". Metacritic . Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. Dolan, Jon. "Complete 'B' Sides — Blender". Blender . Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
  4. Extance, Andy (4 May 2001). "Pixies: Complete 'B' Sides". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  5. NME review
  6. Pitchfork Media review