Death to the Pixies | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | October 6, 1997 | |||
Recorded | 1987–1991 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 47:42 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | 4AD DAD 7011 | |||
Producer | Steve Albini, Gary Smith, and Gil Norton | |||
Compiler | Chris Staley | |||
Pixies compilations chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
NME | 10/10 [2] |
Pitchfork Media | 9.2/10 [3] |
Robert Christgau | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Select | [6] |
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 It is now out of print, having been replaced by the 2004 compilation Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies .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. [7]
There was also another version of the limited edition, produced in extremely small quantities, that includes two rare "Black Francis Demos" ("I'm Amazed" and "Broken Face"). This is known as the "Golden Ticket" version, and has GT appended to its catalog number. [8] These demos, recorded in the apartment of producer Gary Smith the day before the band convened to record their full demo at Smith's Fort Apache Studios, feature only Francis singing and playing acoustic guitar (and giving notations to Smith about where the other band members' parts are). The complete "Black Francis Demos" were released as the first disc of 2004's Frank Black Francis 2-CD compilation.
The vinyl release contained all the tracks on the "Golden Ticket" version, spread out over four 10" records. Featuring a different cover, the vinyl version was a limited edition of 9,000 copies printed.
As of 2015 [update] , sales in the United States have exceeded 148,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [9]
All tracks are written by Black Francis, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cecilia Ann" | Bossanova (1990) | 2:06 | |
2. | "Planet of Sound" | Trompe le Monde (1991) | 2:06 | |
3. | "Tame" | Doolittle (1989) | 1:56 | |
4. | "Here Comes Your Man" | Doolittle | 3:21 | |
5. | "Debaser" | Doolittle | 2:52 | |
6. | "Wave of Mutilation" | Doolittle | 2:04 | |
7. | "Dig for Fire" | Bossanova | 3:02 | |
8. | "Caribou" | Come On Pilgrim (1987) | 3:14 | |
9. | "Holiday Song" | Come On Pilgrim | 2:14 | |
10. | "Nimrod's Son" | Come On Pilgrim | 2:17 | |
11. | "U-Mass" | Trompe le Monde | 3:01 | |
12. | "Bone Machine" | Surfer Rosa (1988) | 2:34 | |
13. | "Gigantic" |
| Surfer Rosa (single version) | 3:13 |
14. | "Where Is My Mind?" | Surfer Rosa | 3:52 | |
15. | "Velouria" | Bossanova | 3:40 | |
16. | "Gouge Away" | Doolittle | 2:44 | |
17. | "Monkey Gone to Heaven" | Doolittle | 2:57 |
Disc two was recorded 25 September 1990 at Vredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands [10] and produced by VPRO Radio 3. [11]
Disc two is missing 13 songs from the complete concert.
Here is the 25th September 1990 concert setlist at Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht, Netherlands.
An unofficial alternative vinyl LP titled Death to the Pixies was recorded at the Crystal Palace Bowl Saturday 8 June 1991. [12]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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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 that year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a full member in 2016, and recorded three studio albums with the band before departing in 2024.
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is 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.
Last Splash is the second album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released on August 30, 1993. Originally formed as a side project for Pixies bassist Kim Deal, the Breeders quickly became her primary recording outlet. Last Splash peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, and by June 1994, the album had been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million units.
Doolittle is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on April 17, 1989, on 4AD records. Its idiosyncratic lyrics were written by the Pixies' main songwriter and lead vocalist Black Francis, and allude to surrealist imagery, biblical violence and descriptions of torture and death. Their 1988 album Surfer Rosa was highly acclaimed, leading to high expectations for its follow up. Doolittle was an instant critical success, and became their break-through album. It was especially well received in Europe, where the British music weeklies Melody Maker and Sounds both named it as their album of the year.
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.
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.
Come On Pilgrim is the debut mini-album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 28, 1987, on 4AD. Produced by Gary Smith, the release consists of eight tracks from a seventeen-song recording session that the band had recorded at Fort Apache Studios in March 1987.
Trompe le Monde is the fourth studio album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 23, 1991 on 4AD in the United Kingdom and on September 24, 1991, on Elektra Records in the United States. Recorded in Burbank, California, Paris and London, the album was produced by Gil Norton, and was Pixies' final studio album before their break-up two years later. There would be no Pixies' albums of new material for 23 years after Trompe le Monde.
Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Cure, released on 26 May 1987 by Fiction Records. The album was recorded at Studio Miraval in Correns, France.
Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies is a compilation album by Pixies. It was released on May 3, 2004 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States alongside a companion DVD featuring a live show, promotional videos and two documentaries. Early batches of the record feature a fault on the track "Hey", where Black Francis' opening shout of "Hey" is missing.
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.
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:
Frank Black is the debut solo album by American alternative rock musician Frank Black. The album was recorded in 1992 and released on March 8, 1993, via 4AD and Elektra Records, after the breakup of Black's band Pixies.
"Gigantic" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, co-written by bassist Kim Deal and lead vocalist/guitarist Black Francis. The song appeared on the band's first full-length studio album, Surfer Rosa, released in 1988. One of the longest songs on the album, "Gigantic" was released as the band's first single later that year.
"Debaser" is a song by American alternative rock band Pixies, and is the first song on their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton during Doolittle's recording sessions.
"Velouria" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. The song was written as a love song rooted in Francis's experience with a girl associated with the Rosicrucians of Northern California. The lyrics also touched on Francis's interest in UFOs. Musically, the song features surf rock elements as well as a prominent theremin part.
Their Law: The Singles 1990–2005 is a singles collection from the UK band the Prodigy. It was released on 17 October 2005, and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 on 23 October.
Frank Black Francis is a 2-CD set released in 2004 by Frank Black, roughly coinciding with the Pixies reunion tour. Disc 1 consists of a March 1987 solo acoustic demo tape recorded by engineer Gary Smith, just prior to the first Pixies recording session. Disc 2 is a contemporary recording from 2003 of Frank Black reworking a number of Pixies songs with Keith Moliné and Andy Diagram, who are part of David Thomas and Two Pale Boys.
The discography of Pixies, an American alternative rock band, includes eight studio albums, twelve singles, seven compilations, one mini-LP, and five EPs as of October 2022.
Beneath the Eyrie is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 13, 2019, by BMG/Infectious. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and preceded by the singles "On Graveyard Hill" and "Catfish Kate", the album was recorded in Dreamland Recording Studios, a remote, converted church in upstate New York. The band were influenced by their Gothic surroundings during the writing and recording process, with vocalist and guitarist Black Francis stating: "I wanted to intermingle with the spirit world, with life and death and with the mystical and a more surreal landscape."
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