Skip to main content.ca Try Prime Hello, Sign in. Includes Album Cover, Release Year, and User Reviews. Genres: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock. [8] After completing the demo tape, band manager Ken Goes suggested two producers for the album; Liverpudlian Gil Norton and American Ed Stasium. During production, Haigler and Norton added layers of guitars and vocals to songs, including overdubbed guitars on "Debaser" and double tracking vocals on "Wave of Mutilation". Features Song Lyrics for Pixies's Doolittle album. ... A monkey with a halo, calling it Whore, that would bring all kinds of shit that wouldn't be true. Doolittle brought the Pixies a wider audience by countering every unusual turn with a moment of sweetness. Though Doolittle's sound is cleaner and smoother than the Pixies' earlier albums, there are still plenty of weird, abrasive vignettes: the blankly psychotic "There Goes My Gun," "Crackity Jones," a song about a crazy roommate Francis had in Puerto Rico, and the nihilistic finale "Gouge Away." The album's offbeat and dark subject material, featuring references to surrealism, Biblical violence, torture and death, contrasts with the clean production sound achieved by the newly hired producer Gil Norton. The band relocated to Carriage House Studios, a residential studio in Stamford, Connecticut, to oversee production and record further tracks. The prostitutes of "Mr. Grieves", "Tame", and "Hey" share space with the Biblical analogies of "Dead" and "Gouge Away". "Debaser" alludes to Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí's 1929 surrealist film Un Chien Andalou, and the lyric "slicing up eyeballs" refers to an early scene in the film. The Pixies never had a "hit" song in the traditional sense of the word. The band headed to the Boston recording studio Eden Sound, which at the time comprised a small room in the basement of a hair salon. An anthem that can never be forgotten by any fan of the Pixies. CAD 905 CD; CD). "Gouge Away" is represented by a picture of a spoon containing hair, laid across a woman's torso; a direct pictorial representation of heroin, with the spoon and the hair being horses. Rolling Stone, reviewing the album in July 1989, gave the album three and a half stars. Doolittle 's most ferocious moments, like "Dead," a visceral retelling of David and Bathsheba's … Norton spent a further two weeks in pre-production to familiarise himself with the Pixies' sound. Listen free to Pixies – Doolittle (Debaser, Tame and more). Pixies - Doolittle album review #23 Evaluated by Claude Lemaire. [67] John Murphy, Deal's husband at the time, later recalled that with Doolittle it "went from just all fun to work". Genres: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Noise Pop. [59] Q critic Peter Kane said that Doolittle's "carefully structured noise and straightforward rhythmic insistence makes perfect sense". However, with the help of college radio play of "Monkey Gone to Heaven", Doolittle eventually rose to number 98 and spent two weeks in the Top 100. The album itself reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart, an unexpected success for the band. The master tapes were then sent for final post-production later that month.[17]. Doolittle was the first album where Simon Larbalestier, the Pixies' cover photographer, and Vaughan Oliver, the band's cover artist, had access to the lyrics. Bickering and standoffs between the two marred the recording sessions and led to increased stress among the band members. He immediately sought to convince the band to sign to his label. Doolittle features an eclectic mix of musical styles. Rolling Stone, reviewing Doolittle again in 2002, gave the album a maximum score of five stars, remarking that it laid the "groundwork for Nineties rock". “Wave of Mutilation” has a chorus worthy of a power-pop classic, but it has a deceptively complicated arrangement, with swells in volume and tricky stops and starts. PIXIES have teamed up with Twickets as their official ticket re-seller. [10], Recording sessions for the album began on October 31, 1988, at Downtown Recorders in Boston, Massachusetts, at the time a professional 24-track studio. Doolittle was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1995. Throughout the States, helped by Elektra Records' major label status, retail displays were constructed for the record, and "Monkey Gone to Heaven", the first single from the album, was released to radio stations for inclusion on playlists. During the recordings, Norton advised Francis to alter several songs; a noted example being "There Goes My Gun" which was originally intended as a much faster Hüsker Dü-style song. [22] Francis wrote all the material for the album with the exception of "Silver", which he co-wrote with Kim Deal. Doolittle is an amazing sounding album, which is one of the things I love about the Pixies, it's just got a sound unlike any other band out there. The Pixies' arty, noisy weirdness mix with just enough hooks to produce gleefully demented singles like "Debaser," -- inspired by Bunuel's classic surrealist short Un Chien Andalou -- and "Wave of Mutilation," their surfy ode to driving a car into the sea. Try. [41][43] It was not the last single from the album: in 1997, "Debaser" was released as a single to promote the Death to the Pixies compilation. Eventually, Francis took Norton to a record store, where he handed him a copy of Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits, in which most of the songs are about two minutes long. The songs all run in a similar vain sound wise (not a bad thing by the way!) At the end of 2005, best estimates put total sales in America at between 800,000 and one million copies. [45], Following its release, Doolittle sold steadily in America, and broke sales of 100,000 after six months. Francis had no preference, although Ivo Watts-Russell, head of the band's label 4AD, wanted Norton to produce the next album. During this time Black Francis, the group's frontman and principal songwriter, began to write new material for a future album, with songs such as "Dead", "Hey", "Tame", and "There Goes My Gun" emerging through the course of the year. Producer Gil Norton's sonic sheen adds some polish, but Black Francis' tighter songwriting focuses the group's attack. [41] This chart placing was an unexpected success for the band as their previous two records, Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, had failed to reach as high on the British charts.[42]. (Available for shows in United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany & Spain). [65] PopMatters included it in their list of the "12 Essential 1980s Alternative Rock Albums" saying, "Doolittle, captured the musicians at the top of their game when it was released in 1989". Following their highly regarded but commercially unsuccessful 1988 album Surfer Rosa, the band embarked on a European tour with fellow Bostonians Throwing Muses, before beginning a tour of North American states. And Doolittle is also focused more on individual songs than that barrage of sound. [66], During the recording of Doolittle, tensions between Francis and Deal became visible to band members and the production team. Their Elektra debut, Doolittle, reins in the noise in favor of pop songcraft and accessibility. They are fantastically raw and all of the instruments are just sublime to listen to! But the album doesn't just refine the Pixies' sound; they also expand their range on the brooding, wannabe spaghetti western theme "Silver" and the strangely theatrical "Mr. Fellow alternative musician PJ Harvey was "in awe" of "I Bleed" and "Tame", and described Francis' writing as "amazing". [27] Francis' fascination with Biblical themes can be traced back to his teenage years; when he was twelve, he and his parents joined an evangelical church linked to the Assemblies of God. Versions of the newly composed songs were recorded during … [56] Ten years after the breakup, Doolittle was still selling between 500 and 1,000 copies a week; the reunion tour saw sales creep back up to 1,200 copies per week. Another of the album's main themes is environmental catastrophe. [35] The image "As Loud As Hell" shows "a ringing bell", with a set of teeth; this alludes to the line "it shakes my teeth" in the song "I Bleed". To many fans of the Pixies, Doolittle represents the very best in the alternative rock music made popular to a certain segment of the listening audience by American college radio. [70], A range of music magazines have since acclaimed Doolittle as one of the quintessential alternative rock albums of the 1980s. [30] "Crackity Jones" covers another offbeat subject; Francis' roommate in his student exchange trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico, who he described as a "weird psycho gay roommate".[31]. In October 2012, the Pixies convened to Rockfield Studios in Wales with longtime producer Gil Norton (who did Doolittle, Bossa Nova and Trompe Le Monde). [64] The Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha described Doolittle as less raw than Surfer Rosa but "more listenable" and "Here Comes Your Man" as a "classic pop record". In retrospect, album tracks such as "Debaser", "Monkey Gone to Heaven", and "Hey" are highly acclaimed by critics, while the album, along with debut LP Surfer Rosa, is often seen as the band's strongest work. The middle of 1993, two years after the band's last album, Trompe le Monde, saw sales average 1,200 copies per week. PIXIES - DOOLITTLE . [33] As well as lead vocals on "La La Love You", Lovering played bass guitar on "Silver", with Deal playing slide guitar; this arrangement did not occur again. 4AD, then a small British independent record label, held worldwide distribution rights to the Pixies, but did not have access to distribution outside of the United Kingdom; the band had had to import all its previous records from Europe. 4AD allowed the Pixies a budget of $40,000, excluding producer's fees. [34], During the recording sessions, Whore was discarded as a potential album title, after Oliver changed the cover artwork idea to a monkey and halo cover. [60] Doolittle appeared on several end-of-year "Best Album" lists; both Rolling Stone and The Village Voice placed the album tenth, and independent music magazines Sounds and Melody Maker both ranked the album as the second-best of the year. Pixies’ Doolittle at 30: How songs about suicide, psychopaths and mutilated eyeballs sparked a new rock generation. After 1988's brilliant but abrasive Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' sound couldn't get much more extreme. Released 17 April 1989 on 4AD (catalog no. [69], After they reconvened in 1990, Francis began to limit Deal's contributions to the band. NME also ranked the album highly, placing it fourth in their end-of-year list. [7], In mid-1988, the Pixies began to record demo sessions while on breaks from touring. Norton was hired as producer, with Stasium not even approached for the position. [13] Norton recruited Steve Haigler as mixing engineer, whom he had worked with at Fort Apache Studios. Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' 1988 full-length debut of skronked-out, surf-damaged punk-pop, was a revelation to just about everyone who heard it. [29] Ben Sisario points out that the album begins ("Debaser") and ends ("Gouge Away") with songs about violence being done to eyes. [58], Reaction to Doolittle was positive in general, with the album garnering praise from several major music publications. [60] Tim Rolston of The Daily Telegraph praised Doolittle as "a scintillating rock'n'roll album" and the Pixies' "finest half-hour so far". "[28], The sea and underwater themes of "Wave of Mutilation", which also feature in "Mr. Grieves" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven", are explorations of one arena for man's death and destruction. Doolittle brought the Pixies a wider audience by countering every unusual turn with a moment of sweetness. Genres: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock. It worked out pretty darned well.” Francis has clarified that he was thinking of the word "in the more traditional sense ... the operatic, biblical sense, ... as in the great whore of Babylon". 15 tracks (38:36). [21], The lyrical themes explored on Doolittle range from the surrealism of "Debaser", to the environmental catastrophe of "Monkey Gone to Heaven". This was a modest sum for a 1980s major label album; however, it quadrupled the amount spent on the band's previous album, Surfer Rosa. [32] Francis gave it to Lovering as a song to sing, "like a Ringo thing"; Lovering at first refused to sing, but Norton said that soon he was unable to "get him away from the microphone". perfect rating: 10/ A+ [sound/music]. That's how I write."[25]. "Walking with the Crustaceans" is a visual representation of the lyrics to "Wave of Mutilation". [12], Production and mixing began on November 28. As Francis put it: "On one hand, it's this big organic toilet. This background was to be an influence in Doolittle, where he referred to the Devil being "six" and God being "seven" in "Monkey Gone to Heaven". [59] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. "Hey" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven," on the other hand, stretch Francis' lyrical horizons: "Monkey"'s elliptical environmentalism and "Hey"'s twisted longing are the Pixies' versions of message songs and romantic ballads. I recently read an interview with the director David Lynch who said he had ideas and images but that he didn't know exactly what they meant. Doolittle has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, certified gold in 1995, and platinum in 2018 by the Recording Industry Association of America. [71] Doolittle has received a number of international accolades and is consistently noted as one of the best albums of the 1980s in any genre. All tracks were written by Black Francis, except where noted. [60] Time Out said that "Gil Norton's toy theatre production makes a drama out of what should have been a crisis". The songs all run in a similar vain sound wise (not a bad thing by the way!) Two songs on Doolittle are fashioned after Biblical stories: the story of David and Bathsheba in "Dead", and Samson and Delilah in "Gouge Away". NME writer Edwin Pouncey commented that "the songs on Doolittle have the power to make you literally jump out of your skin with excitement". So, on the 30th anniversary of Doolittle, we decided to pick apart the indie rock classic and come up with the most interesting of the stories that live within the walls of these songs. About Pixies. The Pixies' management sought international distribution; and while negotiations with Elektra and other record companies began in the third quarter of 1988, they were only completed just two weeks before Doolittle's release on April 2, 1989. Visit our official Twickets page HERE. The album has been cited as inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever. Account & Lists Sign in Account & Lists Returns & Orders. 1 + 1 = bran muffin." Doolittle, an Album by Pixies. "[26] "Monkey Gone to Heaven" is concerned with man's relationship to the divine, a theme shared with "Mr. Grieves". 5/5 2.) "Tame" is based on a three chord formula; including Joey Santiago's playing a "Hendrix chord" over the main bass progression. A 2003 poll of NME writers ranked Doolittle as the second-greatest album of all time,[2] Rolling Stone placed the album at 227 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"[3] and Pitchfork ranked it as the fourth best album of the 80s. ... To me, Surrealism is totally artificial. Doolittle is the sophomore effort from the Boston-based indie rock band The Pixies. [37], In the months following Surfer Rosa, the Pixies' management fielded calls from a number of labels. In 1989, Francis expressed his interest in surrealism and its influence on his songwriting method to The New York Times by stating "I got into avant-garde movies and Surrealism as an escape from reality. Max. Pixies' Doolittle Tribute Songs Download- Listen Pixies' Doolittle Tribute MP3 songs online free. Pixies released two singles from Doolittle, "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven", both of which were chart successes on the US chart for Modern Rock Tracks. [57] As of 2015, sales in the United States have exceeded 834,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The band had previously worked with Norton while recording the single version of "Gigantic" in May 1988. Rating: 100/100. While tracks such as "Tame" and "Crackity Jones" are fast and aggressive, and incorporate the band's trademark loud–quiet dynamic,[18] other songs such as "Silver", "I Bleed", and "Here Comes Your Man" reveal a quieter, slower and more melodic temperament. [4], Following their highly regarded but commercially unsuccessful 1988 album Surfer Rosa,[5] the band embarked on a European tour with fellow Bostonians Throwing Muses, before beginning a tour of North American states. Doolittle (1989) is a Studio album by Pixies. Pixies discography and songs: Music profile for Pixies, formed 1986. The sessions lasted three weeks, concluding on November 23,[11] with "nearly a song a day" being recorded. By early 1992, while the band were supporting U2 on their Zoo TV Tour, the album was selling 1,500 copies per week. [55], Some reviewers were more critical. He wrote and sang all the original material on the Pixies' two subsequent albums; 1990's Bossanova and 1991's Trompe le Monde (both produced by Norton and mixed by Haigler). Soon afterwards, the band announced that they were taking a break. Originally released on 4AD 905 (1989, April) Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissue MFSL 1-309 (2009) Rating: 8.0 / B+ (MoFi) Rating: 7.5 / B+ (4AD) Category: alternative / garage rock / noise pop . For fans to buy or re-sell their tickets at face value prices. Meanwhile, "Tame" and "I Bleed" continue the band's penchant for cryptic kink. 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