We've got a few topics on the Pixies, but none on former frontman Frank Black, whose recorded output as a solo artist far exceeds that of his former band. I've been on a bit of a solo-Frank kick lately and I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on Frank's best album or maybe an overlooked gem.

Question:
What's the best Frank Black album?

Choices:
Frank Black
Teenager of the Year
The Cult of Ray
Frank Black and the Catholics
Pistolero
Dog in the Sand
Black Letter Days
Devil's Workshop
Show Me Your Tears
Frank Black Francis
Honeycomb
Fast Man/Raider Man
Bluefinger

 

I voted for Teenager, but honestly I have enjoyed each and every release-- including Cult of Ray

I've been trying to revisit them all lately, but I'd say my most listened to his first album with the Catholics. I think that's the first FB album where he really reinvented himself and for once, he made it tough to draw comparisons to the Pixies.

Those first two '& the Catholics' records are really great-- even more so when you realize they were both recorded live to two track. Then he reinvented himself yet again with Dog in Sand, which I think is an under-appreciated gem of an album.

I haven't really delved into all of his albums but the ones I have heard, I like. Based on what I have heard, I would go with Teenager of the Year.

Eric, you got me on a Frank Black kick-- as if I needed prodding. Currently listening to Cult of Ray, "You Ain't Me"-- fantastic song.

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
Eric, you got me on a Frank Black kick-- as if I needed prodding. Currently listening to Cult of Ray, "You Ain't Me"-- fantastic song.

Maybe we should also compile a list of Frank's best songs. Looking at the tracklist for his recent greatest hits compilation, 93-03, I thought there was a lot of great tunes not included in favor of some ones that I didn't think were that essential.

I just glanced at the track listing. I'm probably in the minority, but I'll be the first to admit, I'm not crazy about "Los Angeles". It starts off really great, but it meanders a little too much for my taste. "Czar" is not one of my favorites from the first record either. I always loved "I Heard Ramona Sing" and it is unlike most anything else in his catalog. I like the other two picks from Frank Black, "Ten Percenter" and "Old Black Drawing." I might give this exercise a shot. It has to fit on an 80 minute CDR, right?

quote:

Originally posted by Maximum Jack:
I might give this exercise a shot. It has to fit on an 80 minute CDR, right?

I won't hold you to that, but it should be a fairly digestible list.

I haven't heard them all... only Teenager of the Year, Dog in the Sand, Show Me Your Tears, Bluefinger, and bits of Fastman Raiderman and Honeycomb... but for me it's Dog in the Sand no question. Easily one of my favorite CDs.

Unfortunately I only have three of the aforementioned albums. I will say that "Teenager of the Year" is an absolute corker that would be hard to top. The first two songs are both phenomenal punk staples. The whole album is interesting. It is a regular on my massive regular album rotation. I've wanted to get his first solo album for what seems like forever, as it would seem to be in the same vein as his most inspired work. He seems to have been fairly hit and miss more recently.

I voted Teenager. I pretty much gave up on Frank after Pistolero. It may sound pretty silly, but I found him tooprolific and my budget gave up.

I didn't actually appreciate his live to two-track phase. I love the layers of his first three albums. Are there any albums after Pistolero where he goes back to heavily producing his albums?

quote:

Originally posted by Claybay:
Are there any albums after Pistolero where he goes back to heavily producing his albums?

While I wouldn't say it's 'heavily produced' (a phrase that makes me wince), you should check out Dog in the Sand. It does feature more complex arrangements and some interesting instrument choices. Fair warning: This is not your older brother's Frank Black album. It is, however, the first album since Teenager to feature Joey Santiago and Eric Drew Feldmen.

I'm not as wild about Teenager of the Year as a lot of people. I think it has some stellar tracks ("Thallassocracy" and "Headache" to name two) but there's also a lot of fat.

I think my favorite Black period is the first three Catholics albums - Frank Black and the Catholics, Pistolero, and Dog in the Sand.

Some interesting trivia about the first Catholics album:

1. The tracks are sequenced in alphabetical order. It may seem odd, but I can't imagine a better opener than "All My Ghosts".

2. This was supposedly the first album by a major artist to be made available for legal download.

quote:

Originally posted by EricG75:
I think it has some stellar tracks ("Thallassocracy" and "Headache" to name two) but there's also a lot of fat.

Ouch. Of course I can always trim a double album, but that seems harsh. I'm uber-picky about what I keep on my iPod, and I still kept 14 of 22 tracks from Teenager.

Another interesting tidbit about the the first Catholics album: Stephen Thomas Erelewine's review in AMG solidified for me what a douchebag he is.

After much deliberation . . .

Don't Call Me Francis: The Best of Frank Black 1993-2006

01. "I Heard Ramona Sing" from FB
02. "Don't Ya Rile Em" from FB
03. "Headache" from TotY
04. "(I Want To Live On An) Abstract Plane" from TotY
05. "Pure Denizen" from TotY
06. "You Ain't Me" from CoR
07. "Men in Black" from CoR
08. "All My Ghosts" from FBatC
09. "Do You Feel Bad About It?" from FBatC
10. "Dog Gone" from FBatC
11. "I Think I'm Starting to Lose It" from P
12. "Billy Radcliffe" from P
13. "Bad Harmony" from P
14. "Pray a Little Faster" from Oddballs
15. "Blast Off" from DitS
16. "If It Takes All Night" from DitS
17. "Black Letter Days" from BLD
18. "Valentine & Garuda" from BLD
19. "Out of State" from DW
20. "San Antonio, TX" from DW
21. "Horrible Day" from SMYT
22. "Goodbye Lorraine" from SMYT
23. "Go Find Your Saint" from H
24. "Strange Goodbye" from H
25. "Elijah" from FMRM
26. "Dirty Old Town" from FMRM

Total Time: 1:18:55

I did pick one track from the Oddballs compilation, but I thought the Frank Black Francis comp was off limits.

Your missing most of my favorite songs. I guess that is a testament to Frank's career.

One of my favorite Frank tracks is "Thallassocracy" from TotY, and it was omitted from both MJ's and the official FB comp.

To me, that's a perfect little one and half minute punk song.

A couple other omissions are "You're Such A Wire" from Pistolero, which I think is Frank's first great country ballad, and DitS's "The Swimmer" which is an incredible tune that did at least get included on the live disc of 93-03.

quote:

Originally posted by EricG75:
"You're Such A Wire" from Pistolero, which I think is Frank's first great country ballad

One of my last cuts. Actually, I was tempted to do two discs, a rawk disc and a country disc a la Black Letter Days/Devil's Workshop.

I've been listening to Teenager of the Year a lot for the past week. In fact I'm listening to "Headache" right now. Man, this album is really good. The first 10 tracks, in my opinion, are nearly as good as anything Pixies ever did.