hellfudge's Full Review: Surfer Rosa by The Pixies
Surfer Rosa was the first full-length release by the Pixies. The legend states that Black Frances, after spending some time stranded in South America, returned to Boston and started a band. Needing a bass player and drummer to round out the lineup, Frances and guitarist Joey Santiago put an ad in the paper seeking musicians who were into "Peter, Paul and Mary and Husker Du". Supposedly only Kim Deal answered the ad and later brought in drummer David Lovering.
The combination proved to be nothing short of incredible. Frances' untamed and eccentric vocals were kept musical by Deal's amazingly controlled and beautiful backup singing. Instrumentally, they followed the same formula. Deal and Lovering are undeniably musically solid, while Santiago possesses an uncanny ability to throw together a series of notes that by all rights should sound like a complete mess but somehow manage to sound perfect. And that is the magic of the Pixies - controlled chaos.
There is undoubtedly more Husker Du than Peter, Paul and Mary on Surfer Rosa. While every heavy metal band in the country was trying their damndest to be as loud and shocking as possible, the Pixies were leaving them all in the dust with "Something Against You" and "Broken Face".
But they didn't stop there. The bass-driven "Gigantic", fronted by Deal, is as catchy as anything the pop world was throwing out there at the time. "Where Is My Mind" and "Bone Machine" are two of the most representative songs of the Pixies' sound available, and both are brilliant.
Lyrically, the Pixies were "out there" as well. Frances often slips into Spanish during the middle of a song. And when he is singing in English, he's the king of disturbing visuals. "Bloody your hands on a cactus tree, wipe 'em on your dress and send it to me", he sings on "Cactus". "You buy me a soda and you try to molest me in a parking lot", accuses "Bone Machine". And even more disturbing is "Broken Face", in which "there was this boy who had two children with his sister, they were his daughters, they were his favorite lovers".
So, were the Pixies all shock and no substance? Not by any means. Rather, they were one of the pioneers that allowed such acts as Nine Inch Nails to make a career out of being "different". But the Pixies are far above anything NIN ever did. And trickier - they were masters at catchy pop, as their next record, Doolittle, would prove, and could rope in an unsuspecting listener with ease.
Surfer Rosa is not without its problems. The last few songs aren't instantly appealing, though they will grow on you if you give them the chance. But that's the nature of the Pixies. It took a few listens to really begin to appreciate and understand them, and I'm a much better person for it. OK, well at the very least I'm a much better music fan for it.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.