Amazon.co.uk allows you to pay for your items in your local currency. Restrictions apply. Learn More. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s
Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
view the MP3 Album.
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In theory, there was no reason why Frank Black, a.k.a. Black Francis, shouldn't have carried on making great records after he left the Pixies; after all, he wrote and sang almost all the songs. However, all truly great bands are more than the sum of their parts, and Black's solo career has served largely as a resounding confirmation of this truth. He has had his moments, but has never come close to the towering heights he scaled with his old band. Perhaps by way of grudgingly acknowledging this, Dog In The Sand finds Black enlisting Pixies' guitarist Joey Santiago for the first time in his solo career. Santiago, a dazzlingly inventive and versatile player, has been bewilderingly quiet since leaving the Pixies, and seems keen to make up for it here, deploying his full formidable range at various points. His contribution to what is certainly Black's best solo album is crucial, from the frenetic powerchords of "If It Takes All Night" to the subtle picking of "Robert Onion" to the exuberant solo of "Bullet". Now, if Black can only persuade Kim Deal and David Lovering to come out of retirement as well, he might really be onto something. --Andrew Mueller
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Most of the reviews i've read about this album have all mentioned the return of Joey Santiago (who only plays on two songs)to a Frank Black album as if it's the only thing that makes the record notable. Let's get it straight, this isn't a return to form, as some are saying because Frank has ALWAYS been on form. He hasn't released a bad record in his career, don't let the lack of interest from the critics fool you.
Anyway, this album is really good. It sounds different to his other albums because of the pianos, which feature on every song, but they're a welcome change. Bullet is my favourite song from the album and it's clear that Frank is still interested in the whole sci-fi thing but it's not such a huge part of the album like it has been previously. I don't think it's as good as the last Frank Black album ("Pistolero") but it's right up there with Franks best material, and that includes anything the Pixies recorded too. You're really missing out if you don't buy this record . I'd give it 4 and a half if the scoring system would allow it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the 10th album of Frank Black's (including his work in the Pixies) that i've listened to, so i'd say i have a fairly through knowledge of his work and would suggest that it's an LP that is probably the closest to his earlier albums since Frank Black became Frank Black and The Catholics. I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say it's his best solo album (that distinction probably belongs to his self-titled debut "Frank Black" or "Teenager of the year") but it is an album that exceeds the fairly evident limitations of The Catholics' style. The live to 2-track recording may be a part of the Catholics' centrally important raw and "realness" but it is also a limiting factor on the diversity of their records, and having been a big fan of the sonic detail and diversity of his highly-produced first two solo albums, i find the fact that they stick to this recording style a bit dissapointing. Nevertheless, Dog in the Sand by no means sounds under-produced or unprofessional and in fact, considering the Catholics' no-thrills policy, Nick Vincent and the Catholics have done a good job at spicing up the album - making it more of a Frank Black rock album, as opposed to the bar-room rock style that is usually more reflective of the Catholics' style . Highlights on the record include the opener "Blast off" which sounds - like the title suggests - other worldly, with an unexpected shift in gear to an anthemic riff and hook, that is reminiscent of "Los Angeles" from the album "Frank Black". "St Francis Dam Disaster" is a mournful lament, testament to the strengths the Catholics have that FB alone and with the Pixies never had: the ability to evoke images of great beauty and sadness. In Turn, the tracks "Robert Onion" "Stupid me" "Ill be blue" and "Dog in the sand" are highlights, and as seems to be the case with most Frank Black Lp's are tracks that rate next to the best of his work - not necessarily better or worse, but different, and all the better for it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Frank Black just keeps getting better. By far the most varied musical outing for the Catholics. Frank even lets his love of true country music seep through but it gets twisted along the way. Sound and production quality are amazing considering it's 2-track roots. This album is nearly on constant repeat in the car. Buy without hesitation
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Jumble Styles
There is a wide range of different styles in the tracks on this CD but overall I love the album to the point of having overplayed it so I'm getting a bit sick of involuntarily... Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. H. Havvas
About Joey Santiago...
I'd like to correct a few misconceptions about this album. Firstly, Joey Santiago has been on quite a few Frank Black albums prior to this one. It's not his return to the fold. Read more
Published on 29 April 2003
Black Is Back
It's true, this is by far the artist formerly known as Black Francis' best solo outing. In fact, the first half of Dog In The Sand features some of his best work since Doolittle,... Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2001 by knowledeayton
Frank Black reviewed by a Pixies fan.
I am writing this review for the Pixies fans and not the Frank Black ones!First of all let's clear something out : Frank Black WAS NOT the Pixies like some other reviewer says! Read more
Published on 5 Mar 2001
all this and two track too...
made like his last two outings with the catholics, on a two track. Once again this doesn't deter from any of the 'frankness' you've come to expect, and will leave many sound... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2001
Frank Black is the man, period!
It makes me extremely angry reading comments by cynical reviewers about Frank Black's solo work. Does Mueller actually think that because Joey Santiago played a few minor guitar... Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2001 by nicklawry@hotmail.com
3.5 to be accurate - welcome to the new Millennium
Frank & his compadres stare defiantly at you from the album sleeve, standing on the foundations of the buildings they have destroyed through an incendiary performance. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2001 by Marc Henrie
A big improvement
His first LP was great. 'Teenager Of The Year' definitely had its moments ('White Noise Maker', 'Headache' etc) and since then....well, patchy would be the fairest way to put it. Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2001 by "iangilroy"
Don't tell porkies!
With the greatest of respect you really should get someone who knows their facts before allowing Andrew Mueller anywhere near a review of Frank Black. Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2001 by freakymags@hotmail.com
Back on form
This is fantanstic - easily the best album Frank's done with the Catholics. It's so different from the last 2 albums...if you're a fan you'll love it. Frank is back on form!!
Published on 29 Dec 2000 by neil@syborn.demon.co.uk
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
