Customer Reviews

Pixies At The BBC

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

They gave us Death to the Pixies a double CD anthologyfrom the Boston quartet. This BBC session is live recordings taken from The John Peel Show in England between 1989-1991. There are 15 songs on offer here which of two are covers 'Wild Honey Pie and In Heaven'. The first song is as you may know is written by the Beatles and then a legendary filmmaker David Lynch writes the last song. The songs on this album are well recorded and have a powerful presence. If this is a first time glimpse at the Pixies for you the BBC sessions should be a great introduction to that the Pixies could do live with all there raw energy.

This is a live album, it is what it is, therefore don't expect this to add anything new to the old songs or take them in any new coherent direction. With that said however, I have to say that I much prefer this CD to the live Pixies DVD. Hey in particular is excellent (much better than when I actually saw it live incidentally) and I particularly like Levitate Me and In Heaven. Another reviewer seemed to object to the fact that some of the songs are a little fast and Kim's singing is a bit ropey in Down to the Well and I'll certainly agree that Down to the Well is probably the weakest of the songs here (my favourite version is on the purple tape) but this is a live album and you have to expect that. For a live recording the sound is great as far as I'm concerned and not only is this better than the Pixies DVD in giving you the experience of hearing the Pixies play live, but it also serves as, in my opinion, a much better compilation of some of the Pixies best songs than the official "best of" Death to the Pixies - most likely because the songs here were selected by the Pixies themselves and not by a record company based on their commercial value.

Firstly I'll get my only complaint about this dicc out of the way: at 35 minutes it is a little on the skimpy side. That aside this compilation highlights just what a fantastic band the Pixies were and indeed how superior they were to ANY of today's bands. If you found the songs on any of the studio albums a little rough and ready (especially on Doolittle) then the 15 songs on this cd are much more polished and sound amazing. I'd nearly buy this album on the strength of the song 'Hey' taken from Doolittle alone. On that album it doesn't stand out but here it's simply one of the best songs ever, SERIOUSLY! Songs like 'There Goes my Gun', 'Levitate Me' and 'Letter to Memphis' also sound spectacular here. I've absolutely no hesitation in recommending this cd, you'll love it.

Seminal, groundbreaking, influential, founders of a genre... You may have heard all this and more about the Pixies. You will have heard similar things about other bands, authors, whatever then bought the material and wondered what the fuss was about.

This is an album of recordings made "live" or one-off in sessions for BBC radio. The song selection and more particularly the song order could be described as eclectic at best. We start firmly in chainsaw guitar and screaming mode. This is the Pixies I guess but after a couple of songs we start to reach a tone more typical of the whole. That tone is one of thoughtful presentations and at times re-workings of some of the best known Pixies songs. The remarkable thing about these is that almost without exception they better the studio originals in honesty, life and even quality. Couple this with the fact in many places the selection is almost a "best of" and you can understand why I listen to this album as much as all the other Pixies albums put together.

Don't buy it because the Pixies are name checked and referenced repeatedly, buy it because you want to hear undated brilliance. They sound better "live" than "studio recorded" - surely passing an acid test of any great band.

All the irreverence and enjoyable experience of a fantastic 80's underground group joined in this special edition!!!! Of course I recommend, I always recommend Pixies Issues to all people!!!!Pixies always!

This showed some superior versions of songs seen elsewhere. It has more refinement then surfer rosa, which was a bit rough around the edges, but also more energy then doolittle, which seems a little duller in comparison.

being a big pixies fan i gave this cd a chance but i rate it lower than the b-sides album. the only track that's any better than the original versions is 'hey'.wild honey pie is ok first listen but rubbish after that.there goes my gun is faster but the singing in the chorus is annoying.all the tracks especially from doolittle sound better produced, more polished but arent an improvement.dead sounds like a prototype for the doolittle version.in down to the well kim sounds out of breath trying to do the backing vocals. wave of mutilation is almost as boring as the uk surf version, and should have been left alone.monkey is ok vocals sounding a bit different and hey is the only song worth getting this cd for.in heaven is rubbish as well.its not extremely bad just a bit pointless,a money making exercise.