Stallion Alert! - Eric Drew Feldman

I actually know very little about Eric Drew Feldman. I always thought he was one of the main guys in Pere Ubu. He wasn't. But I do know one thing: when he teamed up with Frank Black, they made some great music together.

And for that, he is a stallion.

Some people might remember him as the hirsute dude who's not a member of the Pixies but is in their video for "Alec Eiffel." I'll always remember him as the trollish looking guy who manned the keyboards the first time I saw Frank Black live. He stood in the back like this mad scientist (I have a memory of him using computer discs, though that could be apocryphal), barely visible above his stack of machines. I realized that while FB was certainly heading into some new territory, branching out on his own, it was this guy who was responsible for a good part of his "new sound."

The Pixies sound different on Trompe Le Monde, their last album, and it's the keys. It's Eric Drew Feldman. Then, he went on to play on and co-produce Frank's first two (and best) solo records. If I really needed to explain to anyone why Teenager of the Year is FB's best solo work, not to mention my favorite record of all time, I would certainly say the songs. But I'm not sure if the songs would have been as good without the keyboards, the synths, and the arrangements. That's gotta be EDF, because he left, and Frank immediately lost something.

He came back, and Frank got better. It can't be a coincidence. I'll always like Frank Black when he's doing the straightforward guitar rock thing, because he does it as well as anyone. But I've realized that my favorite music he's ever made has been the stuff that's laced with those sweet keys.

So here's to you, Eric Drew Feldman. You are a stallion, and one of my favorite names to see jumping out at me in liner notes.

Frank Black - 93-03 (2xCD, 2007)

Yep, I'm a completist.

The record companies know that there are plenty of people like me out there, too. That's why, when they decide to release a "best of" compilation, they don't just throw together a collection of previously released tracks. No. Because I already have all those, and I'd have no use for it. So, they make it a double-discer and tack on a short live set, knowing that fanboys like me will be forced to scoop it up. And scoop, I did. This was, however, another one that I waited to find used. I mean, I'll pay eight bucks for it, but fourteen? No way. That just wouldn't make sense.

These are the sad rationalizations that I make to myself. It's a struggle.

I was curious to see what they would put on a collection like this, because aside from "Los Angeles" and "Headache," which were very minor radio hits for ol' FB, it's not like he had a ton of widely popular tracks to choose from. So, they did pretty much what I would have done: the first twelve tracks are from his first three albums; the last ten are from the other six. Teenager of the Year is wisely represented with more songs than any of his other albums, though distilling the 22 tracks there down to five leaves a lot of good stuff out.

Heck, distilling that many songs from that many albums down to the 22 songs on this collection just isn't fair. But, they're sequenced chronologically (good), all of his pre-Honeycomb records are represented (good), and it makes for a decent overview of his post-Pixies output (good). So, while I would hesitate to recommend to anyone that this would be a good place to start with Frank Black, I think the folks who put this together did their job.

The bonus live disc is full-band style, so after the live acoustic stuff that was on Christmass, it's not overkill. Plus, it features a really random collection of songs, though it is odd that "Ten Percenter" is the only song represented on both discs. Still, the track listing is bound to make the harder-core fans happy. It worked on me. If you're going to put some live tracks on a disc like this, might as well make 'em ones that some of us don't already have recordings of.

With as much output as FB had during the decade encompassed here, like I said, it's near impossible to really get all the good stuff on one disc. I don't have any major qualms with this one (both "Calistan" and "Speedy Marie" are here), but I could find some if I tried. But I won't. But, if you want a really good introduction to Frank Black, just buy either his eponymous debut or Teenager of the Year.

If you need more after that, I'll make you a mix. If you ask real nice.

"Los Angeles"

Frank Black - Christmass (CD/DVD, 2006)

I feel like I used to know the whole story behind this one, but now I can't remember it. It was released right before Christmas, so I guess that explains the title.

It's an odd compilation: a collection of studio tracks ("studio" being a loose term here) and live songs, some new, some previously released. There's twenty tracks; I think seven of 'em are new ones, or at least aren't available anywhere else. Of those seven, five are studio recordings, and two are live. And six of the seven are credited to Black Francis in the liner notes, while all the other songs (aside from "Cactus," "Wave of Mutilation" and "Where Is My Mind," which are all Pixies songs) are said to have been written by Frank Black. So, there's some weirdness there. It would make more sense when he would release a Black Francis album shortly after this.

The studio tracks here were recorded on the road, starting in hotel rooms and maybe ending up in a studio for some overdubs. They don't sound shoddy, in fact, the new stuff here is great. The new and more formally recorded songs are interspersed with live tracks from various shows in 2006, all just Frank doing it solo style. They're fine enough, the recordings are actually pretty good, and the songs are a mix of really old and (mostly) really new. I love the Pixies, but I could probably never hear "Where Is My Mind?" again and be OK with it. When FB started working the Pixies stuff back into his live shows, I was disappointed (I'm a purist, people!), and when I realized he would only be playing about three of their songs (the three here), I became even more disappointed. The version of "Cactus" on this one is ultra-weak: Frank's sleepwalking through it and you can hear the drunkies singing along. No good.

But, this album is worth owning for the new tracks and the accompanying DVD. The CD starts off with "(Do What You Want) Gyaneshwar," a song that is, right off the bat, catchier than anything on his previous two records. The next studio cut is "She's My Way," a song that starts off like it's just going to be Frank and his guitar, but about a minute in, a string section kicks in. Not something normally heard on his cuts. It works. "Demon Girl" is another great one that sounds like an attempt at some 50's sounding pop/soul. In that format, the corny title works perfectly. "Radio Lizards" is easily the oddest of all FB's properly recorded material. Completely a cappella, the track is thick with nothing but harmony. And it's a nice little number.

The DVD that comes with it is a two-camera shoot of Frank and his guitar, doing 13 tracks at a small live show in Sacramento, sometime in 2006. I wouldn't make anyone who's not a fan sit through it, but I think it's great. Some good banter, and a career-spanning set.

I forgot how much I like this little collection.

"(Do What You Want) Gyaneshwar"

Frank Black - Fast Man Raider Man (2xCD, 2006)

This is easily the Frank Black album I have listened to the least. Why, do you ask? First off, it's one of his newer ones, and on top of that, I put off buying it until I found it used. After Honeycomb, and after finding out this was basically more of the same, I was hesitant. I knew I'd still pick it up, I just wasn't in a hurry. Also, it's a double album, so there's just more music to listen to. That is an incredibly lame excuse, and I feel like an ass for even saying that. Don't judge me. In fact, forget I typed that.

Anyway, I have listened to it, just not enough to feel like I can make any huge statements about it. It is a lot like Honeycomb, but the sound is generally bigger and Frank seems a bit more confident with the vocals. The whole thing sounds more confident, and just more put-together. So that's not a bad thing. But since I didn't really like Honeycomb all that much, this one isn't one of my favorites, either. There are some good songs, but I never listened to Frank Black to hear this kind of stuff. So, one album is a nice departure, following it with a double CD of more of the same is also fine, just not something I'm going to force myself to enjoy when, in my heart of hearts, I really don't.

So that's my admission of guilt, truth, whatever you want to call it. Good for him for making a collection like this, but I'm not going to act like I ever go straight to this CD when I'm clicking through my iPod. At the same time, I've put it on when I'm just hanging around, and I never feel the need to yank it from the CD player. So really, it's one of those albums. It's there. It's nice, and it's there.

And it will always be there, sitting on my shelf with all my other FB CDs. Speaking of, I'm glad I'm not including singles in this first go-round. We'd be spending the next month on this guy...

"I'm Not Dead (I'm In Pittsburgh)"

Frank Black - Honeycomb (CD, 2005)

I mentioned in earlier entries that the change in Frank Black's approach to his music (namely the addition of pedal steel and his penchant for traditional structures) was leading to something.

This is it.

I don't know if the Pixies reunion had garnered him enough cash to finally pull off a project like this, or if it was just a random idea that turned into a full album...who knows. What we do know is that FB headed to Nashville, hired a bunch of session dudes, and made a polished album that, while a nice change from the two track recordings he did with the Catholics, feels slightly self-indulgent and isn't that fun to listen to. I'll go to the wall for Frank, but this one was pushing it. I've listened to this album quite a bit, and I've found some things that I like about it, but it will never be one of the first ones I reach for when diving into his catalog. Still, it's certainly not all bad.

"I Burn Today" was a song that I latched onto early on with this record, but I lost interest in it pretty quick. I still enjoy "Lone Child" and "Dark End of the Street," but that one's a cover. I don't know, the songs are slick, Frank's vocals aren't super great for this type of music, and the whole thing just seems to trudge along. Of course, he was out on the road playing songs he vowed to never play again, so this was probably a nice change for him. And I'm sure playing with seasoned session musicians was a welcome treat after sharing a stage with Kim Deal for weeks on end. Who knows.

I'll put this one on for some pleasant background music, but I hate to relegate a Frank Black album to that duty. So this one hurts me a little bit. But, the dude's got nothing to prove. Let him have some fun. There's always some winners in there if you take the time.

"I Burn Today"

Frank Black and the Catholics - Show Me Your Tears (LP, 2003)

Even after releasing two albums in 2002, FB and the C's were right back with another record in 2003. So, there was hardly time for anything to change, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I've mentioned that they got better and better with the live-to-two-track recording method as the records kept coming, and this is no exception. With the first two Catholics albums, you could tell there was something raw about the recording. By this point, an untrained ear wouldn't suspect a thing. It allowed them to add more guitars and organs and feel confident they wouldn't be lost in the mix. Or so my theory goes.

This record is as twangy as the three that preceded it, and the use of pedal steel and organ had become so commonplace that it no longer seemed like "The New Frank Black Sound," it just was what it was. This record in particular benefits from it, as the melodies are more defined and memorable, and the little licks that echo them really drive the point home.

"Nadine" is the lead track on the album and was considered one of the singles, though I'm not sure why. It's a fine song, but it's more reminiscent of "The Marsist" from The Cult of Ray than anything on this record. Still, a good song, and any full-on rock was welcome during this period. The other single, and in my opinion, the better song, was "Everything Is New," a great little number that embraces some of the twang but is built around a melody that is anything but standard Americana fare. It's a morose narrative that keeps coming back to a whisper-sweet chorus-a great combination.

The remainder of the album keeps with the same formula. The songs are good, but tracks like "When Will Happiness Find Me Again?" and "This Old Heartache" were tough for me to get behind at first. To see an artist who had been so iconoclastic in the past starting to lean on derivative ideas...it was frustrating. By stepping back from the album and letting it sit for a while, I've been able to go back and rediscover some of the great songs here without risking them getting lost in the rest of his prolific output of the era.

I recently found it on vinyl (thank you Ranch Records of Salem!) and it's helped heal any wounds that I may have been carrying due to my increasingly acerbic disposition. I'm constantly moving towards a better me. I tell myself the slabs of wax help me.

"Goodbye Lorraine"

Frank Black and the Catholics - Devil's Workshop (CD, 2002)

The second of the two albums released simultaneously in 2002, this one is about half as long as Black Letter Days, but otherwise feels about the same. Why these records weren't divided more equally, I don't know. It doesn't really matter, but for me, it makes this one seem like more of an afterthought to the other. The songs aren't quite as strong, but it's still a good little collection.

The albums starts unexpectedly with "Velvety," a song that the Pixies played as an instrumental years earlier. It's restructured here with vocals, and works surprisingly well. The original electric guitars are toned down with acoustics and give the track a much more melodic feel. Obviously, the vocals help in that respect, too. "The Modern Age," a track that had popped up as one of the "Kitchen Tape" songs from the import edition of The Black Sessions is given a proper go-round here, and it works well enough. But again, it makes this collection feel like it might be stuff that he wasn't sure about including on the other release.

"San Antonio, TX" is one of my favorites on this one, a fast-paced number that starts with some chaos and eases into a sweet melody that is accented by some even sweeter guitar licks. "The Scene" is another good one, a distortion-heavy short-but-sweet rocker that keeps it bitter and a little dark. It's followed by a song that keeps with some of the traditional sounding stuff from its sister disc, but stays with the heavy feel of this album, "Whiskey In Your Shoes," a track that lives up to its great title.

The whole thing ends with "Fields of Marigold," and it seems to consciously wrap it all up:

"Goodbye, I'm blowing a kiss to you
So long, wonderful being you
Goodnight, we'll soon be sleeping on the Fields of Marigold"

It's a big sing-along chorus that probably wouldn't work well any other place on either album, but it's good for some closure here. The whole band seems like they're barreling towards the end, and while it's a very un-FB-ish cut, it serves a purpose in this instance.

And if you listen to these two in a row, it wraps up what is a very long set of some great music. Maybe a little too much to handle all at once? Maybe. But not really. I was listening to this while driving on the freeway today and it was a solid soundtrack. So, you know, road trip it if you have to.

"Whiskey In Your Shoes"