Frank Black is the debut solo album by American alternative rock musician Frank Black. The album was recorded in 1992 and released on March 8, 1993, via 4AD and Elektra Records, after the breakup of Black's band Pixies.
The album is similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' last album prior to their 1993 breakup, Trompe le Monde. Frank Black is characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction. Two singles from the album--"Los Angeles" and "Hang On to Your Ego"--were released in 1993; both reached the top ten of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The song "I Heard Ramona Sing" is featured in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as its soundtrack. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Black_(album)
~~~~~~~~~~
If the truth be told "Frank Black" was not the runaway success that many had predicted. Notices and sales were respectable - healthy, even - but the record did not immediately rival those of the Pixies in the affections of the band's fans. Charles remained as prolific a songwriter as ever, though, and he quickly set to work on a follow-up release, the sprawling, euphoric and - as has become clearer with the passing of time - very, very good Teenager Of The Year.
Again, Thompson was induced to put pen to paper and write about the genesis of the record, which he did, obliquely :
"Joey Ramone insisted that I perform in the opening slot of their US 'Acid Eaters Tour', and, well, how do I resist the Ramones? And so I am writing this in St. Louis, Missouri, where we are once again building up calluses and ear wax for what is beyond "Acid Eaters". I am joined onstage by the players from the new album, Eric Feldman, Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman (Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish). Lyle is working out well, even mastering those psycho solos from the record that were played by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper; Feldman is an excellent bassist, and fortunately his keyboards, though missed, are not necessary. We are lucky Vincent has found time away from his grueling schedule with Gloria Loring. So, I am at St. Louis, but this is where I've been...
To a time before the Kong(TM) video game, that moment of Pong, the first simulated ball in the machine, the end of something and the beginning of something else. I was there with my brother. And under the sea where angry beings think their thoughts. To plains of abstraction, between frames and beyond canvas. And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner. I almost saw the lost Mars probe of '93, and became lonely when I feared there was only sky. I found the girl who moves through the calendar of light and I wrote one of those sonnets; she soothed my aching head which had counted slowly backward the rings of trees, searching, and raced forward to the time of one tree - searching - stopping finally in the now. I thanked Gene Chandler, Otis Blackwell and Del Shannon; and then I rocked. I rocked in the face of record store advisors, who could not. I plead the case of the Three Stooges in the Culture Court. I saw the probe, long after the last trace of humankind had slowly vanished; it was moving on still, operating perfectly, as its creators intended. And of course, to Los Angeles, when William Mulholland brought the water, and with water still running, Mr Bradbury hoped. I stared into television, and I stared into the desert at something that did not frighten me. The scheming behemoth sought salt and I found my love and she found me and we slept as we had slept throughout eternity. I imitated Bob Dylan, and why not? I sang about the days of Martian terraformation, of 2016 and catapults along the Pacific equator. I sang about Telstar and when they put billboards in orbit. I wondered why the truck drivers wouldn't talk to me, why the Sci-Fi Channel took The Invaders out of its latest rotation. And I declare to all of you to look up and behold that pie in the sky.
Hope you enjoy the record."
Sure enough, Teenager Of The Year was a multicoloured, sci-fi symphony, a double album bold in conception and executed with maverick panache. But sadly it was to be the last record that Charles / Frank would make for 4AD. He continued to record and tour as Frank Black, releasing a string of solo albums through the 1990s and into the 21st Century. The two 4AD solo records remain overshadowed by the Pixes catalogue - but this is an injustice which time is slowly rectifying. If you haven't already, dive in - and discover a strange world of full-blooded, wigged out rock music, made by a man who remains the most distinctive and celebrated songwriter of his generation.
show less
The album is similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' last album prior to their 1993 breakup, Trompe le Monde. Frank Black is characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction. Two singles from the album--"Los Angeles" and "Hang On to Your Ego"--were released in 1993; both reached the top ten of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The song "I Heard Ramona Sing" is featured in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as its soundtrack. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Black_(album)
~~~~~~~~~~
If the truth be told "Frank Black" was not the runaway success that many had predicted. Notices and sales were respectable - healthy, even - but the record did not immediately rival those of the Pixies in the affections of the band's fans. Charles remained as prolific a songwriter as ever, though, and he quickly set to work on a follow-up release, the sprawling, euphoric and - as has become clearer with the passing of time - very, very good Teenager Of The Year.
Again, Thompson was induced to put pen to paper and write about the genesis of the record, which he did, obliquely :
"Joey Ramone insisted that I perform in the opening slot of their US 'Acid Eaters Tour', and, well, how do I resist the Ramones? And so I am writing this in St. Louis, Missouri, where we are once again building up calluses and ear wax for what is beyond "Acid Eaters". I am joined onstage by the players from the new album, Eric Feldman, Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman (Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish). Lyle is working out well, even mastering those psycho solos from the record that were played by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper; Feldman is an excellent bassist, and fortunately his keyboards, though missed, are not necessary. We are lucky Vincent has found time away from his grueling schedule with Gloria Loring. So, I am at St. Louis, but this is where I've been...
To a time before the Kong(TM) video game, that moment of Pong, the first simulated ball in the machine, the end of something and the beginning of something else. I was there with my brother. And under the sea where angry beings think their thoughts. To plains of abstraction, between frames and beyond canvas. And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner. I almost saw the lost Mars probe of '93, and became lonely when I feared there was only sky. I found the girl who moves through the calendar of light and I wrote one of those sonnets; she soothed my aching head which had counted slowly backward the rings of trees, searching, and raced forward to the time of one tree - searching - stopping finally in the now. I thanked Gene Chandler, Otis Blackwell and Del Shannon; and then I rocked. I rocked in the face of record store advisors, who could not. I plead the case of the Three Stooges in the Culture Court. I saw the probe, long after the last trace of humankind had slowly vanished; it was moving on still, operating perfectly, as its creators intended. And of course, to Los Angeles, when William Mulholland brought the water, and with water still running, Mr Bradbury hoped. I stared into television, and I stared into the desert at something that did not frighten me. The scheming behemoth sought salt and I found my love and she found me and we slept as we had slept throughout eternity. I imitated Bob Dylan, and why not? I sang about the days of Martian terraformation, of 2016 and catapults along the Pacific equator. I sang about Telstar and when they put billboards in orbit. I wondered why the truck drivers wouldn't talk to me, why the Sci-Fi Channel took The Invaders out of its latest rotation. And I declare to all of you to look up and behold that pie in the sky.
Hope you enjoy the record."
Sure enough, Teenager Of The Year was a multicoloured, sci-fi symphony, a double album bold in conception and executed with maverick panache. But sadly it was to be the last record that Charles / Frank would make for 4AD. He continued to record and tour as Frank Black, releasing a string of solo albums through the 1990s and into the 21st Century. The two 4AD solo records remain overshadowed by the Pixes catalogue - but this is an injustice which time is slowly rectifying. If you haven't already, dive in - and discover a strange world of full-blooded, wigged out rock music, made by a man who remains the most distinctive and celebrated songwriter of his generation.
Frank Black is the debut solo album by American alternative rock musician Frank Black. The album was recorded in 1992 and released on March 8, 1993, via 4AD and Elektra Records, after the breakup of Black's band Pixies.
The album is similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' last album prior to their 1993 breakup, Trompe le Monde. Frank Black is characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction. Two singles from the album--"Los Angeles" and "Hang On to Your Ego"--were released in 1993; both reached the top ten of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The song "I Heard Ramona Sing" is featured in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as its soundtrack. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Black_(album)
~~~~~~~~~~
If the truth be told "Frank Black" was not the runaway success that many had predicted. Notices and sales were respectable - healthy, even - but the record did not immediately rival those of the Pixies in the affections of the band's fans. Charles remained as prolific a songwriter as ever, though, and he quickly set to work on a follow-up release, the sprawling, euphoric and - as has become clearer with the passing of time - very, very good Teenager Of The Year.
Again, Thompson was induced to put pen to paper and write about the genesis of the record, which he did, obliquely :
"Joey Ramone insisted that I perform in the opening slot of their US 'Acid Eaters Tour', and, well, how do I resist the Ramones? And so I am writing this in St. Louis, Missouri, where we are once again building up calluses and ear wax for what is beyond "Acid Eaters". I am joined onstage by the players from the new album, Eric Feldman, Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman (Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish). Lyle is working out well, even mastering those psycho solos from the record that were played by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper; Feldman is an excellent bassist, and fortunately his keyboards, though missed, are not necessary. We are lucky Vincent has found time away from his grueling schedule with Gloria Loring. So, I am at St. Louis, but this is where I've been...
To a time before the Kong(TM) video game, that moment of Pong, the first simulated ball in the machine, the end of something and the beginning of something else. I was there with my brother. And under the sea where angry beings think their thoughts. To plains of abstraction, between frames and beyond canvas. And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner. I almost saw the lost Mars probe of '93, and became lonely when I feared there was only sky. I found the girl who moves through the calendar of light and I wrote one of those sonnets; she soothed my aching head which had counted slowly backward the rings of trees, searching, and raced forward to the time of one tree - searching - stopping finally in the now. I thanked Gene Chandler, Otis Blackwell and Del Shannon; and then I rocked. I rocked in the face of record store advisors, who could not. I plead the case of the Three Stooges in the Culture Court. I saw the probe, long after the last trace of humankind had slowly vanished; it was moving on still, operating perfectly, as its creators intended. And of course, to Los Angeles, when William Mulholland brought the water, and with water still running, Mr Bradbury hoped. I stared into television, and I stared into the desert at something that did not frighten me. The scheming behemoth sought salt and I found my love and she found me and we slept as we had slept throughout eternity. I imitated Bob Dylan, and why not? I sang about the days of Martian terraformation, of 2016 and catapults along the Pacific equator. I sang about Telstar and when they put billboards in orbit. I wondered why the truck drivers wouldn't talk to me, why the Sci-Fi Channel took The Invaders out of its latest rotation. And I declare to all of you to look up and behold that pie in the sky.
Hope you enjoy the record."
Sure enough, Teenager Of The Year was a multicoloured, sci-fi symphony, a double album bold in conception and executed with maverick panache. But sadly it was to be the last record that Charles / Frank would make for 4AD. He continued to record and tour as Frank Black, releasing a string of solo albums through the 1990s and into the 21st Century. The two 4AD solo records remain overshadowed by the Pixes catalogue - but this is an injustice which time is slowly rectifying. If you haven't already, dive in - and discover a strange world of full-blooded, wigged out rock music, made by a man who remains the most distinctive and celebrated songwriter of his generation.
read more
The album is similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' last album prior to their 1993 breakup, Trompe le Monde. Frank Black is characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction. Two singles from the album--"Los Angeles" and "Hang On to Your Ego"--were released in 1993; both reached the top ten of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
The song "I Heard Ramona Sing" is featured in the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, as well as its soundtrack. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Black_(album)
~~~~~~~~~~
If the truth be told "Frank Black" was not the runaway success that many had predicted. Notices and sales were respectable - healthy, even - but the record did not immediately rival those of the Pixies in the affections of the band's fans. Charles remained as prolific a songwriter as ever, though, and he quickly set to work on a follow-up release, the sprawling, euphoric and - as has become clearer with the passing of time - very, very good Teenager Of The Year.
Again, Thompson was induced to put pen to paper and write about the genesis of the record, which he did, obliquely :
"Joey Ramone insisted that I perform in the opening slot of their US 'Acid Eaters Tour', and, well, how do I resist the Ramones? And so I am writing this in St. Louis, Missouri, where we are once again building up calluses and ear wax for what is beyond "Acid Eaters". I am joined onstage by the players from the new album, Eric Feldman, Nick Vincent and Lyle Workman (Todd Rundgren, Jellyfish). Lyle is working out well, even mastering those psycho solos from the record that were played by Joey Santiago and Moris Tepper; Feldman is an excellent bassist, and fortunately his keyboards, though missed, are not necessary. We are lucky Vincent has found time away from his grueling schedule with Gloria Loring. So, I am at St. Louis, but this is where I've been...
To a time before the Kong(TM) video game, that moment of Pong, the first simulated ball in the machine, the end of something and the beginning of something else. I was there with my brother. And under the sea where angry beings think their thoughts. To plains of abstraction, between frames and beyond canvas. And through the layers of California, from pre-Navajo (as the Spaniards said) all the way to a time found somewhere between now and Blade Runner. I almost saw the lost Mars probe of '93, and became lonely when I feared there was only sky. I found the girl who moves through the calendar of light and I wrote one of those sonnets; she soothed my aching head which had counted slowly backward the rings of trees, searching, and raced forward to the time of one tree - searching - stopping finally in the now. I thanked Gene Chandler, Otis Blackwell and Del Shannon; and then I rocked. I rocked in the face of record store advisors, who could not. I plead the case of the Three Stooges in the Culture Court. I saw the probe, long after the last trace of humankind had slowly vanished; it was moving on still, operating perfectly, as its creators intended. And of course, to Los Angeles, when William Mulholland brought the water, and with water still running, Mr Bradbury hoped. I stared into television, and I stared into the desert at something that did not frighten me. The scheming behemoth sought salt and I found my love and she found me and we slept as we had slept throughout eternity. I imitated Bob Dylan, and why not? I sang about the days of Martian terraformation, of 2016 and catapults along the Pacific equator. I sang about Telstar and when they put billboards in orbit. I wondered why the truck drivers wouldn't talk to me, why the Sci-Fi Channel took The Invaders out of its latest rotation. And I declare to all of you to look up and behold that pie in the sky.
Hope you enjoy the record."
Sure enough, Teenager Of The Year was a multicoloured, sci-fi symphony, a double album bold in conception and executed with maverick panache. But sadly it was to be the last record that Charles / Frank would make for 4AD. He continued to record and tour as Frank Black, releasing a string of solo albums through the 1990s and into the 21st Century. The two 4AD solo records remain overshadowed by the Pixes catalogue - but this is an injustice which time is slowly rectifying. If you haven't already, dive in - and discover a strange world of full-blooded, wigged out rock music, made by a man who remains the most distinctive and celebrated songwriter of his generation.
show less
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