Pixies - Complete B-Sides: 1988–97 Review
Far from disposable scraps, Complete B-Sides: 1988–97 reveals just how effortlessly brilliant the Pixies were at their creative peak.
Twenty-five years after dismissing the Pixies’ forgotten tracks as mere scraps from their golden era, Complete B-Sides: 1988–97 reveals a band whose brilliance extended far beyond their celebrated albums.
Continuing with the band’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, the Pixies reissue their 2001 B-sides compilation. This version, superbly remastered from the original analogue tapes by longtime Pixies collaborator Kevin Vanbergen, now comes with six additional live tracks lifted from 1997’s Debaser EP. It will also be available for the first time on vinyl, complete with brand-new cover art designed by Chris Bigg, tastefully created in the style of his former collaborator, the late, great Vaughan Oliver, who defined much of the original Pixies design aesthetic.
I still have the original release of this album on CD, tucked away in a dusty old shoebox in the attic. Back in 2001, I was a huge Pixies fan and vividly remember the excitement of being able to hear a bunch of Pixies tracks I’d previously been denied access to. This was the pre-streaming age, when B-sides were only available on singles, and singles were pretty much only available while they were in the charts. I was mostly drawn to the Pixies’ heavier stuff after discovering them through bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth, so I was actually left a little disappointed by what I heard, dismissing these B-sides as a bit too light-hearted for my angsty teenage liking.
The liner notes contained “exclusive commentaries” on each song by Frank Black, and he seemed to agree. He offered positive appraisals for only a handful of tracks while barely affording a sentence or two for most of the others. My favourite remains his brief yet scathing opinion of ‘Manta Ray’ - “Did I mention this is a B-sides compilation?”
And so the album was relegated to the shoebox, and in the intervening years I haven’t really given it much thought. Reviewing this reissue seemed like a great opportunity to see if my youthful opinions still held true, or whether they’d aged worse than an old bottle of Lynx Africa resting beside a tattered copy of Nuts magazine.
And I can confidently say that both myself and Frank Black were wrong to be so dismissive.
Very wrong.
These B-sides were taken from the Pixies’ most prolific period, serving as a reminder that the band are so much more than the ‘loud quiet loud’ dynamic they’re famous for pioneering.
With the exception of a ferocious opening trio, Complete B-Sides: 1988–97 often leans into brighter, poppier and more playful territory, generally steering clear of the darker, more nihilistic themes that made it onto their albums.
Album opener ‘River Euphrates’ is a re-recorded version of the Surfer Rosa classic, now complete with Joey Santiago’s splendidly crunchy guitar solo. It’s the definitive version of a Pixies favourite, louder, heavier, longer and ultimately better than its predecessor.
‘Vamos’ also makes another welcome return, having previously appeared on both Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. This version is taken from their renowned 1988 Brixton Academy gig. Sung in a heady mix of English, broken Spanish and Puerto Rican slang, ‘Vamos’ could well be considered the most Pixies song of all Pixies songs. It’s the complete package - eerie guitars, hypnotic bass lines, thunderous drums and Frank Black screaming like a snared animal. And, of course, some of his finest rhyming couplets.
“We'll keep well bred, we'll stay well fed, we'll have our sons, they will be all well hung”. If you want someone to know what the Pixies are about, tell them to listen to ‘Vamos’.
‘In Heaven’ is taken from the same Brixton gig and is a genuinely terrifying cover of ‘The Lady in the Radiator’ song from David Lynch’s Eraserhead. ‘Manta Ray’, a catchy pop-punk number, isn’t anywhere near as bad as Frank Black suggests. ‘Weird At My School’ could have sat quite comfortably on Doolittle if it wasn’t for more unhinged Pixies classics like ‘Crackity Jones’, ‘Dead’ and ‘I Bleed’ relegating it to B-side status.
‘Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)’ is a slowed-down, dreamier and, dare I say it, better version of a Pixies staple. The song feels more comfortable when given space to breathe. You can almost smell the briny air as Frank Black reflects, “I've kissed mermaids, rode the El Nino, walked the sand with the crustaceans.”
The Kim Deal-led ‘Into the White’ is an undeniable Pixies classic, whereas the fantastic ‘Bailey’s Walk’ isn’t but definitely should be. The album dips in form slightly as it reaches its latter stages, but it remains packed with worthy additions to an already excellent compilation of songs. The thigh-slapping ‘Build High’ and the excellent ‘Santo’ are early Pixies gold, both written back in 1987 when the band were still in their infancy.
There’s also a handful of cover songs, with the highlight being a Spanish rendition of the Yardbirds’ ‘Evil Hearted You’. Only on a couple of occasions does the album stray into genuine B-side territory. The culprits being ‘The Thing’, which is essentially just the outro to Bossanova’s far superior ‘The Happening’, along with a fairly pointless instrumental version of ‘Letter to Memphis’. Fortunately, this isn’t enough to derail what remains an excellent listen from start to finish.
As mentioned earlier, this updated version also includes six bonus live tracks culled from two classic Pixies performances. ‘Planet of Sound’ and ‘Tame’ are taken from yet another Brixton Academy gig, this time from 1991, while ‘Debaser’, ‘Holiday Song’, ‘Cactus’ and ‘Nimrod’s Son’ come from their 1989 performance at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro. They’re a great addition, serving as a reminder that, as good as the Pixies were in the studio, they were even better live.
Pixies / Complete B-Sides: 1988–97 is a difficult album to review. It could be argued that many of the songs included here are more than worthy of their B-side status when placed alongside their album counterparts. But then again, most songs in existence would be relegated to the flip side when lined up next to the Pixies at the peak of their powers.
An average Pixies song is still a Pixies song, after all.
If you haven’t listened to the Pixies before, then this probably isn’t the best place to start. But if you’re already a fan, then this makes for essential listening. This is an incredible collection of songs, showcasing every facet of Frank Black’s songwriting during a period when the Pixies were operating at their creative peak.
Time to dust off that shoebox and see what else I was wrong about.