Albums Revisited: Pixies ‘Doolittle’ Turns 25; a look back at an album that shaped 90’s alternative rock.
On April 18th, the Pixies album ‘Doolittle’ celebrates its 25th anniversary.
While only a modest success upon its release in 1989, it has become legendary in indie and alternative rock circles for its influence on many iconic bands that followed.
Expanding on the quiet-loud-quiet dynamic of the band’s début album ‘Surfer Rosa’, ‘Doolittle’ saw the band tempering their buzzsaw sound with poppier elements. Their hit single ‘Here Comes Your Man’, showed a Beach Boys influence, and ‘This Monkey’s Gone To Heaven’ showed a much more ornate, and gentle sound.
But ‘Doolittle’ could still rock, whether on the manic ‘Tame’ featuring Black Francis’s frightening howl tempered by the cooing backing vocals of bassist Kim Deal, or the feel good fuzz bath of ‘Debaser.’
Much of the expansive sound came capable of producer Gil Norton, who gave a bit more polished, spacious sound as compared to the sparse tone of ‘Surfer Rosa.’ The songs feel more thought out and arranged, and allow the schizoid transitions to have more impact, such as the sinister sex anthem ‘Gouge Away.’
The interplay between Deal’s basslines and Joey Santiago’s guitar stabs were gloriously harmonious and Francis’s crazed narratives had a tactile snap. Unfortunately, their inter-personal relationships were declining in disproportion to musical progress. Deal and Black became more combative, as noted by Pixies biography ‘Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies‘, where Francis (real name: Charles Thompson) stated that band relationships were ‘as cold as ice.’
Deal noted that he chucked a guitar at her when he thought she was slacking at a gig. Their relationship would continue declining on follow-up albums ‘Bossanova’ and ‘Trompe le Monde’ and they broke up in 1993. And apparently the rift between the two never fully healed even after the band reformed, as she exited again last year (they’re currently touring with bassist Paz Lenchantin).
‘Doolittle’ broke big in the U.K. but more moderately in the U.S. where it took until 1995 to turn gold, but it’s impact amongst burgeoning musicians was huge. P.J. Harvey, and Smashing Pumpkins both praised them as influences, but their biggest impact would be upon Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. He was inspired by the loud-soft dynamic. Or as he put it “I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies.”The rest is history of course.
The Pixies have a new album coming up called ‘Indie Cindy.’ It’ll be released on April 28th, and will again be produced by Norton. Thus far, reviews have been mixed at best. ‘Doolittle’ remains a cultural landmark due to its time period and influence, and 21st century music just doesn’t have that same generational reach.
It proved that a band that looked like regular schlubs could sound like rock stars, albeit odd rock stars that marched to their own beat, in their own weird way. That would become modus operandi for alternative culture, and one which all future Pixies albums will be compared to. Personally? I like ‘Bossanova’ a bunch,and I think ‘Trompe Le Monde’ is criminally underrated. But ‘Doolittle’ was a musical blueprint to do a lot with a little (excuse the pun) and it still rewards eardrums 25 years later.
Click here to see where ‘Trompe Le Monde’ ranks on my list of Most Underrated Alternative Albums
Do you have any fond memories of ‘Doolittle’ on its 25th anniversary? Tell us in the comments.
Want to own ‘Doolittle’ on Amazon or iTunes? Follow the links below.
And click here for our full Albums Revisited series, covering iconic alt-rock albums of the 80’s and 90’s.
[amazon_image id=”B000065PUE” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Doolittle[/amazon_image]
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