Pixies

The Pixies' finest combines Black Francis' maniacal glee with pop structure and loads of deranged melodies. One of the great guitar albums of all time -- from the catharsis of "Tame" through the perfection of "Here Comes Your Man," the album never falters. Without it, rock in the '90s would have been drastically different.

Being picked up by a major la-bel apparently hasn't brought any peace to Pixies
singer-songwriter Black Francis. The same nightmares that inhabited the band's two
brilliant independent LPs, Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, are in evidence again on
Doolittle. That's disturbing for Black Francis but great for the rest of us. A quick look at the
song titles --- "Debaser," "Gouge Away," "Wave of Mutilation," "Dead," "I Bleed" --- i... More >

They're in love and they don't know why--with rock and roll, which is heartening in a time when so many college dropouts have lost touch with the verities. You can tell from the bruising riffs, the rousing choruses, the cute little bass melodies, the solid if changeable beat. But not from any words they sing. They'll improve in direct relation to their improved contact with the outside world. Getting famous too fast could ruin them. (Grade - B+)