Pixies at the BBC

by Pixies

Overview

Between 1988 and 1991, the Pixies performed six sessions at the BBC, playing on a variety of programs. For years, these sessions were hot bootleg items, especially since their first session for John Peel (on May 3, 1988) featured two otherwise unreleased covers -- the Beatles' "Wild Honey Pie" and "(In Heaven) Lady in the Radiator Song," from Eraserhead. It took Elektra/4AD until 1998 to release the six sessions, and when the 15-track Pixies at the BBC did appear, it was a mixed blessing. Certainly, the music itself is pretty terrific -- none of the versions are radically different (although "Wave of Mutilation" is performed in its "UK Surf Arrangement" from the "Here Comes Your Man" single, not the Doolittle version), but each cut is raw and vital, and recasting "Wild Honey Pie" as pure primal dementia was brilliant. What is suspect is the presentation. Instead of keeping each session intact, the compilers have assembled individual tracks in seemingly random order so the disc bounces from 1989 to 1991 to 1988 to 1990. For an archival release, such tactics are infuriating -- the sessions make more sense in chronological order, as most bootleggers know. Still, not every hardcore fan can track bootlegs down, nor is he willing to shell out the cash, which makes Pixies at the BBC a welcome (and overdue) addition to the official Pixies catalog. (Be aware, though, that the full-price disc clocks in at about 35 minutes.) ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	03/08/2024
Label:	4Ad
UPC:	0191400063518
Rank:	28553

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Levitate Me
2. Hey
3. In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)
4. Wild Honey Pie
5. Caribou
6. Dead
7. Tame
8. There Goes My Gun
9. Manta Ray

Disc 2

10. Down to the Well
11. Into the White
12. Wave of Mutilation
13. Allison
14. Velouria
15. Hang on to Your Ego
16. Is She Weird

Disc 3

17. Monkey Gone to Heaven
18. Ana
19. Allison
20. Wave of Mutilation
21. Palace of the Brine
22. Letter to Memphis
23. Motorway to Roswell
24. Subbacultcha

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Pixies   Primary Artist
Black Francis   Guitar,Vocals
Joey Santiago   Guitar
Kim Deal   Vocals,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

Black Francis   Composer
David Lynch   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Mike Walter   Engineer
Mike Robinson   Producer
Peter Ivers   Composer
Miti   Producer
Dale "Buffin" Griffin   Producer
James Birtwistle   Engineer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Paul Roberts   Engineer
Vaughan Oliver   Design,Art Direction
Chris Bigg   Treatments
Tim Vary   Design,Art Direction
Chris Staley   Mastering
Kevin Westenberg   Portraits