A portly American
guy, considerably closer to middle age than his teens, stands stock still
onstage at Sheffields Leadmill, rivers of sweat coursing down his bald
head, as his band smash through the last few bars of the set.
He's gazing out over an audience that is - despite already having
stood up for 2 hours - unmistakeably giving him a standing ovation,
with a fervour that is only a couple of notches down from full-on religous
hysteria. Charles Michael Thompson Kitteridge IV calmly drinks in the
applause he knows he's earned
(extract from
Eerie Powers 'Frank
Black live review)
I had the extreme pleasure of re-discovering this man at Witness rock
festival earlier this year. To see him effortlessly bellowing like a
bull, screaming like a wild cat yet all the while melodic and intelligent
is something to behold. Don't take my word for it though as I'm a huge
fan, however most of the Irish media (the Times, Dave Fanning, Tom Dunne.....)
all singled him out for a special mention even though he was by no means
the head-line act!
Black Francis as he used to be known was responsible for 5 amazing
Pixies albums. No artist's merit can be measured against their popularity,
as we all know (otherwise Britney Spears is a genius), but greatness
can loosely be measured by the number (and quality) of artists influenced
by someone. Nirvana admitted many times that they copied the Pixies
writing style, 'Smells like teen spirit' was a deliberate effort at
another 'Debaser'. Radiohead considered them to be 'heroes'. Indeed
I'd go as far as to say that most alternative bands in the last 10 years
have been influenced directly or otherwise by the Boston 4-piece.
(Kim Deel was an Ohio-born cheerleader who answered a classified ad
'Bassist wanted for rock band. Influences Husker Du and Peter Paul &
Mary').
Enough of the worship, here comes the objective bit. His solo career
sadly will not influence or inspire in nearly the same manner. It began
quite well with his eponomous album, the follow up 'Teenager of the
year' was good too, but then came 2 punk/grunge by numbers 'Cult of
Ray' and 'Pistolero' which were non-events really.
January 2001 saw the release of a new departure entitled 'Dog in the Sand'
which is definetly a return to form but is quite different from any of
his previous work. Recorded on a 2 track yet it sounds like his most produced
work to date, complete with slide guitars, generous helpings of piano,
it veres from Country & Western to early 60s Pop but always retains that
distinctive Frank Black edge.
('you can keep your yen and go fuck your yang' has to be my favourite
lyric of the year)
The Irish get another lyrical mention, Pixies fans will remember 'your
Irish skin looks Mexican' (oh the pride!), in 'Blast off' he sings
'when we get there the Irish in me is gonna claim it for France,
I'm in a Beckett trance'. Lyrically there was always more to Mr.
Black than first meets the eye. How many rock stars can you name whose
song has directly inspired a play? 'Digging for fire' was a great song
whose lust for life ethos characterised the play of the same name.
Another example of Black's sophisticated lyricism is seen in 'Robert
Onion' where he mentions a 'zugzwang', which will probably be dismissed
as a fabricated word by most listeners, whereas in fact it is a chess
move in which the player is forced to make a disadvatageous move that
often results in the loss of a piece. (source www.popmatters.com)
My favourite track has to be 'The Saint Francis Dam Disaster', which
refers to an actual event that occured in 1928 in California killing
over 500 people. The 1960's style pop ballad 'Stupid Me' or the rocking
'If it takes all night' are also both gems, while the Will Oldhamesque
'I'll be blue' is another goodie. Actually there are no weak fillers
on this album which I predict will be riding high on many of the top
50 of 2001 album reviews.
