#141 Pixies, 'Doolittle' (1989)

Previously #227

Following the highly acclaimed, yet commercial failure of debut record, ‘Surfer Rosa,’ English producer, Gil Norton was brought on board to create a record with perhaps a bit more “commercial appeal” than the previous Steve Albini-helmed record (a producer that’s been mentioned a few times on the list, know for his noisy approach to production). The result was two of the band’s highest charting singles, ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven’ and ‘Here Comes Your Man’ at #5 and #3 respectively on the US Alternative charts.

The album is a mix of sounds, building on the sound of their previous record including their infamous loud-quiet dynamic. One can listen to songs like ‘Tame’ & ‘Crackity Jones’ and immediately hear the influence they had on Nirvana. The aforementioned singles bear a slower, more melodic sound with ‘Here Comes Your Man’ sounding like a ’60s song, complete with chords that could have been lifted straight from The Beatles’ ‘Help.’ Drummer and sometime magician, Dave Lovering takes lead vocals on ‘La La Love You,’ a song reminiscent of The Shadows. I previously commented that “Surfer Rosa,’ their debut album, one of the most influential rock records of the ‘90s, was released 2 years before the ‘90s even started.” The same can be said for ‘Doolittle.’ Just like ‘Surfer Rosa’ influenced Nirvana to bring Albini onboard to produce ‘In Utero’ (#173), this record influenced Nirvana member, Dave Grohl to bring Norton onboard to produce seminal record, ‘The Colour and the Shape’ (criminally missing from this list). Cracks started to form in Black Francis and Kim Deal’s relationship on this record, which culminated in the band taking a short break. They would ultimately break up a few years later.

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