Pixies, Surfer Rosa / C'Mon Pilgrim

The first full-length pixies albums and, to many, the most important because it is one of the largest influences to alternative music. The album's sound is the product of the Pixies' unique sound and Steve Albini's engineering and production. This is the very first album released by the Pixies, preceded only by the debut EP Come On Pilgrim. At times Surfer Rosa's sound could be called abrasive but if you can get past that you will find that this is a very melodic album. Much of the album can be characterized by the Pixies quiet to loud & back again style. The songs are all worth a good listen but this album includes some of the Pixies best songs such as Where Is My Mind and Gigantic. Many of the songs also feature strange content such as Cactus, about a prisoner asking his girlfriend to bloody her dress and mail it to him, or Break my Body & Broken Face, which include examinations of mutilation. In my opinion this is one of the most important albums in rock and roll history. It has very different and groundbreaking work which influenced a great many new bands. Besides that, the songs on the album are very interesting and still sound great. If you haven't heard Surfer Rosa yet, get to it. You definitely won't be disappointed.

-Nolan Davis

There are so many terms to describe The Pixies that it's hard to only name a few. Rock, Punk, Surf, Pre-Grunge- you could even say. In all truth though, The Pixies were just that.... The Pixies. Much like The Beatles, they've influenced tons of bands, and yet somehow stand out. No other band sounds like The Pixies do.

These are their first two albums. Come On Pilgrim is an 8 track, 20 minute long EP, and Surfer Rosa is an LP with 15 tracks and over 30 minutes of music. Not long right? Quality over quantity, my friends, you'll see once you hear it.

Although the albums have been combined into one here, they were supposed to be, and originally were two albums, so I'll review them as two.

Come On Pilgrim is the first. Opening with the Desolate, struggling sound of Caribou through the wild crazyiness of Vamos to the Punk/Pre-Grunge I've Been Tired, all the way through Levitate Me, the final track that highlights the album. For 20 minutes, this album is entirely listenable. You won't even think about skipping tracks, and although you may not like it upon first listen, give it a few spins, I bet you by the third time, you'll be likin' it quite a bit.

Surfer Rosa is the real prize though. With Steve Albini's raw, guitar oriented production, witty lyrics, and fantastic duel vocal styles between Charles Thompson (AKA, Black Francis) and Kim Deal (Then, Mrs. John Murphy.) Again, not a single weak track, and although it should take you even longer to get into than Come On Pilgrim, the ending reward is hearing one of the greatest albums ever recorded. The album is largely Punk/Pre-Grunge, straying here and there for some different tastes. And don't be fooled by me calling it Pre-Grunge. This sounds nothing like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or any real Grunge bands.

Overall, these are essential albums, even if The Pixies aren't your favorite band, I reccommend these two albums and Doolittle, which is, IMO, the best album ever made. Buy, listen a few times, and enjoy.