First off, thanks to Todd for hooking us up with the
new Frank Black album, Blue Finger. We love us some
Frank Black and, before his solo sucksess, we worshipped at the altar of
The Pixies with devotion. I've always loved Frank Black's lyrics and energy. Blue Finger certainly doesn't lack his trademark lyrical insanity or guttural punk yelping.
But the question I keep asking myself is: has the great Black Francis lost his touch, or has his sound just grown tiresome? I think it's the latter, really. There's nothing really cutting-edge here, which isn't really a bad thing. But it's not a good thing, either. Despite the lack of Pixies lushness on most of these tracks, Frank solo still rocks pretty hard, and the lyrics are as cryptic as ever. There's just something ... missing.
What's lacking from Frank Black hitting it big with all these albums he's released over the years? I mean, the formula is the same for what he produces on his own and what he puts out with The Pixies. I've come to the conclusion that it's the chemistry of Kim Deal's back-up vocals that are lacking, really. Kim Deal added a soothing layer (a near-mantra of chorus) to Frank's quirky screeching, and I think he's starting to realize this, as he has notable female back-ups on many of these songs ("Lolita," my favorite on the album does it well, while "You Can't Break a Heart and Have It" falls into its own ambitious punkishness with a flop). Nevertheless, the female back-up doesn't make a good enough impression when executed correctly to push things over the edge into the 5-star Ipod zone.
Joey Santiago's skilled guitarism's are also missing from the equation. During The Pixies reunion tour, it was very evident during an incredible guitar solo just how influential Joey's sound is to the band. And even if Frank manages to get a good female back-up singer, I think he might be dead in the water without an actual Joey on guitar. For a prime example of how this hurts his sound, give "She Took All the Money" a spin. Now, imagine what this song would sound like with Joey on guitar.... Whole different animal.
These songs are conceptually great. I would like to see what The Pixies could do with these songs if they all worked on these pieces together, as there is a notable lack of detail to some of the songs (most notably, "Your Mouth Into Mine"). "Blue Finger" seems to be cryptically prescient when Frank belts out "
If my choices are poor, I made them, I made them. And who's knocking on my door, I paid them. I paid them!"
Frank needs to dust off his ego and cement the dominance of The Pixies, once and for all. Doing otherwise only dooms his poetry to obscurity, and that's the opposite of what the world could use.
Sifted: 6.5/10
This is the best Rap album I've heard in years. I'm SERIOUS! We're talking six 5-star songs out of 14. And two more 4-stars. In this day and age of fabricated Hip-Hop, an album with three or more 5-star songs is good, so this album is off the chain. Some of these joints are epic, almost anthemic, with great beats and some electronica mixed in with classic soul all mashed up in it for great effect. The flows are tight and don't bother with all that flossy bullshit and foul language that so many lesser rappers are prone to spit. This album resurrects Rap and yanks it from the hands of all those trashy billboard hos once and for all.
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