Pixies: Complete B Sides: 1988-97 (2LP, clear vinyl, indie exclusive) [4AD]

Why you'll love it

This indie exclusive is the first time Complete B Sides has appeared on vinyl, remastered as a 2LP set on clear vinyl with printed inner sleeves and a side of bonus live tracks. It gathers the songs Black Francis and co. tucked away behind their singles, including "Manta Ray," "Into the White" and "Winterlong."

This edition

• 2LP set
• Clear vinyl
• Indie exclusive
• Remastered
• Bonus live tracks
• Printed inner sleeves
• Lyrics included
• Pressed in the Czech Republic

About the album

The Pixies were so good at this that their spare songs make a better album than plenty of bands' best ones. Complete B Sides rounds up the flip sides from the band's 4AD singles, recorded everywhere from Blackwing Studios in London to Fort Apache in Boston and Master Control in Burbank.

"Manta Ray" and "Weird at My School" are pure Pixies surf-punk, "Into the White" gives Kim Deal a hazy, droning spotlight, "Bailey's Walk" and "Make Believe" are wonderfully strange, and "In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)" covers the eerie tune from Eraserhead. Covers of Neil Young's "Winterlong" and the Yardbirds' "Evil Hearted You" sit alongside a surf-guitar take on "Wave of Mutilation" and the instrumental "Theme from Narc."

The live cuts include "Debaser," "Tame" and "Planet of Sound" from Brixton Academy and Chicago's Cabaret Metro. Calling them B-sides is a bit like calling the Sistine Chapel ceiling the upstairs.

Also at Kops: more Pixies on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On 4AD (cat# 4AD0878LPE), a reissue of the 2001 compilation.