Pixies: Doolittle [4AD]

Why you'll love it

Doolittle was named album of the year by Melody Maker and Sounds, and Kurt Cobain said its quiet/loud dynamic was the blueprint for Nevermind. "Debaser", "Wave of Mutilation" and "Here Comes Your Man" are alt-rock scripture.

This edition

• Single LP, 15 tracks
• 4AD pressing of the 1989 album
• Produced by Gil Norton

About the album

It's not like the Pixies didn't have tunes, tunes, tunes to burn on Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, it's just that they tended to camouflage them behind a lot of noise and manic caterwauling. On 1989's Doolittle, the beloved Boston quartet's second full-length album, producer Gil Norton managed to buff enough of the rougher edges off undeniable pop jams like "Here Comes Your Man," "Wave of Mutilation" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven" for the Pixies to at least casually court open-minded MuchMusic and MTV viewers and a few radio listeners beyond the "college" dial.

Maybe not to immediate mainstream success during the band's original run, no, but there's a reason Doolittle still sells at a steady rate more than 35 years along. As for the rough edges Norton left behind, just listen to "Debaser" and "Tame": a whole generation of '90s bands built their sound on that quiet-verse, screaming-chorus trick, and Kurt Cobain was the first to admit it.

Also at Kops: more Pixies on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On 4AD, a reissue of the 1989 album.