Actor:The Pixies Genres:Music Video & Concerts Sub-Genres:Pop, Rock & Roll Studio:4ad / Ada Format:DVD - Color DVD Release Date: 04/27/2004 Release Year: 2004 Run Time: 2hr 24min Screens: Color Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English
"After years of silence, the Pixies have been blasting through 2004 with a newfound interest in preserving their legacy and possibly even furthering it with their nonstop touring schedule. It goes without saying that the Pixies are an incredibly influential group and that Frank Black's songwriting was never as good as it was at the band's peak.That said, despite it's highpoints, this DVD feels a bit like a missed opportunity. The only real point of interest for anyone other than Pixies fans is the terrific 'Gouge' documentary. Through interviews with all band members except for Kim Deal and a slew of rock critics and musicians such as David Bowie and Thom Yorke, it does a great job of explaining just why the Pixies were such an important band. The one complaint is that the documentary is filled out with performances from a concert which is available in its entirely elsewhere on the disc.And it's a great concert from the Pixies earlier days. It would have been nice, though, if they could have also included another concert from later in the band's career. I would have liked to have been surprised with some rare performances, but admittedly, I have no idea how much footage the band actually has in the vault.The behind the scenes, on the road footage is hardly essential viewing and is kind of boring unless after all these years your still obsessed with every bit of Pixies minutiae. Or Kim Deal, since she's featured more than anyone else.Finally, there are the videos. While as a Pixies fan, it's nice to have them all, it's doubtful that anyone will be going back to rewatch them too often. They are incredibly low-budget and it shows. None of them are particularly memorable.So for those who have yet to discover the Pixies, skip over the DVD for now and go straight to the CDs. For everyone else, this is worth checking out, even if a little more content would have been desirable."
This monkeys gone to heaven.......
kaban43 | Somewhere over the rainbow. | 05/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Well... for those old enough to remember the Pixies when they first broke through in the late 80's, they would recall just how fresh, exciting, and absolutely non-compromising they were. They made heavy metal music look limp and blew away most other indie acts at the time with the sheer intensity of their sound. The first time I remember hearing them was at a party in 1989, a friend was raving about them and waving a tape of "Come on Pilgrim" around the room. Next I heard "This monkeys gone to heaven" on the radio a little while later and I knew they were something else. I bought Doolittle on the strength of that song and it became the soundtrack to my youth in 1990... (first real job, first time out of home, lots of parties!) I bought every release, when released, until their sad demise. When I first heard Nirvana's "Nevermind", around the time of the Pixies breaking up, I didn't need to hear Kurt say he ripped the Pixies off because to me it was so obvious! The live music featured on this DVD is just plain awesome, the Pixies playing a killer set in front of a British audience threatened by the burgeoning fire of a band just about to hit a creative peak. It is riveting stuff! I would give this part of the CD a five out of five!The film clips are excellent of course, The Pixies were pretty full on but they also had an awesome sense of humor - the film clips and Black Francis's lyrics prove this. I always loved the anti-film clip clips they made, i.e. "Here comes your man"'s lack of lip-syncing (they just open their mouths!) and "Velouria" which consists of the band running down a rocky cliff in slow motion... may sound boring but it really funny to watch Black Francis almost fall over a rock at the start!!!Behind the scenes footage is very good - but obviously the cameraman (forgot his name) had the hots for Kim Deal, the other band members hardly say a word! It should be called "Kim cam" or something. Still, very good funny stuff. Also interesting to see the Pixies set up and sound check in a tiny venue in Denmark, a venue that looks like any other local pub I have been to. Could you imagine seeing the Pixies live in a place like that? I also loved the haircuts of some of the audiences.Finally, doco is good - this to me was the only thing to let down what is otherwise an excellent package, mainly due to it's recycling of the live footage that you have already seen, the fact that they talk about albums and songs and then fail to actually play any of these songs (for example they talk about Trompe Le Monde and then cut back to the Pixies playing live, an older song that was not on that album) and also because Bono is interviewed and to be honest he gives me the s**ts.So, getting this DVD for me was a real memory trip, I had not heard some of these songs for over 10 years! I think any self respecting Pixies fan of the time owes it to themselves to get this DVD, turn it up real LOUD, and get into that late 80's headspace.All in all a great package... for the new Pixies fan - GET IT!!! and for the old Pixies fan - GET IT!! This is the planet of sound!"
Behind the Scenes + Videos + Live
E. Bartoszak | murrell's inlet, sc United States | 05/02/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Pixies were and still are one of the greatest Rock bands of all time. They mixed a raw youthful punk sound, with latin flair, and some of the most derangued and beautiful lyrics ever written. They weren't a popular band during their time, but have since influenced everyone from Nirvana to Radiohead. The DVD is actually more than I expected. I thought we'd get a standard set of videos with a bunch of old interviews and maybe a tiny bit of live stuff. Couldn't be more wrong. The live show is priceless, and worth the cost of the DVD alone. It's an early show (Frank looks so young), and captures music ranging from "Pilgrim" all the way up to "Surfer Rosa". Raw, beautiful, rock your socks off stuff here. Just makes you want more. The video section is pretty standard stuff, a collection of videos from back in the day. Nothing too special, but nice to have and see after all these years. The documentary "On The Road" is a decent look back at backstage antics, roadtrips through Europe, etc, mixed with various clips of live footage. Decent, but nothing too spectacular. The documentary "Gouge" on the other hand, is wonderful. Newer interviews with the band, and praising words from people such as David Bowie, Tom York, and Bono. This goes through all the Pixies releases, and puts everything into a nice perspective. The only omission from this is Kim Deal. She's nowhere to be found, and that's saddening. "Bass Goddess" she is called in this section, too bad she couldn't be included. Overall this is a must for any Pixies hardcore fan, and also provides a nice glimpse into the band for any Newbie."
For those of us who couldn't be there
E. Bartoszak | 07/20/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There is a lot that isn't needed here. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle say most of what I need to know about the Pixies, and I have little use for the music videos or the "On The Road" documentary. The latter is like a bad home movie, with glimpses of our heroes, but virtually no content. It was hard to force my way through it. Unlike some below, it didn't strike me as the "Kim Deal cam", though Kim was more talkative than the others when on camera. Similarly, the "Gouge" documentary, though far superior to the "On the Road" piece, is dispensable. There are famous British musicians making insightful comments about the music we loved 15 years ago, but this is vital music to listen to, not to analyze to death. David Bowie is remarkably articulate, PJ Harvey always good to hear from, but they, the rest of the musician/fans in this piece, and the Pixies themselves fail to say much you probably haven't already thought about the music.It's the music itself, in the "Live" piece from 1988 that makes this DVD a good buy for the price. The Pixies are caught at their youthful peak in performances I'm glad to have on DVD, never having had the chance to see them back then, and fairly certain the reunion tour won't recapture the magic. Buy this if you want to see a great Pixies concert from their early days, and consider the rest icing."
A mandatory purchase for any Pixies fan
Kyle Garrett | Chicago,ILL | 10/01/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The release of the Pixes DVD has to be,hands down,one of the most well-timed and serendipitous events in recent memory in the world of rock.
The band's old label,4AD, decides to release a second greatest hits CD along with the aforementioned DVD,meanwhile the rumor mill is churning about a Pixies reunion tour. Almost everyone unanimously decries"it'll never happen." Just weeks before the CD and DVD drop,the music world is cold-cocked with confirmation that the band is officially back together replete with a worldwide tour schedule. As a die-hard Pixies fan,even I thought the band would never re-unite because of the thick animosity between singer Black Francis and bassist Kim Deal. As of this writing,the Pixies are set to play FIVE nights here in Chicago. Talk about a strong comeback! I recieved this DVD as a birthday present and the only thing I keep saying to myself is"Wow!" It's great to see all those old videos again that I first saw in college,albeit now looking quaint compared to today's flashier,more bombastic fare. "Head On","Dig For Fire""Here Comes Your Man" and "Velouria"are so low budget,they're almost genius in thier minimalistic delivery("Velouria"has the band merely climbing down a quarry in slow motion,using a one camera shot whilst the song is playing. Nothing else.) Both "Debaser" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven"rely on concert footage,16mm film and artsy collages to fill out the content. "Alec Effiel"is the "slickest" and most rock star-ish video of the lot,utilizing both a wind machine and smoke machine to a quirky effect. Overall, they're all still interesting to watch after all these years,if you're a fan.
The live footage(the majority of the set list pinched from the "Surfer Rosa"album) is just sensational. The video quality is rather crisp for a DVD carrying footage and material(particularly the live stuff) from 15+ years ago,so DVD elitists should be satisfied. The sound quality(which I'm pretty sure was taken straight from the mixing board because it sounds brilliant!) has been remastered in 5.1 surround,putting my home theatre system through its paces,for sure. Even without the surround sound,the audio is good and should provide some nice output through any standard stereo TV. There are spots where the quality got a bit echoey but,for the most part,the sound has incredible muscle.
The BBC documentary"Gouge",featuring commentary from the band themselves(Kim is absent,for some reason),along with David Bowie,PJ Harvey,Radiohead,Blur,Bono from U2(who the Pixies opened for in '91),Big Black singer/"Surfer Rosa"producer Steve Albini and others is a nice little nugget that is chock full of yet more live footage and clips from thier videos. However,the admiration begins to get a bit tiresome almost to the point of sycophany,especially with Bono and the British journalists. One other caveat: why the hell does Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses,who were not only the Pixies' contemporaries and touring pals from almost the very beginning,but also labelmates on 4AD,gets only a couple of blurbs in? She's truly given a total "Yeah,whatever" in this doc and if you blink,you could very well miss her. And one would think that the producers would've tracked down and interviewed Tanya Donnelly,also of Throwing Muses and a founding member of Kim's post-Pixies band,the Breeders(Who,ironically,garnered the mainstream success with the "Last Splash"album that the Pixies never really achieved here in the States) It's strange that perhaps the people who had known them the longest and on a personal level gets short shrift,with the documentary relying more on the fawning adulation of musicians,many of whom have never even toured or met the Pixies. Regardless,this gets balanced out by the band's"aw,shucks" modesty,basically telling everyone,"it really wasn't that big a deal to us. We just liked playing out and having fun doing it." The doc also includes information on the band's notorious break-up,via fax,of all things. A must watch,to be sure.
The "On The Road"chapter is also a treat. This is the only part of the DVD where the video quality slips.Clearly filmed on VHS,it's a bit grainy and looks just like a home movie,of sorts. Still,it's totally forgivable as it shows our beloved foursome globetrotting from one gig to the next,being themselves and showing that these four truly were friends as well as co-workers. The footage has more live stuff,with a particulaly morose audience in Glastonbury,England,barely trying to enjoy the music. There's also sound checks,some sketchy footage of gigs from here in Chicago,Paris and Greece and cute one-liners from Kim Deal and David Lovering.
Again,if you're a die-hard Pixies fan,you can't truly claim as such until you get this DVD. The live concert alone guarantees its reply value a hundred-fold and the videos have a nostalgic charm that will bring you back to them,now and again."