| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ten Percenter |
Posted - 08/13/2005 : 08:08:01
A review by Adrian Denning: http://www.adriandenning.co.uk/frankblack.html
He gives Honeycomb 7 out of 10 - it is worth lookng at his other Frank Black reviews on the same page too:
Frank gets together with a bunch of season session musicians more used to soul music than mexican whores, on the eve of Frank re-uniting with The Pixies. They record a bunch of originals with a few choice covers smattered in, too. We've a little soul and a little country, a bunch of relaxed tunes played in quiet, assured fashion. Several surprises appear along the way, the excellent 'Strange Goodbye' which opens with female country vocals. Initially, you wonder whether it's actually Frank Black in falsetto mode, but its not. He comes in, then they sing together. It's a lovely little upbeat tune, very nice. The cover of the famous 'Dark End Of The Street' isn't better than the Flying Burrito Brothers/Gram Parsons version, but it is taken so very relaxed, Frank sings sweetly. It's good. The final track, 'Sing For Joy' is a little rough in the vocal department, but it's an interesting song, lyrically. Eccentric cover, 'Song Of The Shrimp' has a little groove about it. I dunno, it's strange. The entire album is a million miles away from Frank of the past, although he has shown country influences before, of course. Never throughout an entire album, though. And although nothing here is ever less than accomplished and the record as a whole is so very easy to listen to.... I personally find it a little dull. True, there are special moments. I adore 'Lone Child', the way his vocal fades out. 'I Burn Today' is one of the catchiest moments, a strong chorus and a song with a typical Frank Black storytelling feel.
'Go Find Your Saint' has a wonderful feel to it and Frank continues to surprise throughout his career, never taking the obvious easy route and rarely fulfilling fans expectations. He did it with the 'Frank Black Francis' record and he does it here. Neither record is amongst his best work for me, though. This is the stronger of the two and both are entirely different to each other of course, yet neither will be seen as much more than as a footnote in the history of Frank Black/Black Francis. With rumours of a new Pixies album proper, with Pixies songs such as Bam Thowk created out of found lyrics and a few rehearsal sessions, interest appears to be slim for a new Frank Black solo record. Nice as this record is, with songs such as the fascinating 'My Life Is In Storage' appearing right through to the end of this actually very consistent set of songs, you yearn for a little more variety, something darker and more biting from the pen of Frank Black. Still, hats off to the guy for not giving a damn what anybody thinks of him and for making music for himself, primarily. It's the sign of a true artist.
"Fried food, cigarettes, no exercise, chest pain..." (Excerpt from the Angina Monologues) |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Carl |
Posted - 08/13/2005 : 08:09:48
That's funny, I actually saw that page before, but I did'nt really look at it properly. I certainly did'nt know there was a Honeycomb review on it!! |
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