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Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo
* Dog in the Sand *
1088 Posts |
 Posted - 03/05/2025 : 23:32:10
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I hadn’t listened to TNTZC for a month. A couple of weeks ago, I gave it another spin and finally managed to pinpoint exactly why I consider this record to be an unfinished business and, therefore, the weakest Pixies release of the millennium...
To me, this album is a zombie. It’s incomplete. An overproduced collection of underdeveloped demos. The exact opposite of the BTE demos, which were the best production ever made by the Pixies' current producer. Apparently, they released TNTZC in a rush after having to switch bassists (again). Bad timing...
Loving the Pixies as much as I do, I decided to confront my feelings and, thanks to the technology we have, to fix the album as best I could.
The main flaw of this collection is that the songs are far too long relative to the number of musical ideas they contain. That was already the case with some tracks on IC, but with TNTZC, it’s downright excessive.
Some choruses are "twice occured" and feel copy-pasted. Some codas drag on without building any tension. That kind of approach worked brilliantly in songs like No. 13 Baby, Velouria, or Motorway to Roswell (in the latter’s case, you almost wish it would go on forever). In those instances, the songs felt complete and well-structured. But that’s not the case for most of this new batch—except for Jane (TNTZC), which is perfect - therefore I white-outed everything I consider superfluous.
To do justice to the musical essence of each track and rebalance time and space, I trimmed all the unnecessary instrumental intros from nearly every song (ranging from 7 to 22 seconds, as in I Hear You Mary). These sections were under-mixed and, in my opinion, added nothing to the tracks except unnecessary length, creating frustrating gaps between songs that weakened both tension and cohesion. Then, I removed what I felt were uninspired guitar solos that lacked any narrative intent.
After these edits, the album “lost” a solid 7 minutes, bringing it down to a lean 32. Two or three additional songs would have easily fit, making for a much stronger record...
Anyway, in this "Albini cut with a hatchet” form, the album is far more digestible, at least to me.
Here is a Mega link: https://mega.nz/folder/QJwAQQJK#z2n3DbPjINrbyYtwrzP8Dw.
I’d be curious to hear your thoughts.
You’ll notice that I also worked slightly on the mastering to restore some dynamics and adjust the stereo field, either reducing or expanding it depending on the song.
I know I missed with the gospels but I'm satisfied with it. ;)
I can’t wait for Pixies to release a new album with a production that truly does them justice.
La la Love you (with a hatchet).
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Edited by - Joey Joe Jo Jr. Chabadoo on 03/09/2025 10:23:24 |
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TNTZC "Albini cut with a hatchet" version
