Honeycomb
Frank Black
Chester Thompson
Engineer: Dan Penn, Ben Mumphrey,
Producer: Jon Tiven, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham
Back Porch Music, 2005
1 CD
Catalogue #: 77293
EAN: 0724347729324
UPC: 724347729324
You save: 20%
Personnel: Frank Black (vocals, guitar); Spooner Oldham (vocals, keyboards, bells); Ellis Hooks, James Griffin, Jean Black (vocals); Reggie Young, Steve Cropper, Buddy Miller (guitar); Jon Tiven (harmonica); David Hood (bass instrument); Chester Thompson , Anton Fig, Billy Block, Akil Thompson (drums).
Recording information: Better Songs & Gardens, Nashville, TN.
Pixies fans and casual followers of Frank Black's solo career might be surprised by the mellow, blues- and roots-inflected surfaces of HONEYCOMB. Recorded in Nashville and redolent of the famed sound of that city, HONEYCOMB contains none of the roaring guitar, bone-crunching aggression, or blood-curdling screams for which Black is best known. Instead, the album drifts like a lazy afternoon, with an introspective front-porch feel a la distinctive, literate songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, Joe Henry, and Neil Young.
Black's tenor sounds surprisingly sweet and vulnerable sans throaty yelps and banshee howls, and is the perfect complement to his lovely melodies. He also sacrifices his surreal word collages for more direct, human lyrics that are no less affecting or artfully employed. A host of spectacular session players--including vocalists Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn, guitarists Buddy Miller and Steve Cropper, and drummer Anton Fig--flesh out the laid-back, intimate vibe perfectly. Clueless rock hipsters might turn their noses up at the warm, lovingly crafted textures here, but HONEYCOMB ultimately makes plain what has been true all along: that Frank Black is one of pop music's great songwriters.
Tracklist
Frank Black
Under the moniker Black Francis, Frank Black was the principal songwriter, lyricist, and lead vocalist of the Pixies, one of the most important alternative rock bands of the 1980s and early '90s. Black's solo career has been marked by a slight shift toward a more traditional rock sound, while still maintaining the wry, off-kilter aesthetic that helped bring the Pixies such acclaim. His recorded output as a soloist and with his backing band, the Catholics, has been nothing short of prolific. However, Black still managed to find time to reunite the Pixies in 2004 and embark on a hugely successful world tour.
