First issued in 2006, and now issued on vinyl for the first time, Snake Oil collects together the various cover versions from the career of Frank Black And The Catholics up to that point. The great thing about this is that the erstwhile Charles Thompson has always been incredible at taking songs and making them his own, often bettering the originals. Take his cover of ‘Cecilia Ann’ which opened Pixies‘ third album proper Bossanova, for example. Nothing wrong with The Surftones‘ original of course – a surf punk gem itself, but that Pixies version is simply huge.
In fact, so adept is Frank at breathing new life into old songs that he even manages to top original versions made by musicians who went on to achieve godlike status! Such is the case with the two Dylan covers here. First of all ‘Belle Isle‘ from 1970’s Self Portrait and perhaps even more astoundingly ‘Changing Of The Guards‘ from 1978’s ‘Street Legal‘. Both of those tunes are sublime by Dylan himself but they crackle with a new energy and joyfulness here that elevates them to a peak that really should have been insurmountable.
Other artists tackled on Snake Oil are The Rolling Stones (‘Down In The Hole‘), The Specials (a surprisingly raucous take on ‘Do Nothing‘), Bruce Springsteen (‘I’m Going Down‘), and the less well-known Reid Paley amongst others (on the terrific opener ‘Take What You Want‘). It’s an absolute masterclass on how to perform songs from other people’s repertoire and not only do them the greatest justice but also to put your own stamp all over them.
Also being re-issued, again for the first time on vinyl, alongside Snake Eyes, is the 2012 triple vinyl recording of their 2001 Amsterdam show Live at Melkweg. The gig sees the band right at the top of their game, kicking off with the dynamic instrumental ‘Velvety‘ followed by the musically brutal ‘I Love Your Brain‘, which comes across like Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers if they’d been a British heavy metal band of the early 1980s.
There’s barely any let-up. At least not until ‘Steak ‘n’ Sabre‘ from The Catholics’ debut album. By then we’ve already been treated to a Doolittle classic in ‘Mr. Grieves‘, with many other Pixies highlights along the way, over Live At Melkweg‘s six sides, including ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven‘, ‘Nimrod’s Son‘, ‘Where Is My Mind?‘ and ‘Gouge Away‘ as well as others.
It speaks volumes about just how tight this band is, however, that after this absolute onslaught of remarkable – and mostly very loud – tunes, it’s often the most introspective moments that prove most effective. To that end, ‘I Will Run After You‘ is just lovely, and the country twang of ‘Llano Del Rio‘ feels both refreshing and compelling.
Live At Melkweg is an absolute must for collectors, as it contains 18 previously unreleased tracks that make this performance album the first entire concert available by the band. Of those formerly unavailable, I must admit ‘Robert Onion‘ is a bit of a corker really. Already a standout from 2001’s Dog In The Sand, in this incarnation it’s… well… it’s gigantic. As someone who is far from a connoisseur of live albums, and not often a fan of them, I have no hesitation in saying that, in this instance, the collection is essential.
Both Snake Eyes and Live At Melkweg are released on vinyl through Demon Records on 20th January 2023.
