PIXIES: Doolittle 25 Set For a December 2 North American Release
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, 4AD will release PIXIES: Doolittle 25, a deluxe, three-disc package that brings together for the first time all of the album’s B-sides, Peel Sessions and demos from the time, plus of course the original album itself. This commercial release will be the first for nearly half of the tracks on the album. Set for a December 2, 2014 North American in-store date, Pixies: Doolittle 25 will be available in CD and all digital formats, as well as a double-vinyl edition that features all of the B-sides, Peel Sessions and demos.
Doolittle, the second studio album from Pixies ~ Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering ~ was to prove a pivotal moment for both the band and the broader scene they were helping define. For the few years prior, the band had enjoyed cult status in their homeland, but their early records were having to find their way to the U.S. on import. Their secret irrevocably out in 1989, though, when their British label (4AD) joined forces with American giant Elektra in time for Doolittle to receive a full domestic release. Pixies had arrived.
Pixies as they looked when they were creating Doolittle.
Produced by Gil Norton and recorded between two studios (Downtown Recorders in Boston, MA and Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT) in late 1988, Doolittle was an instant hit containing some of the band’s most memorable singles (“Monkey Gone To Heaven,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Debaser”). A slow-burn success story followed, helping them to sell in excess of a million copies in the U.S. alone, a huge showing back in the late 80s.
Undeniably an important record, included among the many plaudits thrown at Doolittle’s way was Pitchfork ranking it at Number 4 in their “Best Albums of the 80s” poll, while NME writers in 2004 named it their “Second Best Album of All Time. “
The band toured Doolittle in 2009 to celebrate its 20th birthday, and five years later it’s now time to give it the deluxe release treatment it so richly deserves.
The band on tour for Doolittle’s 20th anniversary
Back cover art
The three-CD Pixies: Doolittle 25 contains an impressive 50 tracks with the original album on Disc One, two full Peel Sessions and six B-sides on Disc Two, and the complete album in demo form plus seven bonus tracks on Disc Three. A gatefold two-LP version is also being released, with two beautiful circles of 180g black vinyl: the first contains six B-sides and two full Peel Sessions and the second the album in complete demo form plus three bonus tracks. A download card is included with this version, offering access to all LP tracks plus four more bonus tracks.
As with all other Pixies sleeves before it, Pixies: Doolittle 25 had Vaughan Oliver returning to oversee its design, reinterpreting his original artwork and Simon Larbalestier’s photographs to create a stunning new design using metallic ink.
You can still place your pre-order here, and wouldn’t Pixies: Doolittle 25 make just the perfect holiday gift? It just received a 10/10 from Uncut Magazine on November 25 (how fitting!), 2014!
Pixies in Belfort, July ’14, photo (edited) by Richard Bellia
Pixies promise some things for 2015 that will be just as exciting, so stay tuned…!