Frank Black - 'Frank Black 93-03' (Cooking Vinyl) Released 18/06/07

Regarded by many as the true leader of the alternative rock movement, the name Frank Black, to those in the know, is legendary. An active singer, songwriter and guitarist since 1985, Frank Black's musical career has taken on many different forms, most notably with the seminal Pixies who enjoyed five years of critical acclaim until the band split in 1992. But their break up was just the beginning for Frank Black. 'Frank Black 93-03' is a two disc set which celebrates 22 tracks from his nine solo albums that were recorded during this period and includes a new Black Francis track, 'Threshold Apprehension' taken from the forthcoming 'Bluefinger' album. And if that wasn't enough, CD2 features tracks recorded live during 2006.

Beginning with tracks taken from 1993's self titled 'Frank Black' (4AD)including 'Los Angeles', 'Ten Percenter', 'Czar', and 'Old Black Dawning', Black's early work explores an eclectic mix of subject matter and focuses heavily on extraterrestrial activity and science fiction. Similar both musically and lyrically to that of the Pixies, his initial solo output was well received by fans and critics alike. His second solo album 'Teenager Of The Year' (4AD) attracted similar praise, but like 'Frank Black', would not be a commercial success. It did however allow him to evolve and grow as an artist, developing a spontaneous approach to recording, most notably through tracks including 'I Want To Live On An Abstract Plain', 'Calistan' and the delightful 'Headache' ("I got me so down I got me a headache, My hearts crammed in my cranium, And it still knows how to pound").

Black left 4AD in 1995 and began work on his third solo offering 'The Cult Of Ray', released in 1996 on Rick Rubin's American Recordings and would again see Black develop his recording techniques, moving away from intricate production values and instead taking a more stripped down approach. With a largely new band behind him (soon to become known as The Catholics) tracks such as 'Men In Black', 'You Ain't Me' and the stunning 'I Didn't Want To Hurt You (Every Single tTme)' demonstrate an increasing tendency and preference to recording live with as little overdubs as possible. What was initially nothing more than a demo tape, recorded live to two track in 1997, was eventually released a year later in 1998 with no further production deemed necessary as 'Frank Black And The Catholics' on SpinArt Records and is claimed to be "The first album ever made legally available for commercial download". So happy was Black with the results and the new found recording process that all of Frank Black And The Catholics' future releases would be recorded in this way.