Track Listing

1. Blast Off
2. I've Seen Your Picture
3. St. Francis Dam Disaster
4. Robert Onion
5. Stupid Me
6. Bullet
7. Swimmer
8. Hermaphroditos
9. I'll Be Blue
10. Llano del Rio
11. If It Takes All Night
12. Dog in the Sand

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40984 in Music
• Released on: 2001-01-30
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
In theory, there was no reason why Frank Black, a.k.a. Black Francis, shouldn't have carried on making great records after he left the Pixies; after all, he wrote and sang almost all the songs. However, all truly great bands are more than the sum of their parts, and Black's solo career has served largely as a resounding confirmation of this truth. He has had his moments, but has never come close to the towering heights he scaled with his old band. Perhaps by way of grudgingly acknowledging this, Dog in the Sand finds Black re-enlisting Pixies' guitarist Joey Santiago. Santiago, a dazzlingly inventive and versatile player, has been bewilderingly quiet since leaving the Pixies, and seems keen to make up for it here, deploying his formidable range. His contribution to what is certainly Black's best solo album is crucial, from the frenetic power chords of "If It Takes All Night" to the subtle picking of "Robert Onion" to the exuberant solo of "Bullet." Now, if Black can only persuade Kim Deal and David Lowering to come out of retirement as well, he might really be onto something. --Andrew Mueller

Customer Reviews

Dear Andrew Mueller,
Try reading the liner notes before you write a review. That way, you won't credit Santiago for playing on tracks that he didn't. You'll also see that he only played on three songs. Joey's a fine player, but not as important as you seem to think. That's Dave Phillips playing "the frenetic power chords" on "If It Takes All Night" and Rich Gilbert with the "exuberant" solo on "Bullet". As for the "subtle picking" on "Robert Onion", that's Frank on accoustic and Dave Phillips on lead. Rich and Joey are playing the power chords.

Black is back
Frank Black was a member of the Pixies. The Pixies were a great little group with a relatively simple sound. All of a sudden, in 1993, Black split the group up and began his solo career. My guess is that he was fed up with the simplicity of the Pixies' music, plus there were some personal complications with the rest of the band. He released two magnificent albums, Frank Black and Teenager of the Year. The latter was an especially extraordinary piece of work, with 22 highly original and brilliant songs. However, the critics didn't get it and TOTY didn't sell very well. So, after making The Cult of Ray in 1995, he decided to form a pure rock'n'roll band and record live to 2 track. Frank Black and the Catholics' first, self-titled album, was a rather half-baked effort. However, Pistolero (1999) was a step in the right direction. Now, on the 29th day of January 2001, Frank Black has finally returned with a masterpiece comparable to TOTY and FB. Dog in the Sand is a brilliant album, packed with weirdness and imagination. Eric Drew Feldman returns with his keyboard magic and the overall sound is more produced, although they still record live to 2 track. A must-have for all adversaries of Westlife.

Oh La La!
Well, this one definitely lives up to the positive reviews I'd seen about it. I don't think I could pick out a favorite track here -- there're too many good songs to choose from. It's probably easier to pick a least favorite track. My vote goes to opener BLAST OFF for that honor. No pun intended, but it never really blasts off. And for over seven minutes. But once you hit track two you get a hint that better things are ahead.

IVE SEEN YOUR PICTURE features Frank channeling Mick Jagger. The whole tune has a Stones-like feel to it.

Next up is ST. FRANCIS DAM DISASTER, and I dare you to get it out of your head once you've heard it. An instant classic.

The driving, urgent ROBERT ONION is next. Another fine tune. I love the ending: the song seems to come to an end only to start up again. A strange therimin-sounding instrument begins playing (no therimin was used on the track, however, according to the track's detail notes. Must be an electric guitar producing those unusual sounds). The therimin-like sound is heard as the tune builds to a rapid tick-tock of a clock (I even hear a couple of "CooCoos" in there) before finally coming to an end. (Was this album REALLY recorded straight to two track with no edits? If so, it's a remarkable achievement).

STUPID ME sounds like a 50s era ballad with a slight country feel. It's a great tune. Frank Black has stated that he recently took some singing lessons and was trying to get some of his high notes back. One listen to this song and you'll know that the lessons paid off. In fact, his vocals throughout this album are the best I've heard from him.

BULLET is incredible. A strong beat and some fine pedal steel playing propel it along.

Next up is THE SWIMMER. If I had to compare it to anyone, I'd say it has a Procol Harum feel to it. Whatever, it's another excellent tune, with some beautiful, almost jewlry box-sounding electric piano portions.

There's no debate over what band influenced HERMAPHRODITOS: this is the Rolling Stones through and through, with classic slide guitar playing and Black once again aping Jagger. It's also singularly the hardest rocking song on the album (though it doesn't have the sonic bombast of some of the tunes on F.B. & the Cs. previous two releases).

I'LL BE BLUE is, in a word, gorgeous. Who would've guessed that a guy who's hands-down the best screamer in rock (yeah, I've heard Marilyn Manson try to imitate Black's trademark primal scream, but there's nothing like the original) would be capable of a song like this?

The mostly acoustic LLANDO DEL RIO has that kind of "Up On Cripple Creek" groove to it that makes it hard to resist tapping your toe. Some very tasty pedal steel soloing here.

IF IT TAKES ALL NIGHT is a straight-ahead classic rock number, and another winner.

Finally, we come to the closing title cut. I enjoyed this number during its first instrumental incarnation as SURF EPIC on an earlier single, but this time around it's even better. Somehow, this version sounds like the tune was meant to sound, capturing all of its moody nuances. It's the moodiest cut on the album, and the perfect choice for an ending.

In closing let me say that if country music doesn't turn your crank, don't be deterred by some who've called this a country album. We ain't talkin' Grand Ole Opry here. Rather, some instruments like pedal steel guitar have been utilized to great effect on several of the album's cuts for atmospheric embellishment. The album kinda falls into the same rare category as the late Hoyt Axton's brilliant oddity from over 30 years ago -- "My Griffin Is Gone" -- in that it's packed with great and sometimes unusual tunes that flirt at times with country music's colors without ever burying itself under a Stetson.

You'll definitely get your money's worth with DOG IN THE SAND. I certainly have.