1001 Albums Summary

I first heard the Pixies as an 11-year-old watching the movie Pump Up the Volume, which has a (different, slower) version of Wave of Mutilation on the soundtrack. I fell in love with the song and ran to the record store to pick up a Pixies album. I landed on Come on Pilgrim because it was 3 bucks cheaper than the others, so I didn't hear Surfer Rosa or Doolittle until a few months later. It still amazes me how fully formed this band was right out of the gate. Levitate Me, I've Been Tired, and pretty much every other Come on Pilgrim track would feel right at home on Doolittle. And all of those songs were just taken from their demo, the Purple Tape. They started out perfect and had no need to evolve from album to album. There are so many classic Pixies tracks on Doolittle that it almost feels like a greatest hits album. Based on nostalgia alone, I'd give the nod for my favorite to Come on Pilgrim, but it's hard to argue with a record that includes Tame, Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, and Gouge Away.