Contrary to popular belief, melodic, post-punk, guitar-driven rock did not rise out of Seattle in the late 80s. It started in Boston, in 1986, where the Pixies formed, at a time when loud, guitar-driven bands like Dogzilla (!) ruled the underground scene there. The concept of grunge hadn't been born yet, but nevertheless, decibel levels, distortion and irate neighbors were the order of the day on Lansdowne Street.

The Pixies, however, were just, well, different - and one listen of this groundbreaking CD reveals why. The trademarks of this raw, whirlwind of a band are plainly evident on any of their records of the 80's: screeching guitars and vocals, insane, and oftentimes nonsensical lyrics, and extremely catchy rhythms. In contrast to the wandering & lost punk scene of the time, they constructed the musical bridge between early 1980s post punk and the late-1980s resurgence of a more aggressively melodic sound (Nirvana immediately comes to mind).

Doolittle was the Pixies' the first major label release after two acclaimed and wildly successful independent LPs, Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, and is rightly considered one of the most influential albums of the 1980's. Considered more of an underground and glorified garage band up to that point, the band proved they were able to greatly diversify their sound. The flavor & pace of the album, which is a testament of this, is still refreshing and surprising after all this time. Songs range from relaxed, melodic, and poppy (Here Comes Your Man) to frantic (Crackity Jones), to extremely fun & cheeky (La La Love You), while all the while never waning in intensity. Tough to find one or two standout songs here, but Monkey Gone to Heaven and Here Comes Your Man went into heavy alt-radio rotation.

Despite the chemistry the Pixies had as a band, they were always clearly led by frontman Black Francis, who displays a uniquely freakish and deranged vocal style throughout Doolittle. So impressive is his range, you'll often wonder if it is in fact the same singer from song to song. Francis (or Frank Black as he preferred it), is clearly in command of this album, though much can also be said of guitarman Joey Santiago's wailing, emotional guitar playing. Kim Deal, who's strong bass playing is also highlighted throughout the album, later went on to found The Breeders (that's her in the upper left of the picture). Dave Lovering (later of Cracker) rounded out the foursome.

Doolittle appeared on many top-ten lists of that year, and Rolling Stone went on to call the Pixies America's best new rock band on the strength of this album. Sadly though, the fame was short-lived, as the band broke up after a few more noteworthy releases. It is rumored that Black and bassist Deal actually hated eachother even before the demise of the band, and still do to this day. Perhaps Black never forgave Deal for outselling the entire Pixies catalog with her Breeder's debut, Last Splash. Joey Santiago has since rejoined Black on his solo efforts, but any hope of a full-fledged reunion seems unlikely.

While Doolittle did not cause the outright revolution that Nevermind later did, it did more to change the landscape of punk rock in the last two decades than it ever had the right to - it took the aggression and fire of punk rock, and made it upbeat and catchy.