CHECK-CHECK- CHECK, 1-2, 1-2

Kim Deal did a lot of great things with Pixies, not least her lead vocal and bass notes vocal on Gigantic.   But I still think this is her finest ever moment:-

mp3: The Breeders – Cannonball

Cannonball was released in early August 1993 just a few weeks ahead of the band’s second album, Last Splash.  It remains the only time any of their singles was a chart hit here in the UK, and even then, it barely made it.  One week at #40.

It’s one of those songs which tips its hat in the directions of indie and grunge, as evidenced by the fact that its Spike Jonze-directed promo was aired frequently back in the days of MTV2 and can still be seen nowadays when the rock-guitar obsessed channel Kerrang goes through a bout of nostalgia.

It’s one of those songs that has an unnerving ability to lodge itself into your brain.  Go on…..give it a listen right now, and I bet you find yourself singing or humming snatches of the tune later in the day as you go about your business.

I’d love to say I have this one on vinyl, but it’s very much the CD single, although it does offer up the same three additional tracks.

mp3: The Breeders – Cro-Aloha
mp3: The Breeders – Lord Of The Thighs
mp3: The Breeders – 900

Cro-Aloha features a similar sort of distorted vocal as can be found on Cannonball.  It’s only a shade over two-minutes in length, but it still pulls off the impressive feat of in places offering a reminder of Kim’s former band as well as being a head-banging classic for those whose tastes are along such lines.  A different and much more commercial recording of the song, entitled No Aloha, would be included on Last Splash.

The band’s bassist, Josephine Wiggs, takes the lead vocal on the other two tracks.

Lord of The Thighs is a cover of an Aerosmith song.  I love how Josephine’s seemingly disinterested delivery is at odds with the way the band are playing the tune.  I dare anyone involved in Dry Cleaning to say that this wasn’t an influence on how they wrote and recorded their excellent debut album.

900 is the most experimental of the four songs.  It’s a song written by Josephine, and given she was a trained cellist prior to becoming a rock musician, it’s no real surprise that there’s a place on it for that instrument as well as a violin.  It’s probably best to just say that it works well as a b-side, but there may well be some of you who really enjoy it.

JC