| Surfer Rosa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1988 (1988-03-21)[1] | |||
| Recorded | November & December 1987 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 33:21 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Steve Albini | |||
| Pixies chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Surfer Rosa | ||||
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Surfer Rosa is the debut studio album by the Americanalternative rock bandPixies, released in March 1988 on the British label4AD.[5] It was produced bySteve Albini.Surfer Rosa contains many of the elements of Pixies' earlier output, including Spanish lyrics and references toPuerto Rico. It includes references tomutilation andvoyeurism alongside experimental recording techniques and a distinctive drum sound.
As 4AD was anindependent label, distribution in the United States was handled by British labelRough Trade Records; however, it failed to chart in either country. Only one single was released, a rerecorded version of "Gigantic", and reached number 93 on theUK Singles Chart.Surfer Rosa was rereleased in the US byElektra Records in 1992, and in 2005 wascertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America.[6]
Surfer Rosa is often included on critics' lists of the best rock albums.Alternative rock artists includingBilly Corgan andPJ Harvey have cited it as an inspiration; it was an influence onNirvana's 1993 albumIn Utero, which Albini also produced.
Before the release of Pixies' debutmini-albumCome On Pilgrim in October 1987,Ivo Watts-Russell, head of4AD, suggested they return to the studio to record a full-length album. The original plan was to record new material atFort Apache Studios, where the band had producedThe Purple Tape andCome On Pilgrim. However, due to differences between the band's manager Ken Goes andThe Purple Tape producerGary Smith, Pixies ended up looking for a new producer and recording studio. On the advice of a 4AD colleague, Watts-Russell looked to hireSteve Albini as the record's engineer and producer. Having sent a pre-release tape ofCome On Pilgrim to Albini, Goes invited him to a Boston dinner party at drummerDavid Lovering's house a few weeks afterCome On Pilgrim's release.
Albini met the band that evening, and they discussed how the next record should sound and be recorded. Albini said that, "[the band and I] were in the studio the next day."[7]Paul Q. Kolderie, who had worked at Fort Apache Studios with Smith, recommended the Boston recording studioQ Division to Albini.[8] This created tension between Smith and Kolderie, and Kolderie later remarked that "Gary almost killed me for the suggestion, he thought I was scheming to get the project."[9]
Pixies entered Q Division in December 1987,[10] booking ten working days of studio time in which to record the album.[7] 4AD allocated Pixies a budget of US$10,000, with the total costs amounting to about $18,000.[11][12] Albini's producer's fee was US$1,500, and he received no royalties;[13] Albini had a practice of refusing royalties from records he produced, viewing it as "an insult to the band."[14] Along with Albini in the studio, Q Division's Jon Lupfer acted as studio assistant.[9] The recording process took the entire booked period of ten working days to complete, with extra vocal mixes subsequently added in the studio.[15] Albini planned to mix the record "somewhere else", but according to Lupfer, "He was unhappy there with it."[16]
DuringKim Deal's vocals takes during "Where Is My Mind?" and "Gigantic", Albini moved the equipment to record into a studio bathroom to achieve more "roomy" echo. John Murphy, Deal's then husband, said, "Albini didn't like the studio sound".[17] Albini later said that the record could have been completed in a week, but "we ended up trying more experimental stuff basically to kill time and see if anything good materialized."[8] An example was "Something Against You", where Albini filteredBlack Francis' voice through a guitar amp for "a totally ragged, vicious texture."[18]
The recording of a conversation held between Francis and Albini can be heard at the end of "Oh My Golly!". Lupfer writes that "it was a concept he [Albini] was going for to get some studio banter." As Deal was leaving the studio to smoke a cigarette, she exclaimed "If anybody touches my stuff, I'll kill ya." Francis replied with "I'll kill you, you fucking die, if anybody touches my stuff". The track begins at this point, with Francis explaining the conversation to Albini, whose voice is not heard on the track.[19] Lupfer later admitted that Albini knew "perfectly well what was going on."[20]
"I'm Amazed" begins with Deal recounting a story in which one of her former teachers who was "into field hockey players" was discreetly fired. Francis finishes Deal's sentences, joking that her response to hearing of the teacher's activities was to try to join the team.[21] Albini later observed the use of studio banter onSurfer Rosa: "It's on their record forever so I think now they are obliged to say that they're ok with it, but I honestly don't know that that idea would've ever come up if I hadn't done it. There are times when things like that are revealing and entertaining and I kind of felt it was a bit gimmicky on this record."[22]
LikeCome On Pilgrim,Surfer Rosa displays a mix of musical styles; pop guitar songs such as "Broken Face", "Break My Body", and "Brick Is Red" are featured alongside slower, more melodic tracks exemplified by "Where Is My Mind?". The album includes heavier material, and prominently features the band's trademark quiet-loud dynamic. Frontman and principal songwriter Black Francis wrote the material, the only exception being "Gigantic," which was co-written with Kim Deal. "Gigantic" is one of only two Pixies album tracks on which Deal sang lead vocals.
Surfer Rosa's lyrical content includes examinations ofmutilation andincest in "Break My Body" and "Broken Face", while references to superheroes appear on "Tony's Theme". Voyeurism appears in "Gigantic", and surrealistic lyrics are featured on "Bone Machine" and "Where Is My Mind?". Spanish lyrics and references to Puerto Rico are found on the tracks "Oh My Golly!" and "Vamos." The latter track was previously featured onCome On Pilgrim, and appears onSurfer Rosa as a rerecorded version of the original song. Many of the themes explored on previous recordings are revisited onSurfer Rosa; however, unlike on the band's later albums, the songs inSurfer Rosa are not preoccupied with one overarching topic.
Other unusual and offbeat subject matter is raised on the album. "Cactus" is narrated by a prison inmate who requests his girlfriend smear her dress with blood and mail it to him.[15] "Gigantic" is about an illicit love affair[23] and borrows from the 1986 filmCrimes of the Heart, in which a married woman falls in love with a teenager. Francis was inspired to write "Where Is My Mind?" afterscuba diving in theCaribbean. He later said he had "this very small fish trying to chase me. I don't know why—I don't know too much about fish behavior."[24]
Surfer Rosa was released in the UK by 4AD on March 21, 1988, entering theUK Indie Chart the following week. It spent 60 weeks in the chart, peaking at number 2.[25] Until August of that year it was only available in the U.S. as an import. Although the label held worldwide distribution rights to Pixies, they did not have access to a distributor outside the UK. When 4AD signed a distribution deal withRough Trade's U.S. branch, the album was released on vinyl and cassette as part of theSurfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim release. WhileSurfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim has remained in print on CD in the UK, subsequent U.S. releases have seen the two released on separate CDs. These separate releases first appeared in January 1992, whenElektra Records first reissued the band's first two albums. After 4AD reacquired rights to the band's U.S. distribution, they released both as separate CDs.[26]Surfer Rosa wascertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America in 2005, 17 years after its original release.[6]
"Gigantic" was the only single taken fromSurfer Rosa. The track and itsB-side, "River Euphrates", were rerecorded byGil Norton at Blackwing Studios in London, early in May 1988.[27] The remixed single was well met by critics.[28] The single failed to sell, and spent just one week at number 93 on theUK Singles Chart.[29] Despite the poor commercial performance of bothSurfer Rosa and "Gigantic", Ivo Watts-Russell has said that the response to the album was "times five" compared withCome On Pilgrim.[30]
Surfer Rosa'scover artwork features a photograph of Isabel Tamen, a Portuguese dancer and friend of photographerSimon Larbalestier, posing topless as aflamenco dancer against a wall displaying acrucifix and a torn poster.[31] Larbalestier, who contributed pictures to all Pixiesalbum sleeves, decided to build the set because "we couldn't find the atmosphere we wanted naturally." According to Larbalestier, Black Francis came up with the idea for the cover as he wrote songs in his father's "topless Spanish bar"; Larbalestier added the crucifix and torn poster, and they "sort of loaded that with all the Catholicism."[32] Commenting on the cover in 2005, Francis said, "I just hope people find it tasteful."[33] The cover booklet expands on the theme, and features photographs of the flamenco dancer in several other poses; there are no song lyrics or written content, apart from album credits, in the booklet.
The booklet's photographs were taken in one day at a pub opposite the 4AD offices, because, according to Larbalestier, "it was one of the few places that had a raised stage".[32] In a 1988 interview withJoy Press, Black Francis described the concept as referring to "a surfer girl," who "walks along the beach ofPiñones, has a surfboard, very beautiful." When questioned about the topless element, he replied, "For the first record, I told them I liked nudity. I like body lines—not necessarily something in bad taste, didn't even have to be female, just body lines ... like thatObsession ad, you know?"[18] According toMelody Maker, the album was originally entitled "Gigantic" after Deal's song, but the band feared misinterpretation of the cover and changed it to "Surfer Rosa."[34] The "name" of the cover woman, and the album title, comes from the "Oh My Golly!" lyric "Besando chichando con surfer rosa", which roughly translates to "Kissing, making love with Surfer Rosa".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [26] |
| Blender | [35] |
| Mojo | [36] |
| NME | 9.5/10[37] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10[38] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [39] |
| Sounds |  [40] |
| Spin | A+[41] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10[42] |
| The Village Voice | B[43] |
UK music press reviews ofSurfer Rosa were generally positive.Q's Ian Cranna wrote that "what sets the Pixies apart are their sudden bursts of memorable pop melody," and noted that "they could have a bright future ahead of them."NME's Mark Sinker, reviewing the album in March 1988, said "they force the past to sound like them",[37] while Dave Henderson fromUnderground magazine found the songs "well crafted, well delivered sketches which embrace commercial ideals as well as bizarre left-field out of control moments".[44] John Dougan of American music magazineSpin described it as "beautifully brutal",[45] and the magazine later named Pixies their musicians of the year.[46] In a less enthusiastic contemporary review forThe Village Voice,Robert Christgau found the band's guitar riffs recognizable and their strong rhythms unique, but felt they had been overrated by critics who hailed them as "the Amerindie find of the year".[43] In a 2003 review ofthe Pixies' 2002 self-titled EP, Christgau wrote that while he initially found Francis' fey and philosophically limited lyrics somewhat annoying,Surfer Rosa now seemed "audaciously funny and musically prophetic".[47]
At the end of 1988,Surfer Rosa was named one of the year's best albums on English critics' year-end lists. Independent music magazinesMelody Maker andSounds namedSurfer Rosa as their album of the year;NME andRecord Mirror placed the album 10th and 14th, respectively.[23] A number of music magazines have since positionedSurfer Rosa as one of the quintessential alternative rock records of the 1980s. The album has appeared on several all-time best album lists, and is consistently placed as one of the best albums of the 1980s in any genre.[citation needed]
As of 2015, sales in the United States have exceeded 705,000 copies, according toNielsen SoundScan.[48]
BothSurfer Rosa and Steve Albini's production of the album have been influential onalternative rock, and ongrunge in particular.Nirvana'sKurt Cobain citedSurfer Rosa as the basis forNevermind's songwriting.[49] When he first heard the album, Cobain discovered a template for the mix of heavy noise and pop he was aiming to achieve. He remarked in 1992 that he "heard songs off ofSurfer Rosa that I'd written but threw out because I was too afraid to play them for anybody."[50] Cobain listedSurfer Rosa as one of the top 50 albums he thought were most influential to Nirvana's sound in his journal in 1993.[51] Cobain hired Albini to produce Nirvana's 1993 albumIn Utero, primarily due to his contribution toSurfer Rosa.[52]
The Smashing Pumpkins'Billy Corgan describedSurfer Rosa as "the one that made me go, 'holy shit'. It was so fresh. It rocked without being lame." Corgan was impressed by the album's drum sound, and acknowledged that The Smashing Pumpkins used to study the record for its technical elements.[30]Nada Surf have also cited the album as an influence.[53] MusicianPJ Harvey said thatSurfer Rosa "blew my mind," and that she "immediately went to track down Steve Albini."[54]Dinosaur Jr.'sJ Mascis, comparing the record to the later Pixies albumsBossanova andTrompe le Monde, said he thought that Albini's production "sounded way better than the other ones".[55]
Ivo Watts-Russell recalled: "I remember when I first heardSurfer Rosa thinking, 'I didn't know the Pixies could sound likeThe Fall.' That was my immediate reaction, in other words, incredibly raw." Gary Smith, who at the time was in a disagreement with the band, admitted he "was really happy that they had made such a forceful, aggressive, record."
In 1991, as Pixies were recordingTrompe le Monde, Albini told the fan magazineForced Exposure thatSurfer Rosa was "a patchwork pinch loaf from a band who at their top dollar best are blandly entertaining college rock", and said of the band: "Their willingness to be 'guided' by their manager, their record company and their producers is unparalleled. Never have I seen four cows more anxious to be led around by their nose rings."[13] In 2005, Albini apologized for the remarks, saying: "To this day I regret having done it. I don't think that I regarded the band as significantly as I should have."[56] In 2023, he saidSurfer Rosa was "a better record than I thought it was at the time".[57]
In an interview for the Life of the Record podcast, Albini went on to say, "I wrote some rather glib and unflattering things about [the Pixies taking all of his suggestions without question] in a fan zine in the immediate aftermath of that record, and I'm ashamed of the way I treated them. They didn't deserve that."[58]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mojo | UK | Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers guide[59] | 2001 | * |
| Musik Express | Germany | The 50 Best Albums from the 80s[60] | 2003 | 2 |
| Pitchfork | US | Top 100 Albums of the 1980s[61] | 2002 | 7 |
| Pure Pop | Mexico | 100 Greatest Albums[citation needed] | 1993 | 22 |
| Q | UK | The 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time[62] | 2001 | * |
| Rolling Stone | US | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2003 | 315[63] |
| 2012 | 317[64] | |||
| 2020 | 390[65] | |||
| Spin | US | Top 100 Albums of the Last 20 Years[66] | 2005 | 6 |
| Treble | US | The Best Albums of the 80s, by Year[67] | 2006 | 1 |
| Slant Magazine | US | Best Albums of the 1980s[68] | 2012 | 36 |
(*) designates unordered lists.
All tracks written byBlack Francis, except "Gigantic", written by Black Francis andKim Deal.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bone Machine" | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Break My Body" | 2:04 |
| 3. | "Something Against You" | 1:47 |
| 4. | "Broken Face" | 1:29 |
| 5. | "Gigantic" | 3:54 |
| 6. | "River Euphrates" | 2:31 |
| 7. | "Where Is My Mind?" | 3:53 |
| 8. | "Cactus" | 2:15 |
| 9. | "Tony's Theme" | 1:51 |
| 10. | "Oh My Golly!" | 2:32 |
| 11. | "Vamos" | 4:21 |
| 12. | "I'm Amazed" | 1:41 |
| 13. | "Brick Is Red" | 2:00 |
| Total length: | 33:21 | |
All information taken from the CD release ofSurfer Rosa.
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)[69] | 4 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[70] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[71] | Gold | 7,500‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[72] for Surfer Rosa/Come On Pilgrim1993 release | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[6] | Gold | 500,000^ / 705,000[73] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
The Boston band debuted in 1988 with "Surfer Rosa," introducing its unique form of quiet-to-loud art-punk and, over the course of a few years, hit the college airwaves with such songs as "Gigantic," "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and "Here Comes Your Man."
Gil Norton's production leans towards the harsh garage grunge of 'Surfer Rosa', although the songs retain the strong melodies of 'Doolittle'. In many ways, 'Bossanova' is the composite Pixies LP, the most positive elements of its two predecessors blended together to make one of the most intriguing and listenable albums of the year.
We are influenced bySurfer Rosa [the Pixies' first full-length],Kinks,Byrds, and melodic guitar bands likeGrandaddy,Built To Spill, andGuided By Voices."
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