What is a B-side to a band as delightfully peculiar as Pixies? What happens when you flip over the group who influenced a whole generation of young punks with their loud-quiet-loud aesthetic while surfing their own boldly idiosyncratic gamma wave? The answer lies within Complete B-Sides: 1988-97, a collection originally released in 2001 and now receiving a comprehensive remaster as part of the band’s 40th-anniversary celebrations.
The Art of the B-Side
On the evidence of this collection, the Pixies B-side is a sanctuary for dazzling tunes, ferocious power, tender emotion, and the kind of topsy-turvy songwriting that defined their classic albums. If anything, these tracks feel slightly freer, with the band’s trademark deviance cranked up a notch. More importantly, this is not a place where standards fall. Across 25 songs—spanning from 1988’s “Gigantic” to a 1997 live recording of “Debaser”—the quality remains remarkably high.
Tracks like the creepily cosmic “Into the White” and the aching Neil Young cover “Winterlong” stand as highlights, but the collection is packed with hidden gems. Songs such as “River Euphrates,” “Manta Ray,” and “Build High” prove that the band’s creative output during this era was deep enough to sustain an entire alternative greatest hits record.
A Mirror to the Classics
Complete B-Sides functions as a Through the Looking-Glass version of the band’s discography. For those seeking the guitar-wielding, chorus-screaming energy of “Debaser,” the re-recorded “River Euphrates” offers a swaggering, full-bodied alternative. Meanwhile, “Weird At My School” captures the frantic, rockabilly-adjacent energy of “Vamos,” albeit with a dash of improbable musical theater.
The band’s penchant for covers is also on full display. From the nauseous horror of their take on the Eraserhead theme to their telenovela-inspired injection of passion into The Yardbirds’ “Evil Hearted You,” the Pixies demonstrate a unique ability to remodel existing material into their own surf-punk swirl. Their cover of Neil Young’s “I’ve Been Waiting for You” remains a standout, anchored by a magically understated vocal performance from Kim Deal.
Live Energy and Legacy
The re-issue adds six live tracks recorded between 1989 and 1991, capturing the band at their imperial-phase best. With Joey Santiago’s guitar heroics pushed to the forefront and the rhythm section of Kim Deal and David Lovering operating with surgical precision, these recordings sound massive. While the sheer volume of live material released by the band over the last decade might dampen the impact for some, this collection remains a vital piece of the Pixies jigsaw. Freed from the constraints of the A-side, the band sounds more tender, strange, and unsettling—arguably more themselves than ever before.