Pixies
Complete 'B' Sides
4AD

You could start a hobby of analyzing the Pixies to death, puzzling out answers to questions like whether the "Here Comes Your Man" video was a parody of bands who pantomime for the MTV camera or just a goofy lark. And was "Monkey Gone to Heaven" really about the hole in the ozone layer?

Even the title of the Pixies' Complete 'B' Sides calls to mind the sort of questions the band raised over its five-album existence: Why is the B in quotes? Is this a nod to the fact that in an era of CD singles there is no such thing as a true B-side anymore? Does the band feel like this work is to its regular music what "B-movies" are to regular movies? Or did someone at record label 4AD come up with the title, no ironic wink intended?

One thing is for certain: Before spiraling off to release albums as Frank Black, The Breeders and The Martinis, the members of the Pixies made some sublimely groundbreaking, beautiful, earsplitting music. The debate about whether Surfer Rosa or Doolittle is the group's best will wage on forever. (My vote goes to dark-horse candidate Bossanova.) It'll never be settled because the band's entire catalog is must-own material.

From the proto-grunge-pop of Come on Pilgrim to the wry heavy metal sound of Trompe le Monde, the Pixies had the three-minute pop song down to a brutal science, becoming an early master of the soft-verse, loud-chorus format onto which alternative rock would later latch. Black Francis' cryptic lyrics, half-shouts and bizarre yelps meshed perfectly with Kim Deal's honey-sweet voice and hokey bass lines, while Joey Santiago's freakout Mexicali-surf guitar and David Lovering's booming arena-rock drums punctuated the music with an exclamation point.

The import-only Complete 'B' Sides follows the band through its whole career, bringing together the B-sides from six U.K. singles, as well as a track from the U.S. "Alec Eiffel" single. Some of the tracks are among the first things the band recorded.

As an album, the collection doesn't hold up nearly as well as the group's other work, though it's still an eclectic, fun mix. There's enough here in the way of live tracks, cover tunes, alternate versions, video game theme songs and bizarre tributes to Debbie Gibson that the album warrants picking up. And anyone who hasn't seen the visionary videos for "Here Comes Your Man" and "Allison" is in for a treat, as 4AD's included those as well, in Quicktime format.

While the CD isn't something you're likely to listen to from start to finish, over and over, originals like "Weird at My School" and "Into the White," as well as cover tunes "Evil Hearted You" (sung in Spanish) and "Winterlong" will worm their way into your subconscious and land on many a mix tape or compilation CD. The loopy "Manta Ray" is arguably one of the group's best songs, with its goofy '60s girl group chorus and Black Francis' endless shrieking of "All Right," which, in typical Pixies fashion, is either an homage to or a parody of John Lennon's wailing at the end of "Revolution."

And in somewhat of a surprising move, Frank Black (nee Black Francis) has contributed liner notes to the album, dashing off a few sometimes-dismissive lines about each of the songs.

"A great Gouldman song done so well by the Yardbirds," he says of "Evil Hearted You." "We did it in Spanish, and to Gouldman's credit, he wouldn't let us release it until I got the translation right. It turns out Graham Gouldman speaks fluent Spanish. I finally got it close enough after consulting the cook at my local taqueria."

A joke? Or the honest-to-God truth? The Pixies enigma lives on.

— Eric Wittmershaus (ericw at flakmag dot com)