So why is Frank Black’s Oddballs on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
IIt says much about both the consistent quality of the tracks on Oddballs and my enduring love and admiration for Frank Black that this collection of “B-sides and rarities” landed within the Top 100 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
“Remake/Remodel” represents so many of the things I love about Frank Black – rollicking garage rock with a sweet and crunchy guitar hook that I could listen to for days.
Over the years, I’ve come to deeply love and appreciate “Pray a Little Faster.” Black’s music is rarely overtly political, but I dig how concisely and pointedly this one pokes at the hypocrisy of organized religion.
And also, most importantly: it rocks. I also smiled when I read through this note that I jotted down during the lengthy research phase for this massive best 1,000 albums ever project:
“Pray a Little Faster” is catchy as hell, fun, chuggingly propulsive, and a little weird.
“Baby, That’s Art” is a much gentler and quirkier affair, and is also a track that would fit in quite well on one of Black’s first two solo albums (Teenager of the Year and the self-titled Frank Black), both of which are eclectic masterpieces.
I’m reminded too on this one of how much I admire Frank Black’s guitar chord progressions. Much like Kurt Cobain’s (who studied the Pixies closely indeed), they are always uniquely pleasing.
And then “Everybody Got the Beat” is a delightfully thrashy punk number.
I find the range shown on Oddballs to be an astonishing achievement. Example: the power pop of “Just a Little” shows off how Frank Black could have successfully plied in this more mainstream-ish direction alone had he chosen to.
The same could be said of “Can I Get A Witness,” which also throws in a nice slice of alt country influence.
Some stats & info about Frank Black – Oddballs
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Indie Rock, Hard Rock, Punk Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 3 out of 5 stars
- When was Oddballs released? 2000
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #93 out of 1,000
Frank Black’s Oddballs on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Frank Black’s Oddballs that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Forget about the girls and forget about the boys – turn off the TV and put away your toys.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.