So why is Frank Black on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
If you asked a group of music fans about their favorite songs that relate to Los Angeles in some way, the first responses you’d get back would probably include “Hotel California,” “Free Fallin’,” and perhaps “California Love” or “Straight Outta Compton.”
If there were some serious heads in the mix, you might then get to the level of “Los Angeles” by X, “LA Woman” by The Doors, or some dusted off cheese-gem like “I Love L.A.” by Randy Newman. And obviously there are many more perfectly acceptable choices.
One response you probably wouldn’t get… unless I was in the hypothetical group: “Los Angeles” by Frank Black.
In fact, I’m here to argue that it’s in the elite tier of songs about LA, and about anything, really. It’s a masterpiece alternative rock gem, strange and soaring and soothing and rocking in turns. And as the leadoff track on Black’s self-titled album, his first post-Pixies solo record, it points the way to Frank Black remaining a dominant musical force that the vast majority of music normies are barely aware of.
So back to Exhibit A, kids: “Los Angeles.”
A brief acoustic guitar section opens the song, with Black singing accompanied by intriguing-sounding chimes. The electric guitars then kick in, offering a thrashy and driving yet contained vibe, with a dusting of Pixies-ish manic guitar sounds shredding in the background. It’s as though to say this is still Frank Black (or Black Francis, or whatever) from the Pixies, but a little older, wiser, and measured.
Right around the halfway point, “Los Angeles” transitions again in an epic and sweeping section, elevating what was already a great song to a much higher plane (an abstract one, surely, in Black’s telling). The outro is Black singing over guitar and strings:
I’ll wait in Los Angeles
I’ll wait in the pouring sun
No way
For not anyone
No way
As ever, Black’s lyrics are cryptic and even contradictory at times. He’s quoted on Song Meanings, citing a VOX interview from 1993, saying that the song is basically about how there are “so many versions” of Los Angeles, both around the world and even in the future – they got one in 2525, where it’s just like a beehive – which could be the LA depicted in a dystopian sci fi flick like Blade Runner.
That may connect thematically to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ own ode to LA and California, “California,” which breaks down the myth of Hollywood. That theme is well covered of course across movies and music. These Hollywood streets ain’t paved with gold comes to mind from Dilated Peoples’ great “Worst Comes to Worst.”
Maybe Black is saying we can all find our own version of Los Angeles — a vibe, as the kids say these days, more than a physical place.
As someone who lived in Pasadena for a dozen years, just outside of LA proper, I find this interesting too as Los Angeles is notoriously a city that’s hard to define. You can live there a long time and not really know what the culture is or even how to describe living there in a coherent way.
So perhaps that’s what old Frank is getting at, too?
What we do know is that his “Los Angeles” remains incredible.
The rest of Frank Black the album is very nearly as good, and scarily consistent at that.
“Ten Percenter” goes even harder in the direction of chugging hard rock with Black’s weirdo-great sensibilities thrown in.
And then “Adda Lee” and “Two Spaces” toggle all the way to the other end of Black’s sensibilities – whimsical, light, odd, and sweet while retaining an exciting and catchy energy.
“I Heard Ramona Sing” is a delightful and spectacular romantic rock song, deployed with exquisite precision in the brilliant Scott Pilgrim vs. the World just as the titular Scott meets the object of his desires: Ramona Flowers.
“Old Black Dawning” is a delightful acoustic rock jam. I absolutely adore when Black is in this mode. On that note, also see: Frank Black Francis (#89 of best 1,000 albums ever). If you’re just starting to get into Frank Black’s solo career, you will thank me later for pointing you to this treasure trove of solo acoustic goodness on its first half.
Some stats & info about Frank Black
- 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 – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Frank Black released? 1993
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #38 out of 1,000
Frank Black on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Frank Black that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I’ll wait in Los Angeles – I’ll wait in the pouring sun.
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.