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Frank Black Releases Best-Of Compilation

Frank Black—also known as Black Francis, the lead singer of the Pixies—is set to release a greatest hits compilation of his solo material titled Frank Black 93-03. The two-disc best-of, which features 22 studio tracks with a second disc of live material, will see a June 12 release date on Cooking Vinyl Records. Black is also including alternate versions of the second disc for the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

"There is totally a narrative arc to my solo career. It sounds trite, but in basic language this is what's happening on these songs," said Black. "It's me breaking away from the Pixies and finding myself as a solo artist, finding a band again and forging that together, then losing it and my marriage, and finally getting my obsession with two-track recording out of my system. It's a total arc."

He continued, "But I've got a big back catalogue, and so for the uninitiated, Frank Black 93-03 is a good place to start. It just sounds like a regular Frank Black album because all my records are schizophrenic in tenor—fast song, slow song, country song, punky song. Although it's boring to say, 'I think it's very representative of who I am as an artist', it really is!"

These are the track listings:

Disc One:

Los Angeles (Frank Black, 1993)
Ten Percenter (Frank Black, 1993)
Czar (Frank Black, 1993)
Old Black Dawning (Frank Black, 1993)
Abstract Plain (Teenager of the Year, 1994)
Calistan (Teenager of the Year, 1994)
Speedy Marie (Teenager of the Year, 1994)
Headache (Teenager of the Year, 1994)
Freedom Rock (Teenager of the Year, 1994)
Men in Black (The Cult of Ray, 1996)
You Ain't Me (The Cult of Ray, 1996)
I Don't Want to Hurt You (The Cult of Ray, 1996)
All My Ghosts (Frank Black and The Catholics, 1998)
I Gotta Move (Frank Black and The Catholics, 1998)
Bad Harmony (Pistolero, 1999)
Western Star (Pistolero, 1999)
Robert Onion (Dog in The Sand, 2001)
Hermaphroditos (Dog in The Sand, 2001)
Velvety (Devil's Workshop, 2002)
California Bound (Black Letter Days, 2002)
Massif Centrale (Show Me Your Tears, 2003)
Manitoba (Show Me Your Tears, 2003)

Disc Two:

North American Live Track Listing:

Deadman's Curve
Raiderman
My Terrible Ways
I'll Be Blue
Johnny Barleycorn
Ten Percenter
Dog Gone
The Swimmer
Suffering

European Live Track Listing:

Bullet
Nadine
CPL593A
Living on Soul
Burnt Out Rock 'n' Roll
Been All Around the World
Six Sixty Six
Horrible Day
(Do What You Want) Gyaneshwar

Japanese Live Track Listing:

Ten Percenter
Deadman's Curve
My Terrible Ways
I'll Be Blue
Bullet
Nadine
CPL593A
Living on Soul
Suffering
I Burn Today
I'm Nod Dead (I'm In Pittsburgh)
Sing For Joy

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
04.27.07