Surfer Rosa

by

Pixies
Edit

Release type:

studio album

First released:

Mar 21 1988

Overview Edit

Surfer Rosa is the first full-length album by the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in March 1988 on the British independent record label 4AD. The album's unusual and offbeat subject matter includes references to mutilation and voyeurism; this is augmented by experimental recording, low-fidelity production and a unique drum sound. Surfer Rosa contains many of the themes present in the Pixies' earlier output, including Spanish lyrics and references to Puerto Rico.

Because of 4AD's independent status, distribution in the United States was handled by British label Rough Trade Records; however, it failed to chart in either the UK or the U.S. "Gigantic" was the only single taken from the release, and only reached number 93 on the UK Singles Chart. Despite this, Surfer Rosa was re-released in the U.S. by Elektra Records in 1992, and in 2005 was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Surfer Rosa is often cited as a favorite of music critics, and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best rock albums. Many alternative rock artists, including Billy Corgan and PJ Harvey, have cited the album as inspirational; Nirvana's Kurt Cobain frequently acknowledged that Surfer Rosa was a strong influence on Nevermind, and in 1993 hired the album's producer Steve Albini to produce his band's album In Utero.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfer_Rosa. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

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This particular version Edit

Record label:

4ad / Ada

Catalog number:

CAD 803

Release dates:

1988 in United States
Mar 1988 in United Kingdom
Jan 28 1992 in United States

4 other versions of this release

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What do Amazon.com customers think?

One of the best albums ever made

The Pixies "Surfer Rosa" is an amazing experience. This 1988 album is a superb mix of brilliant songwriting, insane lyrics, abrasive guitars and stunning melody. Many of the songs are brutal, with heavily distorted guitars and strange lyrics about incest and injury, yet they are often quite catchy and melodic. This single album influenced more bands than any other album of the late 80s. But none of them can ever even hope of making something even half as brilliant as Surfer Rosa.

The first song,…

Read the full review

Written by "the_ninja"

Oh, my Golly!

I love this album, and havent heard it on a CD since like 94. Dont remember the sound being so low. Can Barely hear most of the vocals throughout. Keep it cranked at full volume just to hear it proper. So, love the album, not thrilled about the sound quality.

..Oh, I should probably add that it was the 1992 release that i ordered, not the remastered version.

Written by Marcos Cantu

Track listing Edit

CD

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Bone Machine