Frank Black and Teenage Fanclub

In early 1994, at the beginning of Frank Black's post-Pixies solo career, he was invited to do a session for John Peel. In the absence of his regular backing band, Frank called on casual acquaintances Teenage Fanclub to back him up for the recording; which of course they hastily agreed to do. The lineup looked like:

• Frank Black: lead vocals, guitar
• Norman Blake: guitar, backing vocals
• Raymond McGinley: guitar, backing vocals
• Gerard Love: bass, backing vocals
• Paul Quinn: drums and, of course, yet more backing vocals.

The resulting tracks were released on BBC Worldwide as Frank Black & Teenage Fanclub: The Peel Sessions. The record has a fantastic informal atmosphere to it. Frank's signature vocal style is half-complemented, half-mimicked by the Fannies' yelling, accents much in evidence. The musical balance, as suggested by the lineup, is strongly biased toward vocals and guitar, and it's obvious in every way exactly how much fun everyone was having.

Tracks on the E.P. are:

1. Handyman: an Otis Blackwell cover.
2. The Man Who Was Too Loud: a tribute to Jonathan Richman.
3. The Jacques Tati: Unsurprisingly, a song about the French cinema pioneer, Jacques Tati. Much background hollering from the Fannies.
4. Sister Isabel: a Del Shannon cover, or should that be corruption? Never thought I'd feel inclined to rock out to a Del Shannon song, but this proved me wrong.