Fast Man Raider Man
Recorded in the same casual manner as 2005'sHoneycomb, in various hit-and-run sessions with superstar session musicians during gaps in the Pixies' unending reunion tour,Fast Man Raider Manabides by the this-will-do aesthetic that has been a hallmark of Frank Black's solo career. With songs seemingly made up on the spot, the singer delivers a thoroughly mellow 27-track double album that is largely free of the inscrutability and insanity of his most famous work. Instead, it is homey pedal steel guitars, sleepy saxophone solos, rootsy barroom rockers like "Down To You," a heart-on-sleeve R&B; ballad or two such as "Sad Old World," and a wobbly cover of Ewan MacColl's "Dirty Old Town." His strangest offering yet?--Aidin Vaziri