Pixies / Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa / 30th anniversary reissue

I picked this up on CD yesterday and wish that I hadn’t. The packaging may be the most-badly assembled hodgepodge I have encountered in 30 years of record collecting. There is glue everywhere. Things that shouldn’t be stuck together are stuck together and there is discolouration and cosmetic damage. The inset that holds the discs is so poorly anchored that the weight of its contents drag down the sleeves.

On Amazon.co.uk some reviewers have mentioned similar problems, with one finding glue on the actual discs. I am in two minds over whether I should try again with a replacement or call it a day. Whoever conceived this abomination should hang their head.

looks like release date for the CD set has now been pushed back to 26 October according to both amazon and the 4ad site

Always wanted to hear the Pixies version of Watch What You’re Doing – since Come On Pilgrim takes its title from a line in that song

Long as we’re discussing great Pixies releases, I was wondering if anyone else noticed the sound settings on the Doolittle pure audio/ Blu-ray Disc being a little off.
The “surround” setting sounds so much better on my 2 channel stereo than the “PCM stereo” setting.
The 2 channel version has a muted, vague sound that improves when switched to surround sound.
Am I the only one?

The price of the CD set dropped on Amazon, which is welcome. This set is clearly designed so that it can all fit on vinyl without being overly expensive. As many of the comments point out, CD space is not being maximized as it clearly was for the Doolittle reissue. Sadly the result is that this isn’t a “document of an era”-style release like its predecessor or the Last Splash box. The latter illustrates the difficulty and expense of producing a comprehensive box that’s all vinyl. And of course plenty of folks are unhappy with mixed media releases—though that’s a possible solution here—because they include formats they don’t listen to and thus the contents cost more.

So is this the same master that was used for the vinyl reissues a decade ago,

Since 2009 the limited Minotour Box set is not sold out. And now a clear vinyl record set for over 100 Euro (incl. postage)? More and more stupid overpriced rereleases starting to flooding the market. You will never learn it, rip off music industry.

No mention of any re-master for this release, so I too will stick with my ‘Minotaur’ hi-res versions. I am interested in the Lowell live studio recording (which has been in available for many years as an off-air recording) and how that official recording improves matters, hopefully from pre-broadcast tapes.

I’m torn. I used to be a 4AD obsessive and Surfer Rosa is, hands-down, my favourite album of all time. But, as observed by just about everybody else, this seems to be purely about the money to me. The original release of Surfer Rosa showed that it can fit nicely on a CD with Come On Pilgrim, so if there’s no additional material for either of those albums, there’s absolutely no reason to split them up. And yeah – Doolittle 25 was 3 LPs and cost about £20. This is three LPS and costs either £32 or £80.

Much as Ilove Vaughan Oliver and Simon Larbalestier, I’m not sure that I’m going to spend another £48 here just for some nice packaging (especially as the Vaughan Oliver Archive is due imminently anyway)

Doolittle 25 was just £12 for 3 much more crammed discs…this is nearly double the price for 3 nigh-on empty discs…how can Band/Record Company go from getting 1 re-issue so right to getting the next 1 so wrong?

Maybe we’ll get a COP…It’s SR 35 that rectifies this…

Strange that I made a comment about the HMV vinyl being cheaper and attached a link yet it didn’t appear. When I try to make the same comment again I get a message telling me I’ve already made that comment?!? The plot thickens

Any reason you’re not listing the HMV vinyl? It’s a lot cheaper than amazon

My alltime fav band , if you could wear out cd , the Surfer Rosa / Come On Pilgrim would be as thin as graphene.
I will be purchasing this item ……how many copies I have no idea.

I managed to get one of the signed Ltd edition Minotaur sets and even luckier it was one of the random 25 sets with the vinyl test pressings so a much treasured item in my collection.

This is a pretty poor reissue, I thought the tracklisting would be closer to Doolittle 25 from a few years back.

The live disc is great, but CoP is only around 20 minutes long, leaving plenty of room for the rest of the Purple Tape and other demos that we haven’t heard. Surfer Rosa is 34 mins, also leaving plenty of room for the b-sides and BBC sessions.

Wasted opportunity IMO, especially in comparison with the rarities packed Doolittle reissue from 2014. Sad, as CoP and SR are two of my all time favourites

Been waiting for the tracklisting for this since it was 1st announced a little while ago but compared to the Doolittle 25 reissue which was well packed (and cheaper if i recall) this is very disappointing…was hoping for the full un-remixed Purple Tape finally…meh…Come On Pilgrim does not need to be on its own disc…what a waste of space…missed opportunity…

Big fan of the Pixies. I have almost everything (including the pretty expensive Minotaur box set). I shouldn’t bother for this release but I probably won’t resist and buy that beautiful 30th anniversary reissue in order to add it to my collection ! lol

I have the 2007 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs “Surfer Rosa” with the additional DSD audio layer and it sounds amazing. MFSL also did “Doolittle”, Bossanova” and “Trompe Le Monde” but never included “Come On Pilgrim” on this format. I repurchased “Doolittle 25” and will grab this 30th Anniversary set as well. Looking forward to the concert and interested in hearing what mastering will be used for “Come On Pilgrim” – perhaps 2009’s “Minotaur” set version?

“Doolittle” got the Pure Audio/Blu-Ray Disc treatment and these two albums deserve the same – I’d only ask that they take a cue from Beggars and put them on one disc (we don’t need a 21 minute Blu-Ray).

Vaughan Oliver is an absolute visionary, and it is wonderful that he is doing the design work on these reissues. But it was photographer Simon Larbalestier whose unsettling and surreal work provided the iconic imagery on the Pixies albums. He deserves a mention (and here it is).

Incidentally, Larbalestier’s book about collage techniques is an inspiring read for artists.

Caroline – You read my mind. Seriously, why couldn’t this have been a 4 disc set, with the complete Purple Tape – in its original mix — included on disc 4?

Both brilliant albums (and they certainly used to be available on a single cd) but in the absence of unreleased studio material a stand alone release of the live album would have been preferable.

What a wasted opportunity! There’s loads of demo material and alt takes from this period. The lack of bonus material makes this a no for me. I’ll stick with my original vinyl.

I went for the gold vinyl edition, not paying double just to have it on clear. This is my perfect excuse for picking up this album on vinyl.

If remastered, I’m in. If not, I don’t need another version of the same thing.

Hmm… The radio session will be interesting if inessential. It’s a shame they didn’t include the full Purple Tape and the re-recordings from the Gigantic EP. Seems a bit of a missed opportunity.

Gold = need!

Well said, Caroline. I agree.

The sound Steve Albini got on Surfer Rosa is absolutely perfect so I’m pleased they’ve decided not to tinker around with it. I think its a rights issue with The Purple Tape as the remaining tracks came out on the SpinArt label a few years ago and they probably wanted too much $$$?

I’ll get this at some point for the live disc, but making it a 3CD set is a bit cheeky. ‘Come On Pilgrim’ and ‘Surfer Rosa’ have been available for years as a single disc.

The three disc should have at least included all of the Purple Tape as well.

I thought the reissue might be coupled with the 30th anniversary five nights of concerts at The Roundhouse in London in October/November, and thus a 2018 live album of the albums taken from the best performances over the five nights being bundled with a reissue.

This is the “I’ve still got my original vinyl from back in the day” post. Plus I have them on CD. I think I’ll squander my money elsewhere :)

Try nearly 3 times the price of the standard gold vinyl for the deluxe edition! I didn’t realise the pound had crashed via the US dollar this morning. It costs virtually the same in US dollars in America versus Pounds here.

The clear 3lp clothbound version can also be ordered from indie stores (Picadilly Records in Manchester has it up listed with free shipping)

No news on any remastering with these? If not I may stick with the Minotaur box-set as vinyl isn’t my thing.

Ridiculous that this doesn’t include the full “Purple Tape” – bringing that whole session together would have been a decent carrot but, nah, it’s a hard pass from me.