Album
Doolittle
Doolittle is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on 17 April 1989 on 4AD. It followed Surfer Rosa and turned out to be their breakthrough, winning instant critical praise and doing especially well in Europe, where Melody Maker and Sounds both named it album of the year. In the UK it reached number eight.
What makes it worth hearing is the quiet/loud dynamic. Kim Deal's bass and David Lovering's drums hold the verses in check, then the distorted guitars of Black Francis and Joey Santiago push the songs to their peaks. Francis's lyrics drift through surrealist imagery, biblical violence and scenes of torture and death. Kurt Cobain counted it among his favourites and said it shaped "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Start with "Debaser", "Hey" and the singles "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven".
Doolittle on Riffology
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Doolittle: tracklist, credits and charts
15 tracks · 38:44Tracklist
- 1DebaserBlack Francis2:52
- 2TameBlack Francis1:56
- 3Wave of MutilationBlack Francis2:05
- 4I BleedBlack Francis2:35
- 5Here Comes Your ManBlack Francis3:22
- 6DeadBlack Francis2:21
- 7Monkey Gone to HeavenBlack Francis2:56
- 8Mr. GrievesBlack Francis2:06
- 9Crackity JonesBlack Francis1:24
- 10La La Love YouBlack Francis2:44
- 11No. 13 BabyBlack Francis3:52
- 12There Goes My GunBlack Francis1:50
- 13HeyBlack Francis3:31
- 14SilverBlack Francis and Kim Deal2:25
- 15Gouge AwayBlack Francis2:45
- Produced by
- Gil Norton
- Recorded at
- Downtown Recorders (Boston)
- Recorded
- 31 October – 23 November 1988
- Mixed by
- Steve Haigler
- Mixed at
- Carriage House Studios
- Engineered by
- Matt Lane, Gil Norton
- Labels
- 4AD, Elektra
- Length
- 38:44
Line-up
- Black Francis · electric guitar, vocals
- Kim Deal · electric bass guitar, vocals, slide guitar
- Dave Lovering · drums (drum set), lead vocals, bass guitar
- Joey Santiago · electric guitar, background vocals
- Arthur Fiacco · cello · guest
- Karen Karlsrud · violin · guest
- Corine Metter · violin · guest
- Ann Rorich · cello · guest
Singles
- “Monkey Gone to Heaven” · 27 March 1989
- “Here Comes Your Man” · 19 June 1989
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1989–1998 | 8 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1989–1998 | 98 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1989–1998 | 18 |
| Dutch Albums · 1989–1998 | 53 |
| French Albums · 1989–1998 | 66 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 2011 | Gold |
| France · 1997 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2025 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2015 | Platinum |
| United States · 2018 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
89.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
14k
ListenBrainz listeners
150k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
76k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 17 April
Every year →
More from Pixies
Full discography →
Come On Pilgrim
1987
Surfer Rosa
1988
Bossanova
1990
Trompe le Monde
1991
Death to the Pixies
1997
Pixies at the BBC
1998
Complete ‘B’ Sides
2001
Pixies
2002
Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies
2004
Minotaur
2009
EP1
2013
EP2
2014
EP3
2014
Indie Cindy
2014
Head Carrier
2016
Beneath the Eyrie
2019
Beneath the Eyrie Demos, Pt. 1
2020
Beneath the Eyrie Demos, Pt. 2
2020
Doggerel
2022
The Night the Zombies Came
2024
The best of 1989
All of 1989 →
Bleach
Nirvana · 1989
Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails · 1989
The Real Thing
Faith No More · 1989
Pump
Aerosmith · 1989
Blew
Nirvana · 1989
The Miracle
Queen · 1989
Steel Wheels
The Rolling Stones · 1989
The Offspring
The Offspring · 1989
Dr. Feelgood
Mötley Crüe · 1989
Headless Cross
Black Sabbath · 1989
Beneath the Remains
Sepultura · 1989
At the Beeb
Queen · 1989
More on 4AD
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1989-04-18 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 17 April 1989 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 17 April 1989 | |
| Wikidata | 18 April 1989 | |
| US release | 17 April 1989 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 17 April 1989 | earliest UK or European date |
33 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XW | 4AD | 5014436905025 | other |
| — | XE | 4AD | 5014436905025 | other |
| — | AU | 4AD | 5021456092864 | other |
| — | GB | 4AD | 652637090512 | other |
| — | US | 4AD | 075596085625 | other |
| 1989 | FR | 4AD | 077778695127 | other |
| 1989 | US | 4AD | 075596085625 | other |
| 1989 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1989 | ES | Grabaciones Accidentales | other | |
| 1989 | DE | 4AD | 4005902028820 | other |
| 1989 | AU | Liberation Records | 9399603003220 | other |
| 1989 | US | 4AD | 075596085625 | other |
| 17 April 1989 | GB | 4AD | 5014436905018 | original |
| 17 April 1989 | US | Elektra | 075596085618 | original |
| 17 April 1989 | XE | Rough Trade | original | |
| 17 April 1989 | GB | 4AD | 5014436905025 | original |
| 17 April 1989 | XW | 4AD | 0652637190564 | original |
| 17 April 1989 | DE | 4AD | original | |
| 18 April 1989 | US | Elektra | 075596085625 | other |
| 18 April 1989 | US | Columbia House | 075596085625 | other |
| 1998 | GB | 4AD | 5014436905025 | other |
| 2002 | ZA | 4AD | 6001208008939 | other |
| 20 May 2003 | US | 4AD | 652637090529 | other |
| 1 October 2005 | AU | 4AD | 5014436905025 | other |
| 2008 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797203364 | other |
| 2009 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797130912 | other |
| 28 November 2014 | GB | 4AD | 0652637342550 | other |
| 1 December 2014 | GB | 4AD | 652637342529 | other |
| 1 December 2014 | US | — | other | |
| 1 December 2014 | GB | 4AD | 652637342529 | other |
| 20 January 2015 | US | 4AD | 652637342512 | other |
| 9 December 2016 | GB | 4AD | 652637090505 | other |
| 2021 | XE | 4AD | 652637090529 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |