Pixies - Come On Pilgrim

Pixies - Come On Pilgrim

Tracklist:
Caribou
Vamos (Surfer Rosa)
Isla de Encanta
Ed Is Dead
The Holiday Song
Nimrod's Son
I've Been Tired
Levitate Me

Come On Pilgrim is the debut EP by the Pixies, released by 4AD Records in September 1987.

The recordings which comprise this EP were taken verbatim from the band’s demo tape (often referred to as The Purple Tape). 4AD co-founder Ivo Watts-Russell had a history of bands suffering from a diminished energy when re-recording their demos, so he decided to simply take the best songs from The Purple Tape and release them as they were.

The title is taken from a lyric in “Levitate Me” which Black Francis, in turn, took from Christian rock artist Larry Norman: “Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you.” Watts-Russell liked the line – it reminded him of Slaughterhouse-Five’s main character, Billy Pilgrim. He approached the band with that title and Francis (a long-time admirer of Larry Norman who probably enjoyed the opportunity to pay tribute) agreed.

4AD’s graphic designer, Vaughan Oliver, paired the band with British photographer Simon Larbalestier for the album’s packaging. Come On Pilgrim is the first cover of a five-year partnership the band held with Larbalestier, who designed all their record sleeves for 4AD. The cover image came from a previous project Larbalestier did based on Flaubert’s Temptation of St. Anthony – it depicts a man Larbalestier knew who was covered in hair but unfortunately was going bald. The man dealt with this by shaving his head up to his collar – effectively giving himself a hair shirt.

Come On Pilgrim was a large success for the band in the college radio underground rock community – mainly overseas, due to 4AD failing to secure the rights to its distribution in the United States. It remained unreleased stateside until 1988, when Rough Trade packaged it with their debut full-length, Surfer Rosa. However, American college radio stations still found their way towards import copies and the band found great success touring the college circuit on its back. This did, however, set a pattern into motion for the Pixies' entire career – they always achieved far more success in the UK than they did in America.

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