The Pixies

Timing is everything, and boy, do the Pixies know it. That's why the band released its self-titled DVD a week before its second greatest-hits album dropped, in the midst of its reunion tour. The DVD includes a newly remastered show from the 1988 Surfer Rosa tour, music videos, a documentary and behind-the-scenes tour footage. The live set from the Town & Country Club in London captures a younger-looking Frank Black in his prime, ranting and wailing like a madman alongside Kim Deal's bass and her hauntingly beautiful crooning. The set includes fan favorites such as "Bone Machine" and "Where Is My Mind" and ends with the Beatles' homage "Wild Honey Pie." The documentary chronicles the band's history from demos to demise. The 30-minute history segment is interlaced with live footage and interviews with David Bowie, Bono, Thom Yorke and several Pixies (though not Deal). The disc also includes choppy home-video footage from the Doolittle European tour, along with seven video releases, including the live-in-the-studio version of the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Head On." But despite the London show's superb visuals and sound, the DVD lacks sufficient latter-day material to do justice to the band that saved rock and roll from the '80s.