The Breeders: “Cannonball” (1993)
The Breeders make their big splash with one of the year’s catchiest songs.
Kronomyth 2.01: Cuckoo’ld.
The Breeders got their fifteen minutes of fame in the last splashes of the Summer of 1993 with Cannonball. It was a runaway hit on MTV and, for a brief moment , it seemed like the end of Pixies might have been a case of mitosis and not necrosis as Kim Deal and Frank Black split into separate but equally successful factions. Unfortunately, Last Splash turned out to be sadly prophetic, at least as far as the 90’s were concerned, with the band destined to be remembered as a one-hit wonder. But, oh, what a hit it was. “Cannonball” came crashing into our lives and knocked us off our feet with all the charm and fury of the female form. If you picked up the CDEP, the fun was just getting started. You also got a primitive version of “No Ahola” called, what else?, Cro-Aloha, and two tracks featuring Josephine Wiggs on lead vocals. Their cover of Aerosmith’s Lord of the Thighs is one of those songs you can die happy after hearing. 900 isn’t bad either in a Camper Van Beethoven kind of way. Kim Deal giving the bass player in her band a chance to shine is what I’d call good karma. I definitely need to check out some of Wiggs’ other work.
Original CDEP version
A1. Cannonball (Kim Deal)
A2. Cro-Aloha (Kim Deal)
A3. Lord of the Thighs (Steven Tyler)
A4. 900 (Josephine Wiggs)
Original cassette single version
A1. Cannonball (Kim Deal)
B1. Lord of the Thighs (Steven Tyler)
B2. Cro-Aloha (Kim Deal)
Original CD single version (FRA)
A1. Cannonball
A2. Cro-Aloha
The Players
Kelley Deal (guitar, vocals), Kim Deal (guitar, vocals), Jim MacPherson (drums), Jospehine Wiggs (bass, vocals, cello, piano, lead vocals on A3/A4) with Carrie Bradley (violin on A4). A1 produced by Kim Deal and Mark Freegard; A2 engineered by Joe Buen and John Shough; A3 engineered by Daniel Presley; A4 produced by Josephine Wiggs and Mark Freegard.
The Pictures
Art direction and design by Vaughan Oliver. Design assistance by Paul McMenamin. Photography by Jason Love.
The Plastic
Released on four-track EP and CDEP and three-track cassette single in August 1993 in the US (4AD/Elektra, 66279/4-64566) and the UK (4AD, BAD-3011/CD). Also released on CD single in 1993 in France (4AD, 922482). Reached #44 on the US charts and #40 on the UK charts. (Charted on August 21, 1993 in the UK for 3 weeks.) Also released as promotional one-track CD single in 1993 in the US (Elektra, PRCD-8800).
