Editing Black Francis (section)

===Early solo career===
While Pixies' 1991 album ''Trompe le Monde'' was being recorded, Thompson had discussions with the album's producer, [[Gil Norton]], about a possible solo record.<ref>Gil Norton was the producer of Pixies' records from ''Doolittle'' onwards.</ref> He told Norton he was keen to record again, even though he had no new material; as a result, the two decided on a [[Cover version|cover album]]. However, by the time Thompson visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps".<ref name="4adbio">{{cite web | url=http://www.4ad.com/frankblack/profile/ | title=4AD&nbsp;— Frank Black | access-date=2006-11-29 | author=4AD | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123213948/http://www.4ad.com/frankblack/profile/ | archive-date=November 23, 2006 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

He collaborated with Feldman to record new material; they began by trimming down the number of covers to one, [[The Beach Boys]]' "[[Hang On to Your Ego]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/frankblack/albums/album/112901/review/5942903/frank_black |title=Rolling Stone: Frank Black: Frank Black : Music Reviews |access-date=2006-11-29 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=April 1, 1993 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213014007/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/frankblack/albums/album/112901/review/5942903/frank_black |archive-date=February 13, 2007 }}</ref> Feldman became the album's producer, and played keyboard and bass guitar on several songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/mbmembers/feldman.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station&nbsp;— Eric Drew Feldman Discography |access-date=2006-11-29 |quote=Eric Drew Feldman (bass, keyboards, synthetics) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028173927/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/mbmembers/feldman.htm |archive-date=October 28, 2006 }}</ref> with Santiago featuring on lead guitar<ref>Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 187–8</ref> and [[Nick Vincent (musician)|Nick Vincent]] on drums. Francis recorded the album during the hiatus and breakup of Pixies in late 1992 and early 1993. He then adopted the stage name "Frank Black" (inverting his old persona "Black Francis") and released the results as ''[[Frank Black (album)|Frank Black]]'' in March 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4ad.com/year/1993/releases/frankblack-0/ |title=4AD – 1993 Releases&nbsp;— Frank Black |access-date=2007-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706214240/http://4ad.com/year/1993/releases/frankblack-0/ |archive-date=July 6, 2006 }}</ref> ''Frank Black'' was characterized by a focus on [[UFO]]s and science fiction, although he explored other subjects, such as in "I Heard Ramona Sing", a song about the [[Ramones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4ad.com/frankblack/profile/?page=2 |title=4AD&nbsp;— Frank Black (page 2) |access-date=2006-12-02 |publisher=4AD |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512184836/http://www.4ad.com/frankblack/profile/?page=2 |archive-date=May 12, 2006 }}</ref> The album was similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' albums ''Bossanova'' and ''Trompe le Monde''. Feldman later said that the first record connected his solo career with ''Trompe le Monde'', "but at the same time it is an island, like nothing else he [Black] did".<ref name="pg188">Frank, Ganz, 2005. p. 188</ref>

The following year, Black released his second solo record, a 22-song double album entitled ''[[Teenager of the Year (album)|Teenager of the Year]]''.<ref>Phares, Heather. "[http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,197813,00.html Frank Black: Teenager of the Year]". AllMusic. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.</ref> ''Teenager'' included the song "Headache" ({{audio|FrankBlack-Headache.ogg|sample}}), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics described the song as "irresistible [[pop music|pop]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guypetersreviews.com/frankblack.php |title=Frank Black Album Reviews |access-date=2007-01-05 |author=Guy Peters |publisher=Guy's Music Review Site |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209055940/http://www.guypetersreviews.com/frankblack.php |archive-date=December 9, 2006 }}</ref> The production of ''Teenager of the Year'' was markedly different from ''Frank Black''; in the previous album, [[MIDI]] templates were used when writing songs, but in ''Teenager'', Black showed individual parts to band members, the core of which included drummer Vincent and [[Lyle Workman]] on lead guitar. Feldman noted that Thompson's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous" while recording the album.<ref name="pg188" /> Thompson had begun to stray from his style with Pixies, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his new-found method of recording was closer to later albums than that of ''Frank Black'' and ''Trompe le Monde''.

Both ''Frank Black'' and ''Teenager of the Year'' were critically well received, although they enjoyed limited commercial success. In 1995, Thompson left his long-time labels [[4AD]] and [[Elektra Records|Elektra]].<ref name="allmusicbio">{{cite web | author = Erlewine, Stephen Thomas | title = Frank Black / Artist [Full] Biography | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/frank-black-mn0000167287/biography | access-date=2019-05-30 | work = allmusic.com}}</ref> In 1996, he released ''[[The Cult of Ray]]'' on [[Rick Rubin]]'s [[American Recordings (US)|American Recordings]]; the album marked a turn away from the elaborate production of his first solo works and was recorded primarily live with few [[overdub]]s. His band for this album featured sole ''Teenager'' holdover [[Lyle Workman]] on lead guitar, along with bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ubl.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,225711,00.html |title=Frank Black: The Cult of Ray |access-date=2007-01-02 |author=ArtistDirect |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208115237/http://ubl.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0%2C%2C225711%2C00.html |archive-date=December 8, 2008 }}</ref><ref>Both had previously played in the [[jangle pop]] band [[Miracle Legion]].</ref> Though the album was neither critically nor commercially successful, its stripped-down approach would increasingly define Thompson's working methods for the next several years.