User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
The Golem Image
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Be the first to review!

  • Summary: Black Francis performed a live soundtrack for the 1920 German silent film The Golem at the 2008 San Francisco International Film festival. Five hundred copies of the five-disc set (which included the film, as well as live and studio-recorded songs) were released. This stand-alone 18-trackBlack Francis performed a live soundtrack for the 1920 German silent film The Golem at the 2008 San Francisco International Film festival. Five hundred copies of the five-disc set (which included the film, as well as live and studio-recorded songs) were released. This stand-alone 18-track album features only the major songs. Collapse
Buy Now
Buy on
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Mar 15, 2011
    80
    While this decision [to a trimmed down from the five-disc] might disappoint some of the film and film score geeks among Francis' fans, the album still has plenty to offer, not the least of which is Francis' reunion with longtime collaborator Eric Drew Feldman. Feldman's keyboards and Francis' voice and guitar just sound natural--and immediately recognizable--together.
  2. Feb 8, 2011
    80
    With this record, though, Black turns that style into a genuine language--a flexible idiom--one that can conjure up a whole weird world of new emotions and experiences.
  3. Feb 8, 2011
    78
    Knowledge of The Golem isn't necessary for understanding Black Francis' latest experiment, but it helps when peeling back the inter-textual layers of his still-impressive lyricism.
  4. Feb 8, 2011
    70
    This is just more of Black Francis doing exactly what he wants to do. There are more orchestral flourishes than one might expect, but the core is the same old Francis: guitar overdrive, thunderous drums, epic, mysterious lyrics full of obscure references.
  5. Feb 8, 2011
    64
    The Golem is not a Pixies album, but it is a Black Francis record that walks and talks surprisingly well even without the master text of its film.
  6. Alternative Press
    Feb 8, 2011
    60
    This 18-song, one-hour compilation is a spawling, hit-or-miss affair. [Jan 2011, p.90]
  7. Feb 8, 2011
    50
    Franco Blanco, Black Frank, or whatever he wants to call himself doesn't make bad albums, whether with the Pixies, solo, or semi-solo, but the fact that The Golem Rock Album is merely decent is a letdown on its own.