Frank Black and the Catholics (album)

{{Infobox album

| name = Frank Black and the Catholics

| type = studio

| artist = Frank Black and the Catholics

| cover = Fbcs.jpg

| alt =

| released = September 9, 1998

| recorded = March 20, 1997 –
March 22, 1997

| studio = Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California

| genre = Alternative rock

| length = 41:19

| label = SpinART

| producer = Frank Black and the Catholics

| chronology = Frank Black

| prev_title = The Cult of Ray

| prev_year = 1996

| next_title = Pistolero

| next_year = 1999

}}

Frank Black and the Catholics is the debut album from Frank Black and the Catholics, released in 1998. The backing group on this album performed on Black's previous album, The Cult of Ray, but the group name was first adopted on this release. The album was recorded live to two-track tape over the course of three days in 1997, but a protracted dispute with Black's label American Recordings,{{Cite web|url=http://quimby.gnus.org/html/interview/BlackFrank.article.battle.html|title = A Frank Black internet radio show!?!?}} reportedly over the "raw" sound of the recordings,{{Cite web|url=http://quimby.gnus.org/html/interview/BlackFrank.article.rocktropolis.html|title = Pixies/Frank Black}} delayed its release for 18 months. The album was released in June 1998 in the MP3 format on GoodNoise.com (precursor to eMusic) and was the first album by a major artist to be commercially released on the Internet. The album was then released in the fall of 1998 by SpinART records in the US. During the interim, Lyle Workman left the group and was replaced by Rich Gilbert, and Black prepared the follow-up, Pistolero.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/frank-black-and-the-catholics-mw0000600713 |title=Frank Black and the Catholics: Frank Black and the Catholics |accessdate=5 September 2017 |work= Allmusic |author= Stephen Thomas Erlewine |author-link= Stephen Thomas Erlewine }}

| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=Omnibus Press |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

| rev3 = NME

| rev3score = 6/10{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101001016reviews.html |title=Frank Black and the Catholics: Frank Black and the Catholics (Play It Again Sam) |website=NME |accessdate=2017-10-06 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000615162428/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101001016reviews.html |archivedate=2000-06-15 }}

| rev4 = Pitchfork

| rev4score = 6.8/10{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/black_frank/frank-black-and-the-catholics.shtml |title=Frank Black and the Catholics: Frank Black and the Catholics [spinART; 1998] |accessdate=2017-10-06 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040805222650/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/black_frank/frank-black-and-the-catholics.shtml |archivedate=5 August 2004 }}

| rev5 = Rolling Stone

| rev5Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=22576&cf=9 |title=Frank Black and the Catholics: Frank Black and the Catholics |magazine=Rolling Stone |accessdate=2017-10-06 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030821112622/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/cd/review.asp?aid=22576&cf=9 |archivedate=21 August 2003 }}

| rev6 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev6score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book |last=Wolk |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Wolk |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |chapter=Frank Black and the Catholics |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/74 74] }}

| noprose = yes

}}