Today, June 7, is the birthday of Gordon Gano a member of the hard to pigeon-hole group, The Violent Femmes. He was born in 1963 in Connecticut to actor parents Norman and Faye Gano.
Gano joined Violent Femmes in Milwaukee in 1981 with bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo. They developed a following thanks to songs such as Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off and Add It Up (all included on their self-titled debut album). The band has experimented with a variety of sounds over the course of its career, such as country and western (Hallowed Ground) and pop-rock (The Blind Leading the Naked). Gano plays guitar, sings and writes most of the band's songs.
I was first snagged by the album front cover artwork which is a photo of a sculpture created by Mary Nohl, the daughter of a Milwaukee attorney, and his wife Emma. After the death of her parents, a sizable inheritance left Nohl the chance to create artworks. She used concrete and found objects such as driftwood, wire and glass to build sculptures, one of which was used for the cover of the album.
Side 1:
A1 - Country Death Song - 5:02
A2 - I Hear The Rain - 1:30
A3 - Never Tell - 7:06
A4 - Jesus Walking On The Water, Vocals – Cynthia Gano Lewis, Peter Balestrieri - 3:04
A5 - I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say - 5:05
Side 2:
B1 - Hallowed Ground - 4:12
B2 - Sweet Misery Blues - 2:43
B3 - Black Girls - 5:38
B4 - It's Gonna Rain - 4:12
Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Slash Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Slash Records
Manufactured By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Distributed By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Published By – Gorno Music
Recorded At – Secret Sound
Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix
Pressed By – Allied Record Company
Credits:
Alto Saxophone, Woodwind [Game Calls] – John Zorn
Art Direction – Jeff Price (2)
Autoharp – Christina Houghton
Banjo – Tony Trischka
Bass [Mariachi], Electric Bass, Bass [Slide], Celesta, Marimba, Jew's Harp, Vocals – Brian Ritchie
Clarinet – John Tanner
Cornett [Cornetto], Sackbut – Drake Scott
Drums, Electronic Drums, Percussion [Tranceaphone, Stompatron], Percussion, Vocals – Victor De Lorenzo*
Engineer – John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh
Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Fiddle – Gordon Gano
Photography By [Band Photo] – John C. Nate
Photography By [Front Cover Photo] – Mark Trilling
Piano, Organ – Mark Van Hecke
Producer, Alto Saxophone – Mark Van Hecke
Songwriter – Gordon Gano
Tenor Saxophone, Harmonica – Peter Balestrieri
Notes:
Recorded at Secret Sound Studio, New York City, January 1984.
The [a] in the runouts symbolizes the lowercase "a" stamp for Allied Record Company.
Made and printed in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode: 0 7599-25094-1
Matrix / Runout (Side A, etched): 1-25094-ASH-3 [a] B-19197-SH3 ∙ SLM △ 6449 1-3
Matrix / Runout (Side B, etched): 1-25094-B-SH-2 [a] B-19198-SH2 ∙ SLM △ 6449-X SP OASM 1-2
Rights Society: ASCAP
Violent Femmes – Hallowed Ground
Label: Slash – 1-25094, Slash – 9 25094-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Country Rock, Indie Rock
Pitchfork ~ Violent Femmes review
Sputnik Music ~ Violent Femmes: Hallowed Ground review
The Vinyl District ~ Graded on a Curve: Hallowed Ground review
Au Pairs - Tongue in cheek
Golden Earring ~ Radar Love
The Violent Femmes ~
Country Death Song
I Hear the Rain
Hallowed Ground
Jesus Walking On The Water
It's Gonna Rain
Styrous® ~ Sunday, June 7, 2020
Gano joined Violent Femmes in Milwaukee in 1981 with bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo. They developed a following thanks to songs such as Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off and Add It Up (all included on their self-titled debut album). The band has experimented with a variety of sounds over the course of its career, such as country and western (Hallowed Ground) and pop-rock (The Blind Leading the Naked). Gano plays guitar, sings and writes most of the band's songs.
I was first snagged by the album front cover artwork which is a photo of a sculpture created by Mary Nohl, the daughter of a Milwaukee attorney, and his wife Emma. After the death of her parents, a sizable inheritance left Nohl the chance to create artworks. She used concrete and found objects such as driftwood, wire and glass to build sculptures, one of which was used for the cover of the album.
vinyl LP front cover
front cover sculpture by Mary Nohl
cover photo by Mark Trilling
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Musician John Zorn plays Alto Saxophone and Woodwind on the album. He incorporates diverse styles in his compositions, which he identifies as avant-garde or experimental. Zorn was described by Down Beat as "one of our most important composers".
vinyl LP back cover
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Country Death Song is a real shit-kickin' country western song that is bouncy, happy and just made for dancing (YouTube link below).
I Hear the Rain starts with an a-cappella duet; is short, only one and a half minutes but it moves like a banshee; with the use of what sounds like a xylophone puts me in mind of a faster version of the British post-punk, Au Pairs song, Tongue in cheek (link below).
I Hear the Rain starts with an a-cappella duet; is short, only one and a half minutes but it moves like a banshee; with the use of what sounds like a xylophone puts me in mind of a faster version of the British post-punk, Au Pairs song, Tongue in cheek (link below).
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
My favorite song from the album has to be Jesus Walking on the Water. It's a fast, Appalachia gospel sounding tune that moves with great lyrics and it's lots of fun (link below).
vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
I really love I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say. It's a slow ballad that is truly beautiful with insightful lyrics (link below).
Black Girls, my second favorite song (link below), starts out with a very hesitant snare drum then goes into a fast Radar Love by Golden Earring type of beat. John Zorn wails on sax in this song then is joined by a Jew's harp. The song is a great study in dissonance and improvisation with fantastic drumming by Victor DeLorenzo.
It's Gonna Rain is another shit-kicker with a great beat that makes you want to move whether you want to or not, it's irresistible (link below).
During a Violent Femmes hiatus in the late 1980s, Gano formed a
gospel-punk group called The Mercy Seat with vocalist Zena Von
Heppinstall, bassist Patrice Moran, and drummer Fernando Menendez.
vinyl LP record, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP record label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP record, side 2
photo by Styrous®
vinyl LP record label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Country Death Song - 5:02
A2 - I Hear The Rain - 1:30
A3 - Never Tell - 7:06
A4 - Jesus Walking On The Water, Vocals – Cynthia Gano Lewis, Peter Balestrieri - 3:04
A5 - I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say - 5:05
Side 2:
B1 - Hallowed Ground - 4:12
B2 - Sweet Misery Blues - 2:43
B3 - Black Girls - 5:38
B4 - It's Gonna Rain - 4:12
Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Slash Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Slash Records
Manufactured By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Distributed By – Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Published By – Gorno Music
Recorded At – Secret Sound
Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix
Pressed By – Allied Record Company
Credits:
Alto Saxophone, Woodwind [Game Calls] – John Zorn
Art Direction – Jeff Price (2)
Autoharp – Christina Houghton
Banjo – Tony Trischka
Bass [Mariachi], Electric Bass, Bass [Slide], Celesta, Marimba, Jew's Harp, Vocals – Brian Ritchie
Clarinet – John Tanner
Cornett [Cornetto], Sackbut – Drake Scott
Drums, Electronic Drums, Percussion [Tranceaphone, Stompatron], Percussion, Vocals – Victor De Lorenzo*
Engineer – John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh
Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Fiddle – Gordon Gano
Photography By [Band Photo] – John C. Nate
Photography By [Front Cover Photo] – Mark Trilling
Piano, Organ – Mark Van Hecke
Producer, Alto Saxophone – Mark Van Hecke
Songwriter – Gordon Gano
Tenor Saxophone, Harmonica – Peter Balestrieri
Notes:
Recorded at Secret Sound Studio, New York City, January 1984.
The [a] in the runouts symbolizes the lowercase "a" stamp for Allied Record Company.
Made and printed in U.S.A.
Barcode: 0 7599-25094-1
Matrix / Runout (Side A, etched): 1-25094-ASH-3 [a] B-19197-SH3 ∙ SLM △ 6449 1-3
Matrix / Runout (Side B, etched): 1-25094-B-SH-2 [a] B-19198-SH2 ∙ SLM △ 6449-X SP OASM 1-2
Rights Society: ASCAP
Violent Femmes – Hallowed Ground
Label: Slash – 1-25094, Slash – 9 25094-1
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Country Rock, Indie Rock
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
Pitchfork ~ Violent Femmes review
Sputnik Music ~ Violent Femmes: Hallowed Ground review
The Vinyl District ~ Graded on a Curve: Hallowed Ground review
YouTube links:
Au Pairs - Tongue in cheek
Golden Earring ~ Radar Love
The Violent Femmes ~
Country Death Song
I Hear the Rain
Hallowed Ground
Jesus Walking On The Water
Styrous® ~ Sunday, June 7, 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment
PLEASE NOTE: comments are moderated BEFORE they are posted so DO NOT appear immediately.
Thank you.