June 7, 2020

20,000 vinyl LPs 227: The Violent Femmes ~ Hallowed Ground

 ~

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.    


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).       


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 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

         
          
       
          
Viewfinder links:    
   
Hallowed Ground lyrics         
John Zorn     
      
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        
       I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say
       Black Girls      
       It's Gonna Rain        
        
                   
         
        
Styrous® ~ Sunday, June 7, 2020       
       












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