The Blind Leading the Naked is the third album by Violent Femmes. It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and released in 1986. The title is a play on the figure of speech "the blind leading the blind."
| The Blind Leading the Naked | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | July – September 1985 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:36 | |||
| Label | Slash | |||
| Producer | Jerry Harrison | |||
| Violent Femmes chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Blind Leading the Naked was the band's first album to reach the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 84, and its only one to chart in Britain.
Production and recording
editThe band said Leo Kottke and Fred Frith were both persuaded to appear on the album after approaching them at their concerts. "I just went along and asked him if he'd like to come down and try something out in the studio," Ritchie said of Frith.[2]
Members of the band said they were unhappy with the choice of Harrison as producer, with Ritchie saying, "We knew Jerry and he'd seen us live and, uh, he didn't like it... And when I heard the reasons that he didn't like it, well, they were the reasons why we do like it! We didn't think he was right to produce music as weird as ours." Gano further claimed that Harrison had been suggested by Warners, "solely on the basis that he lives in Milwaukee, because we'd stipulated to them that we had to record there. This was outrageous from their point of view."[3] Elsewhere, Gano added, "We've always been really sloppy. On this album we tried to clean it up a little bit. That's what Jerry's into. He's interested in what what would be considered technically a good sound.[4]
Reception
editAllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating the album was a "more mainstream effort" that "rocks harder" than previous albums.[1] People gave a positive review, stating "the group maintains enough humor and angst to keep even their religious songs fresh.... This third album gives more evidence that the Violent Femmes rank with the very best bands of the 1980s", while singling out the song "Breakin' Hearts" as a highlight.[5] However, in a retrospective of their debut album, The Atlantic mentions The Blind Leading the Naked is "their first unmitigated disaster, a crassly commercial piece of pandering."[6]
Spin said, "This is a great album, one that may finally earn the Violent Femmes the attention they deserve. If you already like them, swell, but if you've never heard them before, you might play the second side a few times first before hitting the less accessible side one."[7]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Gordon Gano, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Old Mother Reagan" | 0:31 | |
| 2. | "No Killing" | 5:13 | |
| 3. | "Faith" | 4:14 | |
| 4. | "Breakin' Hearts" | 2:15 | |
| 5. | "Special" | 2:18 | |
| 6. | "Love & Me Make Three" | Brian Ritchie, Victor DeLorenzo | 2:53 |
| 7. | "Candlelight Song" | 3:11 | |
| 8. | "I Held Her in My Arms" | 2:52 | |
| 9. | "Children of the Revolution" | Marc Bolan | 4:19 |
| 10. | "Good Friend" | 3:28 | |
| 11. | "Heartache" | 2:02 | |
| 12. | "Cold Canyon" | 3:22 | |
| 13. | "Two People" | 0:58 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "World Without Mercy" | Victor DeLorenzo | 4:06 |
Personnel
editViolent Femmes
edit- Gordon Gano – lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
- Brian Ritchie – acoustic and electric bass guitars, electric guitar, jaw harp, slide whistle, vocals
- Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion, tortoise, vocals
Additional musicians
edit- Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, melodica
- Fred Frith – homemade instruments, guitar
- Leo Kottke – acoustic 10-string guitar
- Sigmund Snopek III – keyboards
- Peter Balestrieri – alto saxophone
- Steve Mackay – saxophone
- Steve Scales – percussion
- Abdulhamid Alwan – tabla, daf
- Junior Brantley – keyboards
- Jim Liban – harmonica
- Bill Schaefgen – trombone
- Drake Scott – vocalizing
Charts
edit| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 31 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[9] | 81 |
| United States (Billboard 200)[10] | 84 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Violent Femmes - The Blind Leading the Naked Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ Andy Gill. "Violent Femmes: Dangerous Visions". Rock's Backpages.(Subscription required.)
- ^ Sandy Robertson. "Violent Femmes: Femme-Inism". Rock's Backpages.(Subscription required.)
- ^ Stuart Coupe. "The Spirit of Progress". RAM. No. 277. p. 11.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: The Blind Leading the Naked". People.com.
- ^ "Why Violent Femmes' Classic Debut Still Seems So Young, 30 Years Later". The Atlantic. 2013-04-16. Archived from the original on 2023-04-20.
- ^ Chris Carroll (May 1986). "Spins". Spin. No. 13. p. 35.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 330. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel; Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955–1996; p. 819. ISBN 0898201179