Violent Femmes – Why Do Birds Sing?
(Slash Records 1991 8282391)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004), and drummer John Sparrow (joined 2005).[2] Former members of the band include drummers Victor DeLorenzo (1980–1993, 2002–2013), Guy Hoffman(1993–2002), and Brian Viglione (2013–2016).
Why Do Birds Sing? is the fifth studio album by Violent Femmes, released on April 30, 1991. It was the band’s last album with original drummer Victor DeLorenzo, who left two years later to devote his time to acting, and was produced by Michael Beinhorn, best-known then for his work with Red Hot Chili Peppers on Mother’s Milk and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.
The album featured the single “American Music,” which rose to number 2 on Billboard‘s Modern Rock chart during the week of May 18, 1991,[5] and became a staple of the band’s live shows.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gordon Gano, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “American Music” | 3:49 | |
| 2. | “Out the Window” | 2:52 | |
| 3. | “Look Like That” | 2:45 | |
| 4. | “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” | George O’Dowd, Mikey Craig, Roy Hay, Jon Moss, Gano | 4:50 |
| 5. | “Hey Nonny Nonny” | Shepard Tonie, Gano | 4:34 |
| 6. | “Used to Be” | 3:38 | |
| 7. | “Girl Trouble” | 2:57 | |
| 8. | “He Likes Me” | 3:07 | |
| 9. | “Life is a Scream” | 1:54 | |
| 10. | “Flamingo Baby” | 2:37 | |
| 11. | “Lack of Knowledge” | 1:54 | |
| 12. | “More Money Tonight” | 3:58 | |
| 13. | “I’m Free” | 3:25 |
Personnel
Violent Femmes
- Gordon Gano – vocals, guitar
- Brian Ritchie – bass, guitar, bouzouki, banjo, ukulele, mouth harp, didgeridoo, xylophone, glockenspiel, vocals
- Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion, tranceaphone, vocals
Additional musicians
- Michael Beinhorn – Hammond organ on “American Music”, Mellotron on “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “Used To Be”, piano on “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “I’m Free”, harmonium on “Used To Be”
- Sid Page, Suzie Katayama, Ilene Novog, Larry Corbett – strings on “Used To Be”
- Tommy Mandel – keyboards on “American Music”
Production
- Violent Femmes – Producer
- Eric “ET” Thorngren – Engineer, mixing
- David Vartanian – Mixing
- Susan Rogers – Engineer
- Tom Fritze – Assistant engineer
- Lori Fumar – Assistant engineer
- Mike Kloster – Assistant engineer
- Howie Weinberg – Mastering
- Mary Jones – Photography
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.