Violent Femmes – Hallowed Ground
(Slash Records 1984 SLAP1)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
Sleeve in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges with small scuff on top edge
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).
Hallowed Ground is the second album by the Violent Femmes, released in June 1984. Like the band’s first album, the songs on Hallowed Ground were mostly written by singer/guitarist/lyricist Gordon Gano when he was in high school. “Country Death Song”, for example, was based on a true story from an 1862 news article about a man who intentionally threw his daughter into a well and then hanged himself in his barn. It was written by Gano during his 10th grade study hall. The Christian-related lyrics on Hallowed Ground were thought by many to be sarcastic, but Gano is a devout Christian. The other two Femmes were atheists, and initially refused to perform those songs, but after their debut had been recorded, they relented and several of Gano’s religion-themed songs were recorded for Hallowed Ground.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Gordon Gano.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Country Death Song” | 5:02 | |
| 2. | “I Hear the Rain” | 1:32 | |
| 3. | “Never Tell” | 7:10 | |
| 4. | “Jesus Walking on the Water” | 3:07 | |
| 5. | “I Know It’s True but I’m Sorry to Say” | 5:05 | |
| 6. | “Hallowed Ground” | 4:18 | |
| 7. | “Sweet Misery Blues” | 2:51 | |
| 8. | “Black Girls” | 5:41 | |
| 9. | “It’s Gonna Rain” | 4:11 |
Personnel
- Gordon Gano – vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle
- Brian Ritchie – acoustic and electric bass guitar, celesta, marimba, jew’s harp, vocals
- Victor DeLorenzo – drums, percussion vocals
- Mark Van Hecke – piano, organ
- Tony Trischka – banjo
- Christina Houghton – autoharp
- Peter Balestrieri – vocals
- Cynthia Gano Lewis – vocals
- Drake Scott – cornett, sackbut
- John Zorn – alto saxophone, game calls
- John Tanner – clarinet
- Producer – Mark Van Hecke
- Engineers – John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.