Spins: Violent Femmes • The Blind Leading the Naked 40th anniversary
The Blind Leading the Naked 40th anniversary
(Craft)
This reissue of Violent Femmes’ third album arrives on “Candlelight Swirl” vinyl in celebration of its 40th birthday. For The Blind Leading the Naked, the Milwaukee alt-punk trio parted ways with Mark Van Hecke, producer of the band’s landmark 1983 debut and its follow-up. The group instead collaborated with a hotter name in Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison. The resulting sound pushes even further away from the Femmes’ acoustic punk roots than it did on 1984’s Hallowed Ground, reflecting evolution in Gordon Gano’s songwriting and interest by bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Victor DeLorenzo in broadening the band’s scope. The album incorporates folk-rock, blues, cowpunk, rockabilly, gospel, glam, punk, and more.
The album opens with a scorching, 30-second blast of spite in “Old Mother Reagan” to show that the band retained points of view and axes to grind. The band’s cover of T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” follows suit in spirit, although the de-glammed (glam comes later in a surprising setting) arrangement seems to be downright conventional as alternative pop when compared to the album’s many sonic diversions. All the same, Harrison’s funky electric piano is nice touch reminiscent of “Life During Wartime” as heard on Stop Making Sense.
If fans and bandmates alike ever chafed at Gano’s affinity for the religious themes broached on Hallowed Ground, they ultimately decided to let the Baptist minister’s son be himself. Gano indeed lets his faith flag fly, especially on the unapologetic singalong “Faith,” a loping blues boogie spiked with Junior Brantley’s rollicking piano and Jim Liban’s wailing harmonica.
Naturally, Gordon Gano isn’t the same jittery, angst-filled youth that he was when writing debut album songs like “Blister in the Sun.” In his relative maturity, he reveals himself as an angst-bearing young adult. The manic pace and Stooges veteran Steve MacKay’s brassy saxophone during “I Held Her in My Arms” belie a more mature form of frustration than the teenage lust exposed on the band’s debut effort. “I held her in my arms, but it wasn’t you,” sings the dissatisfied Gano.
Ritchie’s guttural bass gives “No Killing” a faint echo of the pulse of “Add It Up” as Gano sings a song of contemporary paranoia and distrust, singing to his Higher Power in search of redemptive love and deliverance from evil.
Furiously strummed acoustic guitar, cowpunk bass, and rapid tom-tom triplets propel the harmony-laden “Breakin’ Hearts” like an over-caffeinated version of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue.”
A few of Gano’s musical forebears seem influential. “Good Friend” is a hypnotic ramble reminiscent of Lou Reed. “Two People” is cut from similar cloth to material by Harrison’s then-bandmate David Byrne.
Other sonic references are more unexpected. Sung by Ritchie, “Love & Me Make Three” is a grinding glam-rocker skirting the southern rock of Lynrd Skynrd’s “Gimme Three Steps.” Written by Ritchie and DeLorenzo, the song presents a different take on religious topics, describing a narcissistic and hypocritical character. “Christ is crying outside your front door,” sings Ritchie. “Don’t let him in; he’ll get mud on the floor.”
The moody and inscrutable “Candlelight Song” begins with an intoxicating table rhythm but turns suitably strange with the addition of Ritchie’s jaw harp and guest Drake Scott’s unsettlingly weird vocal noises. “My doll is dead,” repeats Gano in mourning.
The trio fuses the acoustic punk of the debut album with the alternative country of Hallowed Ground on “Cold Canyon,” driven by DeLorenzo’s blistering train rhythm. Acoustic folk maestro Leo Kottke guests on slide guitar.
Those who wished the Femmes had stuck with the busking-friendly bare-bones sound of their debut may have been disappointed with the audacious variety baked into their third album. However, the range of sounds and clashing topics are what make The Blind Leading the Naked still a worthwhile listen after 40 years.
– Jeff Elbel
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