Customer Reviews

Add It Up (1981-1993)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a must-get for anybody who doesn't already have a decent collection of Violent Femmes albums! It's got all their great songs, from Blister in the Sun to Kiss Off, the latter one in a VERY delightful live-version. Features many other great tunes such as Jesus Walking on the Water and Lies. If you like the Violent Femmes but can't afford to go and buy all of their albums, this is definitely the way to go about it!

If you are like me and think that the Violent Femmes are one of if not the very best rock group of the last twenty-five years, you will already own this album because it is, in a word, essential. Those who may just be discovering this band for the first time, and this timeless music full of angst and fury and questions and passion speaks as strongly to the present generation of youth as it did to my own, will definitely want to procure this album as soon as possible. There is just no other band like the Violent Femmes (as the Intro to this album states in its own special way); these guys have energized and heavily influenced modern rock music as we know it now and will know it in the future, yet they stay below the radar of many a music fan out there, seemingly happy about the fact as they do their own thing their own way at all times. The popular success this band has always deserved would almost spoil everything, though; these guys are so incredible that I really don't want to share them with the mass public out there who really wouldn't understand the power of the music and lyrics.

Add It Up is a compilation album, containing a number of songs available elsewhere alongside some amazing tracks you can't find anywhere else. Much of this material draws from the band's early days. Prereleased tracks include Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone, and Gimme the Car from the incredible self-titled debut album, the unique and unforgettable Country Death Song, Black Girls, and Jesus Walking on the Water from Hallowed Ground, Old Mother Reagan from The Blind Leading the Naked, and American Music and Out the Window from Why Do Birds Sing? Add it up, and you will find eleven previously unreleased tracks, two tracks previously unreleased in the U.S., and four live performances unavailable elsewhere.

The simple yet catchy Waiting For the Bus takes us back to 1980 (this track can also now be found on the Deluxe Edition of the original Violent Femmes album). Gordon's Message is a voice mail message lead singer Gordon Gano left to explain why he was going to be late for an early recording session in 1982. 36-24-36 is an incredibly infectious, fun song recorded in 1984 for a movie that was never made. I Held Her in My Arms is an alternate version of the song from The Blind Leading the Naked, espousing a heavier and slightly more serious sound than the album track. From the mid-1980s come the short and interesting tracks I Hate the TV and America Is. Degradation is a strange, half-minute carnival-like pitch of the band written by Brian Ritchie and Victor Delorenzo. Dance, M.F., Dance is a rather weird, hard-hitting pseudo-dance song previously released only in Australia and Europe; interestingly, this version of the song turned up out of nowhere several years after the original master tape was lost. Lies is interesting because it begins with the studio cut from the album 3 and morphs into a live version of the song featuring an extended jam session. Vancouver is by far the strangest thing on here; this two-minute-plus track is an instrumental that sounds like a band warming up before a concert. With the exception of Vancouver, which was indeed recorded in Vancouver, the album closes out with some powerful live tracks. We get a rocking version of the youth anthem Kiss Off recorded in a 1990 concert in Australia, followed by a fantastic live performance of Add It Up from a 1991 concert in Virginia. I never tire of hearing the crowd erupt when Gano unleashes the first a cappella word of the song. Finally, we have Johnny, a simply amazing song written by Gordon Gano and performed in a café in Milwaukee way back in 1981; this is about as soft and tender as the Violent Femmes get, and the haunting lyrics make sure you come away from this essential album having felt your soul touched by the music.

This, combined with the deluxe version of the Femmes' first album, is all the Violent Femmes you'll ever need. As has been noted elsewhere on this page, the other Femmes albums tend to contain one or two good songs among easily forgettable filler. This album begins with the catchy "Waiting for the Bus". While the subject matter is not deep or earthshaking, I dare you to hear this song and then not have it run through your head every time you wait for a bus from then on. Following that are three songs from the classic self-titled debut. Everyone probably has their picks as to which songs from the first album are the most representative of the album as a whole, but to me these work just as well as anything else. They give you an idea of the sound and wit of that debut album. Following that is "Country Death Song", a twangy song with a straightforward story of a man inexplicably driven to murder his young daughter. The spare arrangements makes the song positively chilling. The next three songs comprise my least favorite section of the CD. Dealing with race, religion, and sexism, these songs treat such serious issues a little glibly, although the music is the same you have come to expect from the Femmes at this point in the compilation. The lyrics just aren't up to par, though. "I Held Her In My Arms" redeems the previous songs. Lively, bouncy, and with more instruments than the earlier works, this is a classic example of Gordon Gano's ability to write great lyrics about losing a girl, and what comes next after heartbreak. A trio of songs dealing with politics and society comes next: "I Hate the TV", a stark statement of very clear political feelings; "America Is", a repetitive and pointed social statement; and "Old Mother Reagan", which now sounds slightly dated but is still humorous. "Dance, M.F., Dance" is the strange result of the Femmes apparently trying to make a dance song. The result is catchy and almost danceable, but not quite. Then come "Lies" and "American Music", two absoulutely terrific songs. The former implies that you can't go anywhere in life without encountering someone who is lying to you; the latter covers proms, drugs, and codependence all in one song and is a great song to play in the car on your second date with someone you really like. "Out The Window" follows these, a cute enough song but just not up to par with some others on this album. Then we get live versions of two songs from the debut album, and they are terrific though they sound slightly different from the original. "Vancouver", an instrumental, is a nice break after the intensity of the live performances. But then you get "Johnny", which surpasses anything else on the album in sheer intensity. Gano's shifting volume and the theme of death make this an absolute spine-tingler for me. Overall this is an album everyone who is interested in alternative rock should own. Buy the first album and you will be set, unless you're a die-hard Femmes fan in which case you will prbably have most of this material anyway.

Items mentioned in the track list which I have not reviewed are interludes, ads, or phone messages.

The Violent Femmes were possibly the first band I ever really loved. Of course I was hooked by their anthem "Blister in the Sun", but I soon discovered they were not to be added to the list of One Hit Wonders. Add it Up has some great songs that don't appear on any of their other albums, so it's definitely worth the money. My personal favorite is "Johnny".

The very first Violent Femmes album I purchased. As a reviewer mentioned, this album along with their self-titled debut album is all the Violent Femmes you'll ever need. They were one of the early alternative bands whose lyrics dealt with teenage angst. They weren't popular, they still aren't, but this album and their first album are something more special than what Nirvana and Pearl Jam put out. The Violent Femmes brought humor to it all, unlike the depressing and self-loathing Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

"Blister in the Sun," "Gimmie the Car," the live versions of "The Kiss Off" and "Add It Up" are the true theme songs for Generation X. "Country Death Song" is by far the most disturbing track here and the title probably shows that. And it has such hilarious tracks like "America Is," "I Hate the TV," "Black Girls," hell, most of 'em are funny.

Grab this along with their self-titled album. They're worth your time and money. And since it's election year, go play "America Is" and "I Hate the TV" very loud on your stereo... that is, if you dislike Bush.

Great collection of the Violent Femmes best songs. Why did so little people review this CD or any other Femme albums? They're one of the most talented musicians out there, especially the bass player, Brian Ritchie.

If you don't want to buy more than one Violent Femme album, just buy this one. It's all you need.

an immencely entertaining album, this greatest hits collection defines the violent femmes and offers the fans to get a grasp of what they are. full of curious, simple songs that address life in a comical way, but also displaying dark lyrics in light songs that seem to obfuscate their meaning. These subtle poets give songs that spin musically and intrigue lyrically. recommended for any open minded music fan who is looking for something different yet still incredably effective.

If there is any band you should probably save your money and buy the "best of" compilation its the Violent Femmes. Other than the Self titled debut, the rest of their catalogue is pretty mediocre. Not to say they didn't have their moments. Most of their best songs are here. If you just buy the self titled album as well, you'll have what you need. The only problem i have with this album is the live tracks. I would have prefered them to be the studio cuts, especilly "Add it up" and "kiss off". There are also some unreleased material to make up the rest of the disc. Overall its a solid collection from a band who were inconsistent.

You know what's interesting about this compilation is that while usually this sort of thing is used for people to "sell" new fans to the band, this "best of" seems more geared towards people who are already fans of the Violent Femmes. For one thing, the main versions are not always used in favor on here. For instance, "I Held Her in My Arms" and "Lies" appear in different versions than what are on "Blind" and "3." Also, the debut classics "Add It Up" (an old B-side on an import single) and "Kiss Off" are in live versions, in favor of the original. These are both good in their own right, but it seems somewhat enigmatic to introduce casual fans that way. Also, the fact that three of these "tracks" are more or less more spoken messages than actual songs. Not only that, but "Nightmares" was a genuine college radio hit and was omitted, although so was "Children of the Revolution," although maybe I'd understand excluding a T. Rex cover. Not because it's not the greatest, but to include more original VF material.

Some of that is great. There's the early demo recording of "Waiting on the Bus" as well as later fare like "I Hate the TV", "36-24-36" and "Dance, M.F., Dance," a cover from an obscure Milwakee band.

That being said, some of this is for unexperienced Femmes fans. "American Music" is possibly their most famous non-debut song and arguably the one that was most successful in its time. "Blister in the Sun" and "Gone Daddy Gone" are classics and are good introductions to the band as well. Then there's the more surprising stuff like the free jazz of "Black Girls" and others. It is mostly pretty good, even if some selections are lighweight curiosities. With this in mind, I suggest you try the band's debut and, if you like this variety, its follow-up, "Hallowed Ground" (which has "Black Girls", "Jesus...", and "CDS.")

But if you're a casual fan and want a more conventional approach you may want to check out "Debacle" or its sequel, "Permanent Record", which represents three albums and a soundtrack song that came out after this release.

From a great, underappreciated and certainly influencial artist. A summary of their career so far, featuring all their hit singles including "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up", (two of those are live versions, which, IMO, is even better than the studio versions. Nothing like pertending you're rocking out to the Femmes wearing headphones...), as well as gems off their full length albums, many of which makes me laugh and smile. From political songs like "I Hate the TV" and "America is" to fun, fun catchy dance tunes. The lyrics are simple, to the point, yet so original and wonderful. You don't get tired of this CD, really. What a classic. If you don't own it already, go get a copy.