Customer Reviews

The Blind Leading The Naked (US Version)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album may be a bit over produced, and may not have the stripped down, organic sound of the violent femmes' other releases, but IT IS A FANTASTIC ALBUM. I've been a huge VF fan for over 10 years and this album more than any other finds it's way to my stereo again and again. The variety of mood and style, country, punk, funk, blues, pop, and even new age, make it a refreshing addition to the femmes collection. So what if they're playing electric instruments, so what if the drummer is playing a full kit, it's still one great, interesting song after another. It may not be the first violent femmes album you should buy, but it is, nonetheless, essential.

The Blind Leading the Naked, the third album from the Violent Femmes, has never received the attention and acclaim it deserves. It has its own sound and identity; moving away from the brash, angst-ridden testimonials of the group's early days toward a softer, sometimes mellow sound. Love & Me Make Three, World Without Mercy, Candlelight Song, Two People, and Good Friend are rather somber and sometimes soothing. Of course, Gordon Gano can only be mellow for so long. Old Mother Reagan provides a quick and furious introduction to the album, and this initial energy carries over into the first third of the tracks. No Killing is great, and Faith follows up on the sort of driving religious track introduced on the Hallowed Ground album. Breakin' Hearts has a Buddy Holly feel to it that I really like. Gano turns his frenzied vocals loose on Special and I Held Her in My Arms; these two songs, combined with the unrestrained Heartache and Cold Canyon tracks, help give this album a great balance between the hard-hitting songs you would expect from the Violent Femmes and the unusual softer side that Gano and the guys give birth to here. Accompanied by the unique musical stylings of The Horns of Dilemma and produced by the Talking Heads' very own Jerry Harrison, The Blind Leading the Naked is a great album that introduces us to an entirely new type of sound from this always unpredictable and unorthodox trio of musical entrepreneurs.

Violent Femmes began their career known as the band that is best at mixing folk, rock, and really weird, if not creepy, lyrics. The Blind Leading The Naked, VF's 3rd album, definitely follows in that tradition with songs such as "No Killing" and the ever-famous "Old Mother Reagan". I recommend it to all - to dance to, to listen to, to scare your parents with...

If you just buy one Femmes CD, this is not the one to buy. If you have some of their other albums and like them, then give this a shot. Overall, this has some good tracks and some not so good tracks, and this does lack consistency, which is rare for this group.

The cassette has a bonus track called World without mercy that will hopefully be added to the CD one day.

Now I have it on CD! Great old tunes! Happy with product... was as stated.

this is another classic outing for the femmes,tense ,agitated,pulsing,
moody,with a hint of underlying insanity.

I love this cd... A lot. It's at the low end of the Femmes discography, but it still feels like an endless experiment in diversity. That's pretty impressive, when some of the best music in the past thirty years is some of the Femmes worst.
"No Killing" is a fist pumping, relentless anthem. Playful songs like "Breakin' Hearts" and "I Held Her In My Arms" remind me why the Femmes have had such staying power in the hearts of music lovers throughout the world.
It may not be their best, but this album rocks.

The Violent Femmes first album was a startling masterpiece. Gordon Gano seemed to let everything go, giving it an emotional vulnerability that is missing in many pop albums. After HALLOWED GROUND, the Femmes released this, an overproduced collection. Certainly, "I Held Her In My Arms" and the cover of "Children Of the Revolution" are great, but many of the other songs are silly and almost self-parodic. For some this will be almost like a parody attempt, but it's not funny. The rest of us who see it as serious will instead laugh at its stupidity and laugh at it for that reason. As for the production thing again, try to stick with your minimalist approach. It works better.

One of the most original sounding bands ever. This is my favorite femmes album. Knowone sounds like them. Pioneers of alternative music.