Violent Femmes [Original recording reissued]

Violent Femmes | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B00004YLBC
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,633 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #24 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > Post-Punk
  • #33 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > General AAS
  • #83 in Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave & Post-Punk > New Wave

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 17-OCT-2000

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Catcher in the Rye of Rock and Roll, September 16, 2002

By 

S. Finefrock (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Violent Femmes (Audio CD)

I remember picking up the cassette of this when it first came out and going for a ride in the car to give it a listen. By the time I got around to playing it for the second time, I was singing along to the songs like they had been decade old classics. The Violent Feemes had struck gold on their first release. A band in 1983 that played mostly acoustic instuments like upright bass, xylaphone and trash can drums was quite rare, and to do so with more passion than any of the current hardcore punk bands was shocking. Gordon Gano filtered Holden Caulfield through Lou Reed with a touch of Jonathon Richman, to create teen angst classics for that time, and times to come. The Femmes would falter after the release of their second album Hallowed Ground and would perhaps be forgotten as mere footnotes if not for their first album. In some ways this became the Dark Side of the Moon for the eighties generation. Enjoy it.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Nice To See This Re-Issued...., October 19, 2000

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Femmes (Audio CD)

I went nuts when this album went out of print since I didn't have it. The debut self-titled release from the Femmes is hailed as the only Violent Femmes album you'll ever need, and I was surprised to see it discontinued. But I found it some time ago and know it is being re-issued. This album is the classic I hoped it to be. Many of the Femmes biggest songs are here including "Blister In The Sun", "Kiss Off", "Gone Daddy Gone", and "Add It Up." But every song on here is great from "Please Don't Go" to "Prove My Love" to "Promises." The Femmes sound is completely unique: think folk-inspired acoustic rock with a swift kick of punk in there. Gordon's lyrics are sad and angsty, yet sort of funny at times as he begs and pleads to "get just one kiss" [and a few other things ;) ] in "Add It Up" and counts down his depressions one-by-one in "Kiss Off." Bottom line: Don't miss out again; pick this up now!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tells it like it is, March 14, 2005

By 

Chester - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violent Femmes (Audio CD)

You know how when you're in middle school you listen to a lot of really stupid music and you think it's really great? When i was 12 and 13 I thought Rancid was the greatest band in history, bar none and I was ready to slap anybody who disagreed in the face with my little spikey bracelet. Man, I was such a loser. I even had a mohawk and everything. Anyways, sometime around tenth grade I discovered Fugazi and after that my musical tastes really matured and broadened. Anyways, the other day I was going through my old CDs from middle school and one that really surprised me was the debut album of the Violent Femmes. I think i bought it because i liked "Blister In The Sun" and "Kiss Off" and because one of my friends' older brother was really into them. I put this album on and I couldn't believe how good it was! It's so raw and unapologetic in it's depiction of alienation and sexual frustration. Gordan Gano, with his honest lyrics and his nasally voice, brings to light the feelings every confused, paranoid, unpopular kid feels in adolescence. Now, these have been tried and true rock n roll lyrical topics since...well, forever, and loads of new bands love to sing about crybaby, high school-level romance and frustration. But the Violent Femmes express these themes better than anybody else I've ever heard. The nervy guitar playing and singing and the spare acoustic backdrop are perfect for Gano's lyrics, which are insightful, self-deprecating and dead on, especially in the deeply cynical song "Add It Up" with it's grim depiction of human interactions and insecurities. I don't really remember if this album's honesty and importance got to me when i was still 13 and worrying about how my argyle socks and spiked belt looked, but now that I'm older, I realize how accurate and powerful this album's vision is.