The Country of Blinds

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The Country of Blinds
The Country of Blinds cover
Studio album by Skeleton Crew
Released 1986
Recorded Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg,
Switzerland, December 1985
to January 1986
Genre Avant-progressive rock
Length 39:25
Label Rift Records (USA)
RecRec Music (Switzerland)
Producer(s) Tim Hodgkinson
Professional reviews
Skeleton Crew chronology
Learn to Talk
(1984)
The Country of Blinds
(1986)
Learn to Talk / The Country of Blinds
(2005)


The Country of Blinds is a studio album by American experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, December 1985 and January 1986. It was their second a final album and was released in 1986.

Skeleton Crew had become the trio of Fred Frith, Tom Cora and Zeena Parkins when this album was made. The music here is richer, more rhythmical and the songs more developed than on their first album, and this ultimately lead to the band's break-up. Frith explained that "we actually started to sound like a normal rock and roll band so it seemed kind of pointless to go on at that point." [1]

Contents

[edit] Track listing

Side A

  1. "The Country of Blinds" (Cora) – 4:10
  2. "Money Crack" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:58 1
  3. "The Border" (Hemenway) – 3:28
  4. "The Hand that Bites" (Frith) – 5:32
  5. "Dead Sheep" (Cora/Frith) – 3:22
  6. "Bingo" (Frith) – 3:34

Side B

  1. "Man or Monkey" (Cutler) – 2:27
  2. "Foot in Hole" (Skeleton Crew) – 3:08
  3. "Hot Field" (Skeleton Crew) – 2:36 1
  4. "The Birds of Japan" (Frith) – 4:00
  5. "You May Find a Bed" (Frith/Sharpe) – 6:10 1

[edit] Track notes

  • Note 1: "Money Crack", "Hot Field" and the last section of "You May Find a Bed" were recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, 4 November 1985.

[edit] Personnel

  • Tom Cora – Cello, bass, accordion, drums, contraptions, singing
  • Fred Frith – Guitar, 6-string bass, violin, home-mades, drums, singing
  • Zeena Parkins – Organ, electric harp, accordion, drums, singing

[edit] Sound and art work

[edit] CD reissues

In 1990 RecRec Music re-issued The Country of Blinds together with Skeleton Crew's previous album Learn to Talk on a single compilation CD, Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds, omitting "Money Crack" from The Country of Blinds, and "Los Colitos" and "Life At The Top" from Learn to Talk.

In 2005 Fred Records re-issued Learn to Talk and The Country of Blinds on a double compliation CD, Learn to Talk / The Country of Blinds, omitting "Money Crack" from The Country of Blinds, plus ten extra tracks.

[edit] External links