Violent Femmes (album)

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Violent Femmes
Studio album by Violent Femmes
Released April 1983 (1983-04)
Recorded All songs: July 1982 at Castle Studios in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Track 11 & 12: Music Works Studios in London on August 31 – September 1, 1983
Genre Folk punk, alternative rock, punk rock
Length 36:15
Label Slash
Producer Mark Van Hecke
Violent Femmes chronology

Violent Femmes
(1983)		 Hallowed Ground
(1984)

Violent Femmes is the debut album by Violent Femmes. Mostly recorded in July 1982, the album was released by Slash Records on vinyl and on cassette in April 1983,[1][2] and on CD in 1987[3][4] with two extra tracks "Ugly" and "Gimme the Car".

In 2002, Rhino Records remastered the album, filled out the disc's length with demos, and added another disc of live tracks and a radio interview for a 20th anniversary special edition, with liner notes by Michael Azerrad.

Violent Femmes is the band's most successful album to date and went platinum eight years after its release. The album achieved what is believed to be a unique feat by going gold, four years after its release, without having yet made an appearance on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.

Slant Magazine listed the album at #21 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[5]

Album

Most of the songs on both this album and its follow-up were written when the songwriter, Gordon Gano, was still in high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[6] Violent Femmes peaked at #171 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart in 1991.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [8]
Robert Christgau B+[9]
Piero Scaruffi 8/10[10]

J. D. Considine in a 23 June 1983 review in Rolling Stone felt that the debut was precocious yet dynamic, with a good balance between Gano's direct lyrics and the full sound of the music.[11]

Both Robert Christgau in an undated Consumer Guide Review and Steve Huey in an AllMusic retrospective, compared the album and singer Gordon Gano with Jonathan Richman of The Modern Lovers;[12][13] a comparison which Gano was sick of by May 1983, as he was trying to sound like Steve Wynn.[14]

Track listing

All songs written by Gordon Gano, except as noted.

Side one

  1. "Blister in the Sun" – 2:25
  2. "Kiss Off" – 2:56
  3. "Please Do Not Go" – 4:15
  4. "Add It Up" – 4:44
  5. "Confessions" – 5:32

Side two

  1. "Prove My Love" – 2:39
  2. "Promise" – 2:49
  3. "To the Kill" – 4:01
  4. "Gone Daddy Gone" (Gano, Willie Dixon) – 3:06
  5. "Good Feeling" – 3:52
US CD bonus tracks
  1. "Ugly" – 2:21
  2. "Gimme the Car" – 5:04
20th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks
  1. "Girl Trouble" (demo) – 3:07
  2. "Breakin' Up" (demo) – 5:17
  3. "Waiting for the Bus" (demo) – 2:08
  4. "Blister in the Sun" (demo) – 2:35
  5. "Kiss Off" (demo) – 2:49
  6. "Please Do Not Go" (demo) – 4:18
  7. "Add It Up" (demo) – 4:35
  8. "Confessions" (demo) – 5:20
  9. "Prove My Love" (demo) – 2:50
  10. "Ugly" (UK single) – 2:22
  11. "Gimme the Car" (UK single) – 5:07
20th Anniversary Edition bonus live disc
  1. "Special" (live) – 4:27
  2. "Country Death Song" (live) – 5:25
  3. "To the Kill" (live) – 4:19
  4. "Never Tell" (live) – 7:17
  5. "Break Song" (live) – 0:41
  6. "Her Television" (live) – 2:28
  7. "How Do You Say Goodbye" (live) – 2:43
  8. "Theme and Variations" (live) – 0:54
  9. "Prove My Love" (live) – 3:19
  10. "Gone Daddy Gone" (live) – 3:32 (Gano, Willie Dixon)
  11. "Promise" (live) – 3:09
  12. "In Style" (live) – 3:43
  13. "Add It Up" (live) – 6:15
  14. Michael Feldman Interview from WHA-FM – 4:09
  15. "Kiss Off" (live on WHA-FM) – 3:31

Personnel

Violent Femmes
Additional personnel

Charts

Album

Chart Entry
date		 Peak
position		 Weeks charted
ARIA Charts[15] January 27, 1986 34 32
The Billboard 200[16] August 3, 1991 171 7

Certifications

Organization Level Date
RIAA – USA Gold December 8, 1987[citation needed]
Platinum February 1, 1991[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ "Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  2. ↑ "The Billboard Book of Gold & Platinum Records," 1989
  3. ↑ Steve Huey (1982-07-04). "Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  4. ↑ "The Compact Disc Connection Database : WAR23845 * $11.79 VIOLENT FEMMES VIOLENT FEMMES WARNER BROTHERS 07/87 :44". Textfiles.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  5. ↑ "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s | Feature". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  6. ↑ James Christopher Monger. "Hallowed Ground - Violent Femmes | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  7. ↑ "Violent Femmes". Billboard. 1994-06-04. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  8. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Violent Femmes S/T". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-02-19. 
  9. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  10. ↑ Piero Scaruffi review
  11. ↑ J. D. Considine (23 June 1983). "Rolling Stone : Violent Femmes: Violent Femmes : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-02-11. Retrieved 9 September 2012. 
  12. ↑ Robert Christgau (2012). "Robert Christgau: CG: violent femmes". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 9 September 2012. "Gordon Gano" 
  13. ↑ Steve Huey (2012). "Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes: AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 9 September 2012. "Steve Huey" 
  14. ↑ Robert Lloyd (20 May 1983). "Violent Femmes". LA Weekly. Retrieved 9 September 2012. 
  15. ↑ Kent, David (compiler); Australian Chart Book 1970-1992: 23 Years of Hit Singles and Albums from the Top 100 Charts; p. 330 ISBN 9780646119175
  16. ↑ Whitburn, Joel; Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums, 1955-1996; p. 819. ISBN 0898201179

External links

Violent Femmes
Studio albums
Compilations
Live albums
DVDs
Songs
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