Hallowed Ground (Violent Femmes album)
| Hallowed Ground | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Violent Femmes | ||||
| Released | June 1984 | |||
| Recorded | Secret Sound Studio, NYC, January, 1984 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:57 | |||
| Label | Slash Records/Rhino | |||
| Producer | Mark Van Hecke | |||
| Violent Femmes chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Hallowed Ground is the second album by Violent Femmes, released in June 1984. Like the band's first album, the songs were mostly written by singer/guitarist/lyricist Gordon Gano when he was in high school. "Country Death Song", for example, was based on a true story from an 1862 news article about a man who intentionally threw his daughter into a well and then hanged himself in his barn. It was written by Gano during his 10th grade study hall. The Christian-related lyrics on Hallowed Ground were thought by some to be sarcastic, but Gano is a devout Christian. The other two members of Violent Femmes were atheists, and initially refused to perform those songs, but after their debut had been recorded, they relented and several of Gano's religion-themed songs were recorded for Hallowed Ground.
Track listing
All tracks written by Gordon Gano.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Country Death Song" | 5:02 |
| 2. | "I Hear the Rain" | 1:32 |
| 3. | "Never Tell" | 7:10 |
| 4. | "Jesus Walking on the Water" | 3:07 |
| 5. | "I Know It’s True but I’m Sorry to Say" | 5:05 |
| 6. | "Hallowed Ground" | 4:18 |
| 7. | "Sweet Misery Blues" | 2:51 |
| 8. | "Black Girls" | 5:41 |
| 9. | "It’s Gonna Rain" | 4:11 |
Personnel
Violent Femmes
- Gordon Gano – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, fiddle
- Brian Ritchie – mariachi bass, electric bass, slide bass, celesta, marimba, jew's harp, vocals
- Victor DeLorenzo – tranceaphone, trap and electric drum sets, stompatron, percussion, vocals
Additional musicians
- Mark Van Hecke - piano on "Hallowed Ground" and "It's Gonna Rain", organ on "I Know That It's True But I'm Sorry To Say"
- Tony Trischka - banjo on "Country Death Song" and "It's Gonna Rain"
- Christina Houghton - autoharp on "Jesus Walking On The Water"
- Peter Balestrieri - vocals on "Jesus Walking On The Water", saxophone on "Black Girls", harmonica on "It's Gonna Rain"
- Cynthia Gano Lewis - vocals on "Jesus Walking On The Water"
- Drake Scott - cornetto on "Black Girls", sackbut on "Sweet Misery Blues"
- John Zorn - alto saxophone, clarinet & game calls on "Black Girls"
- John Tanner - clarinet on "Sweet Misery Blues"
Production
- Producer - Mark Van Hecke
- Engineers - John Tanner, Warren Bruleigh
Charts
Album
| Chart | Entry date |
Peak position |
Weeks charted |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARIA Charts[1] | June 4, 1984 | 56 | 11 |
References
- ↑ Kent, David (compiler); Australian Chart Book 1970-1992: 23 Years of Hit Singles and Albums from the Top 100 Charts; p. 330 ISBN 9780646119175