Hallowed Ground (Remastered 2024) Violent Femmes

• 1 Country Death Song (Remastered 2024) 05:00
• 2 I Hear The Rain (Remastered 2024) 01:31
• 3 Never Tell (Remastered 2024) 07:09
• 4 Jesus Walking On The Water (Remastered 2024) 03:05
• 5 I Know It's True But I'm Sorry To Say (Remastered 2024) 05:04
• 6 Hallowed Ground (Remastered 2024) 04:15
• 7 Sweet Misery Blues (Remastered 2024) 02:47
• 8 Black Girls (Remastered 2024) 05:41
• 9 It's Gonna Rain (Remastered 2024) 04:11
• Total Runtime 38:43

Info for Hallowed Ground (Remastered 2024)

"Hallowed Ground" is the second studio album by Violent Femmes, released on May 14, 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, written by Gano during his high school classes, was inspired by the tradition of folk songs about "terrible, horrific stories". A departure from the straightforward rock style of their debut, Hallowed Ground was considerably divisive amongst fans and critics, with many at the time incorrectly thinking Gano's Christian lyrics were ironic.

"After the surprise success of their landmark debut, Violent Femmes could have just released another collection of teen-rage punk songs disguised as folk, and coasted into the modern rock spotlight alongside contemporaries like the Modern Lovers and Talking Heads. Instead they made Hallowed Ground, a hellfire-and-brimstone-beaten exorcism that both enraged and enthralled critics and fans alike. Like Roger Waters purging himself of the memories of his father's death through The Wall and The Final Cut, bandleader Gordon Gano uses the record to expel his love/hate relationship with religion, and the results are alternately breathtaking and terrifying. Contrary to initial public response, Hallowed Ground is not a parody. Gano, the son of a Baptist minister, may wear his faith like a badge of honor, but it's a badge, not a shield, and what keeps the songs so volatile is the fact that they're filtered through the eyes, ears, heart, and loins of a teenager. Like the first record, all of the songs on Hallowed Ground were written during Gano's high-school years -- he was barely in his twenties when it was released -- resulting in a perfect rendering of the sweetness and brutality of the postpubescent teen, especially on the album's centerpiece; a searing indictment of loyalties broken and the snitches that break them, "Never Tell" is the perfect balm for the bloody righteousness of youth, and when Gano screams, "I'll stand right up in the heart of Hell/I never tell," it's hard not to stand right beside him. Christian imagery aside, Hallowed Ground is not as polarizing as some make it out to be. The band explores gothic Appalachian folk and child murder on the banjo-fueled "Country Death Song," bawdy and bluesy Lou Reed-inflected infatuation on "Sweet Misery Blues," and nuclear holocaust on the brooding title track, leaving little doubt that this is the same band that penned underground classics like "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Add It Up." Even the decidedly politically uncorrect "Black Girls," with its free jazz mid-section that includes everything from jaw harp to the screaming alto sax of John Zorn and the Horns of Dilemma, is full of the same smirk and swagger that made "Blister in the Sun" the soundtrack to so many people's halcyon days. The Femmes are nothing if not true to themselves, and Hallowed Ground is a testament to their tenacity, courage, and sheer obliviousness to industry ogling. Each track is as naked as it is bursting with ideas, and as the landscape changes, the band changes with it, leaving the listener at a crossroads; with each incantation, growling invective, and honey-whispered promise, they're forced to either jump off the gospel train or ride it along with them into the mouth of Hell." (James Christopher Monger, AMG)

Gordon Gano, vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), electric guitar (3, 5, 6, 8), violin (4)
Brian Ritchie, acoustic bass (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), electric bass (3, 5, 6, 8), slide bass (8), celesta (5), marimba (2), jews' harp (8), vocals (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Victor DeLorenzo, tranceaphone (1, 2, 4, 7, 8), acoustic and electric drum kits (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), stompatron (8), percussion (8), vocals (all songs except 1)
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", tenor 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 and game calls on "Black Girls"
John Tanner, clarinet on "Sweet Misery Blues"
Horns of Dilemma, clarinet, trombone

Recorded January 1984 at Secret Sound Studio, New York City
Produced by Mark Van Hecke

Digitally remastered from the original stereo tapes

Violent Femmes
formed in 1981 as an acoustic punk band playing on the streets of Milwaukee. Their main influences at that time were Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, and The Velvet Underground. Their goal was to rock harder than any other acoustic act on the planet.

They were rejected for an audition by a local nightclub and set up outside a Pretenders gig. Chrissie Hynde asked them to open that night's show. This gave the early Femmes a publicity boost which led to them being invited to play in NYC supporting Richard Hell. A rave review in the New York Times led eventually to a record deal, which in turn spawned worldwide touring.

Their eponymous first album became the first and only album in Billboard history to enter the charts as a platinum album, eight years after its release. The Femmes became a mainstay of festivals, clubs and theatres in over 30 countries worldwide in the ensuing three decades.

MTV's "Unplugged" show was inspired by the Femmes, although they never actually appeared on it. Their raw sound and honest lyrical perspective has been cited as an influence by artists as diverse as Pink, Keith Urban, The Smiths, Nirvana, Lou Reed, John Cusack, Mark Morris, and Wim Wenders.

Violent Femmes are currently touring in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the release of their first album.

This album contains no booklet.