Violent Femmes

Add It Up

great

Review Score:

(10/10)
This was the first Violent Femmes album that i purchased (it covers a period 1981-1993 that begins with my year of birth, so i wasnt really able to buy their albums when they came out) and since then have bought 5 of their other albums (thats how much i enjoyed this one - and the ones i have now purchased).

Whilst it might be true that the Violent Femmes have strugled to string a "complete" album together most have contained enough good material to consider them worthwhile.

But if this worries you then here is where the "best of collection" comes in. (this album doesnt cover some of their latter releases such as "Rock" (which has the "Add it Up" mark 2 song "Tonight") and "Freak Magnet" so its not srticly a "best of"). It contains all their well know "hits" #3, #4, #18, #19, #21, #21, as well as some live and/or unreleased songs.

My favourites are the ones mentioned above as well as "Waiting for the Bus", "Gimme the Car", "Country Death Song" (with its rather disturbing lyrics) and "Johnny" whilst there are only 2 songs that annoy me "Black Girls" - starts fine but just losses itself in a terrible instrumental horn section at the end, and "Vancouver" a slow boring instrumental as well.

The Femmes music is just so raw and untouched, with Gordan Gano up the front singing in a voice that swings from sweet to sour quicker than the Femmes change tempo. I love the striped back acoustic sound that is evident on all songs. If your not too sure if you want to buy a Femmes album, but you like "Blister in the Sun" so much you got to have it then this might be a good place to sart (although their self titled debut is hard to go past).

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