The Country of Blinds

Infobox Album | Name = The Country of Blinds
Type = Studio album
Artist = Skeleton Crew


Released = 1986
Recorded = Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg,
Switzerland, December 1985
to January 1986
Genre = Avant-progressive rock
Length = 39:25
Label = Rift (USA)
Producer = Tim Hodgkinson
Reviews =
*"Allmusic" Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5hnsa9tgu238 link]
*Piero Scaruffi (5.5/10) [http://www.scaruffi.com/vol3/frith.html link] | Last album = "Learn to Talk"
(1984)
This album = "The Country of Blinds"
(1986)
Next album = "Learn to Talk / The Country of Blinds"
(2005)

"The Country of Blinds" is a studio album by United States experimental rock and jazz band Skeleton Crew, recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland, December 1985 and January 1986. It was their second and 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 led 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." [http://home.earthlink.net/~srwolff/Fred_Frith_Story.html]

Track listing

Side A
#"The Country of Blinds" (Cora) – 4:10
#"Money Crack" (Skeleton Crew) – 0:58
#"The Border" (Hemenway) – 3:28
#"The Hand that Bites" (Frith) – 5:32
#"Dead Sheep" (Cora/Frith) – 3:22
#"Bingo" (Frith) – 3:34Side B
#"Man or Monkey" (Cutler) – 2:27
#"Foot in Hole" (Skeleton Crew) – 3:08
#"Hot Field" (Skeleton Crew) – 2:36
#"The Birds of Japan" (Frith) – 4:00
#"You May Find a Bed" (Frith/Sharpe) – 6:10

Track notes

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

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

ound and art work

*Tim Hodgkinson – Engineer, Producer
*Katrina Brändli – Assistant Engineer
*Fred Frith – Cover art work

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 / The 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 compilation CD, "Learn to Talk / The Country of Blinds", omitting "Money Crack" from "The Country of Blinds", plus ten extra tracks.

External links

* [http://home.arcor.de/nyds-exp-discogs/frith.htm Fred Frith discography]