The Country of Blinds
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| The Country of Blinds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:SkeletonCrew AlbumCover CountryBlinds.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by Skeleton Crew | ||||
| Released | 1986 | |||
| Recorded | December 1985 to January 1986 Kirchberg, Switzerland |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:25 | |||
| Label | Rift (US) | |||
| Producer | Tim Hodgkinson | |||
| Skeleton Crew chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
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."[2]
Contents
Track listing
| Side A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "The Country of Blinds" | Skeleton Crew, Cora | 4:10 |
| 2. | "Money Crack" | Skeleton Crew | 0:58 |
| 3. | "The Border" | Skeleton Crew, Anne Hemenway | 3:28 |
| 4. | "The Hand that Bites" | Skeleton Crew, Frith | 5:32 |
| 5. | "Dead Sheep" | Skeleton Crew, Cora, Frith | 3:22 |
| 6. | "Bingo" | Skeleton Crew, Frith | 3:34 |
| Side B | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 7. | "Man or Monkey" | Skeleton Crew, Cutler | 2:37 |
| 8. | "Foot in Hole" | Skeleton Crew | 3:08 |
| 9. | "Hot Field" | Skeleton Crew | 2:36 |
| 10. | "The Birds of Japan" | Skeleton Crew, Frith | 4:00 |
| 11. | "You May Find a Bed" | Skeleton Crew, Frith, Sharp | 6:10 |
Track notes
- "Money Crack", "Hot Field" and the last section of "You May Find a Bed" were recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, November 4, 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
Sound 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 / 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 / Country of Blinds on a double compilation CD, omitting only "Money Crack" from The Country of Blinds, and adding ten extra tracks.
