The Country of Blinds

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.

For the H. G. Wells short story, see The Country of the Blind. For the Christopher Brookmyre novel, see Country of the Blind. For the Michael Flynn novel, see Michael F. Flynn.

The Country of Blinds
Studio album by
Skeleton Crew
Released1986 (1986)
RecordedDecember 1985 to January 1986
StudioKirchberg, Switzerland
Genre
Length39:25
LabelRift (US)
ProducerTim Hodgkinson
Skeleton Crew chronology
Learn to Talk
(1984)		 The Country of Blinds
(1986)		 Learn to Talk / Country of Blinds
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

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]

Track listing
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Country of Blinds"Skeleton Crew, Cora4:10
2."Money Crack"Skeleton Crew0:58
3."The Border"Skeleton Crew, Anne Hemenway3:28
4."The Hand that Bites"Skeleton Crew, Frith5:32
5."Dead Sheep"Skeleton Crew, Cora, Frith3:22
6."Bingo"Skeleton Crew, Frith3:34
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Man or Monkey"Skeleton Crew, Cutler2:37
8."Foot in Hole"Skeleton Crew3:08
9."Hot Field"Skeleton Crew2:36
10."The Birds of Japan"Skeleton Crew, Frith4:00
11."You May Find a Bed"Skeleton Crew, Frith, Sharp6:10

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

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.

References
  1. Mills, Ted. "The Country of Blinds". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
  2. Wolff, Sander R. "Defining The Edge: The Musical World Of Fred Frith". The Long Beach Union Newspaper. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
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