To the Violent Femmes fans who are excited about Gordon Gano's new solo
album: Calm down. He only sings on three of 11 songs, and one of those is a
90-second duet. Okay, then: Now get excited again because Hitting the Ground
is a fabulous melange of both Gano's songwriting talents (often hidden in
the shadow of his mischievously spewing out his angst for all the frustrated
teens (and many adults) in the '80s) and the skills of his many famous
friends.
Written as a soundtrack to the same-titled film after director David Moore
caught one of Gano's musicals, the songs have lingered in obscurity until
now. (The film was released in 1996.) Befitting a soundtrack, the songs
range accordingly in both tone and style—from soulful ballads to country
crooning worthy of Patsy Cline to good ol' screamfests. Gems are produced by
those you'd least expect, as well as by those whom, it seems, would turn in
a noteworthy performance even if they comatose.
PJ Harvey rocks balls-out on the title track, as does Gano in the his repeat
performance of the same track at the close of the CD (a fact that's cool in
theory but a little boring if you put the CD on repeat). Mary Lou Lord is a
quiet angel floating on strings in "Oh Wonder." Gano does an odd impression
of Lux Interior on the rockabillyish "Make It Happen," but it's nicely
reminiscent of the anger he'd unleash as a Violent Femme. John Cale's urgent
piano-and-vocals piece "Don't Pretend" offers a glimpse of what Gano's
musicals must be like, and Lou Reed follows it up with a freeform beat
performance full of oddball lyrics and backed by traditional electric guitar
rock .
Linda Perry turns in a beautifully restrained performance on "So It
Goes"—it's really the best surprise on the CD. It's another obvious
inclusion in the I-can-imagine-his-stage-work category that makes me
almost—but not quite—forgive 4 Non Blondes and easily picture her standing
plaintively on stage singing to her star-crossed lover languishing offstage.
Frank Black immediately shakes us out of our romantic reverie by, in a
nutshell, kicking ass. He's lost none of his psychotic, howling verve from
the Pixies days. They Might Be Giant's effort blends the esoteric '50s
cocktail lounge with the wide-eyed teen ballads of the same era (think
"Johnny Angel" and that ilk)—and this bizarre combination filtered through
the nasally vibrato vocals is a standout.
Gano rounds up his effort with a crooning country ballad from his sister
Cynthia Gayneau, a duet with Martha Wainwright (sister of Rufus, daughter of
Loudon) and his version of the title track—all probably the weakest tracks
but listenable nonetheless. It is disappointing that the tracks Gano helms
vocally are really not the strongest—his ability to flow seamlessly and
tirelessly from irony to anger to misery to spit-in-your-face angst is
unique and contribuated heavily to Violent Femmes' inimitable sound, and
this slipslide emotion is absent from Hitting the Ground. Lucky his friends
are filling in for him in that area.
Gordon Gano Hitting the Ground
