Blind Man's Zoo

Blind Man's Zoo is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. It was released in May 1989, through Elektra Records. The album contains songs addressing social issues and current events, which occurred during and before the production of the album. The track "Trouble Me" was written as a dedication to the father of the lead singer Natalie Merchant.

Blind Man's Zoo
Studio album by
10,000 Maniacs
ReleasedMay 4, 1989 (1989-05-04)
StudioDreamland Recording Studio, West Hurley, New York
Length43:14
LabelElektra
ProducerPeter Asher
10,000 Maniacs chronology
In My Tribe
(1987)		 Blind Man's Zoo
(1989)		 Hope Chest
(1990)
Singles from Blind Man's Zoo
  1. "Trouble Me"
    Released: May 1989
  2. "Eat for Two"
    Released: 1989
  3. "You Happy Puppet"
    Released: 1989

"Trouble Me" was released as the lead single from Blind Man's Zoo in May 1989, charting in the United States and the United Kingdom. "Eat for Two" and "You Happy Puppet" were released as the second and third singles, respectively, both in 1989. "Eat for Two" charted in the US. The album received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, some of whom praised the overall content while others criticized the music and lyrics. It reached number 13 in the US Billboard 200 chart and number 18 in the UK Albums Chart.

Background and development

At the time of Blind Man's Zoo being released, the members of 10,000 Maniacs were American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, keyboardist Dennis Drew, bassist Steve Gustafson, guitarist Rob Buck, and drummer Jerry Augustyniak. The band's first few releases lacked commercial success, which were the Human Conflict Number Five EP (1982) and Secrets of the I Ching LP (1983) under the band's own record label Christian Burial Music. The releases were followed by 10,000 Maniac's second studio album, The Wishing Chair (1985), after they signed contract with Elektra Records. The band's third album In My Tribe was released in July 1987 and became modestly successful, particularly due to its moderate hit single "Like the Weather", which was released six months thereafter.[1]

Blind Man's Zoo's title was inspired by a fictional game from a children's book.[1] The album was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studio, a converted rural church in Woodstock, New York.[2] The fourth track, "Trouble Me", was a ballad written by Drew and Merchant in dedication to the latter's father, who was hospitalized at the time of the writing.[1][3] Gospel singer Jevetta Steele provided background vocals for the song.[2]

Themes and lyrics

Numerous songs on the album were inspired by social issues and contemporaneous events, despite Merchant's limited knowledge of politics.[4] The first track, "Eat for Two", is about a teenage girl who is five-months pregnant. Merchant did not intend for the song to have an anti-abortion message, and it does not address abortion.[4] Buck played the guitar for the song while Augustyniak performed the percussion.[2] The album's second track, "Please Forgive Us", concerns the US interventions in Central America, especially the Iran–Contra affair.[4][5]

"The Big Parade" references a Vietnam War veteran and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.[1][2] Merchant said, "The most uplifting song is [the fourth track] 'Trouble Me', which seems like the antidote for all the rest of the album."[1] The seventh track, "Poison in the Well", concerns a neighborhood suffering from effects of hazardous waste and refers to the chemical waste site Love Canal, which caused multiple cases of cancer and infertility.[1][4] "Dust Bowl" is about the working class, centering around the plight of them.[5] "Hateful Hate", the tenth track of Blind Man's Zoo, concerns the European colonization of Africa as well as racial tensions between the European descendants and native Africans.[4] The final track, "Jubilee", is about religious fanaticism and is about a racist who burns down a dance hall, in which he had witnessed a relationship between a black man and a white woman.[3][5] Merchant said about most of the album:

The theme that I keep returning to with every song is betrayal[.] "Eat for Two" is self-betrayal. "The Big Parade" is a nation betraying its citizens. "Please Forgive Us" is a nation betraying another nation. "Hateful Hate" is a race betraying another race. "Jubilee" is, first, a man who's betrayed by nature or God ... "Poison in the Well" is the question of corporate culpability when there's a toxic-waste dump that suddenly is seeping into the main water supply of a neighborhood. That corporation has betrayed those people.[1]

Release and promotion

The album was released on May 4, 1989 in the US and May 15, 1989 in the UK.[6][7][8] "Trouble Me" was the first single to be released from the album,[1] followed by other singles "Eat for Two"[3] and "You Happy Puppet".[9] Music videos for "Eat for Two," "Trouble Me," "You Happy Puppet," "Dust Bowl," and "Hateful Hate" were released in a VHS album 10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule, Filmed 1982–1990.[10] During the band's 1993 MTV Unplugged live concert, they performed "Eat for Two" and "Trouble Me".

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Chicago Tribune[12]
Robert ChristgauB-[13]
Rolling Stone (Browne)[14]
Rolling Stone (Considine)[15]

Blind Man's Zoo was met with mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Music critic Anthony DeCurtis considered the album "a starkly pessimistic statement".[1] Spin journalist Timothy White called the album 10,000 Maniacs's "best release".[2] Another Spin journalist, Jonathan Van Meter, considered the lyrics "concerned, self-righteous, [and] at times pretentious yet thoroughly engaging".[4] The staff of People praised the music of the album, especially Buck's guitar performance, but found it "monotonous" and further called "Jubilee" "a major downer".[5]

AllMusic reviewer Chris Woodstra considered the album inferior to its predecessor In My Tribe and wrote that despite "all of its earnestness and good-intentioned teachings, Blind Man's Zoo ultimately fails in its heavy-handed and generally uninteresting approach".[11] Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot praised the album for "Merchant's powerful lyricism [on] the global theme of betrayal."[12] Rolling Stone reviewer David Browne called the album 10,000 Maniacs's "best record", praising the band as "more focused" and "Buck's darting guitars [as] more powerful than ever".[14] Another Rolling Stone reviewer J.D. Considine, reviewing for the same publication, wrote that the album "isn't quite as cheerful, but despite its issue-oriented focus, Merchant and her bandmates [sic] never turn their songs into a bully pulpit".[15]

Commercial performance

In the US, Blind Man's Zoo reached number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending July 29, 1989.[16][17] The album was certified gold for selling 500,000 units in the US on July 11, 1989 and then platinum for sales of 1,000,000 units in the country on December 12, 1997 by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it 10,000 Maniacs's fourth album to achieve the certification.[7][18] It debuted and peaked at number 18 on the UK Albums Chart for the week ending May 27, 1989.[19][20] The album was certified silver for selling 60,000 units in the UK on August 14, 1989.[8][21]

On the US charts, "Trouble Me" reached number 20 at the Mainstream Rock chart for the week ending July 8, 1989,[22] number 3 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for the week ending June 10,[23] number 44 on the Hot 100 for the week ending August 12,[24] and number 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending August 19, 1989.[25] "Trouble Me" reached number 77 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending June 17, 1989.[19][26] "Eat for Two" reached number 12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for the week ending August 12, 1989, and number 93 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending November 11.[19][23][27]

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant except as noted.

Side one

  1. "Eat for Two" – 3:26
  2. "Please Forgive Us" (Robert Buck, Merchant) – 3:22
  3. "The Big Parade" (Jerome Augustyniak, Merchant) – 4:00
  4. "Trouble Me" (Dennis Drew, Merchant) – 3:08
  5. "You Happy Puppet" (Buck, Merchant) – 3:35
  6. "Headstrong" – 4:13

Side two

  1. "Poison in the Well" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:05
  2. "Dust Bowl" (Buck, Merchant) – 4:11
  3. "The Lion's Share" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:00
  4. "Hateful Hate" – 4:28
  5. "Jubilee" – 6:07

Personnel

10,000 Maniacs

Additional musicians

  • Jevetta Steele – backing vocals
  • Jason Osborn – arrangement, orchestral direction
  • Krista Bennion Feeney – first violin
  • Mitsuru Tsubota – second violin
  • Louise Schulman – viola
  • Myron Lutzke – cello
  • Dennis Godburn – bassoon
  • Robert Wolinsky – harpsichord
  • Scott Kuney – classical guitar
  • Frank Luther – double bass

Other personnel

Charts
Year Chart Position
1989 Billboard 200 13
UK Albums Chart 18[28]

Certifications
Organization Level Date
RIAA – US Gold July 11, 1989
RIAA – US Platinum December 12, 1997

References
  1. DeCurtis, Anthony (1999). Rocking My Life Away: Writing About Music and Other Matters. pp. 161–164. ISBN 0-8223-2419-9.
  2. White, Timothy (July 1989). "Spins: '10,000 Maniacs, Blind Man's Zoo (Elektra)'". Spin. pp. 107, 109. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  3. Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music, edited by Michael LaBlanc. Vol. 3.
  4. Van Meter, Jonathan (September 1989). "She Sells Sanctuary". Spin. pp. 45–48. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  5. "Picks and Pans Review: Blind Man's Zoo". People. July 3, 1989.
  6. Woodstra, Chris. "10,000 Maniacs" Blind Man's Zoo". In Vladimir Bogdanov; Chris Woodstra; Stephen Thomas Erlewine; et al. (eds.). All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music (4th ed.). San Francisco: Music Player Network. Retrieved August 3, 2020. The source reveals only the month and year of the release date, "May 1989".
  7. "Gold & Platinum search results". RIAA. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  8. "10,000 Maniacs: Blind Man's Zoo". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  9. You Happy Puppet (CD). 10,000 Maniacs. Elektra. 1989.CS1 maint: others (link) Catalog number 9 66669-2.
  10. "10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule 1982–1990 (1990)". Video Source Book. Thomson Gale. 2007. p. 2900.
  11. Woodstra, Chris. "10,000 Maniacs – Blind Man's Zoo". Allmusic. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  12. Kot, Greg (May 25, 1989). "10,000 Maniacs: Blind Man's Zoo (Elektra)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  13. Christgau, Robert. "10,000 Maniacs". Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  14. Browne, David. "10,000 Maniacs Recordings". Archived from the original on May 24, 2001. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  15. Considine, J.D. (2004). "10,000 Maniacs". In Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). pp. ix, 807. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  16. "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  17. "Billboard 200 (The Week of July 29, 1989)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  18. "Artists & Music: RIAA Certifications – Platinum Albums". Billboard. December 27, 1997. p. 28. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  19. "10,000 Maniacs". Official Charts. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 75 (21 May 1989 – 27 May 1989)". Official Charts. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  21. "BRIT Certified: Certification Levels". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  22. "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History (Mainstream Rock Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  23. "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History (". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  24. "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  25. "10,000 Maniacs – Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  26. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 (11 June 1989 - 17 June 1989)". Official Charts. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 (05 November 1989 - 11 November 1989)". Official Charts. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  28. David Roberts, ed. (2006). British Hit Singles and Albums. Guinness World Records Limited. p. 553. ISBN 978-1904994107.
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