Gordon Gano: Hitting The Ground : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

A more fitting title would have been "With a Lot of Help From My Friends." The Violent Femmes singer -- who brought acoustic-punk to the masses with alterna-hits such as "Add It Up," and "Blister in the Sun" nearly twenty years ago -- allows his special guests to do the heavy lifting. His various artists are a cultured lot -- PJ Harvey, John Cale, Lou Reed -- who sing, play and often remake the songs in their own image. In fact Gano, who wrote the tunes for the soundtrack of David Moore's 1996 film Hitting the Ground, appears as vocalist on only three tracks. Writing for others showcases Gano's versatility, as he shows unprecedented gentleness (Mary Lou Lord's "Oh Wonder," Cynthia Gayneau's "Merry Christmas Brother"), good humor (They Might Be Giants' "Darlin' Allison") and his usual hustling punk self (PJ Harvey on the title track, Frank Black's "Run").

ROB O'CONNOR
(September 5, 2002)