Blind Man's Zoo


Blind Man's Zoo, which was released in 1989, is the fourth studio album to be recorded by the American pop group 10,000 Maniacs. The album contains songs addressing social issues and current events that occurred during and before the production of the album. "Trouble Me", the first track from the album to be released as a single, was written as dedication to the lead singer Natalie Merchant's father; the song charted in the United States and the United Kingdom, and became a minor hit. "Eat for Two", a song about teenage pregnancy, also reached the music charts. The album had a mixed reception, and reached No. 13 in the Billboard Top 200 chart and No. 18 in the UK Albums Chart.

Production and songs

Members of the band 10,000 Maniacs were, at the time of the album's release, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, keyboardist Dennis Drew, bassist Steve Gustafson, guitarist Rob Buck, and drummer Jerry Augustyniak. Its first few releases were less than commercially successful: the Human Conflict Number Five EP and Secrets of the I Ching LP under its own record label Christian Burial Music; followed by an LP titled The Wishing Chair after signing contract with Elektra Records. The band's third album In My Tribe, released in July 1987, became modestly successful, particularly due to its moderate hit single "Like the Weather", which was released six months thereafter.
Blind Man's Zoo title was inspired by a fictional game from a children's book. The album was recorded in Dreamland Recording Studio, a converted rural church in Woodstock, New York. The ballad "Trouble Me", the album's first track to be released as a single, was co-written by Dennis Drew and Natalie Merchant for Merchant's father, who was hospitalized at the time. Gospel singer Jevetta Steele provided the background vocals for the song.
Other songs on the album were inspired by social issues and contemporaneous events, despite Merchant's limited knowledge of politics. The first track, "Eat for Two", is about a teenage girl who is five-months pregnant. Merchant did not intend the song to have an anti-abortion message, and it does not address abortion. Rob Buck played the guitar for the song; Jerome Augustyniak, percussion. "Eat for Two" and the fifth track "You Happy Puppet" were also commercially released as singles.
The second track, "Please Forgive Us", concerns the U.S. interventions in Central America, especially the Iran-Contra affair. "The Big Parade" concerns a Vietnam War veteran and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. 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. "Dust Bowl" is about the working class. The tenth track "Hateful Hate" concerns the European colonization of Africa and racial tensions between the European descendants and native Africans. The final track "Jubilee" is about religious fanaticism and concerns a racist who burns down a dance hall in which he had witnessed a relationship between a black man and a white woman. 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.

Music videos of "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, which was re-released on DVD as 10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule, Filmed 1982–1993. The re-release also contains bonus music videos from the band's MTV Unplugged live concert, in which the band performed "Eat for Two" and "Trouble Me".

Reception

Music critic Anthony DeCurtis said the track "Trouble Me" is "the most uplifting" and "the antidote" to the remainder of the album, which DeCurtis considered "a starkly pessimistic statement". Spin journalist Timothy White called the album the band's "best release". Another Spin journalist Jonathan Van Meter considered the lyrics "concerned, self-righteous, at times pretentious yet thoroughly engaging". People magazine praised the music, especially Rob Buck's guitar performance, but found it "monotonous" and also called the "Jubilee" "a major downer".
Allmusic reviewer Chris Woodstra rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, considering it inferior to its predecessor In My Tribe and wrote that despite "all of its earnestness and good-intentioned teachings, ultimately fails in its heavy-handed and generally uninteresting approach". Chicago Tribune rated it three-and-a-half stars out of four. Rolling Stone reviewer David Browne rated it four out of five. Another Rolling Stone reviewer J.D. Considine rated it three out of five and wrote that the album "isn't quite as cheerful, but despite its issue-oriented focus, Merchant and her never turn their songs into a bully pulpit". Robert Christgau graded it "B-".
The album was certified Gold on July 11, 1989 and then Platinum on December 12, 1997 by the Recording Industry Association of America, making it the band's fourth album to be certified Platinum.

Chart performance

In the United States, Blind Man's Zoo reached number 13 in the Billboard Top 200 chart for the week ending July 29, 1989. It debuted and peaked at number 18 in the UK Albums Chart for the week ending May 27, 1989.
In the Billboard charts, "Trouble Me" reached number 20 in the Mainstream Rock chart for the week ending July 8, 1989, number three in the Modern Rock Tracks chart for the week ending June 10, number 44 in the Hot 100 chart for the week ending August 12, and number seven in the Adult Contemporary chart for the week ending August 19, 1989. "Trouble Me" reached number 77 in the UK Singles Chart for the week ending June 17, 1989.
"Eat for Two" reached number 12 in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for the week ending August 12, 1989, and number 93 in the UK Singles Chart for the week ending November 11.

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant except as noted.
Side one
  1. "Eat for Two" – 3:26
  2. "Please Forgive Us" – 3:22
  3. "The Big Parade" – 4:00
  4. "Trouble Me" – 3:08
  5. "You Happy Puppet" – 3:35
  6. "Headstrong" – 4:13
Side two
  2. "Poison in the Well" – 3:05
  3. "Dust Bowl" – 4:11
  4. "The Lion's Share" – 3:00
  5. "Hateful Hate" – 4:28
  6. "Jubilee" – 6:07

    Personnel

10,000 Maniacs
Additional musicians
Other personnel
Album
YearChartPosition
1989Billboard 20013
1989UK Albums Chart18

Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1989"Eat for Two"Billboard Modern Rock Tracks12
1989"Trouble Me"Billboard Adult Contemporary7
1989"Trouble Me"Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks20
1989"Trouble Me"Billboard Modern Rock Tracks3
1989"Trouble Me"The Billboard Hot 10044

Certifications