Blame the Messenger

Blame the Messenger
Studio album by David Thomas; & The Wooden Birds
Released	January 1987
Recorded	September 23 – 24, 1986
Studio	Suma Recording; (Painesville, OH)
Genre	Art rock, experimental rock
Length	39:18
Label	Rough Trade/Twin/Tone
Producer	Chris Cutler
David Thomas chronology

Last updated October 23, 2019

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Robert Christgau	C+^[2]

Blame the Messenger is the fifth studio album by experimental singer-songwriter David Thomas, released in January 1987 by Rough Trade and Twin/Tone Records.^[3] In 1997, the album was remastered by Paul Hamann and David Thomas for its inclusion in the Monster anthology box set.

Experimental rock is a subgenre of rock music which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with some of the genre's distinguishing characteristics being improvisational performances, avant-garde influences, odd instrumentation, opaque lyrics, unorthodox structures and rhythms, and an underlying rejection of commercial aspirations.

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies.

David Thomas is an American singer, songwriter and musician.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by David Thomas; all music is composed by Chris Cutler, Jim Jones, Tony Maimone and Allen Ravenstine, except "My Town" and "Friends of Stone" by David Thomas.

Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Fred Frith, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu and The Residents, and has appeared on over 100 recordings. Cutler's career spans over four decades and he still performs actively throughout the world.

James E. Jones was an experimental music artist, producer, and guitarist in the rock band Pere Ubu. Jones was a member of many experimental rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s including: Easter Monkeys, Foreign Bodies, Mirrors, The Styrenes, Electric Eels, Home And Garden, and Terminal Lovers. He later recorded and performed with local bands Speaker\Cranker, Noble Rot, and KNG NXN. Jones died of a heart attack on February 18, 2008 at the age of 57.

Tony Maimone is a bassist, producer, and recording engineer, who lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Town"	3:07
2.	"A Fact About Trains"	4:23
3.	"King Knut"	5:30
4.	"When Love Is Uneven"	3:29
5.	"The Storm Breaks"	3:35

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Long Rain"	4:13
2.	"Having Time"	4:53
3.	"Friends of Stone"	3:18
4.	"The Velikovsky 2-Step"	6:50

Personnel

Adapted from the Monster Walks the Winter Lake liner notes.^[4]

The Wooden Birds

Chris Cutler – drums, production
Jim Jones – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Tony Maimone – electric bass guitar, acoustic bass guitar, backing vocals
Allen Ravenstine – EML synthesizer, piano, backing vocals
David Thomas – lead vocals, accordion

A drum kit — also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums — is a collection of drums and other percussion instruments, typically cymbals, which are set up on stands to be played by a single player, with drumsticks held in both hands, and the feet operating pedals that control the hi-hat cymbal and the beater for the bass drum. A drum kit consists of a mix of drums and idiophones – most significantly cymbals, but can also include the woodblock and cowbell. In the 2000s, some kits also include electronic instruments. Also, both hybrid and entirely electronic kits are used.

A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many, varying roles during the recording process. They may gather musical ideas for the project, collaborate with the artists to select cover tunes or original songs by the artist/group, work with artists and help them to improve their songs, lyrics or arrangements.

An electric guitar is a guitar that uses one or more pickups to convert the vibration of its strings into electrical signals. The vibration occurs when a guitar player strums, plucks, fingerpicks, slaps or taps the strings. The pickup generally uses electromagnetic induction to create this signal, which being relatively weak is fed into a guitar amplifier before being sent to the speaker(s), which converts it into audible sound.

Production and additional personnel

Michael Bishop – mastering
Paul Hamann – engineering
Mik Mellen – cover art
John Thompson – design

Michael Joseph Bishop is an American recording engineer and record producer.

Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book, magazine, newspaper (tabloid), comic book, video game, DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, for instance to promote the product it is displayed on, but can also have an aesthetic function, and may be artistically connected to the product, such as with art by the creator of the product.

A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process, or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product or process. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan may also be considered to be a design activity. The design usually has to satisfy certain goals and constraints, may take into account aesthetic, functional, economic, or socio-political considerations, and is expected to interact with a certain environment. Major examples of designs include architectural blueprints, engineering drawings, business processes, circuit diagrams, and sewing patterns.

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	1987	Rough Trade	LP	ROUGH 120
United States	1987	Twin/Tone	LP	TTR 87105

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References

↑ Marcus, Torey. "David Thomas & the Wooden Birds: Blame the Messenger > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press . Retrieved July 1, 2016.
↑ Monster Walks the Winter Lake (booklet). David Thomas & The Wooden Birds. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twin/Tone Records. 1986.CS1 maint: others (link)

External links

Blame the Messenger at Discogs (list of releases)

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[allmusic-1] Marcus, Torey. "David Thomas & the Wooden Birds: Blame the Messenger > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[Christgau_Review-2] Christgau, Robert. "David Thomas". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[trouserpress-3] Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David (2007). "David Thomas". Trouser Press . Retrieved July 1, 2016.

[linearnotes-4] Monster Walks the Winter Lake (booklet). David Thomas & The Wooden Birds. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twin/Tone Records. 1986.CS1 maint: others (link)