''Blind Man's Zoo'' is the fourth studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

. It was released on May 4, 1989, by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. 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 band's lead singer

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

. "Eat for Two", "Trouble Me", and "You Happy Puppet" were released as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. The first two of the three charted in the United States, and "Trouble Me" charted in the United Kingdom. ''Blind Man's Zoo'' received mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, some of whom praised the overall content while others criticized the music and lyrics. It reached number 13 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in the US. The album charted at number 18 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and was certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) in the UK.

Background and development

At the time of ''Blind Man's Zoo'' being released, the members of 10,000 Maniacs were American singer-songwriter

, keyboardist

Dennis Drew Dennis Arnold Drew (born 8 August 1957) is the keyboardist for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. He has been with the band since its inception in 1981 and is one of three founding members along with Steve Gustafson and John Lomba ...

, bassist Steve Gustafson, guitarist

Rob Buck Robert Norman Buck (August 1, 1958 – December 19, 2000) was an American guitarist and founding member of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Some of his compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10, ...

, and drummer

Jerry Augustyniak Jerome Stanley Augustyniak (born September 2, 1958) is the drummer for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Augustyniak joined the band in March 1983, two years after the group formed. Augustyniak continues to perform with the band ...

. The band's first few releases—the ''

Human Conflict Number Five ''Human Conflict Number Five'' is the debut EP by American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1982 by Mark Records. While the EP also contained the band's own Christian Burial Music imprint, the label itself was fictitious. Bar ...

'' EP (1982) and '' Secrets of the I Ching'' LP (1983), issued under their own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Christian Burial Music—had lacked commercial success. These were followed by 10,000 Maniacs' second studio album, '' The Wishing Chair'' (1985), after they signed a contract with

. The band's third album, ''

In My Tribe ''In My Tribe'' is an album by the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Released on July 27, 1987 by Elektra Records, it was their second major-label album and their first to achieve large-scale success. John Lombardo, Natalie Merchant' ...

'', was released in July 1987 and became modestly successful, particularly due to its moderate hit

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Like the Weather "Like the Weather" was the second single released from 10,000 Maniacs' 1987 album ''In My Tribe'', following " Peace Train". A live version with lead vocalist Mary Ramsey was also included on their 2016 album '' Playing Favorites''. Background an ...

", which was released six months thereafter. Reproduction of DeCurtis's original ''Rolling Stone'' article, also reproduced as "Five Hit Big Time as 10,000 Maniacs," p. C3+ of ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...

'' June 4, 1989 issue, accessed via ProQuest. ''Blind Man's Zoo'' title was inspired by a fictional game from a children's book. The album's production occurred from November 1988 to March 1989. The recording location was

Dreamland Recording Studios Dreamland Recording Studios is a residential recording studio located in the town of Hurley, New York. Opened in 1986 as a recording facility, the studio is housed in what was once St. John's Church built in 1896. Some of the artists that recorded ...

, a converted rural church in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

. The mixing occurred at

Right Track Studios Sound on Sound Studios, formerly known as MSR Studios (Manhattan Sound Recordings) is a photography and movie producing company recording facility in Montclair, New Jersey. Its forebear, MSR Studios, was located in Manhattan, just outside Times Sq ...

in Manhattan.

Themes and lyrics

Numerous songs on ''Blind Man's Zoo'' were inspired by social issues and contemporaneous events, despite Merchant's limited knowledge of

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. Merchant said that most of the album stems from her recurring theme of betrayal.

Music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

Anthony DeCurtis Anthony DeCurtis (born June 25, 1951) is an American author and music critic, who has written for ''Rolling Stone,'' the ''New York Times'', ''Relix'' and many other publications. Career DeCurtis is a contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', w ...

considered it "a starkly pessimistic statement" in contrast to the band's usual "greatest professional optimism". 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 Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

message, and it does not address

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. ''Blind Man's Zoo'' second track, "Please Forgive Us", concerns the United States interventions in Central America, especially the

Iran–Contra affair The Iran–Contra affair ( fa, ماجرای ایران-کنترا, es, Caso Irán–Contra), often referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair (in Iran), or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States ...

. The article incorrectly says "a young black man and a white woman" as part of the lyrics of "Jubilee". The actual lyrics say "a black girl and a white boy". The third track, "The Big Parade", references visitors of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those s ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

legacy. The fourth track, " Trouble Me", is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

featuring music composed by Dennis Drew and lyrics by Merchant in dedication to her father, who was hospitalized at the time of the writing.''Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music''
, edited by Michael LaBlanc. Vol. 3.

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

singer

Jevetta Steele Jevetta Steele (born November 11, 1963) is an American R&B and gospel music singer. Early years Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Steele eventually migrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota to become a criminal lawyer. Steele later embarked upon a sol ...

provided background vocals for the song. Merchant said, "The most uplifting song is 'Trouble Me', which seems like the antidote for all the rest of the album." The seventh track, "Poison in the Well", concerns a neighborhood suffering from effects of

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...

and refers to the chemical waste site

Love Canal Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, infamous as the location of a landfill that became the site of an enormous environmental disaster in the 1970s. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals harmed the health of hund ...

, which caused multiple cases of cancer and infertility. The eighth track, "Dust Bowl", is about a plighted mother financially struggling to raise her children in an impoverished manufacturing town. The ninth track, "The Lion's Share", concerns, as music critic

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

wrote, "

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

's bitter fruits". "Hateful Hate", the tenth track of ''Blind Man's Zoo'', concerns the European

colonization of Africa The history of external colonisation of Africa can be dated back from ancient, medieval, or modern history, depending on how the term colonisation is defined. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Malays all established colonies on the African co ...

as well as racial tensions between the European descendants and native Africans. The final track, "Jubilee", is a " semi peratic" song about

religious fanaticism Religious fanaticism, or religious extremism, is a pejorative designation used to indicate uncritical zeal or obsessive enthusiasm which is related to one's own, or one's group's, devotion to a religion – a form of human fanaticism which cou ...

and a racist who burns down a dance hall, in which he had witnessed "a black girl and a white boy kissing shamelessly".

Release and promotion

''Blind Man's Zoo'' was released on May 4, 1989 in the US and May 15 in the United Kingdom. The source reveals only the month and year of the release date, "May 1989". "Eat for Two", "Trouble Me", and "You Happy Puppet" were released as singles from the album.

Music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s for "Eat for Two", "Trouble Me", "You Happy Puppet", "Dust Bowl", and "Hateful Hate" were included on the VHS album ''10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule, Filmed 1982–1990''. The band's live performances of "Eat for Two" and "Trouble Me" were released on its 1993 ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' album release.

Critical reception

''Blind Man's Zoo'' was met with mixed reviews from music critics. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' reviewer

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

praised the album for "Merchant's powerful lyricism" on "the global theme of betrayal". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' reviewer David Browne called the album 10,000 Maniacs's "best record", praising the band as "more focused" and "Buck's darting guitars smore powerful than ever". ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' journalist Timothy White in July 1989 called the album 10,000 Maniacs's "best release" to that date. Fellow ''Spin'' journalist Jonathan Van Meter considered the lyrics "concerned, self-righteous, ndat times pretentious yet thoroughly engaging". ''

CD Review ''CD Review'' (formerly known as ''Digital Audio'' and ''Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review'') is a discontinued American monthly magazine that specialized in reviewing albums and audio electronics, especially compact discs. The magazine was fo ...

''s Larry Canale criticized Merchant's "unintelligible" vocals but praised her "

novelettes Novelette may also refer to: * ''Novelette'' (ballet), a solo modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham * Novelette (music), a short piece of lyrical music * Novelette (literature), a work of narrative prose fiction that is longer than ...

and the band's sprightly, sometimes edgy melodies". 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". ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

acknowledged Merchant's "own prosaic prosody with off-kilter guitar accentuating its eccentric undertow", while he highlighted the album's second half of occasionally successful politics, "like when the lottery-playing mom of 'Dust Bowl' rubs her fevered youngest down with rubbing alcohol". However, he was resigned to report Merchant's inability to "listen to 'common sense firm arguments' ", singling out "Hateful Hate" for how it "brushes by slavery on its way to and ends up condemning 'curiosity'—again and again". In retrospective reviews,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's 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". J.D. Considine, reviewing in ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', wrote that the album "isn't quite as cheerful, but despite its issue-oriented focus, Merchant and her bandmates never turn their songs into a

bully pulpit A bully pulpit is a conspicuous position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to. This term was neologism, coined by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who referred to his office as a "bully pulpit", by which he mea ...

Commercial performance

In the US, ''Blind Man's Zoo'' reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for the week ending July 29, 1989. The album posited number 47 on the 1989 year-end chart of the ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified gold for shipping 500,000 units in the US on July 11, 1989, and later received a platinum certification for shipments of 1,000,000 units in the country on December 12, 1997, both of which were awarded by the

(RIAA), making it 10,000 Maniacs's fourth album to achieve the latter certification. ''Blind Man's Zoo'' debuted and peaked at number 18 on the

for the week ending May 27, 1989. It was certified silver by the

(BPI) for shipping 60,000 units in the UK on August 14, 1989. It became the band's highest-charting album in both the US and the UK. On the US charts, "Trouble Me" reached number 20 at the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart for the week ending July 8, 1989, number 3 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart for the week ending June 10, number 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week ending August 12, and number 7 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart for the week ending August 19, 1989. "Trouble Me" reached number 77 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for the week ending June 17, 1989. "Eat for Two" reached number 12 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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.

Track listing

Credits are adapted from the album's booklet. All lyrics by

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's booklet. 10,000 Maniacs *

Jerome Augustyniak Jerome Stanley Augustyniak (born September 2, 1958) is the drummer for the American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Augustyniak joined the band in March 1983, two years after the group formed. Augustyniak continues to perform with the band ...

– drums * Robert Buck – electric guitar, acoustic guitar *

– organ, piano * Steve Gustafson – bass guitar *

– vocals; piano and pipe organ on "Hateful Hate" Additional musicians *

– backing vocals on "Trouble Me" *

Orchestra of St. Luke's The Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is an American chamber orchestra based in New York City, formed in 1974. Orchestra of St. Luke’s presents over 70 concerts, programs, and events in a variety of diverse musical genres every season, including an ...

– orchestra on "Jubilee": **Krista Bennion Feeney – first violin **Mitsuru Tsubota – second violin **Louise Schulman – viola **Myron Lutzke – cello **Dennis Godburn –

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

**Robert Wolinsky –

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

*Scott Kuney –

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

on "Jubilee" *Frank Luther –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

on "Jubilee" Technical *

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

– producer *

Frank Filipetti Frank Filipetti is an American record producer, audio engineer and mixer, who was born in Bristol, Connecticut, United States. Filipetti has seven Grammy Awards and ten nominations for his work on ''The Color Purple'', ''The Book of Mormon'', ''W ...

– engineer, mixing *Dave Cook – assistant engineer *Dennice Brown – mixing assistant *Jeff Abikzer – mixing assistant *Darren Brown – "nimble technician" *Larry Knight – "nimble technician" *Jason Osborn – orchestral arrangement and direction on "Jubilee" *Frank Olinsky (Manhattan Design) – packaging *Natalie Merchant – packaging

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics of ''Blind Man's Zoo''
at Natalie Merchant's official website.
''Blind Man's Zoo''
at Discogs {{Authority control 10,000 Maniacs albums 1989 albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Peter Asher Love Canal