Hitting the Ground

Hitting the Ground is Violent Femmes member Gordon Gano's debut solo studio album. It was produced by Warren Bruleigh and released in 2002. Gano wrote the songs for a film of the same name.

Hitting the Ground
Studio album by
Gordon Gano
ReleasedAugust 13, 2002
Recorded2002
StudioCarriage House Studios, Stamford, Connecticut; Big House, Manhattan, New York; ICP Recording Studios, Brussels; Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles; A&M Studios, Hollywood; John & Stu's Place, Seattle, Washington; Nine Lives; Mission; Colorado Sound Recording Studios, Denver; The Roof, New York City
GenreRock
LabelInstinct Records
ProducerWarren Bruleigh, Gordon Gano

Each song was performed by a different artist. Gano says that the songs were written with no particular performer in mind, but he is very happy that each performer made his or her song his or her own. Lou Reed rewrote some of the lyrics, and was given partial writing credit for "Catch 'Em In the Act." Gordon's sister Cynthia Gayneau sang "Merry Christmas Brother" after Joan Baez turned it down. They Might Be Giants performed and produced their song, "Darlin' Allison," by themselves. John Cale recorded "Don't Pretend," solo on piano and vocals.

Critical reception

Hitting the Ground received mostly favorable reviews from critics.[1] Some critics, however, did give it mixed reviews, such as Eric Carr, who wrote in Pitchfork that "none of these tracks are all that interesting beyond a listen or two."[2]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(63%)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Pitchfork Media(4.9/10)[2]
The Guardian[4]
Robert Christgau(choice cut)[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Gordon Gano, except "Catch 'Em In the Act" by Gano and Lou Reed.

  1. "Hitting the Ground"
  2. "Oh Wonder"
  3. "Make It Happen"
  4. "Don't Pretend"
  5. "Catch 'Em In the Act"
    • Lou Reed - vocals and guitar (right speaker)
  6. "So It Goes"
  7. "Run"
  8. "Darlin' Allison"
  9. "Merry Christmas Brother"
    • Cynthia Gayneaux - vocals
  10. "It's Money"
  11. "Hitting the Ground"
    • Gordon Gano - vocals, PJ Harvey - guitar solo

Personnel

Musicians, in addition to the above:

  • Frank Ferrer - drums (all tracks except 4, 8)
  • Lonnie Hillyer - bass (tracks 2, 6)
  • Melora Creager - cello (track 2)
  • Brendan Ryan - keyboards (track 10)
  • PJ O'Connor - backing vocals (track 10)
  • Hope Debates - backing vocals (track 10)

Production

  • Producer - Warren Bruleigh (all songs except "Darlin' Allison," produced by They Might Be Giants)
  • Michael White, Irwin Autique, Martin Brass, Larry Mah, John Goodmanson, Warren Bruleigh, Steve Rosenthal, Alex Reed, Michael W. Douglass, Nicola Stemmer, Oliver Strauss, Rob Lewis - engineer
  • Dave P. Moore - executive producer
  • Dave Heath - cover photograph "Vengeful Sister, Chicago"

References
  1. Hitting the Ground, Metacritic
  2. Carr, Eric (16 September 2002). "Hitting the Ground". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  3. Wilson, Mackenzie. "Hitting the Ground Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  4. Clarke, Betty (30 August 2002). "Gordon Gano: Hitting the Ground". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  5. Christgau, Robert. "Gordon Gano Reviews". Retrieved 7 December 2014.
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