Album · Violent Femmes
The Blind Leading the Naked by Violent Femmes
The Blind Leading the Naked is an album by Violent Femmes, released in 1986. 4 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 22 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Faith”, on 12 lists with a best position of #191.
The Blind Leading the Naked, Violent Femmes' third album, came out on Slash in 1986 with Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison in the producer's chair, and its title twists the old saying about the blind leading the blind. The Milwaukee trio was still Gordon Gano on guitar and lead vocals, Brian Ritchie on bass and backing vocals and Victor DeLorenzo on drums, and Harrison gives their skeletal folk punk more polish and muscle without sanding off its nervy edge.
It paid off, up to a point: this was the first Femmes album to make the Billboard 200, peaking at 84, and their only one to chart in Britain. "Faith", "No Killing", "I Held Her in My Arms" and "Children of the Revolution" are the tracks listeners have held on to. The band's future looked shaky afterward, and in 1987 they split as Gano and Ritchie went solo, only to regroup a year later.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Blind Leading the Naked on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faith | 12 | #191 | – | 1989–2009 | |
| 2 | No Killing | 2 | #226 | – | 1989–1991 | |
| 3 | Children of the Revolution | 7 | #337 | – | 1988–2024 | |
| 4 | I Held Her in My Arms | 1 | #14 | – | 1993 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.