Violent Femmes [Deluxe Edition]

Disc 1
1	Blister in the Sun 2:24
2	Kiss Off 2:56
3	Please Do Not Go 4:15
4	Add It Up 4:43
5	Confessions 5:32
6	Prove My Love 2:38
7	Promise 2:49
8	To the Kill 3:59
9	Gone Daddy Gone 3:06
10	Good Feeling 3:56
11	Girl Trouble previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 3:06
12	Breakin' Up previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 5:17
13	Waiting for the Bus Bonus Track / Demo Version 2:07
14	Blister in the Sun previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 2:35
15	Kiss Off previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 2:48
16	Please Do Not Go previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 4:17
17	Add It Up previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 4:34
18	Confessions previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 5:20
19	Prove My Love previously unreleased / Bonus Track / Demo Version 2:49
20	Ugly Bonus Track / UK Single 2:22
21	Gimme the Car Bonus Track / UK Single 5:06
Disc 2
1	Special Live / Bonus Track 4:26
2	Country Death Song Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 5:24
3	To the Kill Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 4:19
4	Never Tell Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 7:16
5	Break Song Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 0:41
6	Her Television Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 2:28
7	How Do You Say Goodbye Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 2:43
8	Theme and Variations Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 0:53
9	Prove My Love Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:19
10	Gone Daddy Gone Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:31
11	Promise Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:08
12	In Style Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:42
13	Add It Up Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 6:14
14	Michael Feldman Interview Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 4:08
15	Kiss Off Live / previously unreleased / Bonus Track 3:31

Barnes & Noble

Marrying the naïve-rock sensibility of the Modern Lovers with Gordon Gano's perfectly pitched tales of youthful neuroses, the Violent Femmes' 1983 debut has become an alt-rock classic. In fact, it's the only album ever to go platinum without having charted on the Billboard Top 200. With a stripped-down, folksy-punk sound born of playing acoustic instruments at feverish tempos, the Milwaukee trio built a cult following throughout the '80s and '90s with winning tunes like "Blister in the Sun," "Kiss Off," and "Gone Daddy Gone." Rhino's deluxe two-CD reissue adds 26 tracks -- most of them demos and live recordings, all but 4 previously unavailable -- to the original album's 10. Those tunes appear on Disc 1, followed by 9 evocative demos that find the band's raw sound intact a year before the album was cut, plus the 7" single "Ugly," a shout-along fist-pumper, and the sinister horny-boy anthem "Gimme the Car." The second disc is the treasure trove for fans: 15 mostly unreleased live tracks recorded between 1981 and 1983 at a few gigs and one radio show. Among the goodies are the epic-length story-song "Never Tell," which tips its hat to Lou Reed's influence on the Femmes, the peppy coulda-been-a-single "Her Television," a particularly spirited take on "Add It Up," and a humorous interview from the radio session. The CD booklet includes an essay by Michael Azerrad and track-by-track comments from the band, supplying the icing to an already devilishly rich cake. Lydia Vanderloo

All Music Guide

For their deluxe, two-disc reissue of the Violent Femmes' classic first album, Rhino pulled out all the stops, not only remastering the album and offering extensive liner notes, but adding a full 26 bonus tracks. Of these, 22 are previously unreleased -- the ones that have appeared before are demos and rare U.K. singles, plus a song previously released as a flexidisc in Alternative Press. The rest is a cornucopia of rarities: three songs that never were recorded in the studio ("How Do You Say Goodbye," "In Style," "Her Television"), live cuts from the early '80s (including versions of songs that would pop up on later studio albums), demos, even early interviews. Sure, this is stuff that is primarily of interest to collectors, but the great thing about this release is that this rare material is equally enjoyable for fans who just love the first album, not everything the Femmes did -- it proves that the brilliance of the debut was no fluke, and these songs are as captivating on stage and in demo form as they are on record. One of the best deluxe reissues of 2002, all told. Stephen Thomas Erlewine