Blind Man's Zoo

Production and songs

The title of the album Blind Man's Zoo was inspired by a fictional game from a children's book. The album was recorded in Dreamland Recording Studio, converted from a rustic church in Woodstock, New York.

A ballad "Trouble Me", co-written by Dennis Drew and Natalie Merchant, was the first released single of the album. The song was written for Merchant's father who was hospitalized at the time. Gospel singer Jevetta Steele provided the background vocals for the song. The music video of "Trouble Me" was produced, containing outdoor scenes. Merchant caught a common cold during the filming.

Other songs were inspired by social issues and events before the album was produced, despite Merchant's limited knowledge on politics. "Eat for Two" tackles teenage pregnancy and centers on a teenage girl who is five months pregnant. Merchant did not intend the song to be a "pro-life" message as the song does not address abortion. For the song, Rob Buck played the guitar; Jerome Augustyniak, percussion. The song and "You Happy Puppet" were commercially released as singles.

"The Big Parade" concerns a Vietnam War veteran and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C. "Please Forgive Us" concerns the US intervention on Central America, especially the Iran-Contra affair. "Hateful Hate" concerns the European colonisation of Africa and racial tensions between the European descendants and native Africans. A song "Jubilee", tackling religious fanaticism, concerns a racist who burns down a dance hall where he witnesses an interracial relationship of a young black man and a white woman. "Dust Bowl" concerns the working class. "Poison in the Well" concerns a neighborhood suffering from effects of hazardous waste and refers to involvement of the Hooker Chemical Company from Buffalo, New York with the chemical waste site Love Canal, which resulted in multiple cases of cancer and infertilities.

Merchant said about most of the album:

The theme that I keep returning to with every song is betrayal[.] "Eat for Two" is self-betrayal. "The Big Parade" is a nation betraying its citizens. "Please Forgive Us" is a nation betraying another nation. "Hateful Hate" is a race betraying another race. "Jubilee" is, first, a man who's betrayed by nature or God[...] "Poison in the Well" is the question of corporate culpability when there's a toxic-waste dump that suddenly is seeping into the main water supply of a neighborhood. That corporation has betrayed those people.

Music videos of "Eat for Two," "Trouble Me," "You Happy Puppet," "Dust Bowl," and "Hateful Hate" were featured in the VHS release, 10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule, Filmed 1982–1990, which was re-released on DVD as 10,000 Maniacs: Time Capsule, Filmed 1982–1993, featuring bonus music videos from the band's MTV Unplugged live concert.

Reception

Music critic Anthony DeCurtis said that the track "Trouble Me" was "the most uplifting" and "the antidote" to the remainder of the album, which DeCurtis considered "a starkly pessimistic statement." Spin journalist Timothy White called the album the band's "best release". Another Spin journalist Jonathan Van Meter considered the lyrics "concerned, self-righteous, [and] at times pretentious yet thoroughly engaging." People magazine praised the music, including Rob Buck's guitar performance, but found it "monotonous". It also found the track "Jubilee" "a major downer."

Allmusic reviewer Chris Woodstra rated the album three and a half out of five stars, considering it inferior to its predecessor In My Tribe and writing that despite "all of its earnestness and good-intentioned teachings, [the album] ultimately fails in its heavy-handed and generally uninteresting approach." Chicago Tribune rated it three and a half out of four. One Rolling Stone reviewer rated it four out of five. Another Rolling Stone reviewer rated it three out of five and wrote that the album "isn't quite as cheerful, but despite its issue-oriented focus, Merchant and her bandmates [sic] never turn their songs into a bully pulpit." Robert Christgau graded it "B−".

Chart performance

In the United States, the album reached number thirteen in the Billboard Top 200 chart on the week ending July 29, 1989. In the United Kingdom, it debuted and peaked at number eighteen in the UK Albums Chart on the week ending May 27, 1989.

In the Billboard charts, "Trouble Me" reached number twenty in the Mainstream Rock chart on the week ending July 8, 1989; number three in the Modern Rock Tracks chart on the week ending June 10; number 44 in the Hot 100 chart on the week ending August 12; and number seven in the Adult Contemporary chart on the week ending August 19, 1989. "Trouble Me" reached number 77 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending June 17, 1989.

"Eat for Two" reached number twelve in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart on the week ending August 12, 1989, and number 93 in the UK Singles Chart on the week ending November 11.

Track listing

All songs written by Natalie Merchant except as noted.

Side one

1. "Eat for Two" – 3:26
2. "Please Forgive Us" (Robert Buck, Merchant) – 3:22
3. "The Big Parade" (Jerome Augustyniak, Merchant) – 4:00
4. "Trouble Me" (Dennis Drew, Merchant) – 3:08
5. "You Happy Puppet" (Buck, Merchant) – 3:35
6. "Headstrong" – 4:13

Side two

1. "Poison in the Well" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:05
2. "Dust Bowl" (Buck, Merchant) – 4:11
3. "The Lion's Share" (Drew, Merchant) – 3:00
4. "Hateful Hate" – 4:28
5. "Jubilee" – 6:07

Personnel

10,000 Maniacs

Additional musicians

Other personnel

Charts

Album

Singles