Baby's Got a Gun | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1980 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:02 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer |
| |||
The Only Ones chronology | ||||
|
Baby's Got a Gun is the third and final studio album by the English rock band the Only Ones, released in 1980 by CBS Records in Europe and on Epic Records in America and Japan.
Following the continued lack of commercial success with their previous studio album Even Serpents Shine (1979), and having self-produced both of their studio albums up until that point, it was decided that it was time for a slight change of pace in the Only Ones' career. In an attempt to give their music a more contemporary sound, they joined forces with record producer Colin Thurston, best known for his work with Duran Duran, Talk Talk, the Human League, Kajagoogoo, and Bow Wow Wow.
Guesting on the album would be Penetration's lead vocalist Pauline Murray, who sang a duet with Peter Perrett on the Johnny Duncan cover song "Fools", and also provided backing vocals for "Me and My Shadow". The album marked the only time that the band had released a cover version with the aforementioned "Fools", which was later released as a single, and Baby's Got a Gun also marked the only time that a guitarist other than the band members Perrett and John Perry had been credited, with Barrie Evans providing rhythm guitar, in addition to playing percussion. Koulla Kakoulli who had sung backing vocals on the band's first two studio albums also returns, making her the only unofficial member of the band to be on all of their albums.
The album peaked at No. 37 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming their best selling studio album.
In the summer of 1980, the Only Ones were the opening act for the Who on their tour of the United States, and in 1982 the band officially disbanded.
Baby's Got a Gun was re-released on CD in Europe in 2009 on Sony Music Entertainment. The original album is digitally remastered from the original half-inch mix tapes with three additional tracks, including the title track which hadn't been released on the original album.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | B+ [2] |
Smash Hits | 5/10 [3] |
In his consumer guide for the Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a B+ and commented that "Prepunk and for that matter prepub, Peter Perrett may well have been an only one and he fits in now only because this is such a tolerant and/or commercially desperate time. He's not 'power pop', of course – on record, at least, power's got nothing to do with it."
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Mark Deming wrote that "Baby's Got a Gun is clearly the weakest of the Only Ones' three original albums, but for all its faults there's plenty here that testifies to the band's strengths; "Why Don't You Kill Yourself", "Strange Mouth", and "The Big Sleep" are splendid songs that show the band still had the goods and "Trouble in the World" and "The Happy Pilgrim" confirm they could reach for a poppier sound without losing their personality in the process."
All tracks are written by Peter Perrett, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Happy Pilgrim" | 2:34 |
2. | "Why Don't You Kill Yourself" | 2:44 |
3. | "Me and My Shadow" | 5:42 |
4. | "Deadly Nightshade" | 3:10 |
5. | "Strange Mouth" | 2:32 |
6. | "The Big Sleep" | 4:58 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Oh Lucinda (Love Becomes a Habit)" | 3:10 | |
8. | "Re-union" | 2:59 | |
9. | "Trouble in the World" | 3:05 | |
10. | "Castle Built on Sand" | 1:50 | |
11. | "Fools" | Johnny Duncan | 2:25 |
12. | "My Way Out of Here" | Alan Mair | 3:53 |
Total length: | 39:02 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
13. | "Baby's Got a Gun" | 1:56 |
14. | "The Big Sleep" (Advision studio session, 1979) | 4:38 |
15. | "Your Chosen Life" | 2:48 |
Credits are adapted from Baby's Got a Gun liner notes. [4]
The Only Ones
Session musicians
Production
Chart (1980) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums (OCC) [5] | 37 |
Herman's Hermits are an English rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester and fronted by singer Peter Noone. Known for their jaunty beat sound and Noone's often tongue-in-cheek vocal style, the Hermits charted with numerous transatlantic hits in the UK and in America, where they ranked as one of the most successful acts in the Beatles-led British Invasion. Between March and August 1965 in the States, the group logged twenty-four consecutive weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 with five singles, including the two number ones "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter" and "I'm Henry VIII, I Am". Their other international Sixties hits include "I'm into Something Good", "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", the two covers "Silhouettes" and "Wonderful World", "A Must to Avoid", "There's a Kind of Hush", "I Can Take or Leave Your Loving", "Something's Happening" and "My Sentimental Friend", all of which were produced by Mickie Most. They also appeared in four films, two of which were vehicles for the band, including Hold On! (film) in 1966.
Kill City is a studio album by American musicians Iggy Pop and James Williamson, both formerly of the rock band the Stooges. It was recorded as a demo in 1975 but released in altered form in November 1977 by record label Bomp!.
Peter Albert Neil Perrett is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter for the rock band the Only Ones.
The Only Ones is the debut studio album by English power pop band the Only Ones, released in April 1978 by Columbia Records. It was produced by the Only Ones themselves, with the assistance of Robert Ash and was mixed at Basing St., Escape and CBS.
Remains is a rarities album by the English rock band the Only Ones, released in June 1984 by Closer Records. This collection combines pre-Only Ones recordings from November 1975 with Only Ones demos, many from August 1976. Both sessions took place at Tooting Studios in South London. The 1975 titles — "Watch You Drown", "My Rejection", "Don't Hold Your Breath" and "I Only Wanna Be Your Friend" — also feature contributions from Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook, Gordon Edwards, drummer Alan Platt, and John Perry playing bass guitar. These demos pre-date the recording of the first Only Ones single, "Lovers of Today". Subsequent tracks all feature the regular Only Ones line-up.
New Values is the third studio album by American musician Iggy Pop. It was released in July 1979 by record label Arista.
Special View is the second compilation album by English power pop band The Only Ones. Released in 1979 in the United States it consists of tracks selected by the American label Epic from the band's first two CBS (UK) albums.
Even Serpents Shine is the second studio album by English power pop band The Only Ones, released in 1979 by Columbia Records. It was produced by Peter Perrett and Alan Mair.
"Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album, Rio (1982). The song was released on 4 May 1982 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom, 8 June 1982 in the United States. It reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, and received a platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
Good Times is the twentieth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on March 20, 1974. The album was constructed by the first pick of a session held at Stax Studios in Memphis in December 1973 and two songs, "I've Got a Thing About You Baby" and "Take Good Care of Her", which were left over from the session at Stax in July 1973. The album includes a collection of songs that vary in style and genre. Released the same day as the recording of Elvis: Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis was being made, the title was taken from the song "Talk About the Good Times". Many of the songs are covers of hits at the time, like "Spanish Eyes" and "She Wears My Ring". Charting low at the time of its release, it was considered typical 1970s Elvis material and was his first album to hit the "cut-out bins". The album did have some success though upon its original release, becoming a Cashbox Country Albums number 1 hit and charting in the Top 50 in the UK.
Wanna Meet the Scruffs? is the debut studio album by American power pop band The Scruffs, released in 1977 by record label Power Play.
"Death Valley '69" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth and featuring Lydia Lunch. The song was written and sung by Thurston Moore and fellow New York musician Lunch, and recorded by Martin Bisi in 1984. A demo version of the song was released in December 1984 on Iridescence Records. A re-recorded version was released in EP format with different artwork in June 1985; this version was featured on their second studio album, Bad Moon Rising.
The Only Ones are an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia.
The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the complete known studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1950s. Issued in 1992 by RCA Records, catalog number 66050-2, it was soon followed by similar box sets covering Presley's musical output in the 1960s and 1970s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectible stamps duplicating the record jackets from every Presley LP on RCA Victor, every single that had a picture sleeve, and most of his EP releases. The set includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, and a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It peaked at #159 on the album chart and was certified a gold record on August 7, 1992, by the RIAA. Further certifications were for platinum on November 20, 1992, and for double platinum on July 30, 2002.
Have Moicy! is a 1976 album released by Michael Hurley, The Unholy Modal Rounders, and Jeffrey Frederick & the Clamtones. In 2011, Light In The Attic Records reissued Have Moicy! on vinyl. Although nominally credited to three different groups, the music is performed by an overlapping cast of musicians, with Hurley, Frederick, and Peter Stampfel alternating lead vocals with one track sung by Paul Presti.
Love Somebody Today is the fourth studio album by the American R&B vocal group Sister Sledge, released on March 16, 1980 by Cotillion Records. The album includes three singles: "Got to Love Somebody", "Reach Your Peak", and "Let's Go on Vacation", which all charted on the US Pop and R&B/Soul charts from late 1979 until 1980.
The Rock is the third album from Frankie Miller, and the only one officially credited to The Frankie Miller Band. The album features backing from The Memphis Horns and The Edwin Hawkins Singers.
Vehicle is the debut studio album by the Ides of March, released in 1970. The single, "Vehicle", became the fastest selling single in Warner's history, after which the band was hustled into the studio to record a full album. Vehicle's songs range through many genres including rock, pop, soul and folk.
Smash It Up: The Anthology 1976–1987 is a compilation album by the English punk and gothic rock band the Damned, released on 22 October 2002. It collects tracks spanning the first eleven years of the band's career, beginning with their debut single "New Rose" (1976) and continuing through their first seven studio albums—Damned Damned Damned (1977), Music for Pleasure (1977), Machine Gun Etiquette (1979), The Black Album (1980), Strawberries (1982), Phantasmagoria (1985), and Anything (1986)—along with the non-album singles "Stretcher Case Baby" (1977), "Lovely Money" (1982), and "Eloise" (1986).
Push Baby are a British pop duo from Manchester, England consisting of singer Jake Roche and multi-instrumentalist Charley Bagnall. They are signed to their own indie label, Wow, Big Legend.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)