| Fire of Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 31, 1981 | |||
| Studio | Studio America, Pasadena, California; Quad Teck, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:03 | |||
| Label | Ruby | |||
| Producer | Chris D., Tito Larriva | |||
| The Gun Club chronology | ||||
| ||||
Fire of Love is the debut album of the American rock band the Gun Club, released in 1981 on Ruby Records. [3]
The Flesh Eaters' singer Chris D. produced five tracks on the album ("Sex Beat", "Preaching the Blues", "Fire Spirit", "Ghost on the Highway" and "Jack on Fire") at Quad Teck with Pat Burnette engineering. Tito Larriva produced the album's other six tracks at Studio America with Noah Shark engineering. Chris D. was also credited with the cover design for the original release. Judith Bell was responsible for the bottle label illustrations on the rear of the cover.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| Pitchfork | 9.1/10 [5] |
| PopMatters | 8/10 [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [8] |
| Uncut | [9] |
| The Village Voice | B [10] |
The album is considered groundbreaking in being the first of its kind to combine the hard, stripped-down sound of punk rock with American roots music. [11] In turn, this innovation helped to create the punk blues style as well as inspiring countless garage rock musicians. Several musicians have cited Fire of Love as an influence.
In a 1982 Trouser Press review, Jim Green argues that the band "have wrought nothing less than a mutation of the blues." He says the band "extracts from the blues those elements (anger, frustration, vivid imagery) most resonant with the disaffections of a modern young white [man]. Songwriter Pierce adds his own cynicism and wildness for a heady and often compelling combination." Green concludes, "[t]he Gun Club relies on no strict formulas yet it is undeniably the blues that is being transmuted into a medium for Pierce's dark visions and neuroses." [12]
The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [13]
In 2006, "Sex Beat" appeared on the soundtrack to the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours .
All songs composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce; except where indicated
Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge is the second studio album by American rock band Mudhoney. It was recorded at a time when the band was thinking of signing to a major record label, but decided to release the album on Sub Pop in 1991. The album shipped 50,000 copies on its original release. It was credited with helping to keep Sub Pop in business.
The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to incorporate influences from blues, rockabilly, and country music. The Gun Club has been called a "tribal psychobilly blues" band, as well as initiators of the punk blues sound cowpunk – "He (Pierce) took Robert Johnson and pre-war acoustic blues and 'punkified' it. Up until then bands were drawing on Iggy & The Stooges and the New York Dolls but he took it back so much further for inspiration."
Pink Flag is the debut album by the British post-punk band Wire. It was released in November 1977 through Harvest Records. The album was critically acclaimed on release, and has since been highly influential; today it is regarded as a landmark in the development of post-punk music.
G. Love and Special Sauce is the debut album by the American band G. Love & Special Sauce, released in 1994. The album was certified Gold after selling 500,000 copies. It contains the song "Cold Beverage", which became a college-radio staple, as well as "Baby's Got Sauce", which Seattle's KEXP-FM 90.3 called the song of the year.
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.
Kollaps is the first official LP by Einstürzende Neubauten, released in 1981 on German label ZickZack as #ZZ 65. The songs are a mixture of rough punk tunes as well as industrial noises obtained from self-made music machines, electronics, and found objects such as metal plates. The album was reissued in 2002 with Stahldubversions, originally released in 1982. Blixa Bargeld, N.U. Unruh and F.M. Einheit appear on the album. "Jet'M" is a cover of the Serge Gainsbourg song "Je t'aime... moi non plus". Track 15 of many CD versions of the album is a live recording of "Negativ Nein" from 26 June 1987 at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
Live at the Regal is a 1965 live album by American blues guitarist and singer B.B. King. It was recorded on November 21, 1964, at the Regal Theater in Chicago. The album is widely heralded as one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded and was ranked at number 141 in Rolling Stone's 2003 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, before dropping to number 299 in a 2020 revision. In 2005, Live at the Regal was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in the United States.
Blues Breakers, colloquially known as The Beano Album, is the debut studio album by the English blues rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, originally credited to John Mayall with Eric Clapton. Produced by Mike Vernon and released in 1966 by Decca Records (UK) and London Records (US), it pioneered a guitar-dominated blues-rock sound.
Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist.
Chris D. is an American punk poet, singer, writer, rock critic, producer, and filmmaker. He is best known as the lead singer and founder of the early and long-running Los Angeles punk/death rock band the Flesh Eaters.
Miami is the second studio album by American rock band the Gun Club, released in 1982. It was released on Animal Records, founded by guitarist Chris Stein of Blondie. Stein also produced the album.
The Las Vegas Story is the third studio album by American rock band the Gun Club, released in 1984. This album saw the return of founding member and lead guitarist Kid Congo Powers, after a three-year stint with The Cramps. The album was dedicated to Debbie Harry "for her love, help and encouragement."
Tito & Tarantula is an American chicano rock/blues rock band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1992 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tito Larriva.
Next is the second album by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, released in 1973.
Mother Juno is an album by the Gun Club, released in 1987. It was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins.
Death Party is an EP by American rock band The Gun Club, released in 1983. It is the only official release of the Jim Duckworth and Dee Pop line up of the band which existed for about eight months.
Bourbonitis Blues is an album by the musician Alejandro Escovedo, released in 1999 on Bloodshot Records.
Cypress Grove is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer and producer.
Lucky Jim is an album by the American band the Gun Club, released in 1993. It was the band's final studio album. The album was "dedicated to the cities of Saigon and London, Fall and Winter 1991".
