Customer Reviews

Mother Juno

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

More than the other Gun Club albums, "Mother Juno" is an amazing crash between punk rock, blues, country and pure rock'n'roll. Produced in Berlin by Robin Guthrie (from the Cocteau Twins) the fourth Gun Club album shows a much mature Jeffrey Lee Pierce. The violent and raw sides of "Fire Of Love" are over and the readings of american musics history from "Miami" and "Las Vegas Story" are behind him, so now the leader of the Gun Club can be more focus on his own way of thinking the music. Here, the songs are intense, sad and beautiful. It could be the soundtrack of a Cormac McCarthy novel written by Chet Baker (why not?). Actually, it's may be just a great rock'n'roll album, a buried treasure that make us understand why Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a charcater for people like Henry Rollins, 16 Horsepower, Nick Cave, Paul Westerberg, Peter Case, Mark Lanegan or Flea and Kiedis from the Chili Peppers.

More than the other Gun Club albums, "Mother Juno" is an amazing crash between punk rock, blues, country and pure rock'n'roll. Produced in Berlin by Robin Guthrie (from the Cocteau Twins) the fourth Gun Club album shows a much mature Jeffrey Lee Pierce. The violent and raw sides of "Fire Of Love" are over and the readings of american musics history from "Miami" and "Las Vegas Story" are behind him, so now the leader of the Gun Club can be more focus on his own way of thinking the music. Here, the songs are intense, sad and beautiful. It could be the soundtrack of a Cormac McCarthy novel written by Chet Baker (why not?). Actually, it's may be just a great rock'n'roll album, a buried treasure that make us understand why Jeffrey Lee Pierce was a charcater for people like Henry Rollins, 16 Horsepower, Nick Cave, Paul Westerberg, Peter Case, Mark Lanegan, Steve Wynn, Chuck Prophet, or Flea and Kiedis from the Chili Peppers.

Having owned every album and being an inspired musician of the Gun Club's I may be a little incey wincey bit biased but here goes.Not as good as the Fire of Love does spring first most in my mind,hard act to follow,true but you gotta admit Pierces ability to churn out top drawer material time and time again baffles the hell out of me but why is it so hard to find,now is your golden opportunity to purchase a slice of the late, great Mr Pierce and an hour of his tortured veiws played like Robert Johnson in a thoroughly bad mood surrounded by a couple of his chums with a grudge against their instruments.Blues? Punk? Gargeland - don't know? I wouldn't like to give The Gun Club a tag, The Gun Club........well there just The Gun Club the asking price for the CD,well worth it - definitely ! check out Port of Souls,corking song.

Having heard and read stories about Gun Club for years, I was somewhat disappointed the first time I actually went and listened to one of their albums, Fire of Love. They seemed so universally respected and yet enigmatic, that I'd expected great fireworks which never really appeared. Then one day I downloaded songs off the JLP solo album, Wildweed. A used copy of Mother Juno found its way into my hands soon after. By this point, something had clicked. I'm not sure what it is about Jeffrey Lee Pierce's songwriting that grabbed me, but all of a sudden I was hooked. Maybe its the way his personality seems to burst out of every song, I don't know. Mother Juno is probably the best example of this among all of the Gun Club material I've listened to to date. While the music never seems revolutionary or extraordinary, the singing and lyricism are first rate. My personal favorite track on the album is Breaking Hands, but I've grown to embrace the album as a whole now. It still mystifies me the way their songs have struck a chord in me, but I no longer wonder what all the fuss was about. Yay for Gun Club.

I remember being on college in the 80's and staying up till sunrise with my friends listening to "Yellow Eyes" over and over and over again. Mother Juno warants 5 stars based on that song alone, but you also get the rip roaring "Bill Bailey" and "Lupita Screams" among others. Truly trancendent rock & roll.

I did not know that Jeffrey Lee Pierce had died until now. Circumstances seem strange, but I was not suprised. Sad but true that some of the greatest art is made by tortured souls who flame out like shooting stars, rather than ration their energy and stick it out for the long haul. Rock on Jeff.....

To narrow it down within the Rock genre. More post punk-alternative with usual blend of Jeffery Lee style.

This album is brilliant. Jeffery's vocals are his unwavering best. You still get that honest, unvarnished GC sound, mixed in with a small bit of Robing Guthrie, production flair. Raw. Yet tasty! One doesn't over take the other. The balance works awesomely!!!

So glad Henry Rollin's revived this jewel!!! Thank you, Rollin's!

Here Gun Club has focused on rock, rockballads and for most on harder rocking start-stop punk, or however you want to name it. Its production seems more adapted to (hard)rock audience, which is not very Gun Club like, but for the songs on Mother Juno was a good and usefull choice, I think. As more focused than Fire of Love, this could be a good try for fans of (hard)rock or punk, who don't like Fire of Loves style (at the moment). If you like this, but wouldn't mind a more softer approach, you can have a look on Jeffreys more softer Solo-CD Wildweed. But, its Jeffrey, so it will never get really soft nor predictable.

This album is great and now I wait for reissues of Miamy and Las Vegas Story.

The best Gun Club album ever! Listen to "Hearts" where Jeffrey Lee Pierce's lyrics will make you cry! A pity that such a musician died so young and so much ignored by the music system. One of the best albuns i have ever heard.

Track Listing:

1. Bill Baily [3:39]
2. Thunderhead [3:28]
3. Lupita Screams [3:12]
4. Yellow Eyes [6:30]
5. The Breaking Hands [4:12]
6. Araby [3:01]
7. Heart [3:58]
8. My Cousin Kim [2:47]
9. Port of Souls [4:49]