Customer Reviews

Wildweed

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

 

 

I have the older release, without the 2 bonus tracks on it, but I consider it one of the best of Jeffrey Lee Pierce, putting on the short list for best rock albums of 80s. It mixes punk, soul, rockabilly and spoken word foolishness, setting everything atop a foundation of lightweight funk, and coating it all with a glossy new wave sheen. Pierce's sharp witted wordplay is at its finest on this album as well, with "Cleopatra Dream On" shining through in particular.

"Now the agents of grace have been stealing your lace
they cheated the race and they claimed your face
this is no place for Cleopatra dreaming on..."

I see that song as the greatest rival to Elvis Costello's "Beyond Belief" as the high point of 80s era lyrical dexterity. The album is short enough and catchy enough that its hard to not listen through the whole thing once you've put it on. All in all, its much more light-hearted pop oriented effort than the rest of the Gun Club catalog, and worth checking out for any Pierce fan.

This album was originally released in the UK in the mid 80s. This CD reissue is its first US release. The songs here show a tamer and less bluesy side of Pierce that what you hear on the better Gun Club albums. The songs and the guitar work here are often reminiscent of Television, and sometimes of Pere Ubu. The bonus tracks feature Pierce doing something like a William Burroughs impersonation, to no apparent purpose.

this from the man behind the gun club. the songs on this album are not quite as rude as his previous work but that doesnt make them any less important. voted one of the best phychedelic albums of all time the 'fire of love' is still burning within it.

This is one of Jeffrey Lee Pierce (from Gun Club) Solo-CDs. The most similar to Jeffrey and Gun Club I have from those days, is Iggy Pop. But in style it is not the same, however, both of them vary a lot. So I can't describe its style as good as necessary, and therefore, I would like to recommend: try before you buy. For me, this "Wildweed" is a good, solid and consistent effort. A little bit more pop/rock oriented than Gun Club itself. I would describe it "Gun Clubs Mother Juno light". This is what I missed from Gun Club, so it perfectly fits in and I regard it as welcome Gun Club Extension. Despite its small shift towards pop/rock orientation, there are still more than enough edges to keep it away from mainstream. Jeffreys great voice and his capturing melodic hooks drive you surely throu this CD. If you like good rock with an edge and insist on having a passionate vocalist with a unique good voice, give this a try.

I haven't gotten around to listening to this whole album yet, so this review might be a bit premature. Having said that, I think the songs "love and desperation", "cleopatra dreams on", and "hey juana" are three of the best singles I've ever heard. I'm not a huge fan of gun club, however this album seems to be a departure from that, with only traces of the trademark Jeffrey Lee Pierce blues styling. Like any JLP effort, the superbly clever-yet-heartfelt lyrics make up for the parts where the music gets repetitive or sounds uninspired. My favorite verse goes something like, "somebody hurt you so you hurt me/ so i hurt somebody that i've never seen/ who hurt somebody else beyond down the road/ who hurt someone else who goes on home with you." from "love and desperation", and there are many more great lines like it on this album. For me, that's what makes this album worthwhile.

**************update 5/21/05****************

This has actually become my favorite album in the years since I wrote the above. It has that perfect blend of lightweight funk, sugary pop and just a pinch of soul, as did much of the great music of 80's music.

"you got a price that is not so nice/you got demise written on your mind", muses Jeffrey Lee on the track "Love Circus". In fact this album is filthy with little lyrical gems that stay with you forever. Another one of my favorites, from "Cleopatra Dream On", goes, "the disciples of soul and the husbands of woo/they don't know exactly what to do with you/they taxed your broken heart and they commissioned your blues!". Pierce had that amazing ability to write tunes that were dripping with snotty punk-rock attitude, and yet were still based very much in some kind of maudlin introspection. I'm amazed at how people are currently selling this cd for 40$ used. I'm so glad I bought it before it went out-of-print. If you happen to stumble upon a copy of this in your local record store don't hesitate to snatch it up. Happy listening!