Mother Juno
Mother Juno | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 17, 1987 | |||
Recorded | Summer 1987 | |||
Studio | Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin | |||
Length | 41:14 | |||
Label | Fundamental[1] Red Rhino[2] | |||
Producer | Robin Guthrie[3] | |||
The Gun Club chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [4] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
The Guardian | [3] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [6] |
New Musical Express | 10/10[7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[9] |
Mother Juno is an album by the Gun Club, released in 1987.[10][11] It was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins.
"Yellow Eyes" was originally entitled "Funky Junkie"; "Nobody's City" was originally "Sleepy Times Blues." The original recordings of Mother Juno were released as Mother Berlin in 2015 on Bang! Records, containing an additional track, "Country One."[12]
In 2023, Mother Juno was re-released with remastered tracks, including 12” single versions of the songs “The Breaking Hands”, “Crabdance”, and “Nobody’s City”. Additional demos are included from the aforementioned Mother Berlin sessions.
Production
[edit]The album was recorded in Berlin.[13] The recording took 14 days.[2] The cover used a painting by Claus Castenskiold, the Danish-born painter.[1]
Release
[edit]The album did well on the independent and college charts, peaking at #3 on the UK indie and #1 on the CMJ charts.[14]
Critical reception
[edit]Trouser Press wrote: "On songs like 'The Breaking Hands' ... producer Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins spins a delicately layered web of sound; more straightforward numbers like the shimmying 'Thunderhead' recast the old energy in slightly more linear terms, although guest Blixa Bargeld does his best to tilt 'Yellow Eyes' on its axis."[1] The Rolling Stone Album Guide called the album "swamp music for thinking people."[8]
Track listing
[edit]Original 1987 album
[edit]All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce
- "Bill Bailey" – 3:39
- "Thunderhead" – 3:28
- "Lupita Screams" – 3:12
- "Yellow Eyes" – 6:30
- "The Breaking Hands" – 4:12
- "Araby" – 3:01
- "Heart" – 3:59
- "My Cousin Kim" – 2:47
- "Port of Souls" – 4:49
2005 Remaster (SFTRI 765)
[edit]All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce
- "Bill Bailey"
- "Thunderhead"
- "Lupita Screams"
- "Yellow Eyes"
- "The Breaking Hands"
- "Araby"
- "Heart"
- "My Cousin Kim"
- "Port of Souls"
- "Crabdance"
- "Nobody's City"
2023 Remaster (Extra Term Audio LLC)
[edit]All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce
- "Bill Bailey" – 3:39
- "Thunderhead" – 3:28
- "Lupita Screams" – 3:12
- "Yellow Eyes" – 6:30
- "The Breaking Hands" – 4:12
- "Araby" – 3:01
- "Heart" – 3:59
- "My Cousin Kim" – 2:47
- "Port of Souls" – 4:49
- “The Breaking Hands” 12” version - 4:18
- “Crabdance” 12” version - 2:59
- “Nobody’s City” 12” version - 4:09
- “Port of Souls” (demo) - 5:27
- “Araby” (demo) - 3:06
- “Lupita Screams” (demo) - 3:21
- “Funkie Junkie (Yellow Eyes)” (demo) - 6:42
- “Hearts” (demo) - 4:13
- “Bill Bailey” (demo) - 3:46
- “Sleepy Time Blues (Nobody’s City)” (demo) - 4:16
- “My Cousin Kim” (demo) - 2:46
- “Thunderhead” (demo) - 3:34
- “The Breaking Hands” (demo) - 4:34
- “Crab Dance” (demo) - 3:06
- “Country One” (unreleased instrumental, demo) - 3:10
Personnel
[edit]- The Gun Club
- Jeffrey Lee Pierce - vocals, guitar, whistle
- Kid Congo Powers - guitar
- Romi Mori - bass; lead guitar on "The Breaking Hands"
- Nick Sanderson - drums
with:
- Blixa Bargeld - guitar on "Yellow Eyes"
- Technical
- Lincoln Fong - engineer
- André Giere - assistant engineer
- Claus Castenskiold - sleeve painting
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Gun Club". Trouser Press. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Reloaded Gun Club Takes Aim Again". Los Angeles Times. April 3, 1988.
- ^ a b Simpson, Dave (December 2, 2005). "CD: The Gun Club, Mother Juno" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ AllMusic Review
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 39.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 514.
- ^ Pouncey, Edwin (7 November 1987). "The Gun Club: Mother Juno". New Musical Express. p. 29.
- ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 294.
- ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 172.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (October 9, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
- ^ "The Gun Club | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Blog, The Listening Post (2021-11-29). "SONG OF THE DAY The Gun Club – Yellow Eyes". Retrieved 2024-11-17.
- ^ "The Gun Club's 'Mother Juno' Treated to Deluxe Vinyl Reissue". exclaim.ca.
- ^ Thompson, Dave (October 9, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.