Monday, July 4, 2011

1000 SONGS - DAY 80: SONG # 110

Day 80: The Pure Doctrine
The Gun Club was an important band of the 8oies and a proof for the fact, that not everything in the 80ies music scene was that bad (in fact there were a load of great groups, albeit not in mainstream music as a rule). Nevertheless, it is no surprise that they have not been that successful as they would have deserved. Mother Juno from 87 has been one of my favourite albums since the year of its release, not only because it features Kid Congo Powers on guitar, but also for the songwriting of GC mastermind Jeffrey Lee Pierce (*1958), who died in 1996. I am not sure whether I have seen them live one or two times (at least one time), but I remember having read an interview with Pierce, who had serious problems with alcohol abuse. He stated, that during a time he did not drink he could not stand the performances; walking out on stage and thinking: what is this all about, what do these people expect me to do? Lupita Screams is one of my all time favourite songs and it clearly belongs into the category "pure doctrine", as far as rock music is concernded. On UTube one can find a live version of good sound quality, but Jeffrey Lee seems to be a bit distracted on that performance. Here is one video with the studio version. When checking the links once more, i found all the former uploads i referred to before having been deleted from YouTube for copyright infringement. Enjoy it, as I do own the vinyl and have supported the artist during his lifetime (buying his records, attending his gigs), there is no bad conscience on my side to post that here:

From Miami, their second album (produced by Blondie's guitarist and Debbie Harry's lover Chris Stein), which features a fine cover version of J.C. Fogerty's "Run Through the Jungle" I have included Mother of Earth, great song, great singer, pure doctrine:

BONUS TRACK: the former Gun-Club member Ward Dotson's band "Pontiac Brothers" with their version of the Grateful Dead's "Brown Eyed Women" - sorry for the "video" (in case you want to read the lyrics, watch it on utube, I've posted them there):

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