Various: Return Of The Creeps (The Singles) 2000

 

One of the first and most influential independent record labels in Greece, Creep Records, which was founded in Athens in 1982, played a major role in the circulation of music, counterculture, and ideas. Its short but rich catalog featured some of the most important bands of the domestic new wave, post punk, and dark wave scenes. In just four years, Creep released a series of iconic albums, which to this day remain works of priceless emotional and historical value. On the other hand, it is impressive that the bands have their own material, promoting this and not any possible covers, quickly gaining a foothold, playing regularly in the clubs of the time (Aretousa, Sofita, Kyttaro, Pegasos, etc.) and creating a small, but fanatical audience, which would support, to the extent possible, the discography, despite wider suspicion.
                                   

Various – Return Of The Creeps - The Singles
Label: FM Records – FM 8226, Ήχος & Hi-Fi – 49/323, Creep Records – none
Format: CD, Compilation, Reissue
Country: Greece
Released: 2000
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Post-Punk, New Wave 

TRAXS

                     

01. Metro Decay – Κειμήλια = Treasures   4:26
Performer – Αντ. Μανιάτης, Γ. Μανιάτης, Κ. Μάστορης
02. Clown – Κλόουν = Clown   3:5
Performer – Γ. Αναστασόπουλος, Ευ. Τσιπούρας, Η. Αναστασόπουλος, Πην. Λάππα
03. Yell-O-Yell – Imitation Of The Real   1:30
Performer – Ευάγ. Καζιλιέρης, Φιλώτας Βασκαλής, Χαρ. Κυρκιλής
04. Villa 21 – Move   5:44
Performer – Άννα Ποθουλάκη, Ανδ. Παπαδόπουλος, Κ. Ποθουλάκης, Μπ. Δαλίδης
05. Headleaders – Voices   2:15
Performer – Σπ. Φάρος, Ιωσήφ Μπασελιέ, Λάκης Χαλκιόπουλος, Φρανκ Βακούλας
06. The Reporters – I Wanna Know   4:03
Performer – Γ. Ρουμάνης, Κ. Ποθουλάκης, Χρυσ.Μουράτογλου, Π. Καραμικές, Σ. Σταθόπουλος
07. Clown – Λευκά Κελλιά = White Cells   4:35
Performer – Γ. Αναστασόπουλος, Ευ.Τσιπούρας, Ηλ. Αναστασόπουλος, Πην. Λάππα
08. Metro Decay – Σκιές = Shadows   3:25
Performer – Αν. Μανιάτης, Γ. Μανιάτης, Κ. Μάστορης
09. Yell-O-Yell – Crow's Complaint   4:30
Performer – Ευάγ. Καζιλιέρης, Φιλ. Βασκαλής, Χαρ. Κυρκιλής
10. Villa 21 – My Last Chance   3:35
Performer – Άννα Ποθουλάκη, Ανδ. Παπαδόπουλος, Κ. Ποθουλάκης, Μπ. Δαλίδης
11. Art Of Parties – Central Room   3:55
Performer – Αθαν. Οικονόμου, Κ. Κυριακίδης, Παν. Βασιλάκης
Performer, Music By [Uncredited], Lyrics By [Uncredited] – Δημ. Βασιλάκης
12. Headleaders – Her Ways Are Cold   2:50
Performer – Σπ. Φάρος, Ιωσήφ Μπασελιέ, Λάκης Χαλκιόπουλος, Φρανκ Βακούλας
13. The Reporters – Computer World   3:40
Performer – Γ. Ρουμάνης, Κ. Ποθουλάκης, Χρυσ. Μουράτογλου, Παρ. Καραμικές, Σόλων Σταθόπουλος
14. Art Of Parties – Last Time   4:30
Performer – Δημ. Βασιλάκης, Κ. Κυριακίδης
Performer, Music By [Uncredited], Lyrics By [Uncredited] – Αθαν. Οικονόμου, Παν. Βασιλάκης
15. Headleaders – I'm Living Like A Fool   4:00
Performer – Σπ. Φάρος, Ιωσήφ Μπασελιέ, Λάκης Χαλκιόπουλος, Φρανκ Βακούλας
16. Villa 21 – I See No!   5:05
Performer – Άννα Ποθουλάκη, Ανδ. Παπαδόπουλος, Κ. Ποθουλάκης, Μπ. Δαλίδης
17. Yell-O-Yell – Shoot The Truth   6:30
Performer – Ευάγ. Καζιλιέρης, Φιλώτας Βασκαλής, Χαρ. Κυρκιλής

NOTES

Track 1 title is not actually translated, but loosly transliterated. The correct word could be 'heirlooms" or "relics".
Track 3 title is incorrectly listed as "Immitation Of The Real".

METRO DECAY

New Wave group formed in Athens, Greece, in 1981. The group was founded by Costas Mastoris

(Κώστας Μάστορης, keyboards) and Yannis Maniatis (Γιάννης Μανιάτης, drums), with Maniatis' younger brother Antonis (Αντώνης Μανιάτης, vocals, guitar), as well as Yannis Rodites (bass) soon joining in. Their first public appearance took place at the Kyttaro club in the spring of 1982 in Athens. Their major break-through came in September, in the legendary 3-Day festival at Sporting Stadium, supporting The Birthday Party, in front of a very hostile audience. After that Roditis left the band, joining Magic De Spell. The group vowed to continue as a trio, writing completely new songs. Around

that time, Babis Dallidis of Creep Records (2) heard about them, and suggested they do a single for his label. In March 1983, the single "Κimilia / Skies" was released.  In 1984, their first and only full-length album was released, again by Creep Records, which had been recorded in November 1983. The first album by the band Metro Decay was titled ''Transcendence''. This is a landmark album in the Greek rock scene. The album includes eight tracks, three of which are instrumental. 

CLOWN

In 1983, their first and only album was released. It

was a 7'' vinyl "Clown / White Cells", with two songs ("Clown" and "White Cells"), which was released by the historic "Creep Records". In the song "White Cells", the lyrics conveyed the meaning of the white cells of Stammheim, in the isolation of everyday life. The band Clown was one of the most

distinctive bands of the underground Greek music scene. With their intelligent compositions, combination of new wave, post-punk and more general alternative elements, as well as their unique lyrics, the group still exudes mystery and interest to this day.

YELL-O-YELL

They formed in 1982 in Athens, Greece. One of the darkest band of the greek post punk scene . Later

the bassist of Headleaders (and also member of Rehearsed Dreams) participated at the band. They made a lot of appearances along with Headleaders and Villa 21. They were the first group that signed at the legendary Creep Records. Between 1982 and 1983 they released the 7" "Shoot The Truth" with three tracks and a mini lp titled "Funtime". In 1984 they released the lp "Hello Hell" again on Creep Records,

and in ' 86 the lp ΧΙΙ-13 from Smash Records. (The other greek post punk label which released only 3 Lp's). The drummer of the band on lp ΧΙΙ-13 was Andreas Ferdianakis. Ex member of punk band "ex humans" and later member of "south of no north" and be bop jungle (The other greek post punk label which released only 3 Lp's). Unfortunately the singer / guitarist Fill Scars died in early 90's from drugs overdose. 

VILLA 21

This is one of the greatest bands made in Greece... Αt the end of 1981 Kostas Pothoulakis (former

member of " Parthenogenesis " ) and Adda Labara formed Villa 21. The punk and the new wave experience of pothoulakis in "Parthenogenesis" and "The Reporters " along with the music influences of the rest of band's members created the final sound of Villa 21. Villa 21, Their first appearrance was at "sofita" club in 1982. In 1984 supported Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and in 1987 "Membranes" and "Wipers". At Creep Records released their first single (1982) called "villa 21", also the single "move"

(1983) and on the same year the Lp "A Ghost On The Move". Also in October 1988, "Wipe Out Records" will release an EP, in 1000 copies, with four songs, by the group Villa 21, entitled ''House Of The Damned''. The recording of the album ''House Of The Damned'' took place at Blue Moon Studios on July 9, 10 and 11, 1988. The album moves on more rock paths than what we were accustomed to from the band ''Villa 21'' in their early years and was one of the independent albums that crossed the

Greek borders and sold satisfactorily abroad (America and Europe), garnering significant reviews from the Greek and international press. Also participated in "World Class Punk" tape compilation of "Roir records" They released some more records but they changed gradually their music style to garage punk. The band disbanted in 1991. In 1993 Kostas Pothoulakis was killed in a car accident.

HEADLEADERS

Post-punk group formed in Kypseli, Athens (Greece), in 1981 by teenagers Lakis Halkiopoulos

(guitar, vocals, songwriter), Josef Bachelier (drums, vocals) and Frank Vacula (vocals). After a few months of rehearsing, they recorded 3 songs, with Spyros Faros joining in on bass. The single "Voices" was released in 1982 by Creep Records (2). After that Vacula had to leave the band, for his (mandatory) army service. The group frequently played in Athens underground club 'Sofita' alongside

fellow Creep bands, Yell-O-Yell and Villa 21. After releasing their debut album "What It Means To Me", they disbanded in late 1983. Faros went on to form Rehearsed Dreams (and also played with Yell-O-Yell), Bachelier played with Next To Nothing (2), and Halkiopoulos played in Fade (14) (aka Secondhand Daylights). Halkiopoulos and Bachelier also formed the project Folder#9 in 1999 (playing in a different style than before). Josef Bachelier died in 2006. Spyros Faros passed away in 2022.

THE REPORTERS

A few gems made it amidst the anemic Greek new-wave scene, like this debut by the Reporters,

offering a neat compromise between angst and accessibility. formed in early 80s. Band member kostas Pothoulakis also participated in other bands like "Parthenogenesis" (the first new wave band in greece) and Villa 21. They released a 7" in 1982 and the lp "Bare hands" in 1983. In true new-wave fashion, "Fear" combines tight danceable grooves along with tense, In true new-wave fashion, "Fear" combines tight danceable grooves along with tense, claustrophobic synthesizers. Their sound becomes even more

effective with "You And I" - which alternates between slow and fast tempos and is garnished with tormented sound-effects. "Bare Hands" is the best yet, built around a progressive structure: at first a slow-motion cold-funk, which then gets really tormented with a synthesizer deviation, before it embarks in a cyclonic journey of frozen agony. 

ART OF PARTIES

A band somewhere between new wave and new romantics, they formed in the early 80s in Athens, Greece, and took their name from a track out of the "Tin Drum" album by the British band Japan. In

early 1980, schoolmates Θανάσης (classically trained guitarist) and Παντελής (self-taught multi-instrumentalist) started jam sessions in the Athens suburbs of Nea Smyrni and Palaio Faliro, trying to indoctrinate each other into their favorite artists (Van Der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill, & Peter Gabriel VS The Beatles, Bowie, & The Jam). About a year in, schoolmate Γιώργος Ορφανουδάκης, who was working at an Athens record store at the time, joined in on drums. His broad exposure to all kinds of new music (Talking Heads, Medium Medium, Echo and the Bunnymen, Japan, Roxy Music, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Specials, and many more) and the addition of Δημήτρης on bass were a defining influence to the band's aesthetic, an influence that followed them for years to come. They performed ~a dozen of gigs, mainly at outdoor mini festivals and private houses, before they were

approached by Μπάμπης Δαλίδης of Creep Records in 1983. Γιώργος was replaced by Κώστας Κυριακίδης, another Nea Smyrni native and the most experienced performer in the band at the time, as the rehearsals for the upcoming recording sessions were getting under way. There are no Art Of Parties recordings available with Γιώργος Ορφανουδάκης on drums. Γιώργος has since owned and operated various restaurants, exhibition spaces, and nightlife spots in Athens, including the famous Stavlos in Θησείον. He continued drumming with The Brush, a garage band, from 1985 to 1992, and then again from 2005 to 2012. He currently runs at Aplika in Nea Smyrni.

Flac Size: 812 MB

Sei Still: Sei Still 2020 + El Refugio 2021

 

Though their taut, motoric beats might scream of 70's West Germany, Sei Still are, in fact, a five-

piece band hailing from Mexico City. Their machine-like sonic experimentations emerging not out acid-fuelled jam sessions in some underground communal space tucked away in this or that German city but, instead, three friends taking a random trip to desolate Mexican woodland to work on a couple of songs that would end up leading them to start a fully-fledged band. Now, said band are signing to London-based label Fuzz Club to put out their debut album "Sei Still".
                           

As well as the given indebtedness to bands like Can, NEU! and the minimalism movement, Sei Still say that they also take great inspiration from “Tarkovsky's ‘Stalker’, ‘Easy Rider’ (the

concept of the road has always been a present image of our collective imaginary) and the aesthetics of Spanish new-wave bands like Aviador Dro and Décima Víctima.” Now ready to transmit their angular Krautrock to a trans-Atlantic audience, Sei Still have spent the last few years cultivating a notorious reputation in their native Mexico, sharing the stage with the likes of Stereolab, Kikagaku Moyo, Holy Wave, Institute, New Candys, 10 000 Russos and Lorelle Meets the Obsolete.
                            

Mexican five-piece Sei Still will return with their second album ‘El Refugio’ on November 26th 2021 via London’s Fuzz Club Records. The follow-up to their 2020 self-titled debut album marks a number

of changes for the band. Not only have they upped sticks and moved from Mexico City to Berlin, but their sound has undergone a process of evolution too. Where the debut LP was an exercise in mesmerising Krautrock channeling the likes of Neu! and Can, ‘El Refugio’ keeps hold of that motorik pulse but trades the debut’s more expansive and hypnotic tendencies for a collection of dark, wiry post-punk vignettes. 
                     

The album is a more skeletal effort than its predecessor but packs a greater punch precisely because of that; the songs are shorter and unapologetically to-the-point, brimming with a tension and anguish that

makes ‘El Refugio’ a deeply affecting listen. “The biggest influence on this record was the fact that our personal lives had a radical change and we felt the need to do something different, to dig deeper into the possibilities of what the band was about. We never wanted to make the same record twice. The songs allude to childhood, dreams, desire, loneliness, paranoia and hope. A longing for a different reality that breaks the monotony of daily life." 
                             

SEI STILL - SEI STILL 2020

                             

Sei Still then are, mostly, on identified ground, using what makes krautrock specific: the ever unchanging and trance inducing “robotik” rhythm, on which the tracks are built by light touches from

other instruments, with a lot of synthesizer effects. Here, the buildup never reaches the breaking point where some others would deliver a massive fuzzy outbreak that would make you lose your mind, the sound remains light, never aggressive, never saturated. It’s a stroll in a beautiful, if a bit monotone, desert landscape, the weather is clear, there’s no storm brewing, nothing is really happening, but you’re having a great time. Sei Still is not the kind of album you can listen to once and then ignore. You can leave it on repeat and never get tired of it.
                                   

Sei Still – Sei Still
Label: Fuzz Club Records – FC129CD
Format: CDr, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue
Country: UK
Released: Nov 2020
Genre: Rock
Style: Post-Punk, Krautrock, Psychedelic Rock, New Wave

TRACKS

                       

01. Blumenkriege - Guest, Vocals – Mabe Fratti
02. El Camino
03. Emisión
04. Fortuna
05. Televisión
06. Ladrón
07. Tácticas De Guerrilla Urbana

LINE - UP

                          

Bass, Vocals, Tambourine – Andres Lupone
Drums, Tambourine, Percussion [Eggs] – Jeronimo Martin
Guitar, Vocals, Organ [Acetone], Tambourine – Lucas Martin 
Guitar, Vocals, Tambourine – Mateo Sanchez Galan
Synthesizer [Moog, Jupiter], Organ [Farfisa], Tambourine – Sebastian Rojas 

NOTES

2nd pressing.
Limited edition of 100 copies, includes one track not on the vinyl versions.

Flac Size: 288 MB

SEI STILL - EL REFUGIO 2021

                     

"El Refugio" is still driven by the taut, propulsive rhythm sections of their earlier work – see the driving

motorik post-punk of "Extrarradio", "Me Persigue" and "Exilio", or the death disco grooves of "Solsticio" – but the surrounding instrumentation owes far more to 70s punk and new wave than any kosmische travellers.  Whilst melodic bass lines propel the music in a perpetual forward motion, guitars flicker from angular and razor-sharp to shimmering and forlorn, peppered by the ambient whirr of synths that oscillate subtly in the background throughout.
                          

Sei Still – El Refugio
Label: Fuzz Club Records – FC143
Format: CD, Album
Country: UK
Released: Nov 26, 2021
Genre: Rock
Style: Post-Punk, Krautrock, Psychedelic Rock, New Wave

TRACKS

                      

I.    Extrarradio    4:54
II.   Me Persigue    2:15
III.  Exilio    4:56
IV.   Soldados Caídos    5:26
V.    Solsticio    3:20
VI.   Las Puertas De La Noche    4:48
VII.  Hombre Animal    3:28
VIII. El Peso De La Piel    4:07
IX.   El Refugio    4:14

LINE - UP

                                              

Drums, Percussion – Jerónimo Martin Sáenz
Electric Bass – Andrés Lupone Ojeda
Guitar – Mateo Sánchez Galán
Organ, Synth – Sebastian Rojas 
Vocals, Guitar – Lucas Martin Sáenz

Flac Size: 245 MB

The Gun Club: Mother Juno (2CD) 1987 + Pastorial Hide & Seek/Divinity 1997 + Lucky Jim (2CD) 1993

 

The Gun Club were formed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce (guitar and vocals) with friend, chief of the Ramones

fan club and fellow music enthusiast Brian Tristan, also known as Kid Congo Powers. Pierce was the former head of the Blondie fan club in Los Angeles and previously a member of the Red Lights, the E-Types, the Individuals, Phast Phreddie & Thee Precisions, and the Cyclones.
                       

One of the most unusual bands to emerge from the Los Angeles punk rock scene of the late '70s and early '80s, the Gun Club took the musical and thematic influences of blues, merged them

with the frenetic attack of punk, and conjured a sound that was aggressive, evocative, and emotionally complex without pretension. Led by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Jeffrey Lee Pierce -- the sole constant throughout the band's history -- the Gun Club went through significant stylistic evolutions during their 16-year life span, with jazz, country, rockabilly, pop, and hard rock informing their sound.
                   

In 1980, Snowden and Dunning quit the band, and were replaced by Rob Ritter and Terry Graham (the

rhythm section of the The Bags). Powers accepted an invite to join The Cramps, and his place on guitar was taken by Ward Dotson. The new band went on to record the group's classic first two albums, "Fire Of Love" & "Miami". Ritter left the band in 1982 just before "Miami" was released - which is the reason the band is seen as a trio on the LP cover. Dotson soon quit as well. 
              

Ritter taught his basslines to former Bags band-mate Patricia Morrison before leaving so she joined in his place. Graham quit, and gave his place to Dee Pop. The next release, the "Death Party" EP, came

from an improptu recording session that featured Jim Duckworth, and a bassist friend of Pop. For their next album - the only release to feature Morrison on bass - "Las Vegas Story" out in 1984, Kid Congo Powers returned on guitar, and Terry Graham on drums. After some successful tours, Pierce started to travel around the world and the band came to a halt for a period, as he started to work on his solo album. 
                  

It was the internal struggle most clearly evoked in the blues, however, that was Pierce's enduring

obsession, and at a time when a growing number of L.A. bands were incorporating roots music into their approach, the Gun Club did it in a way that was unique. The group's most direct bluesy attack can be heard on their 1981 debut Fire of Love; they returned to that strength with 1987's Mother Juno, and came to a surprisingly nuanced and perceptive end with 1994's Lucky Jim. 
                  

On March 25, 1996, Pierce was found unconscious at his father's home in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He was hospitalized and remained in a coma until his death from a brain hemorrhage on March 31, effectively ending the Gun Club. The White Stripes played "For the Love of Ivy" and "Jack on Fire" (both from Fire of Love) at live shows. That band's vocalist and guitarist, Jack White, said, "'Sex Beat', 'She's Like Heroin to Me', and 'For the Love of Ivy'...why are these songs not taught in schools?". 
                  

THE GUN CLUB - MOTHER JUNO 1987 (2 CD REISSUE 2006)

                            

The Gun Club collapsed within a year of the release of 1984's The Las Vegas Story, so more than a few fans were surprised in 1987 when Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Kid Congo Powers returned with a new

version of the band, featuring Romi Mori (Pierce's significant other) on bass and Nick Sanderson (ex-Clock DVA) on drums. Even more startling was that the group's comeback album, Mother Juno, was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins, who would hardly have seemed a likely choice to channel the Gun Club's fiery blues-punk assault onto vinyl. But against the odds, Mother Juno turned out to be one of the band's best albums.
                  

The Gun Club – Mother Juno
Label: Flow Records – FR 011-2
Series: 9 Lives – No 3
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered May 26, 2006
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1987    
Genre: Rock
Style: Blues Rock, Garage Rock

CD1.

                   

01. Bill Bailey    3:40
02. Thunderhead    3:27
03. Lupita Screams    3:12
04. Yellow Eyes   6:29
Guitar [Inexplicable Guitarist] – Blixa Bargeld
05. The Breaking Hands   4:12
Lead Guitar – Romi Mori
06. Araby    2:58
07. Hearts    3:59
08. My Cousin Kim    2:46
09. Port Of Souls    4:49
10. Crab Dance    2:56
11. Nobody's City    4:06
12. Breaking Hands (12" Version)   4:15
Lead Guitar – Romi Mori/Remix – Robin Guthrie

Flac Size: 344 MB

CD2.

                   

01. Port Of Souls    5:24
02. Araby    3:04
03. Lupita Screams    3:16
04. Funky Junkie [Yellow Eyes]   6:39
Guitar [Inexplicable Guitarist] – Blixa Bargeld
05. Hearts    4:12
06. Bill Bailey    3:43
07. Sleepy Time Blues [Nobody's City]    4:14
08. My Cousin Kim    2:44
09. Thunderhead    3:32
10. Breaking Hands   4:32
Lead Guitar – Romi Mori
11. Crab Dance    3:04
12. Country One    3:08

Flac Size: 347 MB

LINE - UP

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"

THE GUN CLUB - PASTORIAL HIDE & SEEK 1990/ DIVINITY 1991

                    

On 1990's Pastoral Hide & Seek, Jeffrey Lee Pierce had promoted himself to lead guitar (Kid Congo

Powers was still on hand to provide slide licks), and his concise, stripped-down guitar lines lead the band away from the blues structures of their earlier work and into a leaner, more contemporary R&B-styled direction (especially on "St. John's Divine" and "The Straits of Love and Hate"), though the passion and attack of the band is still pure rock & roll throughout. 
               

The Gun Club – Pastoral Hide & Seek / Divinity
Label: 2.13.61 Records – thi 21327.2
Format: CD, Compilation 1997
Country: US
Released:
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

PASTORIAL HIDE & SEEK 1990

                

01.  Humanesque    3:17
02. The Straits Of Love & Hate    4:17
03. Emily's Changed    3:12
04. I Hear Your Heart Singing    3:55
05. St. John's Divine    4:25
06. The Great Divide    3:10
07. Another Country's Young    5:05
08. Flowing    4:51
09. Temptation And I    4:24
10. Eskimo Blue Day    5:27

BONUS TRAX

    
11. Crab Dance    3:20

DIVINITY 1991

                     

   
12. Sorrow Knows    7:00
13. Richard Speck    2:08
14. Keys To The Kingdom    3:16
15. Black Hole    2:16
16. Yellow Eyes (Live)    8:52
17. Hearts (Live)    3:45
18. Fires Of Love (Live)    2:14

LINE - UP

Slide Guitar, Sounds [Ominous] – Kid Congo Powers
Vocals, Guitar, Lead Guitar – Jeffrey Lee Pierce
Bass, Guitar [Counter Guitar], Backing Vocals – Romi Mori
Design – Mark Droescher
Drums, Triangle – Nick Sanderson

NOTES

Originally released in 1990 (Pastoral Hide & Seek) and 1991 (Divinity)

Flac Size: 409 MB

THE GUN CLUB - LUCKY JIM 1993 (2CD REISSUE 2005)

                     

The final Gun Club album, Lucky Jim was released in 1994, less than two years before frontman Jeffrey Lee Pierce's death at the age of 37 from complications due to liver disease. Pierce was a

wasted, hollow-eyed ghost when he and the last incarnation of the Gun Club convened in Holland. Haunted from a trip to South Vietnam and Cambodia, Pierce wrote 11 new songs for the sessions and forged ahead despite the departure of longtime mate and fellow guitar slinger Kid Congo Powers, who left to concentrate on his own band, Congo-Norvell. With Pierce handling all the guitar chores, there's more overdubbing than there would normally be on a GC disc. 
                   

Perhaps the most telling track on the album is "A House Is Not a Home," an electric scorcher with Pierce telling his, and his band's, life story; by the end they were a band without a country, dismissed in

America and met with indifference everywhere else except in the Netherlands. Pierce expresses his agony vocally, wailing above the guitar storm, riffing and stinging the center of the melody with razored blues fills and the odd James Burton lick. Much of the rest of the disc is nocturnal, including the odd lounge-y blues shuffle of "Cry to Me," with Pierce doing his very best Albert Collins in the intro. Lucky Jim, it turns out, didn't just signify the passage of a man, but the disappearance of the only real American rock band left in the world. Rest easy Jeffrey Lee, and thanks for the music. 
                    

The Gun Club – Lucky Jim
Label: Flow Records – FR 009-2
Series: 9 Lives – No 2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2005
Country: Netherlands
Released:1993    
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

CD1.

                         

01. Lucky Jim    3:44
02. A House Is Not A Home    4:03
03. Cry To Me (Organ [Hammond] – Bart van Poppel)   5:55
04. Kamata Hollywood City    5:08
05. Ride    3:57
06. Idiot Waltz    6:43
07. Up Above The World    4:50
08. Day Turn The Night    2:52
09. Blue Monsoons (Drums – Simon Fish/Written-By – Romi Mori)  2:52
10. Desire   5:08
Guitar [Melody] – Romi Mori
11. Anger Blues (Organ [Hammond] – Bart van Poppel)    7:45

Flac Size: 366 MB

CD2.

               

01. Be My Kids Blues   3:18
Arranged By – J.L. Pierce
Dobro – Rene Van Barneveld
Written-By – Traditional
02. L.A. Is Always Real    3:46
03. I Can't Explain   1:44
Written-By – Townshend
04. Land Of A 1000 Dances   2:42
Written-By – Kenner, Domino
05. B-Side Jammin'    3:31
06. Zonar Roze    2:48
07. In My Room    3:37
08. Shame And Pain    3:46
09. City In Pain    3:56
10. A House Is Not A Home (Live In Salzburg, Austria 1993-05-25)  3:46
Guitar – Rainer Lingk
11. Another Country's Young (Live In Salzburg, Austria 1993-05-25)  5:41
Guitar – Rainer Lingk
12. Ride (Live In Salzburg, Austria 1993-05-25)   5:41
Guitar – Rainer Lingk
13. Go Tell The Mountain (Live In Salzburg, Austria 1993-05-25) 7:21
Guitar – Rainer Lingk

Flac Size: 381 MB

LINE - UP

Jeffrey Lee Pierce - vocals, lead guitar, arrangements
Romi Mori - bass
Nick Sanderson - drums

WITH

Bart Van Poppel - organ on "Cry to Me" and "Anger Blues"
Simon Fish - drums on "Blue Monsoons"

NOTES

Disc 2 contains 13 never before released tracks.
Tracks 1-1 to 1-8, 1-10, 1-11 recorded at Bananas Studios Haarlem (Holland) and track 1-9 at Zeezicht Studios Spaarnwoude (Holland) January 1992 and February 1993.
Tracks 2-1 to 2-9 recorded at Bananas Studios, Haarlem, The Netherlands, February and June 1993.

The Gun Club: Fire Of Love 1981 on Urban Aspirines HERE
The Gun Club: Maiami 1982 on Urban Aspirines HERE
The Gun Club: The las Vegas Story 1984 on Urban Aspirines HERE