NEW YORK NIGHT TRAIN: THE GUN CLUB, PASTORAL HIDE AND SEEK, DIVINITY, IN EXILE, AND LIVE

THE GUN CLUB
Pastoral Hide and Seek
New Rose 1990 Thirsty Ear 1997 (w/Divinity)

On this one The Gun Club returns with a collection of jangly Americana hard rock. Don’t get me wrong - this record isn’t so bad at all - it just marks the first time that The Gun Club wasn’t way beyond the pack. As always Jeffrey Lee Pierce is highly emotive, distinctive, and overall amazing vocalist. Plus, a few of Pierces verses are among his best ("Emily's Changed"). Pierce and Powers' duo guitar parts that sit somewhere between the Television and Thin Lizzy traditions. Perhaps because Kid Congo’s guitar trademark art/noise breaks, solos, and builds have been sacrificed in favor of Jeffrey Lee’s new classic rock guitar harmonies , Pastoral Hide and Seek misses much of the character and distinction of Mother Juno. The good news is that Pastoral Hide and Seek has been packaged with the much more interesting Divinity EP for the last decade or so. The bad news is that it seems to be out of print at this point.

THE GUN CLUB
Divinity
New Rose 1990 Thirsty Ear 1997 (w/Pastoral Hide and Seek)

The songs on Divinity are yet another interesting point of departure for The Gun Club. While not their best-sounding record, it’s certainly one of their most interesting. “Sorrow Knows” is a long slow funky number in which Jeffrey Lee Pierce proves his versatility with a relatively new reserved, mournful, and almost spooky vocal style – particularly on the chorus. Here you also find Jeffrey and Kid trading classic rock style solos with much more success than on Pastoral Hide and Seek. Though their jamming may be longwinded, they're fine rock improvisors and the flights are much more physical than, say, The Grateful Dead. The hook-laden pop of “Richard Speck” could almost be a southern rock anthem via New York proto-punk. “Keys to the Kingdom” is a reworked oldie and “Black Hole” has vocal harmonies that presage the early Queens of the Stone Age. If you can’t find the original double twelve-inch EP, it is now widely available combined with Pastoral Hide and Seek.

THE GUN CLUB
In Exile
XXX 1992

In Exile is an American compilation of The Gun Club’s material from their years living and recording in Europe. The tracks are gathered from Mother Juno, Pastoral Hide and Seek, and the Divinity. All-in-all, the best introduction to the the late-period Gun Club.

THE GUN CLUB
Ahmed's Wild Dream/Live in Europe
Solid, Whats So Funny About?/Triple X

Ahmed’s Wild Dream, released as Live in Europe in the United States, is a late-period Gun Club album recorded for radio at the Tivoli in Utrecht, Holland in 1992. Once again the lineup is Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Romi Mori and Kid Congo Powers – but this time with Lucky Jim/Ramblin’ Jeffrey Lee drummer Simon Fish replacing Clock DVA's Nick Sanderson. Selecting a fairly well-balanced set from their gargantuan repertoire, The Gun Club does two or three songs each from Fire of Love, The Las Vegas Story, Mother Juno, Pastoral Hide and Seek, and the Ramblin’ Jeffrey Lee record – everything but Miami. Mysteriously, they only play one song from their most recent record, Divinity. And, if you make it to the end, you will find a cover of “Little Wing" as the second to last number. But don’t let that getcha down – overall the band rocks fairly hard despite an abundance of protracted guitar jams. This is Kid Congo Powers’ final recording with The Gun Club.