Mother Juno

Mother Juno
Studio album by
the Gun Club
ReleasedOctober 17, 1987
RecordedSummer 1987
StudioHansa Tonstudio, Berlin
Length41:14
LabelFundamental[1]
Red Rhino[2]
ProducerRobin Guthrie[3]
The Gun Club chronology
The Las Vegas Story
(1984) 		Mother Juno
(1987) 		Pastoral Hide and Seek
(1990)

Mother Juno is an album by the Gun Club, released in 1987.[4][5] 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".[6]

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

The album was recorded in Berlin.[7] The recording took 14 days.[2] The cover used a painting by Claus Castenskiold, the Danish-born painter.[1]

Release

The album did well on the independent and college charts, peaking at No. 3 on the UK indie and No. 1 on the CMJ charts.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
The Guardian[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[11]
New Musical Express10/10[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[14]

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."[13]

Track listing

Original 1987 album

All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce

  1. "Bill Bailey" – 3:39
  2. "Thunderhead" – 3:28
  3. "Lupita Screams" – 3:12
  4. "Yellow Eyes" – 6:30
  5. "The Breaking Hands" – 4:12
  6. "Araby" – 3:01
  7. "Hearts" – 3:59
  8. "My Cousin Kim" – 2:47
  9. "Port of Souls" – 4:49

2005 Remaster (SFTRI 765)

All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce

  1. "Bill Bailey"
  2. "Thunderhead"
  3. "Lupita Screams"
  4. "Yellow Eyes"
  5. "The Breaking Hands"
  6. "Araby"
  7. "Hearts"
  8. "My Cousin Kim"
  9. "Port of Souls"
  10. "Crabdance"
  11. "Nobody's City"

2023 Remaster (Extra Term Audio LLC)

All tracks composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce

  1. "Bill Bailey" – 3:39
  2. "Thunderhead" – 3:28
  3. "Lupita Screams" – 3:12
  4. "Yellow Eyes" – 6:30
  5. "The Breaking Hands" – 4:12
  6. "Araby" – 3:01
  7. "Hearts" – 3:59
  8. "My Cousin Kim" – 2:47
  9. "Port of Souls" – 4:49
  10. "The Breaking Hands" 12" version – 4:18
  11. "Crabdance" 12" version – 2:59
  12. "Nobody's City" 12" version – 4:09
  13. "Port of Souls" (demo) – 5:27
  14. "Araby" (demo) – 3:06
  15. "Lupita Screams" (demo) – 3:21
  16. "Funkie Junkie (Yellow Eyes)" (demo) – 6:42
  17. "Hearts" (demo) – 4:13
  18. "Bill Bailey" (demo) – 3:46
  19. "Sleepy Time Blues (Nobody's City)" (demo) – 4:16
  20. "My Cousin Kim" (demo) – 2:46
  21. "Thunderhead" (demo) – 3:34
  22. "The Breaking Hands" (demo) – 4:34
  23. "Crab Dance" (demo) – 3:06
  24. "Country One" (unreleased instrumental, demo) – 3:10

Personnel

The Gun Club

with:

Technical
  • Lincoln Fong - engineer
  • André Giere - assistant engineer
  • Claus Castenskiold - sleeve painting

References

  1. ^ a b c "Gun Club". Trouser Press. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Reloaded Gun Club Takes Aim Again". Los Angeles Times. April 3, 1988.
  3. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (December 2, 2005). "CD: The Gun Club, Mother Juno" – via www.theguardian.com.
  4. ^ Buckley, Peter (October 9, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "The Gun Club | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. ^ Blog, The Listening Post (2021-11-29). "SONG OF THE DAY The Gun Club – Yellow Eyes". Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  7. ^ "The Gun Club's 'Mother Juno' Treated to Deluxe Vinyl Reissue". exclaim.ca.
  8. ^ Thompson, Dave (October 9, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ AllMusic Review
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 39.
  11. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 514.
  12. ^ Pouncey, Edwin (7 November 1987). "The Gun Club: Mother Juno". New Musical Express. p. 29.
  13. ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 294.
  14. ^ Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. p. 172.