Fire Of Love

Я відчувала легке роздратування під час прослуховування

Interesting but not surprised that I'd never heard of this band before. Seems more like a scene than a band.

I listened to this album on my first patrol walk around the parking garage of our new work building. My perception of The Gun Club's Fire of Love took a series of unexpected turns. At first, I was intrigued by this album's approximation of early rock and blues, even if its energy quickly became a bit too manic for me. The songs on this album sometimes felt split between a slower blues tempo and faster rock sensibilities, leaving them feeling awkwardly torn between the two; the songs where the band more fully commits to a punk sound typically were the strongest points on the album. But the more I listened to this album, the more confused I became about The Gun Club's vibe. The prominent portrayals of scary black people on the cover at first just seemed like an innocuous choice, but then I was absolutely taken aback by the sudden appearance of the n-word on For the Love of Ivy and Black Train, and suddenly I had to interrogater how I felt about what this album was trying to do and say. I don't believe The Gun Club to be maliciously racist, but at best, this lyrical choice seems ill-advised; it's as if the band is attempting to use these images and this language as a provocative counterculture symbol, but that feels reductive. True punk spirit would punch up at institutions of power, not making provocative points at the expense of marginalized groups. It seems clear that the word is being used in character, but that character is poorly fleshed out and not nearly clear enough to even come close to landing whatever artistic statement would even come somewhat close to justifying the language choice (and for the record, according to my preliminary research, even the other members of the band were against using the word). What once made a first impression as an interesting slice of early punk thast just wasn't for me only soured the more I dwelled on it, and while I can appreciate it for its place in history, I get almost nothing out of this album personally. Highlights: She's Like Heroin to Me, For the Love of Ivy

Punk-country, punkabilly, punk infused with Americana - call it what you will, but it’s not my thing. For those that say this is a proto-Pixies or Violent Femmes album, I’m just not hearing the same things that you are. I mean, I guess it was…fine… 2⭐️

Could've been better

Sometimes quite nice, but mostly just o.k. and a bit repetitive. favourite: "Sex Beat" 2,5

Meh this was fine. My first time coming across The Gun Club, and it seems to blend into other bands and music I’ve heard before but can’t exactly pin down, which is maybe its downfall. Don’t get me wrong, I love punk rock. There’s good energy, I like the blues influence, and it’s fun, as any good punk rock album should be. I probably like the guitar in Fire Song more than others, and I liked Goodbye Johnny but this is a more ambivalent “I guess?” than any strong feeling. If you put this album on, would I complain? No. But would I actively reach for it or have any burning desire to come back to it? Nah. Am I losing my faith in punk rock more than a mood? Perhaps.

This is serviceable music, but nothing beyond that. If we ignore the lyrics, the opening track sounds like a perfect candidate for an intro theme from an early-2000s animated series. I almost found myself looking for a Beyblade or a duel disk. Most of the songs follow a similar structure, and while they’re not bad, there isn’t much to them either. If it wasn't obvious by now, I liked "Sex Beat" and "She's like Heroin to Me".

I enjoyed the first three songs on the album. The fusion of the punky angst with bluesy guitars is unique to my ears! After these three songs, I lost interest She's Like Heroin To Me and For the Love of Ivy sound really similar to me, and are a little annoying. I found the rest of the songs to be repetitive and found myself losing interest. Favorite Tracks: Sex Beat Preaching the Blues Promise Me

You Will Never Get My Soul 1001 Albums Generator 280 (4/29/2026) Me: Surely he won't say any slurs on this album. The humble N-word: Anyway, that honestly doesn't bother me too much. Fire of Love is the debut album by The Gun Club and it is a unique blend of punk, blues, and old school Rock'n'Roll. Sex Beat and She's Like Heroin to me are really simple, powerful punk. Promise Me is really strange and interesting; it see The Gun Club in a more chill sound and it never feels like it's fully settled. Strange things happening with the time signatures too, which I can't quite figure out. However, I don't like a lot of this album, especially the second half. Black Train is fun, but Cool Drink of Water is really overlong and annoying. Very mixed bag here, feeling a 2.5/5, rounded down to a 2. Favs: Sex Beat Promise Me She's Like Heroin To Me Least Fav: Cool Drink of Water

143. ok

Meh. Algunas son molestas, algunas son buenas, normal qcy

One of the weaker punk albums Ive listened to. Clearly the musicians have talent but the singer is awful. Nothing on this album warrants it being on this list.

*1981. LA punk rock. *Sounds a bit like the Violent Femmes, who I don't care for... Not bad, but just never something I would be in the mood for. *Kind of country at times, kinda bluesy, mostly rockabilly. *I think I could appreciate this after several listens, but I have no desire to listen again. RATING - 5.5/10

first song good, rest was a bit of a wash

Kind of cool, but also kind of tone deaf? Which I mean literally, I'm not sure the singer can hear tones. It's frenetic and exciting in a way which I think requires an attentive ear to the lyrics to properly appreciate, which I'm maybe not giving it. There are some pretty cool grooves and riffs in here. The slightly detuned, twangy guitar feel reminds me of early Metronomy. Having said that, I'm really struggling to listen to it, by which I mean it also has some of the less fun qualities of nails on a chalkboard.

Jamais écouté avant. J'en espérais beaucoup, mais c'est loupé... Un album pionnier, sans doute, mais le mélange de punk et d'americana ne fonctionne pas vraiment ici. L'agression punk est édulcorée, le chant est brouillon, les inspirations blues n'ajoutent pas suffisamment d'âme et de vista mélodique pour compenser. D'autres feront tellement mieux avec les mêmes ingrédients... Top : Sex Beat Flop : For the Love of Ivy

idk if it's just because i listened to this at 8am but his voice is so god damn annoying

Vocals ruined it for me.

I am nearly half way through the list and I have heard quite a few albums that sound pretty similar to this. Unfortunately most of the others did it better.

Meh. 2 stars, not really grabbing me.

Punk just doesn't work for me. 2 stars

Ma che è sta roba.

kinda punk

Ok

Punky pero repetitivo, si no sonara todo igual se habría llevado el 5 pero me está aburriendo.

Consider me unimpressed. A lot of this isn't exciting to listen through, but they have a couple good songs in here. Black Train and She's Like Heroin to Me stand out. But largely I find these songs uninteresting. I can hear the influence it might have had, but that doesn't make it good on its own. 2.2/5

Not punk that moves me

Kind of a tough one, I liked the music for the most part but stuff that probably played as subversive at the time (jump scare use of the n word) is kind of exhausting now.

Generic punk, just like dozens of other albums on this list. Not as shouty and tuneless as some of the others, granted, but it still sounds like a teenage band who haven't quite figured out how to play their instruments well and in time with each other

Early 80’s post punk. Not sure what to make. Distorted guitars, elements of some goth. May listen again.

*slaps roof* yep, that's your run-of-the-mill punk music.

2/5 - Punk-a-billy is fine in small doses. I kept the dose small, and this was fine.

⭐⭐ Polerad punk rock. Tycker inte illa om det men det är inte heller något jag tro jag kommer lyssna på igen. Tycker jag saknar lite edge. Tycker spåren blir enformiga och tycker ånga känns släpiga och utdragna. Blir en 2a.

This band and singer make a better life story than an album it seems. In reading about them the singer sounds like he was not a big fan of this album. It is interesting to read about a fascinating LA band given that I live in LA and have never heard of this group, but honestly the LA punk stuff circa 1980 has never done anything for me. I'd rather watch a documentary about this band than hear another album. Godspeed Gun Club.

I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. It’s an interesting idea but didn’t really sustain my attention. The description of it promised more than the reality delivered, ultimately.

never listened to an album by them but knew the name, and did recognize two songs

Good non great

Although I can see what this brought to the punk sound in terms of the blues/rockabilly/even country influences this just didn't really do a ton for me. The energy is OK on some tracks, the flourishes of steel/slide guitar on some songs is sort of interesting, and I can see how this probably influenced bands like Social Distortion or even the White Stripes. I feel like I haven't rated anything a 2 in a while so was due, and most of this I just didn't care for.

ssnnnnzzzzz

First of all.... just now learning that For The Love of Ivy is a cover and not an original Japandroids song. I heard that song and was like wha???? But also, gotta say, didn't expect the original song to use the n-word, along with at least one other song on here... I like the sound, I like the genre but eeehhhhhhhhh

Sex Beat

Sounds like all of the other soft English punk. 2.5/5

Guns + Punk = Gunk. Someone please wipe this mess off the 1001 Albums list?

This would be better live

0/11 bekannt 5/10 Beste Songs: Sex Beat, she’s like heroin to me, black train

4/10 - Favorite song: Fire spirit

Best Song: Cool Drink of Water Blues. By far the most "blues" of these allegedly "blues-inspired" tracks. Worst Song: For the Love of Ivy. These weirdly whispered sex noises were not what I would consider a good time. Overall: Old punk that sounds like old punk. I appreciate that they were going for something bluesy, but it feels like a bastardized pastiche of blues at best (except for their covers of actual blues tracks, which lay bare how un-bluesy the rest of the album is). Sure, there's a youthful energy to it that amplifies some tracks, but I can't imagine ever returning to this.

😐

Okay, I never would have found this or listened to it on my own. And I would have turned it off if I wasn't doing this project. (I want to give every album a real chance - no skips.) I liked the music fine, it was really just the vocals that were grating. I was grateful when it was over and I won’t be revisiting.

Previously unknown. Some of the songs were close to what I like, but overall I wouldn't come back to it.

Thought this was just fine, some standout tracks but overall just OK. I can see how it would have been pretty fresh at the time though, and can see a big influence on bands like the Pixies that would follow. Some uncomfortable use of the N word though.

Actually think the idea of combining rockabilly/blues with punk is very cool. Unfortunately I just don't enjoy listening to it

Not my style

A peculiar album blending punk with blues and rockabilly. Such combination of styles is also known as 'Psychobilly', so there's an interesting fact for the day. What I really liked about this project are the punk moments. 'Sex Beats', 'Preaching the Blues' and "She's Like Heroin to Me" are the best tracks by difference. The rhythms and riffs are incredibly frenetic. The rest... I didn't really care. 'Promise Me' and 'For the Love of Ivy' are decent songs relying more on the blues/rockabilly side, but weren't as interesting as the others. Also, it is after this last song that the album gets uninteresting. The more punk inspired songs are quite forgettable and lack a lot of energy. In addition, the vocals start to get quite irritating. I don't really know what the singer does different from the initial songs, but in the second half his voice sounds weirder are forced. There's also the song 'Cool Drink of Water Blues', the longest one of the album. It is an incredibly slow and minimalist blues song that gets super tiring. I was thinking to give it a positive score due to the clean production and the interesting mix, but with so much material I didn't care of and always feeling tired at the end, I personally have to give it a bad score.

Maybe this could grow on me, but for now I'm having a hard time enjoying this all that much. I will say that I think this album is really interesting if nothing else, the blend of punk with blues and rockabilly is a really unique style. But on the whole, I just feel like it could have been pulled off a lot better, as despite the diverse array of genres and influences, somehow the album as a whole manages to feel pretty generic as a collective piece.

O começo é bem interessante, um country, blues rock energético, mas depois fica repetitivo, não conhecia a banda, primeiro contato, salvei apenas duas músicas do disco.

Fire of Love ist das Debütalbum der amerikanischen Band The Gun Club. Die Aufnahmen fanden im Mai 1981 im Studio America in Pasadena und im Quad Teck Studio in Los Angeles statt. Produziert wurde das Album von Chris D. und Tito Larriva. The Gun Club stammt aus den USA (Los Angeles). Auf diesem Album verbinden Jeffrey Lee Pierce (Gesang, Gitarre) und seine Bandkollegen rohe Punk‑ und Post‑Punk‑Energie mit Elementen aus Blues, Rockabilly und Punk‑Blues. Besonders prägende Tracks sind „Sex Beat“, „She’s Like Heroin to Me“, „For the Love of Ivy“, „Preaching the Blues“ und „Cool Drink of Water“. Sie zeigen die direkte, ungeschönte Darbietung, knappe Riffs und bluesige Motive. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen Punk, Post‑Punk und frühen Americana‑Einflüssen. Die Produktion erzeugt eine spärliche, lebendige Studioatmosphäre und betont die unmittelbare Wirkung der Songs. Abschließende Bewertung: Ein kompaktes, stilbildendes Debüt, das Punk- und Blues-Elemente prägnant kombiniert und die frühe Alternative-Szene der 1980er Jahre beeinflusste.

I usually like punk albums but this isn't it.

Not terrible but also not something I ever want to listen to again, annoying vocals 3.8/10

Pretty much the same punk drumming and guitar we have heard countless times on this list. Absolute nothing burger for me

2- Stars (4/15)

The band is exactly what's written on the (Wikipedia) tin. Punk and blues. It's passable, at least in places. The vocalist sounds like Lou Reed crossed with every single punk singer out there. For 1981, it's not that impressive (something turned up late to the trend, huh?) but many of the tracks are still pleasant. Sex Beat in particular is a solid opener with a guitar riff/chord progression that precedes the grunge craze a decade later. She's Like Heroin To Me Fire Spirit has a pretty lazy melody, and I'm never a fan of those. The Velvet Underground (and peers) might've pioneered the art of deadpan delivery over a harsh rocking beat, but they had star power that The Gun Club entirely lacks. Ghost on the Highway is similar, but at least it kind of tries to be melodic. You can sing along to bits and pieces. For the Love of Ivy warrants special attention because it's unusually long for a punk track. Sounds like the band knew it, because they had to start varying the dynamics to keep it interesting. To its credit, it works pretty well, combined with the extremely self-assured I-IIIb chords. Cool Drink of Water Blues is even longer, stretching well over 6 minutes long. It does take a much bluesier approach, abandoning the punk that I've had such a problem with up to this point. Unfortunately, the song kind of sucks. At least until you hit the fast jammy instrumentals, but those are much shorter than they need to be, and they're separated by minutes of mundane melody-less blues. 2/5 Key tracks: Sex Beat, She's Like Heroin To Me, Black Train

A unique genre-mashing record. If they were gonna go with style they should've cut some tracks as it grows stale by the end.

It's punk. I was ready for the album to be over half way through. Not my thing. Not on the bad end of things, but definitely not my bag.

The most non-descript, just-fine album I've heard in a long time.

Maybe I’m not in the right mood to listen to this, but I didn’t like it. There’s better post-punk/punk in my opinion. It’s a short album, but it felt long, and I thought “Cool Drink Of Water” was never going to end. It’s not terrible. I was just bored, and the further I get into this list, the harsher I rate boring albums.

Not my kind of stuff

Un punk sin muchas vueltas. No me pareció especial ni distinto a otros álbumes de la época la verdad. Para 1981 había ya mucha variedad. 4/10

The same song for like an hour. Each song isn't that bad, I could def drink whiskey to this. But a whole album? I couldn't do it

sorry but this is soooo nothing to me with some of the limpest worst vocals ever. no wonder jack white liked it so much lol. whaaat who said that??? 🫣

tollerabile, ma just barely

Nice mix of punk and blues as described but all the songs blended together for me/sounded same.

Bit all over the place, forgettable for me

Boring. Not necessarily bad just boring. Cool drink of water blues sucks though. That one was almost painful.

Not my box of frogs. The songs and production were good, but I didn’t really get the vocals, kind of purposefully bad in a post punk way or new wave or whatever but I just didn’t find it enjoyable.

Shouty post punk. Again.

If you are a fan of punk music, perhaps this is a great album. I just couldn’t wait for it to end.

Bo-ring!

Obnoxious. These guys are trying to be The Ramones, but with more edge... and they didn't do a great job with it.

Un peu boring, j'ai pas accroché malheureusement 2/5

The punk stuff and the first few songs were kinda mid - pretty generic But I kinda like the bluesy stuff- it’s definitely a lot of what influenced Jack white and I could see live shows being super fun - Cool Drink of Water was probably the standout to me Also wtf they just dropped the n word on Black Train

Meeh

Совершенно не впечатлило. Скучные аранжировки, унылый вокал. Слишком много проходных треков. Есть 3-4 хита, но они совершенно теряются в общей массе

..

Left me feeling underwhelmed, as everything sounded similar. I just couldn’t get into it, and it didn’t do much to capture my attention.

Meh

hmmm

Can see why they're here. Other than that they're like Pixies of they were boring and slightly (more) annoying.

Not my type of music, but not a terrible album. Some unique beats and rhythms that I respect. Interesting, but not inspirational or moving.

its fine, bordering on not good

Honestly felt like a parody band in movie. Boring, badly sung.

Музыка: 6/10 Разнообразие: 4/10 Тематика и вайб: 6/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 3/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 6/10 Итог: 5.0

2/5

2/5 - I just couldn't get into it :(

Proof that you can be a lead singer in a band even if you can't sing.

🦩

Nothing too offensive about the album, just a bit bored and not something I would listen to again. It felt long for a 40 minute album.

Listened while climbing. At best it faded into background music, at worst it aggravatingly pulled my attention to the whiny vocals or discordant sounds. I’m not an early punk fan, and I have this list to thank for figuring that out. I’ve heard worse however, so it gets a 2.

Punk meets American blues? Really interesting concept. Lyrics veer into "profound" territory. Melodic grooves really get going in the latter halves of the longer songs. "The Doors" vibes for sure. Too much "intentional noise" to be a "really liked it" but there's definitely something here.

jack on fire

yet another dude who seems to think that actually trying to sing, with pitch and tone, is below him.

Reminds me of a band I've forgotten. Would rather remember that one than keep trying with this one.

Generic 80’s pop rock. Not that great.

I'm sure it's great if you were there when it was new. It's not terrible, but too long and it doesn't feel essential at all. Favorite song: she's like heroin to me

If it wasn’t for the annoying singer who sounds like Mick Jagger, the album would be quite enjoyable, especially the bluesy numbers

Not completely horrible, but the lack of diversity on this one gets old, fast.

Cuando me toca combinación de líneas de metro hay un tramo donde el bluetooth falla y se me corta la música. Ayer estuve escuchando este disco y ese corte no me molestó. Me gustó más que The Clash, pero igual es un 2 para mi. De hecho me gustaría poder volver y ponerle un 1 a The Clash

A bit peculiar but not necessarily bad.

very repetitive and not really interesting

Nope

Not really my thing.

There's good punk rock. I believe that to be true. I also believe that a lot of punk rock is made up of songs that aren't very good shouted out with confidence. That's what I hear here. One song does not make me want to listen to the next. Maybe there's politics in there somewhere, the music does not convince me to dig for it.

It's not offensive, or even bad. I just don't really gel with it.

This one just isn’t for me, sorry

I didn't care for it. Found it a bit tedious.

This wasn't as hard as I would have hoped from the name.

Hey Chat GPT, compose an incredibly generic "punk record" using the same drumbeat on every song, and make sure to include every punk trope into the lyrics. Ok that all said, I feel like this album probably had a big influence on John Dwyer of the Oh Sees. "Jack on Fire" Sounds like a mid-album track you'd find on an Oh Sees album nowadays.

Groupe inconnu. Punk-rock avec parfois des instruments inhabituels pour ce type de musique (slide guitar), et des reprises de blues traditionnel. Ces reprises ont vraiment peu d'intérêt, certaines sont molles et peu originales, d'autres sont un peu plus dynamiques mais le mélange de genre est plutôt raté. Les morceaux punk sont un peu trop lents à mon gout, sauf exceptions (comme 'She's Like Heroin to Me') qui sauvent l'album de la note minimale. Pas de seconde écoute envisagée. =>2/5

Yeah, I don't know about this one. It sounded very much like The Cramps (of Psychotic Reaction fame), which I don't really love. It was kinda all over the place and the music wasn't really what I'm looking for. I think I just don't like this genre, whatever it is. Two stars.

Well this was certainly a completely new sound to me - a mix of blues, punk, some surf rock and country influences. It makes for a relatively interesting listen, but personally, I really didn't enjoy this one very much. It starts off strong with IMO the best song on here in "Sex Beat". Other highlights include "She's Like Heroin To Me" and "Ghost on the Highway", but the rest is ranges from average to bad, especially on the B side, when I was just waiting for the album to finish. The production is intentionally raw and minimalist - I guess it fits the style, but it was kind of harsh on the ears, especially how the drums were mixed. The singing style which draws inspiration from the likes of Lou Reed was also a bit annoying. All in all, a pretty forgettable listen. 2/5

Making punk music is a tightrope walk between being entertaining and being authentic, which is difficult at the best of times. If you're doing this as a California bred band appropriating southern music without any irony whatsoever - like The Gun Club is doing here - you may as well not bother. It's shtick. And I don't get it. By the way, how about that n bomb in For the Love of Ivy?

This ever was cool but a bit underwhelming.

Liked it more than I thought it would, and I should probably listen one more time since I missed a few songs while I had to take a call at work. and one song kinda sounded racist, but maybe I didn't hear it correctly. I'm not into that. Sticking with 2 for now I guess.

If your into screaming this is the album for you.

I didn't mind this .. until I read the lyrics which are problematic to say the least. So, I'm deducting marks for that utter nonsense. The album is post-punk with rockabilly and Americana influences. It isn't super-special but I can see how later bands were influenced by it. I'm in the midst of a stream of mediocre-to-bad albums and I'm hoping for some decent stuff soon. Please.

After a couple listens, I do like the instrumentation, but the vocals aren't really for me. Feels like it must be a punk standard. 2.5

Repetitive and uninspired 2.3

One of the most fun things about this experience is discovering contemporaries of bands I love. This is an awesome precursor to Pixies and I’m glad to have heard it. Not crazy about the racist lyrics in one song (edit: TWO songs, woof) and the confusing album cover (maybe there’s something I’m just not getting)

Va vel litt bedre enn frykta, om eg huske riktig

Super boring and not very good.

no me ha matado la vd

I kind of liked their sound, but after listening to the whole album, I’d already forgotten them. Not very memorable.

Punk! Nix fr mch...

Initially liked The Gun Club sound a lot, fast hillbilly punk guitar and twangy vocals. But the songs are so similar that by the third one I was ready for a change. Strong finish with Ghost on the Highway. (2.3*s)

Not my brand.

Yeah I could've died without this 2/5

Interesting album but didnt really enjoy it. standout songs: Sex beat For the love of ivy

I like the sound but all the songs sounded the same to me

I appreciate the energy, but all of the songs sound eerily similar. Same guitar riffs at the beginning, similar tempo, sort of nondescript lyrics. It didn't land for me.

Some punk bands are going for an energy, and some are just masking a lack of talent. This is a prime example of the latter.

Not a fan really, quite boring to be honest, the first song I quite liked, the next 2 felt like they had nothing really going on. She’s like heroin to me was a good punk one (felt very pixies), the other one I liked was ghost on the highway which was also very pixies. Other than that, the others were not my thing especially when it went full bluesy on songs like cool drink of water blues which was a bit of a drag. Also casually dropped the n word twice. Overall, 4/10.

Not my jam.

2 - a bit chaotic

Some ok punk but not really for me. 2.5 goin down.

Rockabilly mixed with blues and punk. Interesting concept, but failure to execute. Favorite songs: For the Love of Ivy, She's Like Heroin to Me, Preaching the Blues Least favorite songs: Promise Me, Jack on Fire, Cool Drink of Water Blues 2/5

Not much of that anymore.

Pretty unimpressive for an album called Fire of Love by a Band named The Gun Club. Mediocre Punk album. 2.5/5

Ok 2/5

Some punk is good, some punk is not.

This felt more like a band trying hard to be punk than a punk band.

Meh

I really like the first track, as it is quite punky and raw, but I don’t care much for the blues, and there is too much blues and racket on this album, and not enough songs like Black Train

Я уважаю что группа сочетает разные жанры в своих песнях, но это сочетание для меня просто не звучит

Funny how this album manages to sound outdated, trying to innovate by mixing blues with punk. Like come on, that's literally reverse engineering rock music in some really weird way. Anyways: Not bad, but not special or interesting in any way.

Pretty generic 80's rock. The singers vocals lean British to me I feel, even though they're American. 2.5

This isn't necessarily bad, but it's really samey. It's the exact same style and energy throughout the entire album. I couldn't differentiate any of the tracks. 2.5 rounded down.

cool album cover. the songs? not so cool. could it be worse though? absolutely

bad, i don’t wanna waste more words x

Flojo. Sin más

I listened to this yesterday and don’t remember a song from it.

Not for me. The singer's voice is just grating and everything else was high school garage band level.

well its def weird to hear a white guy say the N word i like the blues and the influence here is fun, i dont think the punk mesh if my fav, im not a punk fan for the most part. If youre gonna fuse blues with rock i think i prefer the led zep 1 type of fusions , heavier rock the heroin song is catchy and hearing this was intresting just for how unique a fusion it is , just not for me

Raw, messy, laud. Not going to my playlist. 5/10

Another punk album that was a middle of the road OK but I have no idea why it was included. Fire of Love was very punk, but to my surprise they included touches of Celtic, blues, and country. That fact alone made the album not boring. I in fact enjoyed "Cool Drink of Water Blues," and I admired The Gun Club's ability to be daring. Outside of that, the nonsensical sounds in "For the Love of Ivy" and the lead singer's voice did The Gun Club absolutely no favors. Next album please.

Man, at what point did the author of this book decide enough was enough with the random punk/post-punk stuff? I'm ALL for the inclusion of punk but there was a lot of time wasted on mediocre punk albums. One thing I will say about this album that was interesting was the kind of "dark country" vibe that was mixed in with the punk. It bordered on rockabilly but was definitely, well, darker. Anyway, this album was not as bad as some punk albums, but definitely not the cream of the crop. 2.5 or so, not rounding up.

Ihan kivalta kuulostaa mut eivät keksi yhteenkään biisiin omaa, erottuvaa melodiaa… meiningistä pidän ja sanoista.

A couple of interesting moments that stood out as more "jazz" adjacent, and other moments where you could tell grunge music would eventually take inspiration. However all together it's a pretty shabby album that doesn't offer much in the way of an interesting listen. 2/5

Not my thing

Punk x Rockabilly x RnB. Sounds a bit generic to me, as they just thrown together pieces of these genres and it get's a bit repetitive after 2-3 songs.

I can hear where they influenced but the execution plus some subject matter leaves a lot to be desired

It’s a 2.5 star album for me. I don’t mind listening to it, but it sounds like it could be from the 50’s not 1981. There is fun in it but not enough creativity to round up.

Probably one of those records that was considered groundbreaking at the time, but just sounds a bit generic now.

Uh... I've realized through this list that only the very best punk rock works for me. This doesn't fall into that category. The riffs are very similar and I find that it overall lacks anything musically to keep me interested. It's all just a bit of a mess. Also failed to find any song that I particularly like. Strong 2.

Sounded like typical punk music to me, was pleasant but nothing stood out at all. The bluesiness of "Cool Drink of Water Blues" was what stood out the most (which wasn't much). Strong 2.

Reveal thoughts: Never heard of it. Released in 1981. This is gonna suck. OK, not sure it sucks, but it's not my thing. It kind of sounds like punk meets rockabilly? Some songs kind of have a blues-y type sound. This will be a tough ranking because I don't really like it, but at the same time, I can *just* see why it's in this project. It's sunk, mostly, but it's not exactly like the other punk from the era, and you can hear the influences of other types of music. In the end, though, I just don't like it. It's too long, especially for a punk album, too repetitive, and too dated. 2 stars.

Fairly generic post punk bollocks, nothing earth shattering, just here.

Het is misschien niet 100% punk, maar het is ook niet bepaald goed. Het zijn mensen die een instrument op de juiste manier kunnen beethouden, maar ze doen niet erg hard hun best en de zanger, die geen enkele moeite doet om verstaan te worden, blèrt ook maar wat weg. Mwah.

Punk blues lees ik. Te weinig blues. Te veel punk.

By the books, I should've liked this album. It just didn't speak to me, and a little annoying. Not bad, just blah.

Not bad at first, but soon feels to incredibly repetitive after a point.

Singer needs lessons. I'll happily provide

Achei fraco

не зашло. какой-то дебильный, старый панк-рок. подойдет для вечеринки в ионотеке в 2015 году.

Hardly the highlight of 1981

Ah oui, c’est vrai! J’étais pas sûr d’avoir écouté l’album d’hier, c’est peu dire à quel point j’men tape les schtroumpfs

Sex Beat is a banger but the rest is meh

The first track is pretty good, but the rest… does not impress. It’s not terrible, but it’s just 40 minutes of middling punkabilly with some dude yelling into a microphone.

No songs that make me wanna come back but not the worst. 2 stars for sure.

If Chrissy Hind and Lou Reed had a baby

This is like your friend winning a medal for ice hockey, but you don't care about sports. So you are happy for him, but could have died without listening to this Album.

This was like Iggy Pop meets The Legendary Stardust Cowboy! At least it was only 40 minutes.

Boring, not awful.

Not bad enough to deserve a 1 but close. Low 2.

Not that fussed on the riffs, maybe being a bit hard on it but doubt i'll come back to i. sounds like velvet underground sped up

Didn't hate it but its a one and done.

I didn't feel much fire. What rhymes with fire? Dire! Yes, that's what I thought of this album. It takes elements of some of my favourite music genres and turns them into a pile of shite. Inclusion of the slide guitar is just enough to persuade me to give this two stars instead of just one. Just terrible!

I like the gritty aesthetic that fuses rockabilly, roots rock and punk but this LP is lacking memorable songs. Their sophomore LP Miami is superior in that regard. For rockabilly infused punk I still think the Cramps do it best.

This wasn't very enjoyable.

I understand why this is on this list. good for them. however it was very average and since I give too many 3-stars and this album had a slur in it I'm giving it 2

Þið vitið, ekki leiðinlegt svo sem, en rosalega einfalt og lítið inspírerandi til lengdar. Slædgítarinn hækkar þetta upp í rúman tvist.

Racist?

Interesting indie punk album. But not really my vibe.

Don’t enjoy this type of music

2,5

Musikken er god, men han kan jeg ikke synge

From the very first track I was hopeful that this was going to be a pretty good album, but I feel like the whole thing took a nosedive from there and never recovered. Everywhere I look it says that this one is a groundbreaking album, so it's probably important, and I'm not sure groundbreaking ever has to mean "good", but I had hoped for something different. Maybe this just isn't a good genre for me Standouts Sex Beat 2/5

This is a pretty typical rockabilly album. Good lyrics, repetitive, shredding guitar, wailing vocals. I like it. Don't love it.

I actually dig their psychobilly sound, but it’s just all too same-y. Most tracks sound like they could all be part of one song.

Meh

Tedious.

A little bit of punk feel and has some jangly guitars that I dig. But all in all on the south side of mediocre.

I don't like it so much, I don't really know why 5.5

Sekavaa menoa, välillä tuntui lähinnä mölylle ja sitten hyvää soitantaa. Kokonaisuus kuitenkin skeidan puolella.

Tosi basic kamaa.

If you play this without listening closely to the lyrics, it’s great. But then you listen to Black Train and you get a different feeling about this album.

punk album all the songs sound the same

Boring punk. Idk what’s special about this or why it is on here.

The first song is amazing, the rest are ok.

Forgettable. Grating voice, little variation, no hooks, no apparent message in the lyrics. Ghost on the highway sounds a little like The Libertines, nice slide guitar.

Okay. I feel like I've gotten a lot of punk lately. Fortunately, most of it has been good, but it's still something I've noticed. Anyways, is Fire of Love by the Gun Club one of those good albums? Eh. I don't know. This album just doesn't interest me. It doesn't really do much to stand out at all. The singing is okay. It kind of sounds like Mick Jagger at some times, Lou Reed at others, and some third artist that I can't think of at the rest of them. The instrumental sound is also just kind of okay. It's not the most repetitive album I've gotten, but there also really aren't any songs that stick out to me as being truly great. The writing could be better. Again, it could be worse. This still isn't the worst punk album I've ever heard. But that's all this album really has going for it. This album is the definition of "it could be worse." I mean that in a few ways, as there are many ways that this album could've been worse. It could've been way longer, the vocals could've been more annoying, they could've said the N word a few more times. If any or all of that stuff applied, there could be a 1/5, and if the album was more interesting it could be a 3/5, but as it stands, this album is gonna get a 2/5. Also, the album cover is really bad.

Better than other punk and postpunk. But still not my musical style. That long blues song on the end really dragged on and the score down

That was a very by the numbers, inoffensive punk record. I enjoyed it well enough and have no idea why it made this list.

"Preaching the Blues" is good fun. "Jack on Fire" is awful. It's an okay listen.

Taustalla toimi mutta jäi taustamusaksi 2/5

Quite boring.

Pretty mediocre

I dont really like Punk but this was ok i suppose

This was a hard one for me. I like some of the Punk aesthetics and mixing of genres provided throughout, but none of the songs "stuck" with me. Maybe a first listen problem; I get the sense if I wasn't doing this challenge which zooms along at a breakneck pace, this one would benefit from multiple listens, but I'm grading it for where it stands for me now.

Nej, det här platsar inte heller.

If this was in the 400s this would’ve gotten a 1 out of spite for being a boring ass, annoying punk album with like one interesting thing throughout the whole 40 minutes; but it’s been a while since I’ve gotten one of these stinkers so I’ll be generous. The one interesting thing was cool drink of water blues.

# 195 : I don't love it. I don't hate it, it is ok if kind of dull. Favourite Track : Sex Beat

Nahhh😭😭😭, I listend to this last year and I didn't like it... after listening to it. It's okay, not bad bur something I wouldn't listen to again

I gave this album two listens and while I appreciated it more for its energy and weirdness on second listen, ultimately it just didn’t do it for me. At face value I find the thought of combing blues music with punk aesthetics intriguing, but on this album the execution just wasn’t there. I really was not a fan of the production. It seemed like the instrumentals were completely drowned out by the vocals, which were rough to put it nicely. It’s a shame because I did really dig the blues vibe on a lot of the tracks. I imagine that this is one of those acts that probably sounds really great live, driven by their frenetic energy. I’m not ruling out the possibility that this will grow on me and I’ll learn to embrace the weirdness, but at this moment I’m just not having it. Light 2 Fav Songs: She’s Like Heroin To Me For the Love of Ivy Fire Spirit

Man what an excerpt to hype this album up. That’s about how I felt listening to it. It’s got some decent guitar riffs but the lyrics and style of the album is just generic LA punk that is edgy just to fit in to the times. And like most older punk it just doesn’t work for me. 4.9/10

Punkabilly, countrypunk, cowpokepunk, slideguitarpunk, trailerpunk, outontherangepunk punk 4/10

It started sort of strong and then faded. Overall, not much fun.

Yeah... Not my type of music. I kind of can see who it is made for but for me, no thank you. 2/10

Eine Mischung aus “The Doors” und “The Who” mit etwas Blues. Leider ist es ein Wuttirade, die die Band auf sich, ihr Publikum und die Welt ablädt. Das Album ist Sinn und Spassfrei. Wenn das guter Punk ist, was ist dann wenn er schlecht ist ?

Mediocre punk record with only a couple of standout tracks. This genre is just not for me.

Just alright, kinda boring in the sense that a lot of tracks sound similiar

Mouais, je n'accroche pas trop. Un peu mou pour du "Post Punk / Punk / Rock" ?

Fabulously terrible. I listened to the whole album though, it's like when you're doing something you know is going to hurt you, but you keep doing it anyway.... Thats how it felt listening to this.

Okay punk album

solid album! after over 170 album only rated on this platform it takes much more to stand out. I liked it but i don feel like listening soon. 2.5/5.0

Some punk, some skunk, no wowsies

P cool, not sure if I'd go out of my way to listen again

Det er sjovest når det er mærkeligst, jeg havde lidt svært ved at døje vokalerne. Japandroids har et cover af For the Love of Ivy som er bedre end originalen, sorry

I didn’t love this. Had it on and found it very easy to tune it out. Just wasn’t the kind of sound I’m into.

I mostly hated it but it was listenable

The music was fine but the guy sings off key! It would have been much better with no "singing".

This album from The Gun Club was pretty lackluster. It was a generic punk rock album, and only a single song stuck out to me. I recommend a listen if you are a fan of punk music from this era. Favorite Song(s): "She's Like Heroin To Me"

Not really my thing. Happy to be familiar with this band but mostly seems like an annoying one-trick kinda bluesy rock record.

Meh

kind of crazy music, it does grate on my nerves 2 stars I am not going to listen to this again!

Very bluesy punk. I’m finding the lyrics juvenile.

A couple good songs, mostly gay. 2.5

punk rock that blurred together when i wasn't paying enough attention. i see the appeal but don't see myself coming back to it

Thin punk-blues. Low fidelity and half-composed guitar riffs. The vocals don’t necessarily annoy me, I’d say they are reminiscent of talking heads or violent femmes. However, the totality of the song falls short.

To be perfectly honest the voice sounded slurry? I don’t know if that is just me but I wasn’t a fan of the vocals and the music just kind of went along. It’s not terrible just not something i’d go out of my way to listen to.

Not my style, old punk album. Kinda cool.

Terribly repetitive in the style of the songs. Not unpleasant but nothing worth hanging onto.

Couldn't get on with this, found the vocals a bit annoying

Me ha recordado al primero que escuché de The Stooges. No me emociona.

hullun hommaa, albumi alkaa ehtä hustorian huonoimmalla biisillä. onneksi sama rata ei jatku, rata vaihtuu.. juna -asemalla.. klink klonk kuuluu raiteista kun niitä väännetään. jatkuu perus pop punk rähnäyksellä janoh kyllä sitä kuuntelee mutta en juhlia, juhlia aloita riehuman, ei mitään juhlittavaa nimittäin. preaching the blues

I respect that this was innovative music, but I'm not impressed otherwise. This album might be a better fit on "The 1001 Most Innovative Albums You Must Acknowledge Before Your Own Demise."

pedestrian

Not sure how to rate this one. 2 feels low but 3 feels high considering how I've been rating albums up until this point. 2.5/5

So you don't know how to play any instruments and decide to make a punk record. Look, I get it! Just don't add in trivial, meandering blues stuff like 'Cool Drink of Water Blues' and we wouldn't have any issues.

I really like the cover art. Gave me hope that Fire Of Live could easily be one of those post-punk gems I’d missed. Instead I learned that I really don’t care for punk blues at all. What a turn of events.

Okay old school punk/blues? 2.5

Interesting from the point of view of early punk innovation but not something I'm going to listen to on the regular. 2/5

Hyvin samankaltainen tapaus edellispäivään mutta tämän soundin kehityskulku on tuhossa, ei elossa. Tuhossa siinä, että tämä on perusjamppapomppaa.. Eilinen oli käsittämättömyyksiä.. Täällä seikkailaan päivässä.. eilinen oli yössä ja pilkkopimeydessä tehty sattumalta summan mutikassa muodostunut uudelleen jakuatuva ja kompleksi solu. Tämän jatke on kansanvillitseminen. Jeesuksen ja kumppanien taas, kansan oikaisu. Objektia. Aamen. 2/5

While I think this album is interesting, I probably will never listen to it ever again.

2.5

Early 80s punk - not my idea of a good time. 2/5

Kind of a fun rock album, nothing special though

Non eventful

I actually enjoyed the bonus tracks more than the rest of the album. They showed a lot more the country/blues and punk blend than the punkier versions on the album. There's not a lot of information on this album comparatively to some of the others on the list, but this album was a beginning of a new branch of Punk leading into a wider eye of influence. I'm not the biggest fan of it, but can appreciate it for its' landmark genre combination. 2.5/5

Middle of the road punk for me. Not quite average.

Gemakkelijke kost, maar daardoor dus ook weer weinig boeiend.

Na een paar nummers ken je dit ook wel.

Die stem vind ik ok, maar de muziek vervelend.

The punk - blues fusion is cool but I don't think I'll be coming back to this one

One of the more palatable punk albums but still not my thing

PunkaBilly, Psychobilly, Garage Punk, whatever you wanna call it, this is pretty raw. Not quite my jam.

Unexpected but nothing too great for me

Didn't really leave much of impression on me.

Rock suave, sencillo, sin estridencias, un tanto monocorde de un grupo totalmente desconocido. Me ha parecido un poco plano. No destaca nada

I had never heard of The Gun Club or any othe music on Fire of Love. There was some punk vibes to the music, and some of it was okay as long as I ignored occasional lyrics. The starting and stopping in the music never let me settle in. By the time I got to "Fire Spririt" my patience was running out. There was som potential, but I have to admit that I did not like this album.

not too impressed, not sure why it made the list

About 20 years ago, Art Brut said "Please, no more songs about sex, drugs and rock n roll, it's BORING'. And on the evidence of this, they were right. Yawnsome rock posturing with a horrible amount of Americana in there. BORING.

I appreciated hearing a piece of history, and I'm sure this was unique at the time, but it didn't do it for me.

Pretty rough. Lyrics are about as dumb as can be, nothing sticks out instrumentally or vocally, and the melodies rarely hit, if at all. In spite of all that, I can’t deny that it’s tapping into a cool fusion of genres. The opening stretch is pretty decent too. Best song: Preaching the Blues

first time listening

I can't say I either like or dislike this as it's a diluted version of a lot of other things I like. I guess I should be happy they made the attempt to mimic a lot of the bands that had already been there, done it and moved on.

On paper i should like this more. But its not paper!!!!!

Started off well, punky rockabilly, but turned all very samey. 2.5

Some of this is pretty good, but Pierce is a little too comfortable dropping N-bombs. The fact that they're used from the perspective of racists and Black men doesn't make it more acceptable. 3.5 for the music, -2 for the unfortunate lyrical choices.

I had a coworker play the hell out of The Gun Club, and now I can't stand them. If I hadn't had that experience, I'd probably like this just enough.