The Album Review Club – Week #114
The Screaming Blue Messiahs -- Gun-Shy (1986)
Selected by
FogBlueInSanFran
My record is The Screaming Blue Messiahs’ debut “Gun-Shy”, released in 1986. David Bowie once called them his favo(u)rite band of the moment and “my pet project”, though he said shit like that about a ton of bands. But nearly every person who hasn’t heard this record before when I played it for them has been impressed, if not wowed. Many – including my future wife and future sister-in-law and a few dozen friends – subsequently bought it, despite not necessarily cottoning to other records in a similar vein.
They were the loudest and most exciting band I ever saw live. Sadly, after an all-too-short three-LP career, the members basically disappeared into day jobs.
Their second record (“Bikini Red” in 1987 -- also great, by the way) had “I Want To Be A Flintstone” on it. This became a hit, complete with exactly the video you’d expect a song like this to have. But it was the worst thing that could have happened, because it basically (and bizarrely) pegged them as a novelty act, which couldn’t be farther from what they were – a hyper-energetic punk blues outfit who could play at pace and howl at sacred cows with the best of their peers.
The SBMs were from London, and there’s a lot of Clash in here, no doubt, and a very heavy, schlocky dose of Americana. It’s definitely post-punk genre-wise, but there’s plenty of rockabilly too, and even country (they cover Hank Williams’ “You’re Gonna Change” on this album). Bill Carter is a unique guitarist – he played hard, with blood spattered on his instrument, and in this strange staccato fashion with these unique effects that made him sound unlike anyone else I’ve heard.
I should note that I picked this 1) because I thought Rob would like it and 2) because there’s a lot of consistency song-to-song, as
@OB1 pointed out about Aerosmith’s “Rocks”.
I don’t think there’s a single weak tune here. Picking my favo(u)rite is hard; the opener “Wild Blue Yonder” is probably the best known, but I dearly love “Holiday Head”, “Talking Doll”, “Just For Fun” and “Clear View” among others because they’re fast. I think the stroke of genius is “Let’s Go Down To The Woods”, which even borders on pop. Most of the way through, the drums are the freight train carrying things along with the bass, but the odd combination of jangle, feedback and crunch in the guitar and Bill Carter’s yowling, snarling vocals (with their often sardonic and sometimes tongue-in-cheek lyrics) are the statue on top of the rhythm pedestal.
This record reminds me of a big tree in a hurricane – getting blown around furiously, but always remaining solidly grounded because its roots run so deep. The respect they show to their punk, rock, blues and country forebears that brought them to this point is evident throughout, at least to me. I wish they’d hung around – I bet they had a lot more great music in them.
Happy listening!
