Baby's Got a Gun

Baby's Got a Gun is the third and final studio album by the English rock band the Only Ones. It was originally released in 1980, on the label CBS in Europe and on Epic in America and Japan.

Baby's Got a Gun
Studio album by The Only Ones
Released	1980
Studio	Red Bus Studios, NW8; Basing Street Studios, London
Genre	Power pop new wave punk rock
Length	39:02
Label	Epic
Producer	Colin Thurston The Only Ones
The Only Ones chronology
Special View (1979) Baby's Got a Gun (1980) Remains (1984)

After the lack of commercial success with their previous album Even Serpents Shine, the Only Ones decided that it was time for a slight change of pace in their career. In an attempt to give their music a more contemporary sound, they joined forces with Colin Thurston, an in-demand producer famed for having co-engineered David Bowie's "Heroes" and Iggy Pop's Lust For Life (both 1977).[1] Guesting on the album would be Penetration's lead singer, Pauline Murray, who provided co-lead vocals for "Fools" and backing vocals for "Me and My Shadow".

The album was re-released on CD in Europe in 2009 on Sony Music Entertainment. The original album is digitally remastered from the original half-inch mix tapes with three additional tracks.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Smash Hits	5/10[3]
Robert Christgau	B+[4]

In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a B+ and commented that "Prepunk and for that matter prepub, Peter Perrett may well have been an only one and he fits in now only because this is such a tolerant and/or commercially desperate time. He's not 'power pop', of course – on record, at least, power's got nothing to do with it."

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Mark Deming gave the album three out of five stars and wrote that "Baby's Got a Gun is clearly the weakest of the Only Ones' three original albums, but for all its faults there's plenty here that testifies to the band's strengths; "Why Don't You Kill Yourself", "Strange Mouth", and "The Big Sleep" are splendid songs that show the band still had the goods and "Trouble in the World" and "The Happy Pilgrim" confirm they could reach for a poppier sound without losing their personality in the process."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Peter Perrett, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Happy Pilgrim"	2:34
2.	"Why Don't You Kill Yourself"	2:44
3.	"Me and My Shadow"	5:42
4.	"Deadly Nightshade"	3:10
5.	"Strange Mouth"	2:32
6.	"The Big Sleep"	4:58

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Oh Lucinda (Love Becomes a Habit)"		3:10
8.	"Re-union"		2:59
9.	"Trouble in the World"		3:05
10.	"Castle Built on Sand"		1:50
11.	"Fools"	Johnny Duncan	2:25
12.	"My Way Out of Here"	Alan Mair	3:53
Total length:			39:02

2009 re-mastered version bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Baby's Got a Gun"	1:56
14.	"The Big Sleep" (Advision studio session, 1979)	4:38
15.	"Your Chosen Life"	2:48

Personnel

The Only Ones

• Peter Perrett – lead and background vocals; guitars
• John Perry – guitars; grand piano; organ
• Alan Mair – bass guitars; lead vocals on "My Way Out of Here"
• Mike Kellie – drums

Session musicians

• Pauline Murray – co-lead vocals on "Fools"; backing vocals on "Me and My Shadow"
• Barrie Evans – rhythm guitar; percussion
• Koulla Kakoulli – backing vocals

Production team

• Colin Thurston – producer; engineer
• The Only Ones – producer
• Robert Ash – vocal engineer
• Kevin Metcalfe – mastering engineer

References

1. Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: pp.383-384
2. Deming, Mark. "The Only Ones: Baby's Got a Gun > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
3. Hepworth, David. "Albums". Smash Hits (May 15–28, 1980): 31.
4. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=The+Only+Ones

External links

• Baby's Got a Gun at Discogs (list of releases)