Gun-Shy (album)

Gun-Shy is the second release by The Screaming Blue Messiahs and their first full-length recording. The album, which was jointly produced by Apollo 440's Howard Gray,[2] was notable for being one of the last recordings by Vic Maile,[2] well known for his work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. Gun-Shy was also one of two albums by The Screaming Blue Messiahs that brought them to the attention of David Bowie and that led to him promoting the band:[3] "Well! The band this week – I've only just discovered them, so they're my pet project – is The Screaming Blue Messiahs. They're the best band I've heard out of England in a long time" (Musician magazine, August 1987) and "There’s an English band I like very much. Nobody seems to have heard of them. They’re called The Screaming Blue Messiahs and I’m pushing them like mad." (Words And Music magazine, January 1988)

Gun-Shy
Studio album by
The Screaming Blue Messiahs
Released1986
GenreRock
Length41:57
LabelElektra
ProducerHoward Gray, Vic Maile
The Screaming Blue Messiahs chronology
Good and Gone
(1984)		 Gun-Shy
(1986)		 Bikini Red
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

Reception

The release of Gun-Shy in early 1986 was met by a generally positive reception by select music press: Spin Magazine said,"Gun-Shy is a damn fine record, consisting of a quasi-neo-rockabilly power trio... the Screaming Blue Messiahs squeeze a lot of great music out of guitar, bass, drums and vocal.";[4] The Melody Maker stated, "[t]hey have a gut instinct for the roots of blues and R 'n' B and from that sure base they can confidently blast their way through Bill Carter's extraordinarily powerful selection of songs". The NME wrote that, "[o]n the strength of this album, I'd say the Messiahs are going to be very, very big indeed." To promote the album, the band embarked on another extensive tour of Germany, Finland, UK, USA — including a series of concerts supporting The Cramps — Australia and New Zealand.

Singles

"Smash the Market Place" and "Wild Blue Yonder" were released as singles in 1986. "Wild Blue Yonder" resurfaced in 2006 as the closing music of season 03/episode 04 of FX's Rescue Me.

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriterLength
1."Wild Blue Yonder"Bill Carter4:44
2."Holiday Head"Bill Carter3:58
3."Smash The Market Place"Bill Carter3:10
4."You're Gonna Change"Hank Williams2:41
5."Just For Fun"Bill Carter2:49
6."Let's Go Down To The Woods"Bill Carter4:34
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Talking Doll"Bill Carter2:38
2."Twin Cadillac Valentine"Bill Carter3:57
3."President Kennedy's Mile"Bill Carter2:56
4."Someone To Talk To"Bill Carter/Christopher Thompson3:36
5."Clear View"Bill Carter4:00
6."Killer Born Man"Bill Carter3:32

Personnel

The band
  • Bill Carter - Lead vocals and lead guitar
  • Chris Thompson - Bass guitar and backing vocal
  • Kenny Harris - Drums

Studio
  • Creative Director – Hale Milgrim
  • Design – Carol Bobolts
  • Engineer (Additional) – Ernie Wilkens
  • Management – John Dummer
  • Mastered by Howie Weinberg
  • Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 9, 11, 12)
  • Photography by Mel Yates
  • Producer – Howard Gray (tracks: 1, 6 to 8, 12), Vic Maile (tracks: 2 to 5, 9 to 11)
  • Written by Bill Carter (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 9, 11, 12)

References
  1. Dougan, John. "Gun-Shy – The Screaming Blue Messias". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  2. AllMusic: credits: Gun-Shy
  3. Google Books: Bowie on Bowie: Screaming Blue Messiahs
  4. Google Books: Spin Magazine: reviews
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