''Fire of Love'' is the debut album of the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

, released in 1981 on

Ruby Records Ruby Records is an American record label, founded predominantly as a rock music label subsidiary of Slash Records. The original version of the label released seven albums in 1981 and 1982. Ruby was distributed through the same independent distrib ...

Production

The Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardi ...

' singer

Chris D. Chris D. (born Chris Desjardins; January 15, 1953) is a punk poet, singer, writer, rock critic, producer, actor, and filmmaker. He is best known as the lead singer and founder of the early and long-running Los Angeles punk/death rock band the Fle ...

produced five tracks on the album ("Sex Beat", "Preaching the Blues", "Fire Spirit", "Ghost on the Highway" and "Jack on Fire") at Quad Teck with Pat Burnette engineering.

Tito Larriva Humberto "Tito" Larriva (born 1953) is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the T ...

produced the album's other six tracks at Studio America with Noah Shark engineering. Chris D. was also credited with the cover design for the original release. Judith Bell was responsible for the bottle label illustrations on the rear of the cover.

Reception

The album is considered groundbreaking in being the first of its kind to combine the hard, stripped-down sound of punk rock with

American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...

. In turn, this innovation helped to create the

punk blues Punk blues (or blues punk) is a rock music genre that mixes elements of punk rock and blues. Punk Blues Genre AMG Allmusic.com, Retrieved on May 21, 2008 Punk blues musicians and bands usually incorporate elements of related styles, such as pro ...

style as well as inspiring countless

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

musicians. Several musicians have cited ''Fire of Love'' as an influence. The album was also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

In media

In 2006, "Sex Beat" appeared on the soundtrack to the video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''.

Track listing

All songs composed by Jeffrey Lee Pierce; except where indicated ;Side A # "Sex Beat" - 2:45 # "Preaching the Blues" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

; arranged by Jeffrey Lee Pierce) - 3:58 # "Promise Me" - 2:35 # "She's Like Heroin to Me" - 2:33 # "For the Love of Ivy" (Jeffrey Lee Pierce,

Kid Congo Powers Brian Tristan (born March 27, 1959), better known by his stage name Kid Congo Powers,Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 25, 41, 359 is an American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of ...

) - 5:31 # "Fire Spirit" - 2:52 ;Side B # "Ghost on the Highway" - 2:43 # "Jack on Fire" - 4:40 # "Black Train" - 2:11 # "Cool Drink of Water" ( Tommy Johnson; traditional, arranged by Jeffrey Lee Pierce) - 6:10 # "Goodbye Johnny" - 3:41

Personnel

;The Gun Club *

Jeffrey Lee Pierce Jeffrey Lee Pierce (June 27, 1958 – March 31, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist. Biography Early life Pierce ...

- vocals, slide guitar, backing vocals on "Jack on Fire" *Ward Dotson - guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals on "Jack on Fire" * Rob Ritter - bass *Terry Graham - drums ;Additional musicians *

- producer, violin on "Promise Me" *

- producer, backing vocals on "Jack on Fire" *Lois Graham - backing vocals on "Jack on Fire" ;Technical *Pat Burnette, Noah Shark - engineers *Chris D. - cover design *Judith Bell - bottle label drawings

Covers

* In 1998,

16 Horsepower 16 Horsepower was an American band based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy use of traditio ...

recorded a cover of "Fire Spirit" for their 1998 EP ''The Partisan''. * In 2003, Enon covered the song "Sex Beat". *

Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...

's band

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

also covered "Sex Beat" for their 2003 album '' Feel It''. *

Japandroids Japandroids are a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals).Lindsay, Ca"No Fun City Rockers" ''Exclaim!'', May 2009 accessed November 10, 2010. Formed in 2006 ...

recorded a cover of "For the Love of Ivy" on their 2012 album ''Celebration Rock''. * In 2013,

Kim Salmon Kim Leith Salmon (born 24 January 1957) is an Australian rock musician and songwriter from Perth. He has worked in various groups including The Scientists, Beasts of Bourbon, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Kim Salmon and the Business, and Darli ...

and

Spencer P. Jones Spencer Patrick Jones (28 October 1956 – 21 August 2018) was a New Zealand guitar player and singer-songwriter from Te Awamutu. From 1976 he worked in Australia and was a member of various groups including The Johnnys, Beasts of Bourbon, Paul K ...

recorded a cover of "Jack on Fire" for their album ''Runaways''. * In 2014,

Mr. Airplane Man Mr. Airplane Man is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Background and history Margaret Garrett and Tara McManus met each other when they were both 10 years old. The two became childhood friends, but later separated, attending se ...

included a cover of "For the Love of Ivy" on their album ''The Lost Tapes'', recorded in 1999.

References

External links

*
''Fire of Love''
(

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) at

Radio3Net Radio 3 net is the former ''Radio România Tineret'' (or Radio 3). More than 20,000 albums are stored on Radio 3 net. A few of the prominent features available on the website are "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and "Search & Play". ...

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 1981 debut albums Gothic country albums The Gun Club albums Ruby Records albums Rhino Records albums Beggars Banquet Records albums