The Gun Club, Fire of Love (side A)

While the Gun Club are closely associated with their frontman Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the most remarkable thing about 1981's Fire of Love may be the band's incredibly tight interplay.  At a time when such precision was not always in style, the Gun Club, like the Dream Syndicate, worked together as an efficient ensemble.  This quality does not downplay Pierce's memorably emotive singing or distinctive fusion of blues (filtered a bit through classic rock) and punk songwriting conventions.  My copy (a 1982 Italian pressing) has almost no low-end, but the treble is neatly-shaped without a harsh top.  The front cover reflects the album nicely—appropriated images that vaguely recall the blues are assembled in a simple, pasted-up layout.