''Miami'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rock band

the Gun Club The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles that existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to i ...

, released in 1982. It was released on Animal Records, founded by guitarist

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film '' Wild St ...

of Blondie, who also produced the album.

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble, July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

, also of Blondie, appears as a backing singer on various tracks on the album under the pseudonym "D.H. Laurence Jr." The album front cover photograph does not include bassist Rob Ritter who had already left the band. Before leaving, Ritter first taught all the bass-lines to

Patricia Morrison Patricia Anne Rainone (born January 14, 1962), better known by her stage name Patricia Morrison, is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She has worked with Bags, the Gun Club, Fur Bible, the Sisters of Mercy, and the Damned. Biog ...

, his replacement in the Gun Club and former bandmate in the

Bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

had met up with Pierce in an L.A. bar around the time of ''Miami'' and later revealed his commercial hit "White Wedding" had been an attempt to emulate "Mother of Earth" from the album. The song was covered by

alt-country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

band

the Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas Good, a founding member, died in 2022. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret a ...

on their 2001 album ''Tremendous Efforts'' and Swedish band

bob hund Bob Hund (Swedish for "Bob Dog") is an indie rock band from Sweden. Their music has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk". bob hund have performed mostly in Scandinavia as w ...

, with lyrics in Swedish, as “Mamma din jord” on their 2019 album ''0-100''.

Reception

''Miami'' was ranked among the top fifty "Albums of the Year" for 1982 by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. In a 1982 article about the band, Scott Isler described their approach as "nostalgic revivalism" which is "unique...in overhauling country blues for a bloodcurdling contemporary impact. Far from camping it up, Pierce respects the elemental power of his inspiration; his eerie semi-coherent imagery are in line of descent." Isler says that the band's "understated accompaniment is similarly effective with its less-is-more minimalism. A potent, unstable blend." According to Pierce, " en though we idolized an older style of music, none of us were good enough to play it! What we came up with is our own version. I find myself writing about the feeling of being lost."

Track listing

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. Early life Pierce was born ...

– vocals, guitar, piano, background vocals on "Watermelon Man", lead guitar on "Run Through the Jungle", "John Hardy" and "Mother of Earth" *Ward Dotson – lead guitar, background vocals on "Watermelon Man" * Rob Ritter – bass *Terry Graham – drums

Additional musicians

* D.H. Laurence, Jr. – backing vocals *Walter Steding – fiddle on "Watermelon Man" *

– producer, bongos on "Watermelon Man" *Mark Tomeo – steel guitar on "Texas Serenade" and "Mother of Earth"

Production

*Joe Arlotta – session engineer *Butch Jones – mixing engineer * Chris D. – cover photographs, original design "Special thanks to: Bob Singerman, Linda Cuckovich, Chris D., Robyn Weiss, Lois Graham,

Lux Interior Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009), better known by the stage name Lux Interior, was an American singer and a founding member of the American rock band the Cramps from 1976 until his death in 2009 at age 62. Early life B ...

, Ivy Rorschach,

Kid Congo 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 ...

, Linda Jones,

and D.H. Laurence, Jr."

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1982 albums The Gun Club albums Chrysalis Records albums I.R.S. Records albums Cooking Vinyl albums