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" [4][5] 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."[6]

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Gun-Shy
Studio album by The Screaming Blue Messiahs
Released	1986
Genre	Rock
Length	41:57
Label	Elektra
Producer	Howard Gray, Vic Maile
The Screaming Blue Messiahs chronology
Good and Gone (1984) Gun-Shy (1986) Bikini Red (1987)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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.";[7] 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."[8] The NME wrote that, "[o]n the strength of this album, I'd say the Messiahs are going to be very, very big indeed."[8] To promote the album, the band embarked on another extensive tour of Germany, Finland, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA — including a series of concerts supporting The Cramps and another series supporting Echo and the Bunnymen.[9]

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

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