Miami

While the Gun Club's debut, FIRE OF LOVE, was a masterpiece of untamed punk blues, follow-up album MIAMI, produced by Blondie's Chris Stein, achieves a fuller sound and a more varied stylistic palette without sacrificing any of its predecessor's intensity. The revved-up blues of yore are still here ("Devil in the Woods," "Fire of Love"), but wild-child singer Jeffrey Lee Pierce and company also tackle everything from Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Run Through the Jungle" (in a surprisingly faithful version) to the atmospheric, somewhat Doors-y "Watermelon Man" (not the Herbie Hancock tune), mixing rock, blues, country, and folk with post-punk energy and Pierce's trademark sense of near-manic urgency. MIAMI doesn't top FIRE OF LOVE, but it runs a close second.