Gear Blues
{{Infobox album
| name = Gear Blues
| type = Album
| artist = Thee Michelle Gun Elephant
| cover = Thee Michelle Gun Elephant - Gear Blues album art.jpg
| alt =
| released = November 1998
| recorded = 1997–1998
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Garage rock
| length = 55:45
| producer =
| prev_title = Chicken Zombies
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = Casanova Snake
| next_year = 1999
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/gear-blues-mw0000103440|title=Gear Blues - Thee Michelle Gun Elephant | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = NME
|rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-nme-3754-330519|title=Thee Michelle Gun Elephant : Gear Blues|work=NME|date=September 12, 2005}}
| rev3 = Sputnikmusic
| rev3Score = 5/5{{Cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/76160/Thee-Michelle-Gun-Elephant-Gear-Blues/|title=Review: Thee Michelle Gun Elephant - GEAR BLUES|website=Sputnikmusic}}
}}
Gear Blues is an album by the band Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, released in 1998.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thee-michelle-gun-elephant-mn0000583747/biography|title=Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=AllMusic}}{{cite magazine |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |title=Japanese rockers Thee Michelle Gun Elephant rip it up |magazine=Billboard |date=Oct 16, 1999 |volume=111 |issue=42 |page=73}} It was released in the United States in 2000.{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/theemichellegunelephant-gear-2496099969.html|title=Thee Michelle Gun Elephant: Gear Blues, PopMatters|date=October 30, 2000}}
Critical reception
NME wrote: "Armed with an arsenal of hooks, chiselled cheekbones and oodles of self belief, Thee Machine Gun Elephant are credible heirs to the garageland throne, and, if that wasn’t enough, a paragon of internationalism." LA Weekly thought that "vocalist Yusuke Chiba is a hoarsely authoritative presence, and bassist Koji Ueno and drummer Kazuyuki Kuhara have eliminated the Who-derived busyness of their early approach in favor of seamless, no-nonsense propulsion."{{cite web |title=Soul Warp |url=https://www.laweekly.com/soul-warp/ |website=LA Weekly |date=15 September 1999 |access-date=7 October 2021}} Rolling Stone concluded that "the attention to visceral detail is what distinguishes Gear Blues from mere Nuggets and Brit-punk slavishness."{{cite magazine |last1=Fricke |first1=David |title=Gear Blues |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=Jan 18, 2001 |issue=860 |pages=57–58}}
AllMusic wrote that "the album ends with a bittersweet, melancholy, space punk groove on 'Danny Go'."
Track listing
- "West Cabaret Drive" – 5:26
- "Smokin' Billy" – 3:26
- "Satanic Boom Boom Head" – 2:50
- "Dog Way" – 3:15
- "Free Devil Jam" – 2:42
- "Killer Beach" – 5:10
- "Brian Down" – 4:45
- "Hotel Bronco" – 1:43
- "Give The Gallon" – 5:15
- "G.W.D." – 3:52
- "Ash" – 3:34
- "Soul Wrap" – 4:14
- "Boiled Oil" – 4:10
- "Danny Go" – 4:54
- "Jenny" - 3:22
European Release
The European release does not contain 'Jenny' but has an extra bonus disk with 'Get Up Lucy' and 'Cisco'