What could I say about this 16 song (+ 3 post split bonus tracks) collection CD? Well first I could say that it is an unexpected gift to the ones who played their demo copies again and again even if the quality wasn’t always the best! The band finally gets the sound they deserve and we can enjoy how great GUNFIRE DANCE was and even get a new approach to their songs. From “Suit & Tie” to “Bliss Street”, “Burnin’ Ambition”, “Gimme Back My Heart” and “Darlin’ Ann”, all of my favourite songs are on here and they blissfully take me back in time, carried on by Ant’s magic voice and Jeff Ward’s Johnny Thunders-like solos (there are other sides in Jeff’s personality since he is a writer as well.) “Archways Of Thorns” will be the reminder of a past that should have deserved to be more glorious but is also a tribute to Ant, a musician who fought against his own demons but also a very talented one. As The CHINA DOLLS, The GHOSTS Of LOVERS and many others, GUNFIRE DANCE is the symbol of a British scene which was in its time full of emerging talent but that couldn’t get the recognition it deserved because of the lack of support (oddly, JEFF DAHL was one of the rare persons to find out about the band’s huge potential.) A lack of consideration that often leads to the “cult band”status as time goes on… This is what we have here. /Franck.
Veglam 