The rules do not apply to people in love

Jerry Harrison’s Casual Gods was a big album for me. I had first heard a few tracks in the movie Something Wild (which to this day is the only Melanie Griffith movie I can watch without being sick) but hadn’t bothered to buy the soundtrack. When a full album came out a few months later though I snapped it up. It got a lot of play after purchase - my best friend and I would listen to it as we drove around Boston late at night. He loved the cranked up chorus of “Cherokee Chief” while I favored the slinky funk of “Rev It Up” but we both agreed on “Man With A Gun,” a darker, brooding track. Some time after the album came out I saw the video for “Man With A Gun” on MTV and did something of a spit-take. The version of the song in the video was NOTHING like the track on the disc! Some sections were obviously edited and there was a guitar solo at the end of the song. Lacking the resources of the internet I scratched my head and figured some strange edit must exist out there in promo land.

A few months later I lucked into a copy of the “Man With A Gun” EP from the UK. Sure enough there was a”Full Guitar Version” and a “Single Version” of the song. The single version turned out to a a choppy edit. One listen and it was obvious that the single version was the track playing in the background of the video. What a waste. I hate the single version with a passion but I absolutely love the full version. The wailing guitar line gives the song a cathartic release that can’t be beat.

Trivia Notes: There’s a scene in Mystery Science Theater 3000’s version of “The Unearthly” where John Carradine disarms the hero in front of the heroine and I believe it’s Tom Servo who blurts out “Hey look - pretty girl, young man, old man, man with a gun!” Genius.

Jerry Harrison - Man With A Gun (Solo Version)