Ray Gun Suitcase

Ray Gun Suitcase
Studio album by Pere Ubu
Released	August 19, 1995
Genre	Experimental rock
Label	Tim/Kerr
Producer	David Thomas
Pere Ubu chronology
Story of My Life (1993) Ray Gun Suitcase (1995) Datapanik in Year Zero (1998)
David Thomas chronology
Blame the Messenger (1987) Ray Gun Suitcase (1995) Erewhon (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Ray Gun Suitcase is Pere Ubu's tenth studio album, which finds the band returning both to indie labels, and, after a string of slickly produced, pop-oriented albums, the darker, more complex sonic landscape associated with their earlier work.

Director's Cut

In 2005, to celebrate Pere Ubu's thirtieth anniversary, a "Director's Cut" was released with new mastering, alternative mixes, and two bonus tracks. David Thomas explains: "The point of doing a Director's Cut is to benefit from that older and wiser thing. I reviewed all alternate mixes from the session, sometimes discovering that an earlier mix turned out to be superior to the chosen mix. As well, 10 years later, we have access to improved mastering technology. Consequently, there is a greater clarity and cohesion to the Director's Cut. We are not going to make both versions available. The Director's Cut is the way it's supposed to be. Period."

1. "Folly of Youth" – 4:52
2. "Electricity" – 4:30
3. "Beach Boys" – 3:57
4. "Turquoise Fins" – 3:10
5. "Vacuum in My Head" – 4:21
6. "Memphis" – 4:04
7. "Three Things" – 4:49
8. "Horse" – 5:02
9. "Don't Worry" – 3:09
10. "Ray Gun Suitcase" – 3:47
11. "Surfer Girl" (Brian Wilson) – 2:13
12. "Red Sky" – 5:26
13. "Montana" – 5:58
14. "My Friend Is a Stooge for the Media Priests" – 3:07
15. "Down by the River II" – 3:52
16. "Memphis" (demo)* – 4:16
17. "Down by the River II" (demo)* – 3:49

* - Director's Cut only

Personnel

• David Thomas: vocals, melodeon, musette, auto-cans, ray gun
• Jim Jones: guitar, keyboard bass, backing vocals, keyboards, spike, sleigh bells
• Robert Wheeler: EML synthesizers, Ensoniq EPS, theremin
• Michele Temple: bass guitar, slide bass, guitar, lute
• Scott Benedict: drums

and

• Scott Krauss: drums on "Memphis", "Beach Boys", "Down By The River", "Montana"
• Garo Yellin: electric cello on "Memphis", "Beach Boys", "Down By The River", "Montana"
• Paul Hamann: bass guitar on "My Friend Is A Stooge"; swirl bells on "Vacuum In My Head"

References

1. Ray Gun Suitcase at AllMusic
2. Rolling Stone review