Reviewed:
- Ian Gillan Band: Child in Time (1976)
- Gillan: Glory Road (1980)
- Gillan: Future Shock (1981)
- Gillan: Magic (1982)
- Ian Gillan & Roger Glover: Accidentally on Purpose (1988)
- Ian Gillan: Naked Thunder (1990)
- Ian Gillan: Gillan's Inn (2006)
- Gillan: The Singles & the Promo Videos (2007, box set)
IAN GILLAN BAND - CHILD IN TIME 1976 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: 'Lay Me Down', 'You Make Me Feel So Good', 'Child in Time', 'Let it Slide'
I think it's safe to say that I'm a fan of the majority of Ian Gillan's work throughout his long career. First and foremost, he is Deep Purple's vocalist. Sure, he wasn't the only guy to front the band, but I think most people think of Ian when they think of Purple's frontman. In 1973 however, he left Deep Purple and it'd take some 11 years before he would return. In that space of time he had two solo bands - the Ian Gillan Band from 1975-78 and Gillan from 1978-82. Then of course, he'd front Black Sabbath for a year until finally returning to Deep Purple.
Child in Time was the first album from the Ian Gillan Band. Musically I guess it is something of a departure from Deep Purple in that the album takes a jazz-rock fusion approach to the music. Prior to picking this album up, I had already heard most of his next band's material (Gillan - this is getting confusing) and I always liked it, but this record and the Ian Gillan Band were different. Er, aside from Ian's vocals that is (duh). I guess I must have been around 19 when I picked this up (?), either way, I listened to it a couple of times and forgot about it for years, literally. Since I thought it would be fun to talk about some of Ian's solo discography on here, hearing Child in Time again for the first time in years was kinda cool actually. And refreshing too. I suppose the jazz-rock fusion is what initially put me off it. I didn't 'dislike' it per say, it just wasn't what I was expecting. Really though, I don't think the album is huge departure from Deep Purple, even if it is still a departure of sort. In fact, songs like 'You Make Me Feel So Good' and 'Lay Me Down' actually reminded me at times of the funk/blues-influenced Deep Purple eras with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes that occurred after Gillan's exit from the band.
I think people are exaggerating when they label this record purely as a 'jazz-rock fusion' album. It's only really the last three tracks - 'Down the Road', 'Child in Time' and the 11 minute 'Let it Slide' that really have any jazz fusion credentials in my mind. Oh, and in case you were wondering, 'Child in Time' IS a cover of classic Deep Purple number that Ian originally sang on for 1970's seminal In Rock, and it doesn't come close either. The original song is one of the all-time great prog rock/metal epic ballads, this version is much more tame and subdued by comparison. I'm not flat-out bashing this rendition as it is still enjoyable, 'Child in Time' is just one of those tunes that won't ever be bettered. Really though, I like and appreciate this album a lot more these days. I wouldn't label it a classic, nor is it essential among Ian's discography, but it is still a fair effort from a man who was probably burned out singing hard rock at the time and decided to go in a different direction for his band.
Adam's rating: 7.2/10
GILLAN - GLORY ROAD 1980 (Virgin)
- Standouts: The whole record.
Okay, now we're onto the band GILLAN, not the IAN GILLAN BAND. Ian was a recording machine in those days, releasing at least one album every year. Anyhow, Gillan (the band) moved away from the jazz-rock fusion of the Ian Gillan Band and back to a more straightforward hard rock sound. Musically Glory Road is sort of like Mark II-era Deep Purple and Ronnie James Dio-era Rainbow mixed with a heavy blues sound - it just works. It works so well in fact, that it pretty much blows the Ian Gillan Band out of the water. I mean, it's fair enough that Ian wanted to experiment a little after he left Deep Purple, but Gillan (the band) is him stepping back into his comfort zone and being in his element. I mean, songs like 'Unchain Your Brain', 'Are You Sure?', 'Sleeping On the Job', 'Running, White Face, City Boy' and 'No Easy Way' are outstanding hard rockers from a band that knows exactly what they're doing. Bernie Torme (R.I.P.) is an underrated guitarist, and Colin Towns is a phenomenal keyboard player. While much of the album consists of fast-paced, energetic rock, there's also a handful of other standouts that nicely break up the pacing of the album. 'Time and Again' is a mid-tempo pop rock number, and a very good one at that. 'If You Believe Me' is a slow and bluesy jam, and 'Nervous' ends the record on a slow, sleazy, high note.
Every one of these tunes is damn good. Ian always added character really well to this frankly underrated band. In terms of the Deep Purple members that formed other bands, it was always Rainbow and Whitesnake that got all the press, but Gillan were by far the most fun of the lot. Glory Road is feel-good, bluesy hard rock with great musicianship across the board. Anyone who enjoyed anything Ian recorded with Deep Purple (or even the Ian Gillan Band for that matter) owes it to themselves to check out the Gillan band. I have this one on vinyl.
Adam's rating: 9/10
GILLAN - FUTURE SHOCK 1981 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: All.
The I.G.Band were good while they lasted, but it's clear that outside of Deep Purple, Future Shock is a perfect example of what Ian does best. What I love about this album is how raw and live it feels. The production sounds decidedly underproduced, but not in amateurish, bootleg kind of way. You can clearly hear every instrument - it's not just Ian who's the star. As with the performances on the excellent Glory Road, the whole band were great here too, and they had character. And humour. 'No Laughing in Heaven' for example, is a genuinely humorous number lyrically, but is also a great hard rock jam musically, with some awesome bass lines a la John McCoy, who looks a bit like Rob Halford's beefier doppelganger. And they were fun - 'New Orleans' (apparently a Gary U.S. Bonds cover, something I'm not at all familiar with) is a massively entertaining, good-time heavy blues rocker with some stunning piano work from Colin Towns, who is honestly the most underrated keyboard player I think of. If Don Airey never got the gig when he replaced Jon Lord (R.I.P.) in Deep Purple, Towns should've been next in line. He has his own trademark tone that I can't compare to anything. I've also gotta give credit to 'Bite the Bullet', 'Night Ride Out of Phoenix' and '(The Ballad of) The Lucitania Express', but really I think every song here is great. It's a top-notch hard rock album that pounces with energy - the only time it really slows down is on the more thoughtful 'If I Sing Softly', but even that track is great. Future Shock is probably one of Ian's strongest works outside of Purple, and underrated classic that excels on all fronts. One again, this one gets an easy 9 from me. I can't stress the word 'underrated' enough when talking about this band as a whole.
Oh, I also forgot to mention on the last review that all my Ian Gillan solo works are part of the 2007 Edsel reissues series. These are great as the albums come with a slipcase, tons of bonus tracks and a great booklet full of notes and stories from Ian. The bonus tracks in question here are awesome - 'Trouble' for example, was a heavy blues single that's one of my favourites in general.
Adam's rating: 9/10
GILLAN - MAGIC 1982 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: 'What's the Matter', 'Bluesy Blue Sea', 'Caught in a Trap', 'Long Gone', 'Demon Driver', 'Living for the City'
Magic ended up being the last album Gillan made with his second solo band, er, Gillan. Frankly I've always been a bigger fan of Gillan (the band) more than the Ian Gillan Band (this is getting confusing...) because the music was always much more hard rock-focused, which just suits Ian's iconic lungs better - fact. Magic is actually arguably the most slickly-produced Gillan album, something that often ends in disaster, but honestly, I think this is a great record. This band always had hooks, and it's only really on tracks like 'Long Gone' and 'You're So Right' that Ian is clearly attempting to top the charts. And I actually really like 'Long Gone' anyway, always have. Aside from those numbers, the rest of the album is mostly just quality, driving hard rock. 'What's the Matter' is a cool up-tempo opening rocker, 'Bluesy Blue Sea' is a heavy, almost-Sabbath like number (if it wasn't for Colin Towns' excellent keyboards) and the Stevie Wonder cover, 'Living for the City' is awesome, maybe my favourite number on the whole record! 'Caught in a Trap' and the lengthy 'Demon Driver' are also prime cuts. It's also worth noting that future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers plays on Magic, it being his first and only album with the band seeing as they split shortly afterward. So yeah, this was a very solid final effort, one that's definitely worth checking out.
Adam's rating: 8.2/10
IAN GILLAN & ROGER GLOVER - ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE 1988 (Edsel Records)
- Gillan: The Singles & the Promo Videos (2007, box set)
IAN GILLAN BAND - CHILD IN TIME 1976 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: 'Lay Me Down', 'You Make Me Feel So Good', 'Child in Time', 'Let it Slide'
I think it's safe to say that I'm a fan of the majority of Ian Gillan's work throughout his long career. First and foremost, he is Deep Purple's vocalist. Sure, he wasn't the only guy to front the band, but I think most people think of Ian when they think of Purple's frontman. In 1973 however, he left Deep Purple and it'd take some 11 years before he would return. In that space of time he had two solo bands - the Ian Gillan Band from 1975-78 and Gillan from 1978-82. Then of course, he'd front Black Sabbath for a year until finally returning to Deep Purple.
Child in Time was the first album from the Ian Gillan Band. Musically I guess it is something of a departure from Deep Purple in that the album takes a jazz-rock fusion approach to the music. Prior to picking this album up, I had already heard most of his next band's material (Gillan - this is getting confusing) and I always liked it, but this record and the Ian Gillan Band were different. Er, aside from Ian's vocals that is (duh). I guess I must have been around 19 when I picked this up (?), either way, I listened to it a couple of times and forgot about it for years, literally. Since I thought it would be fun to talk about some of Ian's solo discography on here, hearing Child in Time again for the first time in years was kinda cool actually. And refreshing too. I suppose the jazz-rock fusion is what initially put me off it. I didn't 'dislike' it per say, it just wasn't what I was expecting. Really though, I don't think the album is huge departure from Deep Purple, even if it is still a departure of sort. In fact, songs like 'You Make Me Feel So Good' and 'Lay Me Down' actually reminded me at times of the funk/blues-influenced Deep Purple eras with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes that occurred after Gillan's exit from the band.
I think people are exaggerating when they label this record purely as a 'jazz-rock fusion' album. It's only really the last three tracks - 'Down the Road', 'Child in Time' and the 11 minute 'Let it Slide' that really have any jazz fusion credentials in my mind. Oh, and in case you were wondering, 'Child in Time' IS a cover of classic Deep Purple number that Ian originally sang on for 1970's seminal In Rock, and it doesn't come close either. The original song is one of the all-time great prog rock/metal epic ballads, this version is much more tame and subdued by comparison. I'm not flat-out bashing this rendition as it is still enjoyable, 'Child in Time' is just one of those tunes that won't ever be bettered. Really though, I like and appreciate this album a lot more these days. I wouldn't label it a classic, nor is it essential among Ian's discography, but it is still a fair effort from a man who was probably burned out singing hard rock at the time and decided to go in a different direction for his band.
Adam's rating: 7.2/10
GILLAN - GLORY ROAD 1980 (Virgin)
- Standouts: The whole record.
Okay, now we're onto the band GILLAN, not the IAN GILLAN BAND. Ian was a recording machine in those days, releasing at least one album every year. Anyhow, Gillan (the band) moved away from the jazz-rock fusion of the Ian Gillan Band and back to a more straightforward hard rock sound. Musically Glory Road is sort of like Mark II-era Deep Purple and Ronnie James Dio-era Rainbow mixed with a heavy blues sound - it just works. It works so well in fact, that it pretty much blows the Ian Gillan Band out of the water. I mean, it's fair enough that Ian wanted to experiment a little after he left Deep Purple, but Gillan (the band) is him stepping back into his comfort zone and being in his element. I mean, songs like 'Unchain Your Brain', 'Are You Sure?', 'Sleeping On the Job', 'Running, White Face, City Boy' and 'No Easy Way' are outstanding hard rockers from a band that knows exactly what they're doing. Bernie Torme (R.I.P.) is an underrated guitarist, and Colin Towns is a phenomenal keyboard player. While much of the album consists of fast-paced, energetic rock, there's also a handful of other standouts that nicely break up the pacing of the album. 'Time and Again' is a mid-tempo pop rock number, and a very good one at that. 'If You Believe Me' is a slow and bluesy jam, and 'Nervous' ends the record on a slow, sleazy, high note.
Every one of these tunes is damn good. Ian always added character really well to this frankly underrated band. In terms of the Deep Purple members that formed other bands, it was always Rainbow and Whitesnake that got all the press, but Gillan were by far the most fun of the lot. Glory Road is feel-good, bluesy hard rock with great musicianship across the board. Anyone who enjoyed anything Ian recorded with Deep Purple (or even the Ian Gillan Band for that matter) owes it to themselves to check out the Gillan band. I have this one on vinyl.
Adam's rating: 9/10
GILLAN - FUTURE SHOCK 1981 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: All.
The I.G.Band were good while they lasted, but it's clear that outside of Deep Purple, Future Shock is a perfect example of what Ian does best. What I love about this album is how raw and live it feels. The production sounds decidedly underproduced, but not in amateurish, bootleg kind of way. You can clearly hear every instrument - it's not just Ian who's the star. As with the performances on the excellent Glory Road, the whole band were great here too, and they had character. And humour. 'No Laughing in Heaven' for example, is a genuinely humorous number lyrically, but is also a great hard rock jam musically, with some awesome bass lines a la John McCoy, who looks a bit like Rob Halford's beefier doppelganger. And they were fun - 'New Orleans' (apparently a Gary U.S. Bonds cover, something I'm not at all familiar with) is a massively entertaining, good-time heavy blues rocker with some stunning piano work from Colin Towns, who is honestly the most underrated keyboard player I think of. If Don Airey never got the gig when he replaced Jon Lord (R.I.P.) in Deep Purple, Towns should've been next in line. He has his own trademark tone that I can't compare to anything. I've also gotta give credit to 'Bite the Bullet', 'Night Ride Out of Phoenix' and '(The Ballad of) The Lucitania Express', but really I think every song here is great. It's a top-notch hard rock album that pounces with energy - the only time it really slows down is on the more thoughtful 'If I Sing Softly', but even that track is great. Future Shock is probably one of Ian's strongest works outside of Purple, and underrated classic that excels on all fronts. One again, this one gets an easy 9 from me. I can't stress the word 'underrated' enough when talking about this band as a whole.
Oh, I also forgot to mention on the last review that all my Ian Gillan solo works are part of the 2007 Edsel reissues series. These are great as the albums come with a slipcase, tons of bonus tracks and a great booklet full of notes and stories from Ian. The bonus tracks in question here are awesome - 'Trouble' for example, was a heavy blues single that's one of my favourites in general.
Adam's rating: 9/10
GILLAN - MAGIC 1982 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: 'What's the Matter', 'Bluesy Blue Sea', 'Caught in a Trap', 'Long Gone', 'Demon Driver', 'Living for the City'
Magic ended up being the last album Gillan made with his second solo band, er, Gillan. Frankly I've always been a bigger fan of Gillan (the band) more than the Ian Gillan Band (this is getting confusing...) because the music was always much more hard rock-focused, which just suits Ian's iconic lungs better - fact. Magic is actually arguably the most slickly-produced Gillan album, something that often ends in disaster, but honestly, I think this is a great record. This band always had hooks, and it's only really on tracks like 'Long Gone' and 'You're So Right' that Ian is clearly attempting to top the charts. And I actually really like 'Long Gone' anyway, always have. Aside from those numbers, the rest of the album is mostly just quality, driving hard rock. 'What's the Matter' is a cool up-tempo opening rocker, 'Bluesy Blue Sea' is a heavy, almost-Sabbath like number (if it wasn't for Colin Towns' excellent keyboards) and the Stevie Wonder cover, 'Living for the City' is awesome, maybe my favourite number on the whole record! 'Caught in a Trap' and the lengthy 'Demon Driver' are also prime cuts. It's also worth noting that future Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers plays on Magic, it being his first and only album with the band seeing as they split shortly afterward. So yeah, this was a very solid final effort, one that's definitely worth checking out.
Adam's rating: 8.2/10
IAN GILLAN & ROGER GLOVER - ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE 1988 (Edsel Records)
- Standouts: 'Can't Believe You Wanna Leave'
GILLAN - THE SINGLES & THE PROMO VIDEOS 2007 (Edsel Records)
This box set is basically aimed at the collectors out there, but even so, I had to have it. Thankfully I bought it back in '08 when it was still relatively new, these days it seems to be pretty damn expensive if you can find a copy. Gillan (the band) recorded plenty of singles back in the day, some made it to the albums, some didn't. Every one of the singles, 10 discs in total, is presented here exactly the way they were as the original 7" vinyl records (including all the b-sides), only in CD format. Each one comes in a cardboard sleeve with the correct artwork, and the box itself holds them together nicely without taking up too much unnecessary space on your shelf like a lot of other box sets tend to do, i.e. it fits okay among jewel cases/digipaks. In addition to the music you also get a DVD featuring the band's music videos, some of which are laughably goofy but great all the same; that's the early 80's, pre-MTV for you. You also get a great booklet full of notes from Ian himself and a full history of each single. To be honest, I had a blast listening to all my Gillan solo albums again. I forgot just how good he was outside of his iconic band (Deep Purple, duh), and I actually purchased Future Shock because of this. But yeah, this is a great box set and if you can find one for £20 or less, I'd say buy it. Good luck...
Adam's rating : 8.7/10
I'd heard that Ian had made an album with Roger Glover way back in '88, but I knew little about it. I was recently scouring eBay and saw a copy of Accidentally on Purpose up for bids, and I won my Edsel reissue CD for £4.99, which seemed like a pretty good deal considering this version doesn't seem to be in wide circulation right now. Like I said earlier, I really like the presentation of these Edsel releases from around 2007, and this one is the same. And as for the music itself, well, uh, it's essentially Ian and Roger doing pop rock. Just in case you don't know (shame on you if you don't), Roger Glover is Deep Purple's most important bass player, and is probably one of the most underrated bass players in existence; an integral cog in Purple during the golden era of the Mark-II lineup, and to this day still their bass player. He's also been in Rainbow and produced quite a number of records over the years.
But Deep Purple this ain't, and I'm guessing Ian and Roger deliberately set out to make something different to what Deep Purple were doing at the time with the classic 1984 comeback album Perfect Strangers and it's somewhat forgotten follow-up, The House of Blue Light. Both men were obviously in Deep Purple at the same time they were working on Accidentally on Purpose, and I guess I can't blame them for wanting to do something different on the side. But fans of heavy rock are gonna be disappointed if they go into this thing expecting it to sound like Deep Purple. Aside from 'I Can't Dance to That', which does give me slight Deep Purple vibes - what you mostly have here is cleanly-produced pop rock with layers of synthy new wave type-stuff and R n' B. Well, 'Can't Believe You Wanna Leave' ( a Little Richard cover) is great - Gillan really does that classic, piano-based rock n' roll justice, but it is weird hearing him sing on dated 80's pop like 'Evil Eye, 'She Took My Breath Away' and 'Lonely Avenue', which feature things like synths, saxes, and are supported by multiple female backing vocalists.
Ian Gillan still sounds unmistakably like Ian Gillan, but I can't say I've been enjoying this record much. Kind of sounds musically like Phil Collins, or something. It's serviceable in terms of what it's trying to achieve, and Ian himself is apparently quite proud of it. It's no secret that he and Ritchie Blackmore never got really got along with one another during any of their time in Deep Purple together. I read somewhere that Purple album The House of Blue Light was exceptionally difficult to make the year prior to this, and Ian and Roger took off to the Caribbean to unwind and make this record in the wake of Blue Light. Serious fans will get a kick out of it, otherwise I'm struggling to really recommend it.
Adam's rating: 5.4/10
IAN GILLAN - NAKED THUNDER 1990 (Teldec)
- Standouts: Hmm...
It's easy to forget just how much stuff Ian Gillan has worked on throughout his career. Deep Purple always gets the spotlight and a lot of people seem to forget the fact he's been involved in multiple projects over the years. Despite the fact he'd already been there and done that with the Ian Gillan Band and Gillan, and also made an album with Roger Glover in 1988, 1990's Naked Thunder was the first record he released purely as a solo album. Despite the fact I own every single Deep Purple album as well as a handful of his other projects throughout the years, I still wasn't entirely sure what to expect with this CD. Would it be similar to the jazz-rock fusion of the Ian Gillan Band, or maybe it'd sound like the upbeat bluesy hard rock of Gillan? Or what about the synthy pop rock of the Gillan/Glover album Accidentally on Purpose? Well, it doesn't really sound like any of these as it happens.
Naked Thunder - for better or worse - is very much radio-friendly, stadium-ready hard rock. It sounds very 'American' to me, in a kind of Boston-ish, 80's Aerosmith kind of way. 'Loving On Borrowed Time' is basically a power ballad. And that's the main problem I have with this album - most of it is going for that massive, stadium power ballad sound that bands like Journey and Foreigner helped to cement in radio-friendly rock, and by 1990, the year this album was released, it already sounded dated. I'm not saying Ian doesn't manage to successfully pull this type of thing off - he sings just fine in that regard, its just not what I want to hear from a guy like him. I can't really get into it, even if it does what it does just fine.
Adam's rating: 5.3/10
IAN GILLAN - GILLAN'S INN 2006 (Immergent)
- Standouts: 'Unchain Your Brain', 'Bluesy Blue Sea', 'Day Late and a Dollar Short', 'Trashed'
Normally I'm not the biggest fan of albums full of re-recordings of old tracks. Depending on the circumstances however, they can sometimes work. Gillan's Inn feels like Ian was just having fun in the studio, looking back through his career and inviting friends and guests to play on new recordings of oldies. There's a small handful of tracks I wasn't aware of - I haven't heard every Ian Gillan solo album, but I was familiar with the majority of the original versions of the songs on this album.
I must admit, most of this album sounds good. I've always liked the band Gillan, and the version of 'Unchain Your Brain' from Glory Road kicks things off to a blazing start. Joe Satriani plays on it, so of course the guitar solo is outstanding. It was nice to see 'Bluesy Blue Sea' from the Gillan album Magic too - I've always liked that record, and this new version is noticeably heavier. Janick Gers of Iron Maiden, who originally played on Magic, provides the guitars to the re-recording, so that was probably something of a nostalgia trip for him. Never heard the original 'Day Late and a Dollar Short', but this version sounds great either way. Just a great, heavy, driving track with Uli John Roth on guitar and even Ronnie James Dio backing up Ian's vocals. 'Hang Me Out to Dry' is from another Ian Gillan solo album that I haven't heard yet (Toolbox), and again has Joe Satriani on it, plus Don Airey on keyboards - so automatically Don's keyboard tones give it strong Deep Purple vibes! Kind of reminds me of the Deep Purple album The Battle Rages On..., actually. Steve Morse lends his guitar talents to 'Men of War', originally from Gillan's Double Trouble (an album I am familiar with, I just don't have a copy yet!), so again, I get Purple vibes, but this is still a Gillan track through-and-through.
'Trashed' caught my attention, because originally it's from Black Sabbath's Born Again - the only Sabbath album featuring Gillan on vocals, and also one of my favourites. The version here is still the same old speed metal classic, and Tony Iommi still plays on it, but here you've also got Roger Glover on bass and Ian Paice on drums, so essentially you have Deep Purple minus the keyboards, with Tony Iommi on guitar! I prefer the original of course, but this version is still fun. I've also always loved 'No Laughing in Heaven' from Gillan's Future Shock album, and once again, the Gillan's Inn version is basically Deep Purple performing the same track. 'No Worries' is an unreleased blues rock track. I like it!
Any downsides? Well, the re-recorded Deep Purple tracks feel slightly unnecessary. Deep Purple still exist as a band, and Ian's still with them, so it does seem quite pointless that 'Smoke On the Water', 'Speed King' and 'When a Blind Man Cries' are on here. If anything, it would've made more sense for Ian to have chosen a few tracks from an era when he wasn't in the band, such as the Glenn Hughes/David Coverdale-fronted lineup, or even the very first Deep Purple lineup with Nick Simper on bass and Rod Evans on vocals. I do quite like this version of 'When a Blind Man Cries' though, with Jeff Healey and Jon Lord, as it's very bluesy and soulful all the same. And it is kinda cool to hear Joe Satriani play on 'Speed King'; the man did actually fill in for Ritchie Blackmore when he eventually walked out, mid-tour in the early 90's.
I enjoyed this CD. If anything, it's a celebration of Ian's career. If you flip the disc over to the DVD side, you've also got a whole host of extras too, which is cool. Given that 95% of the album is just re-recordings however, I can't exactly call this 'essential', but for Gillan fans it's still worth checking out. The guest musicians add new flair to the tracks, and they're all extremely well performed.
Adam's rating: 7.3/10
GILLAN - THE SINGLES & THE PROMO VIDEOS 2007 (Edsel Records)
This box set is basically aimed at the collectors out there, but even so, I had to have it. Thankfully I bought it back in '08 when it was still relatively new, these days it seems to be pretty damn expensive if you can find a copy. Gillan (the band) recorded plenty of singles back in the day, some made it to the albums, some didn't. Every one of the singles, 10 discs in total, is presented here exactly the way they were as the original 7" vinyl records (including all the b-sides), only in CD format. Each one comes in a cardboard sleeve with the correct artwork, and the box itself holds them together nicely without taking up too much unnecessary space on your shelf like a lot of other box sets tend to do, i.e. it fits okay among jewel cases/digipaks. In addition to the music you also get a DVD featuring the band's music videos, some of which are laughably goofy but great all the same; that's the early 80's, pre-MTV for you. You also get a great booklet full of notes from Ian himself and a full history of each single. To be honest, I had a blast listening to all my Gillan solo albums again. I forgot just how good he was outside of his iconic band (Deep Purple, duh), and I actually purchased Future Shock because of this. But yeah, this is a great box set and if you can find one for £20 or less, I'd say buy it. Good luck...
Adam's rating : 8.7/10
