Here we go….Down The Road, The Complete Ian Gillan Band Story. A monster eight CD box set comprising of the band’s three studio albums together with some bonus tracks, rarities and live performances from the old Rainbow in London and the Budokan and Hiroshima in Japan.
This was Ian’s return to music in the mid-1970s after leaving Deep Purple a few years earlier. As I mentioned in the previous post about the impending release of this set, Ian went with a jazz rock/fusion style.
That’s never been “my bag” over the years however I bought this box set as this section of Ian’s career had passed me by completely and being a big fan of what he did next – namely the fantastic Gillan years – I thought I’d better get my hands on the Ian Gillan Band stuff.
Now, when it arrived a few days ago on release day I admit to being somewhat apprehensive. Not being keen on jazz/fusion, would I like it? The answer to that is not really. But sometimes. Let me run through the discs……
First, the Child in Time album from 1976. Arguably a bit lazy to name the album after one of Purple’s best known songs. The music I think is generally uninspired. A sort of generic somewhat bluesy stuff. Rather tame going nowhere. The cover of Child in Time is bizarre and Let it Slide is around eleven minutes of pointless noodling. Ian’s vocals sound restrained. The bonus tracks come in as a series of mainly studio demos.
Clear Air Turbulence (1977) is a bit better and has its moments. Though this one to my ears is much more jazz rock fusion style which mostly leaves me cold. Too much mucking about. All the trumpets, saxophones sound wrong. The title track is quite bouncy and to some extent Money Lender. Not so much the rest. We also have the alternative Rockford mixes of the album.
Scarabus (1977) has less of the jazzy stuff and moves more in to rockier territory. Quite like it. Title track, Twin Exhausted, Poor Boy Hero etc. Much more to my tastes.
The disc of rarities has various demos and studio backing tracks plus a single edit of a live version of Smoke on the Water.
Next come the three discs of live stuff. This is where the generally uninspired studio versions come to life. It sounds harder and edgier. Of the three performances, the Hiroshima show is by far the best of them. Raw and powerful. Especially the “rock ‘n’ Roll medley and the couple of bonus tracks. Seems this show is as performed given the note in the booklet about “limitations of the audio source.”
Here’s Clear Air Turbulence from the Rainbow:
On the booklet – the story seems to hint that the jazz fusion style didn’t sit too well with Ian and the band was not entirely shall we say “on the same page.” Get the impression they didn’t put in maximum effort. More going through the motions instead.
I’m sort of pleased I bought the box set. Here’s it is if you’d like to – may be one for completists?
>> IAN GILLAN BAND BOX SET ON AMAZON <<
What Ian did next is much, much better. Returning with an eponymously named band – Gillan – giving us that sublime run of albums such as Mr. Universe, Future Shock, Glory Road etc. during the four year run of that band between 1978 and 1982.
The box set of that which was released last year is, to take a word from one of those Gillan album titles – magic. Ian at his peak and never better.
>> GILLAN 1978-1982 BOX SET REVIEW <<
Please support the site and buy me a coffee.
https://buymeacoffee.com/nwobhm
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.