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Ian Gillan

Classic Rock Legends DVD

Review by Greg Olma

Ian Gillan is thought of as the voice of Deep Purple, but he has had quite an extensive career that consists of albums under his own name and the band Gillan.  Obviously his work with Deep Purple will always overshadow the other material, but you would be cheating yourself out of some great music if you ignored his solo albums.  Back in 1990, he released his first album after leaving Deep Purple for a second time.  This concert in Nottingham was just one of the stops on his Naked Thunder tour and Classic Rock Legends Ltd saw fit to release this little gem. 

The best part of this performance is that, while Deep Purple was still on everyone’s mind, Gillan focuses the set list on his other material and only touches on Purple a few times during the show.  We obviously get some material from Naked Thunder, as this was the tour to promote that disc.  “Gut Reaction” and “No Good Luck” are especially good, and the inclusion of “I Thought No” from the criminally overlooked Gillan & Glover record Accidentally on Purpose was quite a nice surprise.  I was also happy to see something from Gillan’s Magic album but was surprised he chose to do the Stevie Wonder cover of "Living for the City".  It’s a great version and it was the single from Magic,  but I would have preferred something like “Living A Lie." As mentioned previously, there a few Deep Purple tunes performed, and “Demon’s Eye” and “When A Blind Man Cries” both are welcome additions.  On the flip side, I can do without hearing “Smoke On The Water” anymore.  I know I’m in the minority with regard to that tune, but it has been played to death.  I do want to make special mention that Gillan’s band does consist of Michael Schenker’s Assault Attack’s line-up with Chris Glen, Ted McKenna and Tommy Eyre on board for this concert.  Both Steve Morris and Mick O'Donoghue provide some great guitar work, especially during “When A Blind Man Cries." This was another short lived line-up, so I’m glad someone had the foresight to visually record it and make it available for the fans.  Even if you are not a huge Gillan fan, I would recommend this to anyone who likes straight ahead good old fashioned heavy rock music.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

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