Gillan

This neat retrospective release revisits Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan’s early ’80s solo band at the height of their success. Captured live by BBC Television for their Rock Goes To College music series, this show in particular was filmed at Oxford Polytechnic in 1981 just months before he dissolved the band in order to join Black Sabbath for their criminally underrated Born Again album. The set finds the band in top form, playing music from their Glory Road and Future Shock releases. A young Bernie Torme leads the band on guitar; he would leave shortly after the taping only to be replaced by current Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers. No Deep Purple material is covered here, instead you get a brief look into what the Gillan band were capable of: a succinct mix of punky hard rock, boogie metal and traditional rock’n’roll. Neat stuff, although obviously watching this today is like entering a time warp to another dimension.