Search - Ian Gillan :: Mr Universe

GILLAN AND TORME GO GREAT TOGETHER

Don | Long Island NY | 07/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My title says it all . You get Ian Gillan and Bernie Torme on their first album together , and it was the beginning of a great hard rock band (but sadly , a short lived band) . Great singing , great guitar playing , the great John McCoy on bass . This is a fantastic album . Remastered by Edsel , a very good package with the bonus tracks and great booklet. Be sure to crank up Vengeance and Mr Universe ."

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Raj | Mumbai, India | 04/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was the first successful album by Ian Gillan after he left Deep Purple for the first time. He had already released 3 Jazzy/Funky albums which had not fared well in the Punk dominated era of mid and late '70's (though 'child in time' and 'Clear air Turbulence' have withstood the effect of time and still sound great).



Gillan revamped the band at this time keeping only Colin Towns from the IGB line-up.



Bernie Torme on the Guitar has his first appearance for Gillan on this album, though he has not contributed much to the song writing. Bernie was the guitarist that filled in for OZZY after the death of Randy Rhodes. He will be the force behind the next two Gillan masterpieces.



Coming back to `Mr. Universe'. This album is hard and fast though at times some songs sound similar. 'Roller', 'secret of the Dance', 'Dead of Night' and the title song are great numbers.



But the masterpiece here is 'Fighting Man' giving Ian the opportunity to show his singing ability. The solos both Guitar and Keyboard are great.



This band is hardly known in the US, mainly because the songs are raw and harsh or maybe Gillan were not promoted too well. Its a shame what the Americans have missed out on as Gillan albums fared very well in UK and the band is considered an integral part of the NWOBHM.



If you like this album then try the Gillan albums with Bernie Torme like 'Glory Road'(which is my favourite hard rock album after 'Deep purple in Rock' and `Machine Head') and 'Future Shock'.

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