7

Better than 'The Slaughtered Lamb' I suppose

The first thought that rushed into my tiny brain when I saw the cover for 'Gillan's Inn' was that I didn't really want to go venture inside. I was scared. The building appears to be have been designed by a thirteen year old art student with an obsession for astrology, Tim Burton movies and bad graffiti. Add to this the landlord standing outside his establishment, barefoot in the snow, dressed only in a suit and white vest (perhaps he's a big fan of Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard') and pointing skywards with an unnerving grin and you might be able to appreciate my apprehension. Plus I thought the only beverages they'd be serving therein were likely to be non-alcoholic sunshine juice or some other mystical potion.

As I believe writers and reviewers should cherish honesty above all other virtues in their musings I'll come clean: I've never really heard much Ian Gillan aside from a couple of Deep Purple tracks. I've had 'Machine Head' sitting on my vinyl stack for years but somehow never got round to listening to it all the way through. As rock-hard devotees of 'The Purple' will no doubt have thrown their laptops across the room or poured coffee over their CRTs in furious reaction to such a confession, I'll go no further. The only real Gillan story I have is of a friend who once had her guitar tuned by the man - and I don't think she's retuned it since - which made listening to anyone play it an interesting experience to say the least. But then, maybe not being overly familiar with Gillan's back catalogue will work in my favour. I'll be able to judge the album as if it were a new release, which is surely a good thing? After all, if any song is any damn good, it'll stay good.

So let's get down to it. Ian Gillan has been in the business for forty years and to celebrate, he's released 'Gillan's Inn', a retrospective trawl through both his Purple-era and solo material. It's performed by an illustrious cast of rock royalty, including Joe Satriani, Ian Paice, Joe Elliott (to be continued) and Jeff Healey to name but a few (if you don't know who Jeff Healey is, he's the blind guitarist who rests his axe on his lap and plays it like a keyboard), with a new bonus track thrown in for good measure.

Lauded by Pavarotti as a "genius", (although I bet he's says that to anyone who gives him free pasta) it's fair to say that Gillan's voice is still acerbically strong and true. While I wouldn't agree with the assertion that he's the greatest rock and roll singer of all time (that's GOTTA be Bon Scott), it's an authoritative growl that still possesses enough bite to satisfy. But this it ain't all about the voice, is it? What about the songs?

The lightning fast 'Unchain Your Brain' and riff heavy 'Hang Me Out To Dry' are railroaded to a glutinous fate by the inclusion of tone-thick synths - though both are somewhat rescued from complete immersion in a coagulated mushy pea quagmire by blisteringly fast guitar solos from Joe Satriani. You rarely get to hear classic, flashy and unapologetically ostentatious guitar solos these days, so savour these as a rare treat. Unfortunately 'Speed King' also suffers the ignominy of keyboard intrusion - though this time by something that sounds like a Hammond organ and you can imagine that Booker T himself ambled into the studio for a quick jam.

Much as I detest the existence of Janick Gers on this planet (come on Maiden, show him his P45 already - he's got enough dough to keep him in hair curlers and trainers), his guitar solo on 'Bluesy Blue Sea' is pretty great and elsewhere the lumbering riffs are pure head-banging joy, as is Gillan's no-punches-pulled vocal.

Of course, Ian Gillan has got forty years worth of material to draw on for this album and to prove he's not just an all-out rocker, he slides in the melancholic ballads 'When A Blind Man Cries' (and yes, that's the track that Healey plays on - stop laughing), 'Loving On Borrowed Time' and the middle-of-the-road AOR track 'No Worries'. 'Loving On Borrowed Time' is the second worst song on the album though and thoroughly deserves to be featured on the soundtrack to the next 'Four Full Montys And A Brassed Off Notting Hill' movie.

As an aside: Have you glanced at the track listing at the bottom of this review yet? No? Well, let me tell you something: Track 10. 'Smoke On The Water'. You feeling buoyant or incensed? Personally, I've got no feelings either way, but I'll bet some of you see this as either a fantastic opportunity to revisit a classic tune or a vicious act of betrayal. Well, it's a bit of both. While this new interpretation of the song that Deep Purple will always be remembered for is performed decently enough; it's somewhat disabled by the flat production and multi-vocal chorus (sung by "The Gang"). Also, the loss of Richie Blackmore's raw and scratchy axe is a great one indeed and Steve Morse's mid-section solo is a hollow and ultimately soulless interruption.

Overall the thing about 'Gillan's Inn' is the palpable sense of cheekiness and fun that infuses tracks like 'Day Late And A Dollar Short' and the aforementioned 'Hang Me Out To Dry' - and the lyrics to 'No Laughing In Heaven' are undeniably hilarious - premeditated or not...I think not. Furthermore, this exuberant tone is one that permeates the album entire - even on the rockier and more measured material. The record is a celebration after all; an anniversary present to both himself and his fans and Gillan can't contain his obvious enthusiasm, a fact that makes even 'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight' (performed with Joe Elliott) bearable. No wait...no it doesn't. Sorry Ian, but that was one bonus track too far.

Ultimately then, it's a slick, professional affair and all the tracks are executed with patent gusto by a raft of wildly talented musicians. However, if 'Gillan's Inn' was released as a brand-spanking-new album today, I doubt it would get far. Yes, the rocky tracks still rock and the ballads still waltz along but it's not as cutting edge as it once was. Even the awesome 'Smoke on The Water' riff sounds more than a little prehistoric these days. Let's just say that this is a perfectly serviceable classic rock album and a pretty perfect one for devotees of Gillan and the genre. But in this era of emo, thrash, speed-metal and all the rest of them, 'Gillan's Inn' is best listened to by the older generation who can rest their slippers on the sofa, supp a single malt and blow clouds of pipe smoke into the air even though their wife told them to smoke outside.

The flipside DVD (yep, it's a media-friendly-new-fangled-double-release-thingy) contains the complete album mixed in 5.1 surround sound, videos, a choice of mixes for 'Smoke on the Water', amateur audience shot bootleg footage, discography, hand written song lyrics, track commentary, photos and pre-ripped AAC and WMA files. Phew - you satisfied?