Gamma- 'Gamma 2' (1980)
![[Image: Gamma2.jpg]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0Jm8LimqDuw/Rn1g4HDMynI/AAAAAAAAADk/oyivUNt1O6Q/s320/Gamma2.jpg)
Trax:
Line-up (with a few considerable changes in the rhythm section)*:
Davey Pattison- vocals
Ronnie Montrose- guitar
Jim Alcivair- keys
Glenn Letsch- bass*
Denny Carmassi- drums*
As you can see from the above line-up, there are two notable changes in the departure of Alan Fitzgerald on bass with Glenn Letsch (who now plays in Robin Trower band) replacing him and also the departure of uniquely named drummer Skip Gillette in favour of Denny Carmassi, a former member of Montrose back in the 70s. All other original members from the debut remain, at least for the time being.
Gamma line-up 1980 in promo shoot. Davey Pattison can be seen second from right.
![[Image: Gamma_Elektra.JPG]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9a/Gamma_Elektra.JPG)
These changes, coupled with the progression into the 'new-age' decade of the 80s during which time instruments such as synthesisers were becoming more and more prominent/fashionable in music this album is considerably more synthesiser based in comparison to the latter. New drummer Denny Carmassi also brings a much heavier sound which is consistent throughout the album.
Before going on to discuss the tracks on the album, I would be insane not to mention the album cover which depicts two 'submerged' shark tails on a garden lawn, certainly making it one of the most unique album covers of all time.
Gamma's second album opens with what I personally consider to be their best song called 'Mean Streak'. With a incredibly catchy simultaneous guitar and synthesiser riff not to mention a fantastic solo by Ronnie towards the end, this song is an early reflection the albums new theme of leaning towards a sound that would later become typical of the 80s music in general. Perhaps the most notable feature on the track besides Pattison's trademark soulful vocals is Denny Carmassi's drumming which brings a new, more loose feel to the band and interlinks extremely well with the song's riff and vocal passages. 'Mean Streak' I believe was the album's lead single and scored them another hit on the Billboard charts. Along with 'Fight To The Finish' it is generally considered to be their amongst their best known songs.
After the overly-satisfying opener, we are treated to 'Four Horsemen' which is probably the heaviest Gamma song yet since 'Ready For Action' on the debut with an almost thrash-metal tempo during the intro. Again, the influence of replacement drummer Denny Carmassi clearly plays a big role in this.
Later on in the album, there is a shift in style on tracks such as 'Voyager' which is generally a blues driven rock 'ballad' song with some seriously breathtaking solo guitar passages from Ronnie Montrose and is very akin to something that Robin Trower would later record on his 1983 album 'Back It Up'.
Mid-way throughout the album we are (treated?) to a cover version of Thunderclap Newman's ever-covered, ever-played, ever-famous sole hit 'Something In The Air'. Gamma's version is extremely synthesiser based in comparison to the original which I wasn't exactly a fan of in the first place. Still interesting to hear vocalist Pattison's interpretation of it though!
Among the last three tracks on the album, 'Cat On A Leash' & 'Mayday' are both high-tempo jam based songs with limited lyrical input more of an emphasis of creating a racket which I'm all in favour of! The median being 'Skin & Bone' breaks up these two tracks with a slow tempo couple with some ferocious drumming from Carmassi. Also, 'Mayday' features a brief return of the use of the vocoder during the outro.
Conclusively, Gamma's second album is a strong-follow up to their outstanding debut and serves as an example of a band's successful progression (at least IMO) from 1970s rock to 1980s rock (with shitloads of synthesisers) which ironically is usually the ultimate achiles heel for me when it comes to the 80s music sound. The difference here is that the synthesiser, while rather prominent and definitely present in each of the songs, is not overpowering in the sense that it eclipses the guitar solos or vocals for that matter.
Strongly recommend fellow members to check out this band. They are one of the true gems of the underground rock scene! After the first two albums everything kind of goes tit's up in terms of the synthesiser situation (especially on third album!) so most attention is best paid to the first two releases!
Again, a good man has kindly uploaded the following videos, albeit with no visualization, onto youtube so I have linked some here for readers to sample
Mean Streak
[video=youtube;dnc1Z9B6I2E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnc1Z9B6I2E[/video]
Four Horsemen
[video=youtube;UJ4CYEBYF4s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ4CYEBYF4s[/video]
Dirty City & Voyager
[video=youtube;8mXKW4l0_8M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mXKW4l0_8M[/video]
Mayday
[video=youtube;-rUaFKhhBew]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rUaFKhhBew[/video]
Lastly, I've included a live version of one of the debut tracks which is one of the only available on youtube!
Razor King (Live in San Francisco, 1980)
[video=youtube;3oJZpzM3XkE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oJZpzM3XkE[/video]
Trax:
- Mean Streak (Alcivar, Montrose, Pattison) - 4:50
- Four Horsemen (Montrose, Pattison) - 4:48
- Dirty City (Montrose, Pattison) - 4:04
- Voyager (Montrose, Pattison) - 5:23
- "Something In The Air" (John "Speedy" Keen) - 3:17
- Cat on a Leash (Montrose, Jerry Stahl) - 4:03
- Skin and Bone (Montrose, Stahl) - 4:48
- Mayday (Alcivar, Montrose) - 5:37
Line-up (with a few considerable changes in the rhythm section)*:
Davey Pattison- vocals
Ronnie Montrose- guitar
Jim Alcivair- keys
Glenn Letsch- bass*
Denny Carmassi- drums*
As you can see from the above line-up, there are two notable changes in the departure of Alan Fitzgerald on bass with Glenn Letsch (who now plays in Robin Trower band) replacing him and also the departure of uniquely named drummer Skip Gillette in favour of Denny Carmassi, a former member of Montrose back in the 70s. All other original members from the debut remain, at least for the time being.
Gamma line-up 1980 in promo shoot. Davey Pattison can be seen second from right.
These changes, coupled with the progression into the 'new-age' decade of the 80s during which time instruments such as synthesisers were becoming more and more prominent/fashionable in music this album is considerably more synthesiser based in comparison to the latter. New drummer Denny Carmassi also brings a much heavier sound which is consistent throughout the album.
Before going on to discuss the tracks on the album, I would be insane not to mention the album cover which depicts two 'submerged' shark tails on a garden lawn, certainly making it one of the most unique album covers of all time.
Gamma's second album opens with what I personally consider to be their best song called 'Mean Streak'. With a incredibly catchy simultaneous guitar and synthesiser riff not to mention a fantastic solo by Ronnie towards the end, this song is an early reflection the albums new theme of leaning towards a sound that would later become typical of the 80s music in general. Perhaps the most notable feature on the track besides Pattison's trademark soulful vocals is Denny Carmassi's drumming which brings a new, more loose feel to the band and interlinks extremely well with the song's riff and vocal passages. 'Mean Streak' I believe was the album's lead single and scored them another hit on the Billboard charts. Along with 'Fight To The Finish' it is generally considered to be their amongst their best known songs.
After the overly-satisfying opener, we are treated to 'Four Horsemen' which is probably the heaviest Gamma song yet since 'Ready For Action' on the debut with an almost thrash-metal tempo during the intro. Again, the influence of replacement drummer Denny Carmassi clearly plays a big role in this.
Later on in the album, there is a shift in style on tracks such as 'Voyager' which is generally a blues driven rock 'ballad' song with some seriously breathtaking solo guitar passages from Ronnie Montrose and is very akin to something that Robin Trower would later record on his 1983 album 'Back It Up'.
Mid-way throughout the album we are (treated?) to a cover version of Thunderclap Newman's ever-covered, ever-played, ever-famous sole hit 'Something In The Air'. Gamma's version is extremely synthesiser based in comparison to the original which I wasn't exactly a fan of in the first place. Still interesting to hear vocalist Pattison's interpretation of it though!
Among the last three tracks on the album, 'Cat On A Leash' & 'Mayday' are both high-tempo jam based songs with limited lyrical input more of an emphasis of creating a racket which I'm all in favour of! The median being 'Skin & Bone' breaks up these two tracks with a slow tempo couple with some ferocious drumming from Carmassi. Also, 'Mayday' features a brief return of the use of the vocoder during the outro.
Conclusively, Gamma's second album is a strong-follow up to their outstanding debut and serves as an example of a band's successful progression (at least IMO) from 1970s rock to 1980s rock (with shitloads of synthesisers) which ironically is usually the ultimate achiles heel for me when it comes to the 80s music sound. The difference here is that the synthesiser, while rather prominent and definitely present in each of the songs, is not overpowering in the sense that it eclipses the guitar solos or vocals for that matter.
Strongly recommend fellow members to check out this band. They are one of the true gems of the underground rock scene! After the first two albums everything kind of goes tit's up in terms of the synthesiser situation (especially on third album!) so most attention is best paid to the first two releases!
Again, a good man has kindly uploaded the following videos, albeit with no visualization, onto youtube so I have linked some here for readers to sample
Mean Streak
[video=youtube;dnc1Z9B6I2E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnc1Z9B6I2E[/video]
Four Horsemen
[video=youtube;UJ4CYEBYF4s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ4CYEBYF4s[/video]
Dirty City & Voyager
[video=youtube;8mXKW4l0_8M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mXKW4l0_8M[/video]
Mayday
[video=youtube;-rUaFKhhBew]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rUaFKhhBew[/video]
Lastly, I've included a live version of one of the debut tracks which is one of the only available on youtube!
Razor King (Live in San Francisco, 1980)
[video=youtube;3oJZpzM3XkE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oJZpzM3XkE[/video]
"Blogging like Jesus, tweet like a Pope
Site traffic heavy, I'm YouTubing hope" - Wire- 'Blogging' 2015
"But me and you were not to blame
Love always returns from where it came
Back to black and in the end,
It's all the same."- Terry Allen 'Back to Black' 1996[URL="http://www.last.fm/user/mirrorball95"]
http://www.last.fm/user/mirrorball95[/URL]
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpqmg_Xug0qMXDCJ1sdvMw
Site traffic heavy, I'm YouTubing hope" - Wire- 'Blogging' 2015
"But me and you were not to blame
Love always returns from where it came
Back to black and in the end,
It's all the same."- Terry Allen 'Back to Black' 1996[URL="http://www.last.fm/user/mirrorball95"]
http://www.last.fm/user/mirrorball95[/URL]
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKpqmg_Xug0qMXDCJ1sdvMw
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