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Gillan - The Glory Years
RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £7.29 (subject to change)
Were getting there!
Review date: 2008-05-13 Rating: 8 out of 10
Wooooaah! Were getting there! At last some decent footage of the Big 'G'.
This is how I remember Gillan in the eighties, at there best. This is the best line-up of Gillan by far. Some great footage of Bernie giving it everything he's got on guitar (amazing stuff) and Big John staring wildly at the cameras before breaking into a trance-like headbanging state. The Big 'G' although looking slightly chubby doing a great job on vocals and not forgetting too many of his lines though laughing at something, maybe in the audiance full of geeky uni types.
All in all this DVD is great stuff although a little short of a Gillan full length set it is very watchable, decent quality and entertaining to watch, bringing back memories of Gillan at the Sheffield City Hall when I was a young un.
It's well worth the eight or nine quid asking price just to see some top quality footage of Bernie Torme at his best. The extra mimed Top Of The Pops vids are not really up to much though it's a great chance to watch Bernie, even though miming, giving it some! complete with eyepatch and bullet belt and big John 'playing' double guitar AND bass in No Laughing In Heaven, strangely minus Bernie for some reason in this bonus track.
I still beleive there is better footage of Gillan out there somewhere and this DVD will keep me happy until the day someone (come on Big John)finally releases a great quality, full length set by Gillan with Bernie of course, not that I mind Janik Gers but he was not a patch on 'our Bernie'. So come on Big John McCoy you seem to be in charge of overseeing what gets released give us what we want, there are loads of Gillan fans still out there waiting for the ultimate Gillan experiance, although this was a great attempt it was far too short and the bonus tracks do not make up for it. Surely there has to be some good footage of Gillan at the Monters Of Rock concert at Donnington Park. Even though this had Janik on guitar it would be worth watching as I don't remember much as I was very, very, very, very pissed (drunk). Your getting there though.
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Reviews
Good But Short
Review date: 2008-04-13 Rating: 8 out of 10
I realise that the Rock Goes To College series was only a TV programme and therefore limited to 40 minutes or so. It is a very good 40 minutes though. The sound quality is quite good but clearly mixed for TV. Gillan's voice is way too loud to the detriment of the rest of the band. I saw Gillan on this tour and the DVD is an accurate depiction of what they were like live - very very good! Bernie Torme deserves special mention; he is every bit as good as I remember. It would have been nice to have the full set though.
The extras are barely worth bothering with. All the TOTP stuff is mimed of course, as are all the other performances apart from one. Replay value of these is minimal.
I'd still like to believe that there is a complete Gillan/Torme concert performance out there somewhere.
How long have I been waiting to see this?
Review date: 2008-03-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
At last... I mean AT LAST!!! I haven't seen this show since it was first shown on TV. Where have they hidden it all this time? Not mentioned in the write up but this is part of the Rock Goes To College series where Gillan and his merry men show us how to have a good time. Feb 18th 1981 Live at Oxford Polytechnic Gillan get to "mix with the Hoypoloi". A great version of all songs especially No Easy Way, Mr Universe and Vengeance. Camera angles are sensibly placed, sound and mix is excellent, video quality is what it should be for DVD and the price...even better. The bonus tracks are okay. Mostly Top of the Pops efforts any Gillan fan has seen already. Because it is post Glory Road and pre Future Shock Bernie Torme has adopted his full image as a pirate Hendrix and smashes his Strat on stage at the end..thanks Bernie. John McCoy looks amazing with a half head of hair and an evil stare at the cameras. My favourite moment is probably John's headbanging at the end of "On the Rocks". I was convinced his head was going to roll off the stage. If I have been waiting 27 years and still wasn't disappointed just think what affect it'll have on you! Don't take my word for it! Get it!
Product Details/Specifications
Artist(s):
Gillan
Recording label: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Manufacturer: Eagle Rock Entertainment
EAN: 5034504967878
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2008-03-10
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Exempt
Region code: 2
Running time: 61 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981
Language: English (Original Language)