Title - 'One Eye To Morocco' (Eagle Records)
Artist - Ian Gillan
It is hard to give Ian Gillan a fair shake at times because he will always be
compared to the work he has done in Deep Purple. He suffers from the
same thing that other rock stars who try their own thing often run
into. Does anyone really like a Mick Jaggar solo album better than
what he has done with the Stones?
This album goes
down that road. While it is healthy for Gillan to explore other sides
of his musical persona, one can’t help but notice that this is not
“Smoke On The Water,” “Highway Star,” “Knocking At Your Backdoor” or
even “Strange Kind of Woman.” Instead, this is Ian without a net, as
he has done so many times throughout the last 40 years.
That said, the album is not all that bad. For starters, for a man in
his sixth decade of life, Gillan’s voice sounds amazing. His band
kicks it as well. The songs are worthy of being recorded. While
there are no standout tracks, there are no absolute clunkers or
embarrassments either.
It is strange, but somehow Gillan played it
safe, all the while reaching outside of his safety zone. There is
nothing too outside the box yet there is nothing that could be called
a Deep Purple tune either. [JW]
Title - 'One Eye To Morocco' (Eagle Records)