Category Archives: The Gillan Tapes Volume 3

…The seventeen tracks featured are a mix of alternative takes and live recordings, and what a selection it is. All that made Gillan, the band, what it was is on show here, from powerful rockers…to classy ballads…A classic selection from a classic band…the first 5000 pressing will be released as a numbered limited edition with a free CD entitled For Gillan Fans Only…A must have bonus.

Wondrous Stories (August 2000)

The Gillan vaults have been pillaged again for some real treats…Whether it’s the explosive punk-metal of Bernie Torme or widdling by current Maiden guitarist Janick Gers, Ian Gillan’s brand of metal was unsurpassed. And this collection shows up the inadequacies of the original CDs.

Record Collector (September 2000)

…Some excellent songs, some amusing spoken interludes and a kind-of-definitive version of ‘The Harry Lime Theme’ await. So what are you waiting for?

Jo-Ann Greene, Goldmine(October 2000)

…Gillan fans will have been waiting for this for a long time so yet again another Angel Air release is indispensable for the fan.

Feedback(September 2000)

…filled with the fantastic moments…that Gillan used to give us…

Deep Purple FunClub(October 2000)

“This 17-track compilation…will delight devotees of the former Deep Purple frontman…”

Hartlepool Mail (November 2000)

Vol 3 is full of alternative mixes, live tracks and includes the very rare eight-and-a-half minute ‘live’ studio version of Smoke On the Water…There are 17 tracks on vol 3 and 10 tracks on the bonus CD should be of great interest to all rock fans.

Modern Dance Issue 32 (December 2000)

ANGEL AIR RECORDS has a nose for obscure Classic Rock material, and GILLAN has had a lot of CD releases on the English label. ‘The Gillan Tapes Volume 3’ is just one of them, and certainly a very interesting piece for fans of IAN GILLAN, as this 2-CD holds 27 tracks in total! The included songs are all unreleased, live or in some sort of Demo version not released to the public until now, so all GILLAN fans must own this CD definitely!

The music offered here is of course Bluesy Classic Rock/Hardrock with strong DEEP PURPLE and LED ZEPPELIN references here and there (“Running white face city boy”), and although most of the songs already appeared on some GILLAN record, these are all unreleased versions of GILLAN classics.

Although I am no huge fan of GILLAN, this double CD pleased me a lot as it offers some of the best GILLAN ever recorded, with as highlights to me songs like “Sunbeam”, “Long gone”, but especially the songs from the second CD ‘For Gillan fans only’ where we can find great uptempo melodic rockers like “Higher and higher”, “Your mother was right” and “Come tomorrow” that are all close to Classic British Rock/Hardrock (read: RAINBOW, URIAH HEEP, UFO, HUGHES/TURNER PROJECT). This CD is a must for GILLAN fans! (8/10)

Strutter magazine (August 2003)