Should Martin be allowed to get away with discounting the live sides of Double Trouble? or is it okay to give him a pass this time? New Patreons-only content up re: www.patreon.com/contrarians Become a supporter, content exclusive to Patreon subscribers includes as of today: Commercial-Free, Early Access to our episodes! ZOOM chats about music topics with the creators and hosts of The Contrarians! Also you can support us on Ko-fi by going to: ko-fi.com/thecontrarians we appreciate all your support!
Born to Kill from Double Trouble is my favorite Gillan track. It has such a buildup and the keys from Colin Towns make a great atmosphere throughout the track. I especially like where the keys mimic the vocals (or vice versa).
Martin having LP versions of albums reminds me how much we lost when CDs and downloads came in. LPs really do stimulate all five senses. On the topic of the day, Mr Universe is Gillan's best album, but I love them all.
@@63mckenzie ya i had a bunch of CDs, rare UK imports and all kinds of good stuff, i sold it all to a used CD store, i actually got a significant amount surprisingly, cause if you walked in there with like AC/DC greatest hits they'd give you like 50 cents, but i guess it was a testament to my collection that i did quite well. I just had too much stuff, my cds were mint cause i literally would put them on itunes and never touch them again, then Spotify came a long.
I was a devoted Kerrang reader back in the 80's - the quote I remember was that Ian tossed his copy (cassette of course) of Born Again out the window of his car because he hated the mix. Also remember Ian's quote: "when I saw the cover I puked" I love all the Gillan albums. Bernie's playing was always more manic but my favorite would have to be Magic. I just love some of Ian's twisted lyrics on that one; of course he and Lemmy were two of the best lyricists of all time. That first Bernie Torme album, Turn Out The Lights, is very much in the Gillan vein as well. Cheers Guys!
I loved the band Gillan at the time. It was my favourite of the Purple spin-offs and probably the most progressive and varied. They were rough and raw and exciting and didn't look or sound like anyone else. A lot of that was down to Bernie Torme who had such a distinctive style, and the band lost some of its identity when he left. So I would rate the albums featuring Bernie above this one. I wouldn't really associate them with the NWOBHM any more than I would Whitesnake, although their success was contemporaneous. They were just that crucial little bit older than bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. Their debut coincided quite neatly with the launch of the BBC Friday Rock show on the radio which gave them access to a nationwide audience, and Ian Gillan was always a willing and engaging interviewee. They were also very clever with singles such as Nightmare and Restless from this album which gained the band TV exposure and hit records.
Great show fellas. Martin totally agree with you on the live tracks on Double trouble. I never revisit. My favorite is MR UNIVERSE by a fairly big margin. I own the entire discography. I would probably rank MARTIN s choice, middle of pack. Maybe third or fourth. But, I like the entire catalogue. I enjoyed this episode. Thx guys !!
As far as I remember This was the first Gillan album to use an outside producer and Ian Gillan said in several interviews at the time of release that when he first heard the album, listening in his car, he threw the cassette out of the window because it wasn't the sound he associated with the band. He also said he was wrong about this.
Another great episode guys, you seem to feature a lot of my favourite bands. One day Mr Popoff I will agree with you BUT on this occasion, sorry you have it wrong. Mr Universe/Glory Road is pretty much a tie at number 1. Colin Towns is a genius and the sheer raw energy of Bernie and John make these records fantastic. Saw Gillan back in 1981 and 1982 promoting Glory Road and Future Shock. On the 1981 tour Gillan were very good, but got completley blown away by their special guests, BUDGIE. Keep the views coming, and the discussions going and thanks for a great channel
Problem was, they never broke here in America, you never see Gillan vinyl or CDs here. I wish they had broke big here, I'd rather have more Giillan band albums than the 84 Purple reunion.
I've only heard the first 4 Gillan albums, with Mr. Universe being my favorite. I will check out Double Trouble as I usually like Martin's contrarian picks, even if they're not my favorite.
I know they are weird outliers but "Naked Thunder" and "Toolbox" are both great records too. I do have a vintage "Glory Road" t-shirt that is too small for anyone in 2021.
Love Gillan in Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Never really checked out his solo stuff before. I should give it a listen. The Born Again album by Black Sabbath is my favorite thing he's done. His vocals are absolutely insane on that album.
There seems to be a general consensus among Gillan fans who were there in the early 80s about the band being far more exciting live than in the studio. Honestly that Gillingham '82 performance on UA-cam confirms it, in my opinion. It just seems that the sound quality of some of the concert recordings doesn't do justice to the original performance.
Hi! One more cool Contrarian show! "Gillan = "Punk DP" - great formulation Martin! Just listened to the album yesterday, before watching this show. It is really better than I remembered it. "Born to Kill" - a masterpiece epic! Anyway "Mr. Universe" is still better TMO - my No.1! But for no. 2 - I'm not so sure.🤔 I like Magic also. The lyrics are pretty revealing on it, telling us about the end of the band.
Sunbeam is a killer riff and melody. My older brother had The Double Trouble cassette in 84 or so. I loved it, dumb kid that I was, I thought it was Deep Purple. Then the tape dissapeared. 4 years ago I dived into all the Gillan albums and bought all the CDs, and rediscovered these great songs. Mr Universe is the best Gillan song ever imho. Love the Gillan band. Cheers.
Cool show as always ! Love Gillian band and i think it’s criminally underated. Favorite song of the band Mr Universe (I am not contrarian to Martin :)).
Martin’s album guides got me into Gillan. I enjoy all the albums to a degree, but consider Mr. Universe my favorite. Inspired to re-listen to the studio side to Double Trouble soon.
I just listened to this album all the way through for the first time after only knowing “Nightmare”. While I really don’t care for the opener and closer I really like the rest of the album. Track 2-5 are my favorite.
I probably wouldnt care to be honest but when im going head to head with Martin i usually take what i can get, though i pretty much let him slide on the live side anyway!
Gillan was one of my top favourite bands during he NWOBHM years 79-82. I think I can confirm Marco's recollection about Ian throwing the tape of the album out of his car window - I can remember that being in an interview in Sounds , although he then later backtracked. Mr Univese was also a seperate Japanese release with some of the songs that were later added to For Gillan Fans only, which I also had as a bonus to Glory Road but in a nice picture sleeve. I first encountered Gillan at the Reading Rock Festival in 1979 where they played a load of Mr Universe - so that one remains my favourite, although they are all really great, although there was a drop off with Magic. As for Double Trouble I was disappointed in the live side as the sound quality wasnt very good and the track choices were wrong - some better songs were released as b sides afterwards, like OnThe Rocks, Bite the Bullet. I would disagree with Martin about Janick sounding like Torme though, alhough maybe if you were a more casual listener you may not notice too much - I think you can certainly hear the difference on the live material. As for the studio album, It is one of their best, not a bad track on it and I get what Martin says about it being the Gillanest of them all - possibly due to Janick having a less distinctive sound than Torme? And the Blackmore comparisons were probably mainly from how Janick performed live, throwing similar shapes to both the man in black and Jimmy Page. I thought he did a great job in Gillan though - then again I absolutely love that White Spirit album. All in all a great choice - my favourite is Mr Universe and although I find it difficult seperating out Gory Road, Future Shock and Double Trouble if I ignore the live record I can see the attraction of it over the others, which are albums that I love despite some of the tracks on them - If You Believe me and No Laughing in Heaven being two examples of those I have no fondness for.
Amazing band. Not a bad record. My personal fav would be "Future Shock" followed by "Glory Road" & "Mr Universe". There are a bunch of songs on "Double Trouble" (studio) that I absolutely adore (Men of War, I'll Rip your Spine Out, SUnbeam), but there are some filler imho (Hadely Bop Bop, Life Goes on). It would be interesting if Ian Gillan gave more credit to this band, and indeed focused on the great music and lyrics instead of the business gone wrong. I also think that this is the moment in his carreer where Ian Gillan started writting really interesting tongue-in-cheek, classic Ian Gillan lyrics full of "gillanisms", which truely are his trademark. Great show!
I agree with Martin on the Double Trouble pick. Whenever I think about the live record (which I've only played through once) it really makes me sad/mad at what a missed opportunity it was in terms of song selection and such sub par shitty sound. Another enjoyable show!
I feel Magic is poor but the first four are all classics. I love Bernie's wild guitar more than Janick so i end up liking the three Bernie albums more but I do think Double Trouble is a really well written album and wouldn't argue the point.
@@thecontrarians2438 I agree, but for me the tracks didn't really float my boat, even Demon Driver seemed a bit contrived rather than a smooth flow. The only track i really love on that album is Driving Me Wild which houses a killer keyboard solo. The other four albums i really like start to finish-------hey-----------maybe i'm the contrarian.Ha ha.
I always thought Glory Road was the best, then Mr Universe. For some reason I never really got into Future Shock. I thought Double Trouble was a return to form, but missed Bernie Torme. I'd bought tickets to see Gillan perform at Bombay Rock in Melbourne hoping to see Torme and was disappointed that he was replaced (Great concert though) If I had to rank them The American Mr Universe had the best bits of the Japanese album added (Fighting Man, Secret of the Dance etc). The album I'm ranking didn't have those tracks 1. Glory Road 2. Mr Universe 3. Double Trouble (I view the live album as a bit of a throwaway) 4. Magic 5. Future Shock 6. The Japanese album
Saw Gillan live twice in the early 80s, once with Torme and the other time with Gers and both times they were amazing. They are incredibly underrated, but they were more popular at the time than they ever get credit for. I love Double Trouble (the studio album) but the live album sounds terrible, I have bootlegs that sound better.
oK WELL You are right for some wrong reasons. This is absolutely the best Gillan album, but the live disc is absolutely awesome, your niggling criticisms I dont think you even believe yourself. However, this is A GREAT ALBUM great band so sorry I never saw them. And of course I'm right, No Laughing in Heaven is so awesome live ok bad production. Born to Kill is one of the great epic mantras
Should Martin be allowed to get away with discounting the live sides of Double Trouble? or is it okay to give him a pass this time?
New Patreons-only content up re: www.patreon.com/contrarians
Become a supporter, content exclusive to Patreon subscribers includes as of today:
Commercial-Free, Early Access to our episodes!
ZOOM chats about music topics with the creators and hosts of The Contrarians!
Also you can support us on Ko-fi by going to: ko-fi.com/thecontrarians we appreciate all your support!
Born to Kill from Double Trouble is my favorite Gillan track. It has such a buildup and the keys from Colin Towns make a great atmosphere throughout the track. I especially like where the keys mimic the vocals (or vice versa).
Love that old school 60s era space age clock
Martin nailed it,DT is the masterpiece of the Gillan catalogue
Martin having LP versions of albums reminds me how much we lost when CDs and downloads came in. LPs really do stimulate all five senses. On the topic of the day, Mr Universe is Gillan's best album, but I love them all.
Tell me about it! I've seen them up close too! its amazing how many he has signed
@@thecontrarians2438 I gave most of my record collection away to my young cousin. Even the original uncensored RUSH Permanent Waves LP. Doh!
@@63mckenzie ya i had a bunch of CDs, rare UK imports and all kinds of good stuff, i sold it all to a used CD store, i actually got a significant amount surprisingly, cause if you walked in there with like AC/DC greatest hits they'd give you like 50 cents, but i guess it was a testament to my collection that i did quite well. I just had too much stuff, my cds were mint cause i literally would put them on itunes and never touch them again, then Spotify came a long.
@@thecontrarians2438 I think Martin could retire if he sold his collection!
@@63mckenzie haha agreed!
I was a devoted Kerrang reader back in the 80's - the quote I remember was that Ian tossed his copy (cassette of course) of Born Again out the window of his car because he hated the mix. Also remember Ian's quote: "when I saw the cover I puked"
I love all the Gillan albums. Bernie's playing was always more manic but my favorite would have to be Magic. I just love some of Ian's twisted lyrics on that one; of course he and Lemmy were two of the best lyricists of all time. That first Bernie Torme album, Turn Out The Lights, is very much in the Gillan vein as well. Cheers Guys!
Maybe Ian just has a knack for throwing albums out windows!
Love This Album. Men of War is one of my all time favorite songs !
Been spinning the late-70's "weird fusion-y" as Martin called them Gillan albums. Didn't used to like them but now I'm loving them.
I loved the band Gillan at the time. It was my favourite of the Purple spin-offs and probably the most progressive and varied. They were rough and raw and exciting and didn't look or sound like anyone else. A lot of that was down to Bernie Torme who had such a distinctive style, and the band lost some of its identity when he left. So I would rate the albums featuring Bernie above this one. I wouldn't really associate them with the NWOBHM any more than I would Whitesnake, although their success was contemporaneous. They were just that crucial little bit older than bands like Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. Their debut coincided quite neatly with the launch of the BBC Friday Rock show on the radio which gave them access to a nationwide audience, and Ian Gillan was always a willing and engaging interviewee. They were also very clever with singles such as Nightmare and Restless from this album which gained the band TV exposure and hit records.
Great show fellas. Martin totally agree with you on the live tracks on Double trouble. I never revisit. My favorite is MR UNIVERSE by a fairly big margin. I own the entire discography. I would probably rank MARTIN s choice, middle of pack. Maybe third or fourth. But, I like the entire catalogue. I enjoyed this episode. Thx guys !!
I agree and thanks Gary!!
The recording album is my classic. I framed it and its on my wall in house.
As far as I remember This was the first Gillan album to use an outside producer and Ian Gillan said in several interviews at the time of release that when he first heard the album, listening in his car, he threw the cassette out of the window because it wasn't the sound he associated with the band. He also said he was wrong about this.
yes I read something like that in my research but when Martin mentioned it i do remember something similar about Born Again
Another great episode guys, you seem to feature a lot of my favourite bands. One day Mr Popoff I will agree with you BUT on this occasion, sorry you have it wrong. Mr Universe/Glory Road is pretty much a tie at number 1. Colin Towns is a genius and the sheer raw energy of Bernie and John make these records fantastic. Saw Gillan back in 1981 and 1982 promoting Glory Road and Future Shock. On the 1981 tour Gillan were very good, but got completley blown away by their special guests, BUDGIE.
Keep the views coming, and the discussions going and thanks for a great channel
Hey!! Thanks a lot for the comment we really appreciate it! Glad you enjoy the show!
That new intro is fire!!
They were a bigger band than people tend to remember, headlined Wembley arena if I remember correctly
Problem was, they never broke here in America, you never see Gillan vinyl or CDs here. I wish they had broke big here, I'd rather have more Giillan band albums than the 84 Purple reunion.
I've only heard the first 4 Gillan albums, with Mr. Universe being my favorite. I will check out Double Trouble as I usually like Martin's contrarian picks, even if they're not my favorite.
Sunbeam alone is worth it.
Great band.saw them twice in Swansea,South Wales UK 81/82...best imo is future shock!
I quite like the band that John McCoy had with and ex-Samson singer Nicky Moore in the late '80s, Mammoth.
@@LarryFleetwood8675 nicky Moore was a great singer. Forgot to say budgie were support band on the first gillan gig! Great line up.
I know they are weird outliers but "Naked Thunder" and "Toolbox" are both great records too. I do have a vintage "Glory Road" t-shirt that is too small for anyone in 2021.
ya the vintage shirts are small!!
Love Gillan in Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Never really checked out his solo stuff before. I should give it a listen. The Born Again album by Black Sabbath is my favorite thing he's done. His vocals are absolutely insane on that album.
listen to these records! they're good and his vocals are 100
There seems to be a general consensus among Gillan fans who were there in the early 80s about the band being far more exciting live than in the studio. Honestly that Gillingham '82 performance on UA-cam confirms it, in my opinion. It just seems that the sound quality of some of the concert recordings doesn't do justice to the original performance.
Hi! One more cool Contrarian show! "Gillan = "Punk DP" - great formulation Martin!
Just listened to the album yesterday, before watching this show. It is really better than I remembered it.
"Born to Kill" - a masterpiece epic! Anyway "Mr. Universe" is still better TMO - my No.1! But for no. 2 - I'm not so sure.🤔 I like Magic also. The lyrics are pretty revealing on it, telling us about the end of the band.
haha thanks for the comment!!
Sunbeam is a killer riff and melody. My older brother had The Double Trouble cassette in 84 or so. I loved it, dumb kid that I was, I thought it was Deep Purple. Then the tape dissapeared. 4 years ago I dived into all the Gillan albums and bought all the CDs, and rediscovered these great songs.
Mr Universe is the best Gillan song ever imho.
Love the Gillan band.
Cheers.
Cool show as always ! Love Gillian band and i think it’s criminally underated. Favorite song of the band Mr Universe (I am not contrarian to Martin :)).
Thank you!!! Agreed!
Martin’s album guides got me into Gillan. I enjoy all the albums to a degree, but consider Mr. Universe my favorite. Inspired to re-listen to the studio side to Double Trouble soon.
They're all good!
I just listened to this album all the way through for the first time after only knowing “Nightmare”. While I really don’t care for the opener and closer I really like the rest of the album. Track 2-5 are my favorite.
I think the live record attached to this might knock it down a lot.However ,who cares,just listen to the Phenomenal Music of the Studio album!
I probably wouldnt care to be honest but when im going head to head with Martin i usually take what i can get, though i pretty much let him slide on the live side anyway!
Gillan was one of my top favourite bands during he NWOBHM years 79-82. I think I can confirm Marco's recollection about Ian throwing the tape of the album out of his car window - I can remember that being in an interview in Sounds , although he then later backtracked.
Mr Univese was also a seperate Japanese release with some of the songs that were later added to For Gillan Fans only, which I also had as a bonus to Glory Road but in a nice picture sleeve. I first encountered Gillan at the Reading Rock Festival in 1979 where they played a load of Mr Universe - so that one remains my favourite, although they are all really great, although there was a drop off with Magic.
As for Double Trouble I was disappointed in the live side as the sound quality wasnt very good and the track choices were wrong - some better songs were released as b sides afterwards, like OnThe Rocks, Bite the Bullet. I would disagree with Martin about Janick sounding like Torme though, alhough maybe if you were a more casual listener you may not notice too much - I think you can certainly hear the difference on the live material. As for the studio album, It is one of their best, not a bad track on it and I get what Martin says about it being the Gillanest of them all - possibly due to Janick having a less distinctive sound than Torme? And the Blackmore comparisons were probably mainly from how Janick performed live, throwing similar shapes to both the man in black and Jimmy Page. I thought he did a great job in Gillan though - then again I absolutely love that White Spirit album.
All in all a great choice - my favourite is Mr Universe and although I find it difficult seperating out Gory Road, Future Shock and Double Trouble if I ignore the live record I can see the attraction of it over the others, which are albums that I love despite some of the tracks on them - If You Believe me and No Laughing in Heaven being two examples of those I have no fondness for.
Wow thanks for the comments! Great information!
No Laughing in Heaven is heavy heavy philosophy and theology.
Amazing band. Not a bad record. My personal fav would be "Future Shock" followed by "Glory Road" & "Mr Universe". There are a bunch of songs on "Double Trouble" (studio) that I absolutely adore (Men of War, I'll Rip your Spine Out, SUnbeam), but there are some filler imho (Hadely Bop Bop, Life Goes on). It would be interesting if Ian Gillan gave more credit to this band, and indeed focused on the great music and lyrics instead of the business gone wrong. I also think that this is the moment in his carreer where Ian Gillan started writting really interesting tongue-in-cheek, classic Ian Gillan lyrics full of "gillanisms", which truely are his trademark. Great show!
Thank you!!! Great points! and always grateful for the comments!
I agree with Martin on the Double Trouble pick. Whenever I think about the live record (which I've only played through once) it really makes me sad/mad at what a missed opportunity it was in terms of song selection and such sub par shitty sound. Another enjoyable show!
ya i think a few of those songs were never released on an album and only as singles so it kind of makes sense
I feel Magic is poor but the first four are all classics. I love Bernie's wild guitar more than Janick so i end up liking the three Bernie albums more but I do think Double Trouble is a really well written album and wouldn't argue the point.
Magic has the coolest art cover too though
@@thecontrarians2438 I agree, but for me the tracks didn't really float my boat, even Demon Driver seemed a bit contrived rather than a smooth flow.
The only track i really love on that album is Driving Me Wild which houses a killer keyboard solo. The other four albums i really like start to finish-------hey-----------maybe i'm the contrarian.Ha ha.
love double trouble and mr. universe the same.most of his albums rock
I probably like Mr. Universe the best, but Double Trouble is great to. I also find the Ian Gillan Band stuff underrated.
I always thought Glory Road was the best, then Mr Universe. For some reason I never really got into Future Shock. I thought Double Trouble was a return to form, but missed Bernie Torme. I'd bought tickets to see Gillan perform at Bombay Rock in Melbourne hoping to see Torme and was disappointed that he was replaced (Great concert though) If I had to rank them
The American Mr Universe had the best bits of the Japanese album added (Fighting Man, Secret of the Dance etc).
The album I'm ranking didn't have those tracks
1. Glory Road
2. Mr Universe
3. Double Trouble (I view the live album as a bit of a throwaway)
4. Magic
5. Future Shock
6. The Japanese album
great list!
This is probably my favourite Gillan album. But for some reason I see it often officially given 2 stars or other crap ratings. Not sure why.
Magic is my favourite gillan album
Saw Gillan live twice in the early 80s, once with Torme and the other time with Gers and both times they were amazing. They are incredibly underrated, but they were more popular at the time than they ever get credit for. I love Double Trouble (the studio album) but the live album sounds terrible, I have bootlegs that sound better.
wow! very cool!
Love the band. Not many records, but all of them are at least really good.
Mr. Universe is definitely my favorite.
Thanks for the comment Josh!
Double Trouble is the Best.
But is this a regular show? You didn’t exhaustively explain which Contrarians is which.
whoops we will next time just for you!
I think the Janick/Blackmore comparison was more about his exaggerated Blackmore onstage mannerisms
could be!
oK WELL You are right for some wrong reasons. This is absolutely the best Gillan album, but the live disc is absolutely awesome, your niggling criticisms I dont think you even believe yourself. However, this is A GREAT ALBUM great band so sorry I never saw them. And of course I'm right, No Laughing in Heaven is so awesome live ok bad production. Born to Kill is one of the great epic mantras