Gillan - Higher And Higher (2005)

This is a compilation release, containing mostly B-sides, but also some A-sides from various releases by Gillan in the period 1978-1982. In terms of production, the sound is dated, because the content on this release has not been remastered. Of course, there is an upside to this, as it adds an atmosphere of authenticity. In terms of the music itself, there are a number of tracks that will probably no interest metalheads, such as the new age pop song "Fiji", the funky "Bad News" and the live jam session "The Festival of Spirits". But other than that, most of the tracks are actually hard rocking metal song, some of which are played at breakneck speed, such as "Maelstrom", the semi-punky "Come Tomorrow", "Purple Sky" and the hardrocking "Running White Faced City Boy" (famously covered by thrash metallers Xentrix). Others are perhaps a bit more polished, but still categorizable as metal tracks, such as "No Easy Way", the magnificent "Restless", "Higher and Higher" which interestingly sounds like Rainbow, and the heavy power ballad "M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction)". And for the Purple Fans, there is a version of "Smoke on the Water", too.