Album review: GAMMA – What’s Gone Is Gone (The Complete Elektra Recordings))

Cherry Red [Release date: 30.06.23]

CD1: GAMMA 1 (1979)

CD2: GAMMA 2 (1980)

CD3: GAMMA 3 (1982)

The first 3 CDs from Ronnie Montrose’s band, Gamma, come nicely packaged this month, with each one including a couple of bonus tracks, mainly “single” edits.

Also nice to note that the band’s Glasgow born vocalist, Davey Pattison (also of Robin Trower) is playing some dates in Scotland this year. He’s already played a couple. Still to come are Belladrum Music Festival, Inverness on 27 July and Ivory Blacks in Glasgow in October.

Pattison joined Gamma in San Francisco 1979, flying out from Scotland at the invitation of music impresario, Bill Graham. Apparently Pattison and Montrose established an immediate rapport.

GAMMA 1
On several tracks here, ‘Thunder And Lightning’, ‘Fight To The Finish’, ‘Wish I Was’, Montrose’s muscular riffs, chiming solos and Pattison’s sinewy vocals all added up to the commercial arena rock sound many bands aimed for in the late seventies.

The songs are well crafted, but didn’t really standout in a field of similarly engaged rock bands.

GAMMA 2
‘Mean Streak’ continues where the debut album left off, sounding a little more joined up, with vocals and guitars clearly bonding in the studio. You can hear it too on the fret melting ‘Four Horsemen’ – the band were beginning to create their own arena rock identity.
That shouldn’t be a surprise considering the band’s pedigree…. Apart from Montrose and Pattison, Gamma variously included Alan (Night Ranger/Van Halen) on bass and Denny (Hagar/Heart) Carmassi on drums.

The balladic ‘Voyager’ proves to be album’s outstanding track. It keeps its distance from Stadium Rock tropes, and in doing so, it feels much more sultry and complex. A classy song, subtly, beautifully done.

GAMMA 3
On the third album, the band are still trying manfully to absorb fashionable synth sounds into their hard rocking style. ‘Mobile Devotion’ and ‘Moving Violation’ almost get there.
But still, the band’s hard rocking past constantly catches up. ‘What’s Gone Is Gone’ (giving title to this boxset), ‘Right On Time’, and ‘No Way Out’ all give Foreigner a run for their money. Bringing up Pattison’s vocals in the mix showed his voice to be the equal of Lou Gramm’s soulful croon.

But the band’s mixed stylistic messages fell on too many deaf ears, and Gamma disbanded soon after.

As fans will know, Montrose and Pattison reactivated the band in 2000. ***

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)