Ronnie Montrose / Gamma ~ USA ~ San Francisco, California

Gamma 3 (1982)

This guy again. Gamma 3 is essentially the final album from the band, though there was a comeback album in 2000. I thought I had the narrative of this one locked up early on. When one looks back to the 1982 music landscape, Montrose had a big choice in front of him: Does he muscle up and join the burgeoning heavy metal movement? Maybe it's time to participate in the AOR New Wave sweepstakes and get some radio airplay? Or just keep playing spruced up hard rock? From the first two tracks it appeared it was time to "sell out" and beg for FM recognition. So basically Gamma 3 was one too many albums from the band and it was time to hang it up. Review done. Right?

Wrong. Then the album gets very interesting. There are hints on 'Moving Violation' that the band have a few interesting ideas left in the tank. But it's the lengthy side closer 'Mobile Devotion' where the album seals its fate as a keeper. Proggy hard rock, more so than anything he'd done on the first two albums. By now, with a different perspective, the commercial songs start to sound advanced. Side 2 features a killer instrumental in 'Condition Yellow', and there are other tracks that sound like Tangerine Dream went for a go at AORish hard rock. Yes, it's very synthesizer heavy, but that's OK with me - they didn't use them just as a backdrop like so many New Wave bands of the era did. No, they are a feature here. Along with Montrose's great guitar solos of course.  The cover is indicative of the musical direction the band chose here. Gamma 3 ended up being a very pleasant surprise, especially considering the mediocre grades it's received.

Ownership: 1982 Elektra (LP)

12/21/21 (review)

Gamma 2 (1980)

And one more from the Ronnie Montrose factory. This one is a more conscious attempt to be part of the new 80s decade. It's punchier and more focused than its predecessor, and just as satisfying. Highlight here for me is 'Voyager' which could have been lifted right off of Robin Trower's Bridge of Sighs - another guitarist who hasn't yet got his full due. This isn't fancy pants hard rock - Gamma 2 just brings the meat and potatoes. Great album cover as well.

Ownership: 1980 Elektra (LP)

12/17/21 (review)

Gamma 1 (1979)

Continuing on with my Ronnie Montrose kick, Gamma was his next collective after Montrose's namesake group. I remember when this album came out, the FM rock stations of the era were quite stoked about it. In fact I recorded the whole album to cassette on one of those "debut nights". For my untrained ears back then, I didn't quite get what Montrose was doing and never pursued further. To my untrained ears now, this is exactly what I'm looking for. Gamma 1 has an updated sound, primarily due to the synthesizers, and Montrose is keeping up in the hard rock sweepstakes as well. Compared to what a band like Whitesnake were doing in 1979, Gamma were much further along. There are some excellent tracks here. My favorite has to be 'Razor King' which sounds like Manuel Gottsching doing hard rock! Yea, imagine that one.

Ownership: 1979 Elektra (LP)

12/10/21 (review)

Music From Here (1994)

This ticked a couple of boxes: 1) Late era album by forgotten musician and 2) Ronnie Montrose. And boy does it deliver. Montrose is just one of the great hard rock guitarists that never really got his due - somewhat like Frank Marino in that regard. And this is a killer set. Really bizarre album cover too. I love these kind of finds.

Ownership: 1994 Fearless Urge (CD)

11/13/21 (review) 

Montrose (1973)

I remember Montrose in my early days of collecting, but mainly his later solo stuff or, in particular, his band Gamma. I don't recall enjoying any of them too much (I've since reconciled as you see above). But in reading various reviews, it becomes quickly apparent that Montrose's debut is a groundbreaking hard rock album. And after hearing this for the first time, I have to agree. Most hard rock from the early 70s still had a strong blues base (even Sabbath), and a few bands were playing around with prog. Keyboards (organ in particular) were a big part of any hard rock band's setup. Not so with Montrose's debut. At least on this album, Montrose went straight for the jugular. This is hard rock extract - a formula many bands would follow later. It's about high energy rock, and especially "the riff". Had I been a teen in 1973, I'm sure I would have gone completely nuts over this album in real time. As it turns out, I was 13 when Van Halen's debut exploded onto the scene (1978), and it has remained a favorite album ever since. In many ways, Van Halen's debut is Montrose ver 2.0. Ted Templeman was the producer for both, and the Warner Bros. connection was no accident. Van Halen took Montrose's concept to the next level, and predicted the rise of the heavy metal movement worldwide. Montrose weren't the only band doing this in the early 70s, but the ones that were, generally were in the underground like Poobah or that crazy Icelandic band Icecross. Montrose isn't perfect, and they did slip in a couple of boogie numbers to ruin the flow, but for the time and place - yea - this kicks ass. One more Van Halen connection: The singer? "Sam" Hagar. Perhaps you've heard of him? 

Ownership: 1973 Warner Bros. (LP)

7/21/21 (review)

12/10/21 (new entry)