Customer Reviews

5th Anniversary Memorial Tribute

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a true testimonial of what this man could do.. to bad it was his last,, but he sings harder and louder and higher than he eveer did,, even though he didnt write the tunes,, Al Romano is a great songwriter, but if you don't have this, you must get it,,, Ray never sounded better.. This is truelly RAY GILLEN at his very best,, Their was not a better rock n roll singer ever,, THE END :) R.I.P. Ray

This CD is great. ray Gillen should have been a huge rock god...could have revived Sabbath in the mid '80's like DIO did in the early '80's...but alas, he did BADLANDS...this CD is good, not great stuff but I KNOW A PLACE is a great song. Rest In Peace Ray Gillen!

I ordered this CD because I liked Badlands and Ray. It's OK It really doesn't do Ray justice. He is not up to his potential, but it is worth 12.00. If you are a Badlands fan you should get it.

I think the title of this album is a bit misleading. I don't doubt that the label and Ray's former Sun Red Sun bandmates had noble intentions, but a true tribute to the late vocalist would ideally focus on his whole career, not just its final moments.

Essentially what you're getting on this CD are four original Sun Red Sun songs that feature Ray Gillen on vocals followed by a couple different versions of each song. The songs themselves are great, and on par with the material on the Sun Red Sun debut album. Some later appeared on the album Lost Tracks with John West handling the vocal duties, and the difference is quite noticeable. The versions on Lost Tracks are decent, but here they just jump out at you, proving yet again how incredible a vocalist Gillen was. The various mixes and demo versions of the songs are interesting enough, but not all that memorable.

This album works well as a closing chapter to the Sun Red Sun story, and it's great that these lost Ray Gillen tracks are available, but it doesn't quite live up to the Tribute part of its title. That aside, it's a must have for Gillen/Badlands/Sun Red Sun fans.

NOTE: You can get this album along with both Sun Red Sun albums in a nifty 3-disc set called Sun Set. It's available for next to nothing, and well worth checking out.

"5th Anniversary Memorial Release" is a curious release. It cobbles together songs Ray Gillen sang on for a project called, Sun Red Sun, which also had former Alice In Chains bassist, Mike Starr, involved. There are 5 original songs with four of them showing up more than once. Different takes, mixes, etc. Normally, this would be a bit of a sham & a money-grab, but considering the fact that the late, great Ray Gillen passed away from AIDS-related complications in the early '90s, it's totally understandable. Especially for hard-core fans. There's also one interview track, touching liner notes & a cover shot of Ray that shows his rock-star presence. The production ain't great. The songs aren't great. But Gillen's voice is. Fans who know him from his touring days with Black Sabbath & his 3-cd output with hard-rock & Jake E. Lee led band, Badlands, will definitely want this for their collections.

From the first time I played my brand new Badlands cd when it came out I knew it was a killer musical performance. The guys in that band at that time were Magic and Ray's voice and heart felt singing was powerful!
As I have come to do research in this internet age, i find out more about Badlands and Ray's career. it is a sad story. But he left us with his voice and songs, that it can't help but to reach a persons soul - if you have one...
His voice was a great gift to musical history, and this album is a good addition to the catalog of his recording performances. Also if you search YOUTUBE you can see rare and wonderful concert clips, that make my heart leap with joy to see! -With a profound sense loss of this singer, as well as a wish that i could have seen them live back in the early days of Badlands.