Gamma 1

Gamma | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B00006RY60
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,820 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #86 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Classic Rock

Editorial Reviews

Gamma was the group that Ronnie Montrose started after his group Montrose broke up. They released three albums on Elektra records between 1979 and 1982. Gamma 1 hit the Billboard charts in 1979 and rose to #131. Wounded Bird. 2002.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the first and best Gamma album, November 14, 2002

By 

ChefBum "chefbum" (Fremont,, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gamma 1 (Audio CD)

Finally, for fans of Ronnie Montrose and Gamma, GAMMA 1 is available on CD!

Up till now, the only offering has been 'The Best of Gamma', a good- but not great- compilation of selected songs off Gammas 1, 2, and 3. All of GAMMA 1 except for two songs were included. Those two songs are 'Solar Heat/Ready for Action', and 'No Tears'. Ironically, those are two of my favorite Gamma songs anywhere.

Anybody familiar with Ronnie's earlier 'solo' work, especially with Sammy Hagar as the frontman really ought to check out this overlooked band. Ronnie's trademark, lean, mean, distinctive guitar tone is there as usual, but GAMMA added the additional layers of synthesizers, tastefully served up by Jim Alcivar. Perhaps one of the greatest contributions to rock music made by this band, however, was...

the discovery of vocalist Davey Pattison. This guy has a terrific, gravelly set of pipes, and was an absolutely undiscovered gem of a find for Ronnie Montrose and Rock 'n' Roll in general. Although Davey has since gone on to concentrate more on blues and do solo work and gigs in the SF area... his voice was also ideal for the excellent hard rock served up here.

The original track order is:

1. Thunder and Lightning: great rock song, with Davey's flashing, barely controlled angry vocals and tons of Ronnie's distinctive guitar tone. Above it all floats a constant, light synth tone. Lots and lots of flavor!

2. I'm Alive: the lone top-40 hit, even this surging, upbeat song has tons of Ronnie tone. It's progressive hard rock, but in love.

3. Razor King: dark and brooding, this song is a bit longer, more a moody 'tale' of sorts, interspersed rocking riffs with passages of quiet synths.. with Davey's vocal expressiveness highlighted magnificently. Many, many songs, groups, and albums of listening later, and I still haven't come across another song quite like this one. It's that unique.

4. No Tears: left off 'the Best of', but it's still one of the great ones. I believe it's actually a cover that was written by somebody else. The one 'sad' song on the album, it's still upbeat and probably the song to most prominently feature the synth.

5/6. Solar Heat/Ready for Action: while Solar Heat is truly the calm before the storm, consisting mainly of synth noises and quiet sounds, Ready for Action is the real rocker on this set. Unconscionable that it was left of 'the Best of', this song ROCKS! It's relentless and fast, and it's brutal pace and truly aggressive vibe is only stirred to a fever pitch by Davey's mean, stunning vocals. God, I love this song. And anyone who loves Montrose or Gamma would love it too!

7. Wish I Was: this is the one bluesy, melancholy number that forebode Davey's move into the blues. Then again, with the vocal chops he displays on this one, I wouldn't be surprised if this cut was his idea! This song is the one that most highlights the excellent contribution of Davey Pattison. Ronnie gets in some really expressive licks here, too.

8. Fight to the Finish: This is another aggressive rocker and the longest song on the album, and it combines many of different above elements in the same song. Not a straight-ahead rocker like 'Thunder and Lightning' or 'Ready for Action', it's something perhaps of a concept piece in the vein of 'Razor King', with distinct movements and wider dynamic swings from quiet passages to storming, all-out riffing assault.

Actually, there are really only seven songs here, and GAMMA 1 doesn't clock out to a total of much more than 35 minutes or so. Back in the early 80's and the vinyl standard, this was more normal than it is nowadays. But when it's all this good, who cares? GAMMA works well as a whole album, and the songs were extremely well chosen. It is far from a monotonous record, while still offering great tracks and no filler.

I've already bought mine. Gamma and Montrose fans, this is a must for any collector of good 80's hard rock!

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FIGHT TO THE FINISH, June 25, 2003

By 

Michael Courtney "exiled01" (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gamma 1 (Audio CD)

It's truely amazing that it has taken this long for Gamma to be issued on CD. Thank God, someone bought the rights from Elektra or whomever held the publishing rights to this great material, as well as the other 2 original Gamma releases. This was released on album in 1979 with the other 2 releases coming in 1980 and 1982. Despite changes in the members, the core of Ronnie Montrose [guitar] and Davey Pattison [vocals] remained the same. My albums were destroyed in a flood, but I believe Mitchell Froom, Denny Carmassi [drums], and one other member comprised the band.

Gamma 1 is a title that makes my TOP 100 of all time in ROCK releases. There are no weak tunes on this CD, although the least memorable song is "No Tears", simply because I can't remember it. If you like blues, "Wish I Was" will make you as blue as you can get listening to the story of an old guitar that is happy to be strung up again. "Solar Heat" is a great instrumental that segues into another strong rocker, "Ready for Action". "Razor King" is a good song about guys wielding sharp objects. My favorite songs on this CD are "I'm Alive", "Thunder & Lightning", and "Fight to the Finish". This disc is virtually nonstop action, with great guitar work from one of the masters and a superior set of vocal chords. I don't want to make you think the drums, bass, and keyboards don't amount to much, because that would be a lie. This band is a team that plays like they have made it to the Superbowl or World Series, they are tight!

I reccomend this disc, as well as the other 2 rereleases to anyone who is a fan of Montrose, Sammy Hagar, Night Ranger, or even some Robin Trower. This isn't Thrash Metal, but it is sophisticated Hard Rock that you will enjoy as much as if it were something new that just came out. Gamma is timeless! Get this while it is available. I have been listening to the best of Gamma, which contains only 16 songs from this underappreciated band. If it is still available, you may want to start there. BEST OF... was originally released on GNP Crescendo. Then, you will spend more money to buy Gamma 1, 2, & 3 anyway.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fight to the finish, January 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Gamma 1 (Audio CD)

Gamma one is an excellent cd from start to finish. It's starts out with the hard rockin Thunder and Ligthening, goes into a kind of pop tune I'm Alive, Razor King another good song, No Tears..Great song with excellent keyboars, Solar Heat/Ready for Action flat out rocks should have been on best of cd, Fight to the Finsh is a great haed rockin song especially good for the last song on the cd.