Customer Reviews

Gamma 3

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Others might like one or both of the previous Gamma albums, but for me, Gamma 3 will always be my favorite.

For years, this cassette lived in my sports car, and made bad trips good, and good trips great. By the time the opening anthem, "What's Gone is Gone" finished, I'd be driving at least 30 mph faster than the limit, and hoarse from singing at the top of my lungs, and in need of new speakers, 'cuz I blew them out.

And the rest of the album is just as good. "Right the First Time" gives me chills just thinking about it. "Stranger" is burned into my brain - at least that guitar/voice part.

The brilliance that briefly showed up in "Space Station #5" ("Montrose") is all here, in spades. You're going to love this album.

I, too, have been waiting for this to come out on CD for decades, and look forward to buying it.

BTW - Ronnie Montrose also put out "Speed of Sound", which is an awesome album.

This is an excellent cd by Gamma, every song on it is good. It is a little more progressive than the first two cd's not quite as hard rockin. Montrose best playing comes on Mobile devotion, condtion yellow( really nice guitar solo in it. My favorites are Moving Violation, Condtion Yellow, No Way out, and Stanger, but all songs are very good to excellent. If you don't mind mind it leaning to the more prgressive side of rock then buy this cd because is well worth the money.

This cd or it was an album back oh, say 21 years ago still is very good to listen, too. It isn't quite as hard rocking as the first two cd's, but that doesn't mean it isn't as good as they are because it is just as good and maybe better overall even though it doesn't have the hard hitters like Solar heat/Ready for action or Mayday. What it does have is a lot of very good to excellent progresive songs and ronnie does play quite a bit still throughout the cd. My favorites are the third degree, moving violation, condition yellow, and stranger. If you don't have this cd and have the first two don't be afraid to pick it up because you will like better and better through the years.

Finally, after years of waiting, Gamma 3 (as well as the rest of the Gamma catalog) has been released on CD. It's about time!! This greatly underrated band, fronted by guitarist Ronnie Montrose was around during the heyday of Journey...probably one of the reasons for their relative obscurity.

When the original albums came out, this was the last that I bought but it quickly became my favorite. While the songwriting exemplifies the typical hard pop rock of the time, it stands out primarily due to the awesome synthesizer work of Mitchell Froom. The sounds he produces are fantastic, interchanging from Thomas Dolby-esque pop sensibilities, to Pink Floydish atmospheric passages and Gong-like arpeggiation. He even shares duelling solos with Mr. Montrose on the song "Mobile Devotion" --one of the greatest keyboard/synth duels in the history of rock music. Ronnie's guitar kicks as usual, and the balance of the band is every bit as tight as Journey ever was!

This CD comes highly recommended to fans of early-80's hard rock / pop, as well as fans of great keyboard players.

This is what you call a breakout album, Gamma really came into their own on this one. These songs were more polished and melodic. If this is your first venture into the Gamma realm, I highly recommend Gamma3, then go get Gamma2, and Gamma1. And let's not even talk about Gamma4, do go there.
But Gamma3 was perfect for the times (early 1980's) This band rocked it, and yet had such a great synth sounds from Mitchell Froom he brought a thicker meaner rock synth to the band and gave them a more progressive edge. Mitchell's synth work compliments Ronnie's guitar riffs perfectly, many bands later in the 80's took note of Mitchell and Ronnie's melodic trade-offs and worked them into their music as well.
The first track "Whats Gone is Gone" kicks off the album in a rock anthem eargasm, one of my favorites! "Right the First Time" is the more commercial sounding track and quite good, I remember hearing it on the radio when this album came out. 'Condition Yellow' is where the synths shine as a very Saga-like haunting up beat instrumental piece that reminded me a bit like the song 'Starliner' from the old Paper Money album.
Although I agree this is the more progressive Gamma album (not that there is anything wrong with that) it really is Gamma at its best and on top of their game. This album certainly did not get the full recognition that it deserved at the time.
I am puzzled as to why there are some bad reviews of the album, maybe they are just metalheads afraid of change, or not quite polished in music theory, or just sat to close to the Marshal stack? But I do know that if you were not born early enough to live the glory days of Ronnie Montrose & Gamma from the very begining, then you do not have a very good frame of reference about this band or this album.

This cd is a little more oriented towar the keyboars instead of guitars. My favorites are Moving Violation, Condtion Yellow, Stranger, and Third degree although all songs are quite good on this cd.

This is the best of the Gamma releases. I don't see where some of the other reviewers see this one as less hard-hitting; I listen to Denny Carmassi on No Way Out and get tired just imagining what he's doing with those drums. Ronnie proves how great he is at writing, and his teaming up with Mitch Froom was a great move. I'm not sure I have a favorite song; they are all awesome. After all these years, this music still gives me chills. It's good to see it released on CD. BTW, I was quite disappointed with Gamma 4. I don't know what happened between 3 & 4, but it wasn't good.

This CD sucks!! Go with Gamma 1 and 2. The guitar playing is awesome and so are the tunes, especially "Voyager" on Gamma 2.

Album... haven't heard that name in a long time :)
I bought the album when it came out in '82, having already owned 1 & 2. Loved it then, and lost it. When I checked in the '90s for a copy it was out of print, so really glad to see it on CD. I'd have to say the song that I remmeber most is Stranger, that song has a creepy undertone that I really like, genious sound. After that, Mobile Devotion and Condition Yellow. Just bought it and can't wait to get it and listen.

Guitarist Ronnie Montrose formed Gamma after the 1976 breakup of Montrose, whose original line-up included drummer Denny Carmassi, bassist Bill Church, and, of course, singer Sammy Hagar. Hagar and Church left the band in 1975, while Carmassi continued with Montrose and Gamma until 1983, when he joined the revamped Heart. (Carmassi and Hagar reunited to write two songs for Heart's 1990 album Brigade.) The familiar voice on "Right the First Time" belongs to Davey Pattison, a respected vocalist who has worked with countless rock artists, most notably Robin Trower.