CHILD IN TIME

Ian gillan first solo efford since he left Deep Purple is probably his most obscure also. Maybe this is due to the fact he came back with a different style his audience (mostly DP MKII fans) were expecting. So child In Time - and its obvious connections with his former band - is a misleading title. There is very little of his old hard rock/heavy metal delivery, even if he did include a new version of the old Deep Purple classic (a recording company´s pressure? Suggestion?). He definitly was more interested in exploring his pre-DP roots in both soul and R&B. And for that he put together a fine band that included sixties veterans like the ex Spencer Davies Group guitarrist Ray Fenwick and bassist John Gustafson (Roxy Music, among many others).

The first track, Lay Me Down, is the closest this CD gets from a straight hard rock tune. It´s a short but good hard rock/funk mix with some good guitar and bass runs and a fine Jon Lord styled organ solo in the middle. The second one, You Make Me Feel So good, might have caught his fans completely off guard with a explicit funky groove and a even more explicit black music chorus. The remaining tracks on the first side of the original LP go the same way: blues, R&B, gospel. soul, funk... they remind me much the kind of controversity Deep Purple´s Stormbringer aroused when they added this kind of influences to their sound via Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale.

Side two of the album is the most experimental and, dare I say it?, progressive. There are only two long tracks: a new version of Child In Time and the 11 minute let It Slide. While the former is still good but nowhere near to the definitive version DP recorded during the In Rock sessions, the latter can be called a kind of ´progressive gospel´, if there´s such a thing. Unfortunatly it is also very boring.

So, as a whole, even if the band is excellent and the singer is in great shape, this is not IGB´s best moment. They would eventually grow much more confident. powerful and convincing in 1977´s Clear Air Turbulence. Child In time is interesting affair, but little more than that. Recommended only for fans and collectors.