Gamma
3

Initially, writing a review for this album wasn’t a priority for me; I thought I would find the right time later. But a few days ago, I came across the news of RONNIE MONTROSE's death, and far from wanting to write an obligatory obituary, my main motivation is to bring back to light an exquisite and very little-known album, one of the best examples of American AOR.

MONTROSE is also the name of a hard rock band, whose self-titled debut album, released back in 1974, is still cited by critics today as one of the best debut albums in rock history. This led to the launch of the wild guitar creativity of the leader, a great master of the six strings but a terrible businessman, so much so that the initial great success would backfire on him in the years to come, with reckless choices in managing the line-up and poor compositional inspiration. Three years later, the breakup surprised no one, and good old Ronnie took up a solo career in the style of JEFF BECK, releasing an instrumental album that set the stage for a new group, and by the end of the decade, GAMMA was a done deal.

Unfortunately, the past problems reappeared even more clearly: in the meantime, the rock scene had changed, ELEKTRA was pressuring persistently in search of easy profits, and GAMMA 1 and GAMMA 2 were unable to shake off the dust of that damn debut that continued to sell consistently over the years, overshadowing everything else... but unexpectedly, a turning point came!

Among various line-up changes, 1981 saw the departure of the historical keyboardist JIM ALCIVER: Ronnie replaced him with a complete unknown, MITCHELL FROOM, a figure with no significant recording experience under his belt but who brought along his electronic baggage, mainly SYNCLAVIER and FAIRLIGHT, and a flood of unexpressed ideas. The result is a series of tracks written by the duo, with contributions from lyricist JERRY STAHL, completely different even from the most recent material: taking FOREIGNER 4, released a few months earlier, as a reference point, the whole thing is pushed to extremes, to the point of overshadowing Mick Jones’ band, which had attempted the electro-hard coupling with great success in tracks like URGENT.

What makes GAMMA 3 commercial but not marketable is the overall sound, perfect but not ingratiating to win over the masses, with keyboard flourishes so in step with the times that it astonishes anyone discovering its thirty-year-old existence. The singles RIGHT THE FIRST TIME and STRANGER, along with MODERN GIRL, are the lighter tracks, but only the latter is reminiscent of things heard before; the rest aim towards nocturnal glimpses of electronic rock meant to intrigue even the least accustomed listener. WHAT'S GONE IS GONE is the perfect soundtrack for a car drive at 3 a.m. in a deserted metropolis; in MOVING VIOLATION, the chilling atmosphere, almost KRAFTWERK-oriented, resolves in a central break with a memorable guitar solo amid the foggy effects created by a superb FROOM. MOBILE DEVOTION, with its rich time changes and stunning duels between guitar and synth, leads to a hypnotic and visionary finale. The instrumental CONDITION YELLOW leaves you breathless, with nothing American about it; the guitar has just enough of a cameo to keep it within coordinates more similar to TANGERINE DREAM than a hard rock group, yet fortunately, the granite NO WAY OUT comes to balance things out. In closing, the sinister mood of THIRD DEGREE drags vocalist DAVEY PATTISON into a clash with heavy, ever-ascending synthetic twists, supported by the powerful drumming of that rascal DENNY CARMASSI. The one who pays the price is bassist GLENN LETSCH, perpetually in the shadows and suffocated by keyboards even during rhythmic phases. 

Despite its outstanding quality, the album does not take off, the record companies lose patience, and the band disbands; for Montrose, a rapid discographic decline begins, and only his cult status will save him from oblivion. Together with SIGNALS by RUSH and WORLDS APART by SAGA, the pinnacle of AOR.

Thank you, Ronnie!