One Eye To Morocco - your impressions

[deepestman]

I'm a new one to this group and it's the first and I hope not the last
discussion I'm starting :-) Here's a review of OETM I wrote in March.
My feelings haven't really changed since. I still find it a very
relaxing piece of music and the album sounds more coherent to me than
'Accidentally On Purpose'. What are your impressions???

Ian Gillan's sojourn

Do you happen to remember the ending of Highway Star DVD? Ian was
drifting peacefully on a boat elaborating on benefits from being a
fully developed human being. He also attempted at summarizing his life
and he used two words for it, namely 'romance and adventure'. These
two words fully describe the content of Ian's newest solo effort to
date, a magnificent 'One Eye To Morocco'. Despite the fact the words
speak volumes about the content of the album, it would be a crime not
to elaborate a bit more on it. It is the best solo effort from Ian to
me, I don't think the new records from Heaven and Hell, UFO, or even
Deep Purple will ever come close to it. I will also add that I would
take the album on a deserted island, it has recently taken the place
of Roger Glover's 'Snapshot' as I feel One Eye To Morocco is more
right up my alley, and expresses my personality in a much more broader
way. Still, 'Snapshot' stays one of my favourite albums of all time.

So how does Ian Gillan sound in 2009 then? He sounds peaceful,
relaxed, romantic, and seductive to say the least. I remember
listening to the title track for the first time. It was the memorable
day of 26 January, the day of my practical English exam. I couldn't
believe my ears. The nice, warm chill went down my spine. Suddenly the
tears were falling down on the floor, and I wasn't able to say a word.
My friend came by to meet me before the exam and she said: 'From the
new Gillan album?' And I replied 'Yhym'. That was all I could come up
with at that moment. After the exam I rushed to the dormitory refusing
to go and have a beer with my friends, and listened to all the 5 brand
new tracks once more. Frankly, I listened to the songs about 20 times
in a row that Wednesday.

Getting back to Highway Star DVD. The snippets of the closing tracks
are the exact songs that can be found on One Eye To Morocco, 'Always
The Traveler' and 'Change My Ways'. Ian admits that the tracks were
written long before they made it to the album. The arrangements were
changed as well. 'Change My Ways' was even proposed to Deep Purple
during the Bananas sessions, but Steve rejected it immediately saying
something like this: 'Deep Purple do not record songs based on only
one chord' Fortunately the song made it to One Eye To Morocco and what
a great tune that one is!

People in Poland tend to complain incessantly about the weather in
March. All the grumbling that there is to little sunny days, it rains
all the time and they don't know if it is still winter or spring. It
makes me sick. For me this March has been a wonderful month and I owe
it to Ian.

We all know the genesis of the title for the album, so there's no
point repeating the story. I may only say that I'm proud of this
strong Polish accent in Ian's work. And at this point I may assure him
he has a strong fan base here, fans who will never let him down!
Morocco is pictured in our European minds as a somewhat exotic
country, with warm climate, azure sea, and sandy, yellow beaches. And
the music on this album has also an exotic character.

The album being entirely poetic, full of metaphors bears a close
resemblance to 'Accidentally on Purpose'. However, the sound on One
Eye is more cohesive, and you have to listen to it several times just
to catch all the spices and arrangements Ian has prepared. And there
are spices to catch, believe me. The album is full of cello/strings
sections, tenor saxophone, horns, rings. Owing to Nick Blagona the
sound is perfect. Guitars are hidden in the background just to provide
the melodies, since the album is not guitar driven. On the contrary,
it is a voice driven album. All the instruments interplay stunningly
and Ian adds his voice just to hold everything in a perfect balance.

His voice is the voice of a young, vivacious, lively man, who is
simply hungry to deliver, hungry for music. You can hear a trait of a
youth rebellion in his voice, but he remains honest. Sincere in
sharing his passion for music and singing with those who are ready to
embark on an exotic journey with him.

The most intriguing number on the album is 'Deal With It'.
Surprisingly, all the guitar sounds flow from the fingers of Steve
Morris, Ian's long time collaborator. The lyrics are rather dark here
and discuss dealing with personal anger. Lots of guitar sounds here,
the whole song is bathed in guitars. We have the acoustic flamenco
guitar, and in the background there are some electric guitar sounds on
which the fundament of the song is established. If you add the
pulsating bass, electric drums and Ian voice then you get the
explosive blend of sounds. 'Girl Goes To Show' is 'Cayman Island' part
2. Very poetic, even erotic lyrics. It reminisce Caribbean rhythms,
and I can easily imagine myself sitting by the lake watching an
inspiring sunset, with a fishing rod in one hand and a cold beverage
in the other. I just hope fish would not take a bait. Flamenco sounds
return in 'Don't Stop' It just gets you into good mood, and you don't
want Ian to stop. Funky blues flows from 'Change My Ways' and
'Ultimate Groove'. Both are great, and the former features Ian's
harmonica, love the sound of it. When Ian plays the harmonica he gives
the blues the character of his inimitable personality. The most
optimistic song on the album also features blues. It is 'Better Days'.
Warm composition about growing old, but I also find in it a way to
deal with the past, that is why this song is very personal for me. Ian
sings delicately in low register in the stanzas just to endow us with
uplifting chorus. The title track is Ian's jazzy flirt with exotic,
African sounds and it somehow reminds me of 'Chandra's Coriander'.
Tenor saxophone and strings section are clearly audible and Ian sings
a very poetic text: 'sweet temptation draws me on, gives me the
strength to cross my Rubicon.' Brilliant! I also identify with this
text, since I often sit alone in my room 'waiting for no-one to call
me.' Whereas 'No Lotion For That' is a typical rock'n'roll tune which
may be considered a tribute to such artists as Elvis or Jerry Lee
Lewis. You would expect a hard guitar sound on it, but don't be
mistaken, all the instruments are perfectly balanced and accompany
Ian's voice. In 'The Sky Is Falling Down' you can hear a short guitar
solo. Correct me if I'm wrong but I guess it's the only number on the
album featuring guitar solo. However the song is mellow, full of
ambitious melodies. Hammond organ provide a solid background here. 'It
Would Be Nice' sounds as a nice ballad at the beginning. But in the
chorus Ian sings passionately, and the lyrics are about not following
any trends or fashions. (my interpretation) The tenor saxophone solo
clutches the heart immediately. 'Texas State of Mind' was as promised
stolen from Michael Lee Jackson, a great funky rock'n'roll tune where
Ian does the job properly, yet the arrangements are better than on the
original (yes, I've already heard the album ƒ:) ) The album closes the
soulful 'Always The Traveler' and I'm not able to do any justice to
this song with my limited account. The song is just brilliant! You
should give it a listen, and try to interpret the lyrics. All mankind
lives are journeys.

Buy this eclectic album and you won't regret it. You can easily take
it while walking, you can contemplate the music sitting still, you can
make love playing it and even you can bring it on to the party. Yes,
you can dance the entire album through. Ian Gillan proved once more
that as a singer he feels unlimited and is able to embark on any
musical style, if you like categorizing.