Gary Glitter Albums (6)
'Gary Glitter's Gangshow: The Gang, The Band, The Leader'
Release Date 7/1/1992
Tracks 17
Label Castle
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
His greatest hit, his will and testament, and the song that ensures he will always be remembered long after his transgressions are forgotten, Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll" is important because of its lyrics. And those lyrics, the most joyful, meaningful, and utterly, defiantly, triumphant lyrics in the entire history of modern music, go "rock & roll, rock & roll, rock & roll, rock & roll." That's part one, anyway. Part two is even better. That one goes "hey, hey, hey, hey, hey." Who needs "awopbopaloobop"? Who cares for "since my baby left me"? And who can even understand half of what Bob Dylan writes? Talk about rock & roll, and you only need to say one thing: "Rock & Roll." Recorded in 1988, Gary Glitter's Gangshow, the unlikely superstar's second live album, opens with "Rock & Roll," then reprises it midway through. The first version is his band alone -- alone, that is, aside from several thousand gig-goers, their voices raised in adoring welcome for the man in the silver jumpsuit. The second one is quieter, gentler, a moment of acoustic calm amid an increasingly turbulent sea of electricity. But both are moments of undiluted magic. If you never saw Gary Glitter live, you might as well be dead, and if you can sit through this album without a flicker of excitement, you probably are. As a recording artist, Glitter peaked in the early- to mid-'70s. As a public figure, he crashed and burned in the late '90s. But through the '80s, his live show was second to none, an unapologetic extravaganza that swung from delirious celebration to mawkish sentimentality without a care in the world. One moment he'd be gyrating obscenely, thrusting forth his crotch and demanding, "Do you wanna touch me THERE?" The next he'd be shedding uncontrollable tears, hurling roses to the audience and insisting "I Love You Love Me Love" forever. And though he'd done it every night, you knew he meant every word. All the major hits are here, replayed with precision and bellowed back at Glitter by a fan club that knows every "hey." Choice album cuts surface, and a handful of new songs, too. It doesn't matter what he plays, the audience sings them all and Glitter plays their enthusiasm like a harp...it's December 24, so there's a triumphant "Another Rock & Roll Christmas"...it's Glasgow, so there's a heartstopping "Scotland the Brave"...it's the end of the show, and "I Love You Love Me Love" is so magnificent that the crowd is blubbering as loudly as the leader. And again, they meant every word. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Six years after his last album and seven years after his last Top 30 U.K. hit, Gary Glitter bounded back into action in 1984 with a brace of singles that not only restored him to his rightful manor, they left Glitter himself teetering on the brink of what could...should...have been the most unexpected comeback of the age. In the event, the success of "Dance Me Up" and "Another Rock'n'Roll Christmas" was but a blip in the generally dismal course of the leader's '80s fortunes. But, while the buoyancy lasted, he found time to turn in his finest album in almost a decade.Boys Will Be Boys is nothing short of a full-scale updating of the old Glitter sound, tied to every trick that modern technology could add to the thundering rhythms, juggernaut guitars, and frenzied bellows of earlier times. "Dance Me Up," with its rabble-rousing demand of "bring on the dancing girls" invoking images of Glitter as some vast, sparkling circus ringmaster, and the showstopping "When I'm on, I'm On," a mantra that swiftly became an in-concert staple, are both phenomenal highlights -- as good as anything outside of Glitter's most sainted classics. "Shout Shout Shout" (a surprising non-performer as a single) and the title track, too, have a thrilling immediacy, while "Let's Get Sexy" is a pounding suggestion of what Prince might have sounded like if he'd invented glam rock, rather than simply borrowed a bit of it. All in all, then, a magnificent comeback and a powerful reminder that, even in his showbiz dotage, Gary Glitter remained one of Britain's greatest-ever entertainers. Once a leader, always a leader. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A roundup of hits drawn from Gary Glitter's early-to-mid-'70s heyday, utterly unadventurous in its selection of titles, but breathtaking in its ability to remind the listener just how all-powerful the leader was in his prime. The early '80s saw Glitter firmly on the comeback trail, staging a succession of low-budget but high-thrill live shows for an audience of post-punkers who initially regarded him as little more than kitsch nostalgia, but swiftly took him deep to heart -- indeed, it's a sign of just how highly this new generation regarded Glitter that, when promoter John Keenan formulated the Futurama festivals to showcase all that the new wave had to offer, Glitter was both a triumphant headliner and an undisputed one. The Burundi drums of Adam Ant, the mutant funk of Gang of Four, the tribal rhythms of the Slits, they all had their roots in the classic Glitter sound and The Leader shone a ruthless spotlight on just how much the new bosses owed to the old. Since that time, of course, The Leader has been utterly superseded by any number of bigger, better, and brighter compilations. But The Leader could not have been better timed or titled, for all that. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In November 1973, Gary Glitter played his biggest shows yet, a pair of gigs at the London Rainbow. Filmed for a planned documentary on the Glitter phenomenon, the shows eventually became the dynamic backdrop and sweat-soaked climax of Remember Me This Way, a full-blown feature film in which a deliciously ludicrous plot allowed its hero to indulge in his wildest rock star fantasies. The kung-fu sequence alone is worth the price of admission. Of course the movie spun off a soundtrack album, which in turn would become Glitter's finest record yet, an all but nonstop live recording from those same Rainbow shows. The hit studio version of the movingly melancholic title track notwithstanding, Remember Me This Way was loaded down with hits -- seven of the album's ten tracks were Top Five smashes; the remainders were crowd-pleasing album tracks which might as well have been hits. The music is only part of the experience, however. Glitter seemingly lived for the live performance, involving the audience in every gesture, every nuance, every bellowed "hey." The sense of excitement that builds around the opening "Leader of the Gang," before Glitter himself takes the stage, is still palpable, while the massed singalongs which erupt every time he opens his mouth testify to the sheer majesty of the event. Only the absence from the shelves of the accompanying live footage mars the moment -- watching Glitter emote his way through "I Love You Love Me Love," for one, was akin to seeing Judy Garland sing "Over the Rainbow." You knew she'd done it a million times, but the tears still looked real. Finer live Glitter recordings than this do exist -- his farewell concert from 1976, televised but never commercially released, is probably the best, if only for the incredible version of "You Belong to Me." But still, Remember Me This Way remains the perfect document of Gary Glitter's peak period, vividly capturing the extravaganza in all its glittering excitement, and preserving the frenzy of both his live show and his audience. Remember him this way. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Gary Glitter's second album is a different beast from the retro-oriented Glitter: this time the material is predominately original and many of the tunes have a harder, funkier edge to them (example: "Come on, Come in, Get On" has enough distortion on it to qualify as heavy metal). The album's best songs are the ones that became big pop-chart hits in England: "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" is a surprisingly lusty mid-tempo slice of glam that was later successfully covered by Joan Jett and "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again" combines a double-time beat with call and response vocal performance to create a truly infectious single. The album also features one of Glitter's best non-single tracks in "Sidewalk Sinner," a cult favorite that speeds up Glitter's traditional glam beat and adds some surprisingly funky rhythms into the mix. The problem with Touch Me is that the remainder of the album tracks aren't quite as solid as these highlights: "Come on, Come in, Get On" has an interesting sound but is lacking in strong hooks and the cover of Paul Anka's "Lonely Boy" is a little too campy for its own good. In the end, Touch Me lacks the strength or variety that would allow it to appeal to anyone beyond glam rock's cult audience but it contains enough solid songs to appeal to lovers of glam. The CD reissue of this album further sweetens the package by adding four non-album songs, including the English hit ballad "Oh Yes You're Beautiful." ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
This 1973 outing marked the album-length debut of Gary Glitter, the campiest of all English glam rock stars. The finished product is much like the performer himself: too over the top to take seriously but entertaining nonetheless. The obvious highlight of Glitter is "Rock and Roll," his worldwide 1972 hit, which bookends the album in vocal and instrumental versions. The vocal version is an effective slice of retro rock, but the instrumental version is pure magic -- glam rock reduced to its primal essentials: infectious handclaps, big drums, a grungy guitar riff, and a group chant that anyone can sing along with. The rest of the album is primarily composed of classic 1950s and 1960s covers like "The Wanderer" and "Baby Please Don't Go." These songs are kept interesting by the way producer Mike Leander slyly updates them with glam rock touches (plenty of doubled drumbeats and percussive handclaps) and the enthusiasm that Glitter displays in recording songs that he obviously adored. The standout cover is "The Clapping Song," which gains a primal level of excitement from its new handclap-doubled glam beat and an exuberant performance from Glitter. The package is further spiced up by a few exciting original tunes: "Rock On" is a percussive, sax-driven invitation to partying and "Famous Instigator" is a witty but affectionate 1950s pastiche that combines a Dion-style melody with lyrics reminiscent of Chuck Berry. The CD reissue also throws in "I'm The Leader of the Gang," a hit single from 1973 that was later covered by Brownsville Station, and three non-album B-sides. All in all, Glitter is too lightweight to be anything more than a cult item but is too energetic and too full of good cheer to dismiss. Glam fans will definitely consider it worth a spin. ~ Donald A. Guarisco, All Music Guide
