Clear Air Turbulence (album)

Clear Air Turbulence
art by Chris Foss
Studio album by Ian Gillan Band
Released	15 April 1977
Recorded	Kingsway Recorders, London, UK
Genre	Jazz-Rock fusion
Length	40:38
Label	Island
Producer	Ian Gillan Band
Ian Gillan Band chronology
Child in Time 1976 Clear Air Turbulence (1977) Scarabus (1977)
The Rockfield Mixes
Cover of the 1997 release on Angel Air Records

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Clear Air Turbulence is the second studio album by British jazz-rock fusion band Ian Gillan Band, released in 1977 with cover by Chris Foss.^[2] The album was initially worked on during the period July 1976 to September 1976. A UK tour was promoted, though all of the dates were cancelled until April 1977 in order that the new album could be rerecorded and remixed at Kingsway Recorders, London.

The album was reissued in 1989 by Virgin Records on CD, and in 2010 by Edsel Records.

The Rockfield Mixes

Ian Gillan became dissatisfied with the final mixes of the album and this delayed its eventual release. What eventually became the album Clear Air Turbulence was remixed at Kingsway before release, but the original mix had taken place at Rockfield Studios in Wales.^[3] In 1997 the original mix was released by Angel Air Records under the title The Rockfield Mixes. The Rockfield Mixes represents a "cleaner" (or at least earlier) version of the album. It also includes an extra track which didn't make it to the original release. The track list was altered as follows:

1. "Over the Hill" – 7:20
2. "Clear Air Turbulence" – 7:47
3. "Five Moons" – 7:34
4. "Money Lender" – 5:40
5. "Angel Manchenio" – 7:21
6. "This Is the Way" – 2:03
7. "Goodhand Liza" – 5:20

The 2004 release of the original mix

The Rockfield Mixes Plus

In 2004 a further variant of the album was released as The Rockfield Mixes Plus containing 4 previously unreleased tracks and an interview with Ray Fenwick. The extra tracks were:

• "Apathy" (backing track) – 4:14
• "Over the Hill" (live) – 9:50
• "Smoke on the Water" (live) – 7:38
• "Mercury High" (backing track) – 3:33

Track listing

• All tracks written by Ray Fenwick, Ian Gillan, John Gustafson, Mark Nauseef, Colin Towns.

Side 1

1. "Clear Air Turbulence" – 7:35
2. "Five Moons" – 7:30
3. "Money Lender" – 5:38

Side 2

1. "Over The Hill" – 7:14
2. "Goodhand Liza" – 5:24
3. "Angel Manchenio" – 7:17

Personnel

Ian Gillan Band

• Ian Gillan – vocals
• Colin Towns – keyboards and flutes
• John Gustafson – bass guitar and vocals
• Ray Fenwick – guitars and vocals
• Mark Nauseef – drums and percussion

Additional musicians

• Phil Kersie – tenor saxophone on "Five Moons"
• Martin Firth – baritone saxophone
• John Huckridge – trumpets
• Derek Healey – trumpets
• Malcolm Griffiths – trombone

Production notes

• Produced by Ian Gillan Band
• Recorded and mixed at Kingsway Recorders, London
• Recording engineer – Brad Davis
• Remix engineer – Louis Austin
• Assistant engineers – Paul Watkins, Bob Broglia
• Brass arrangements – Cy Payne

References

1. Allmusic review
2. "Mercury High, The Story of Ian Gillan". Retrieved 26 July 2007.
3. "No Life Til Metal – CD Gallery – Ian Gillan Band". Retrieved 26 July 2007.