A two disc CD/DVD set 'No Easy Way' finds Gillan in both London and Edinburgh promoting the excellent 'Glory Road' album which took them into the UK Top 10 for the first time and really established the band as a force to be reckoned with. John McCoy has always had plenty of rare footage in his personal archives which has gradually seen the light of day over the years and 'No Easy Way' is another very worthwhile release.

The audio material is from Hammersmith and after the Colin Towns intro 'Second Sight' the band steamroller through 'Unchain Your Brain' and 'Are You Sure' before they really hit their stride with a dramatic 'Mr Universe'. Bernie Torme was, and still is, a guitarist best appreciated in the live environment and he really seems to be on fire throughout. His solo, 'Torment' is a wonderful nod to Hendrix before he demolishes the riff to 'Smoke On The Water' which brings the set to a close. Included here as bonus material are four songs recorded on the night by a member of the audience and all credit to the compilers for making them available for the first time.

Of course Gillan always were something of a strange bunch to look at, and this is well evidenced by the DVD that makes up Disc Two, recorded in the same year in Edinburgh. The bonus here is that the Edinburgh date includes ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ which really was the gem in the Gillan catalogue. Given this is almost 30 years old the footage here has held up reasonably well and there are plenty of extras to be found including interviews with Torme, McCoy, Towns and Underwood aswell as a track from the excellent GMT album ‘Cannonball’.

'No Easy Way' provides a welcome opportunity to recapture the sights and sounds of Gillan the band. Not just a release for Gillan fans only, anyone with a taste for classic Hard Rock should definitely seek this out.