Gamma 1

2013, Well, it's not that guitarist Ronnie Montrose failed first time around with his band Montrose, as clearly he was ahead of the curve, crafting a record that literally changed the way hard rock was written and recorded. The debut Montrose album still burns bright as one of the cornerstones of a genre that owes Ronnie a great deal of debt. But sadly, Montrose never scaled the heights expected and after four albums Ronnie called it a day, returning to San Francisco with a view to forming a new band, Gamma. Enlisting two former Montrose members, that's John Alciva on Keyboards and bassist Alan Fitzgerald, he added drummer Skip Gillette and filled the front spot with previously unknown Scottish-born vocalist Davey Pattison. Issued in 1979, the album is a power packed example of raunchy hard rock with a decidedly contemporary edge, courtesy of deftly integrated synthesizers.