Future Shock (Gillan album)

Future Shock is the fourth studio album by the British hard rock band Gillan. Released by Virgin in 1981, it reached number 2 in the UK album chart; this would remain the band's highest placing.

The title is taken from Alvin Toffler's book Future Shock.

The original vinyl LP had a gatefold sleeve, with centre pages. Cover painting is by Alan Daniels for Young Artists.

Reception
In 2005, Future Shock was ranked number 467 in the German Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Track listing

 * Side one
 * 1) "Future Shock"  (Ian Gillan, John McCoy, Bernie Tormé)  – 3:06
 * 2) "Night Ride Out of Phoenix"  (Gillan, Colin Towns)  – 5:06
 * 3) "(The Ballad Of) The Lucitania Express"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 3:10
 * 4) "No Laughing in Heaven"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé, Towns, Mick Underwood)  – 4:58
 * 5) "Sacre Bleu"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 3:03
 * 6) "New Orleans"  (Frank Guida, Joseph Royster)  – 2:37 (Gary U.S. Bonds cover)


 * Side two
 * 1) "Bite the Bullet"  (Gillan, Towns)  – 4:50
 * 2) "If I Sing Softly"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 6:10
 * 3) "Don't Want the Truth"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 5:40
 * 4) "For Your Dreams"  (Gillan, Towns)  – 5:04

1989 re-release bonus tracks
In 1989 the album was re-released in CD format again on the Virgin label. The revised track listing featured several bonus tracks:


 * 1) "One for the Road"  (Gillan, Towns)  – 3:03
 * 2) "Bad News"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé, Underwood)  – 3:08
 * 3) "Take a Hold of Yourself"  (Gillan, McCoy, Towns, Underwood)  – 4:42
 * 4) "Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé, Towns, Underwood)  – 3:13
 * 5) "The Maelström (Longer Than the A Side)"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé, Towns, Underwood)  – 5:07
 * 6) "Trouble"  (Leiber, Stoller)  – 2:39
 * 7) "Your Sister's on My List"  (Gillan, Towns)  – 4:07
 * 8) "Handles on Her Hips"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 2:10
 * 9) "Higher and Higher"  (Gillan, McCoy, Tormé)  – 3:42
 * 10) "I Might As Well Go Home (Mystic)"  (Gillan, Towns)  – 2:16

2007 re-release bonus tracks
In 2007 the album was re-released in CD format again on the Edsel label. This has retrospective comments by Ian Gillan and the original artwork, plus pictures of various single picture sleeves. The revised track listing, similar to the 1989 release, had the following bonus tracks:


 * 1) "Trouble" – 2:40
 * 2) "Your Sister's on My List" – 4:07
 * 3) "Mutually Assured Destruction" – 3:13
 * 4) "The Maelström (Longer Than the A Side)" – 5:16
 * 5) "Take a Hold of Yourself" – 4:42
 * 6) "One for the Road" – 3:02
 * 7) "Lucille"  (Richard Wayne Penniman, Albert Collins)  – 2:39
 * 8) "Bad News" – 3:06

Other notable re-releases
In August 2012 a new collectors edition of the album was released on vinyl. The release was produced as a 12-inch hardback book, with all the lyrics, images, photos and art from the original. The records themselves are housed in black holders within the book, each in a special bag with sleeve notes detailing the story of the album. The discs were pressed at 45 rpm for clarity of sound. This edition was limited to just 1,000 copies.

Personnel

 * Gillan
 * Ian Gillan – lead vocals
 * Bernie Tormé – guitar
 * Colin Towns – keyboards
 * John McCoy – bass
 * Mick Underwood – drums


 * Production notes
 * Recorded and mixed at Kingsway Recorders, London, January 1981
 * Produced by K.R.
 * Engineered by Paul Watkins
 * Mixed by Paul Watkins, John McCoy with contributions from Colin Towns, Bernie Tormé and Mick Underwood

Singles
New Orleans

No Laughing in Heaven