''Scarabus'' is the third and the last studio album by British

jazz rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

band Ian Gillan Band, released in October 1977. The album was reissued in 1982 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldw ...

in the height of popularity of Ian Gillan's group Gillan (a CD edition followed in 1989). The CD reissue included an extra track, "My Baby Loves Me". This track, recorded live at the Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, on 22 September 1977, was originally part of the double LP set '' Live at the Budokan'', and had been omitted from the UK release in error. Ian Gillan re-used the vocal melody of the title track "Scarabus" on the song "Disturbing the Priest" six years later, on the album '' Born Again'' (1983) during his short tenure with the British hard rock/heavy metal band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

. The guitar riff on "Mercury High" is the same as the one played by guitarist Ray Fenwick on "Back USA" from his 1971 solo album ''Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut''.

Cover

The "witch" on the US cover comes from an adaptation of the movie poster for the 1976 horror film '' The Witch Who Came from the Sea'', which itself was based on an older

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

painting.

Track listing

* All tracks written by

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

, John Gustafson, Ray Fenwick,

Colin Towns Colin William Towns (born 13 May 1948 in West Ham, London) is an English composer and keyboardist. He was noted for playing in bands formed by ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, and later worked extensively in composing soundtracks for film, telev ...

and

Mark Nauseef Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Liz ...

. Side 1 # "Scarabus" – 4:53 # "Twin Exhausted" – 4:08 # "Poor Boy Hero" – 3:08 # "Mercury High" – 3:31 # "Pre-release" – 4:22 Side 2 # "Slags to Bitches" – 5:09 # "Apathy" – 4:19 # "Mad Elaine" – 4:15 # "Country Lights" – 3:16 # "Fool's Mate" – 4:19

Personnel

– vocals *

– keyboards and flutes * Ray Fenwick – guitars and vocals * John Gustafson – bass guitar and vocals *

– drums and percussion Production * Produced by Ian Gillan Band * Recorded and mixed at Kingsway Recorders, London, July–August 1977 * Recording engineer – Paul Watkins * Assistant engineers – Bob Broglia, Mark Perry

References

External links

Ian Gillan Band - ''Scarabus'' (1977) album review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, credits & releases
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Ian Gillan Band - ''Scarabus'' (1977) album releases & credits
on Discogs.com
Ian Gillan Band - ''Scarabus'' (1977) album to be listened
as stream on Spotify.com 1977 albums Island Records albums Ian Gillan albums {{1970s-album-stub