The first Badlands lp was on a completely different level! Jake E Lee is one of the best guitarists from the 80's and is still crushing it!

Ray was a beautiful person. I will never believe he knowingly or intentionally infected anyone! He was one of my ex husband's best friends. Like a brother to him. I was present in Ray's last recording session in NYC. We did not know he was ill, but he looked strange. When he said to me: " Take care of my brother" chills went tbrough my spine... I knew something was wrong. That was the last time I ever saw him. No friends were let to see him in a hospital... Google Sun Red Sun albums for the recording. Also google 5th Anniversary Memorial Tribute by Ray Gillen.1998. My ex organized Ray's memorial concert at Irving Plaza in NYC. Ray's beautiful Mom was present. Ray is truly missed. One of the sweetest caring guys I have ever met. He passed away too young. One of the best rock voices ever!

Jake and Badlands is one of the best. Personally, Voodoo Highway was one the best hard rock albums ever. An assault on the genre of blues rock, Jakes playing has that massive tone and soul, Greg's bass lines are to be studied with how well they grooved with the immense sound Jake had and Ray's vocals were on point as usual.

I saw Badlands live once, opening for Great White and Tesla. Although they only had about 30 minutes to do their set, they did a great job of firing up the crowd. It's a shame that they're not better remembered, since their debut album was indeed amazing.

Badlands first album completely blew my mind and I became obsessed with it right after the first time I listened to it. I’m 60 now, and I still thoroughly enjoy the album to this day. ✌️

No one in 1989 (when I was 14) sounded anything like BADLANDS..they sounded like they just dropped out of 1971, while everyone else was busy playing fast, wearing lipstick, HUGE hair (wasn't badlands), and just making pop rock. Badlands were reinventing raw in your face rock n roll and probably didn't even know it! Had Ray not died it's hard to tell how far they would have gone. R.I.P RAY... no one will ever sing like you!!

*_I love their first album. I played it all the time on cassette back in the day._* 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

Badlands played at the bar my ex-husband worked at in Houston Texas circa 1990 and I met Ray Gillen and he was one of the most down-to-earth genuine nice guys in a rock band I had ever encountered. I was truly saddened when he passed away some years later. I will always remember hugging him at the end of our conversation and his parting words to me, which were "I will always remember you." Sadly I never got to see him in person again to see if that were true.

Awesome band, music. Ray has to be one of the top.vocalists of all time.

Badlands was a great band. They had awesome guitar riffs and Ray Gillen had a great rock n roll bluesy voice. They were one of my favorites from the 80s. If you can get their albums Badlands, Voodoo Highway and Dusk, you will not be disappointed. They rock.

In my opinion Badlands was more of a hard rock band, not a hair metal band

I'm a Fan of Jake and Ray but Ray Gillen was the Voice in an Era of Many Great Guitarists and Make No Mistake it was that RARE Beautiful Voice that Drew Most to Badlands Ray Gillen was Something Super Special

Ray Gillian was/is still one of the best rock singers ever. He was awesome

I was cranking them and Dangerous Toys around the same time

Lucky enough to see Badlands back in the day at Baltimore's legendary Hammerjacks. What a show!

I knew Ray and was friends with him when he lived at the Oakwood Apartments on Barham Boulevard in Los Angeles where I lived at the time as well. All the bandmates from Alice in Chains as well as many other partiers were living there at the same time (circa 1989-90). Many of us hung out by the resort-style pool and jacuzzi quite often drinking and smoking. Ray was always very cool to be around and was extremely down to earth without exhibiting any drug or alcohol-induced behavior or star ego at all. I saw the band at the Palace and his presence on stage, as well as off stage, was that of a confident person that didn't have to act. Life moved on and everyone moved on and I forgot about him for years until I heard he died of aids and read the wiki page. Today, this is the first time I've read this story and the comments, and I'm saddened by it for sure and even more sad for the women he afflicted. The story doesn't match the Ray I knew but I was only a short time neighbor. He was very focused on his career and he didn't exhibit any drug-induced behavior when I knew him other than typical poolside drink and pot. He would bring model type babes to the pool and on one occasion I did exhibit some questionable kinkyish behavior but I took it as something you could expect from a rock star (I guess) but now maybe question it a bit more.

I loved the first album of Badlands. I still have it and still play it. Ray Gillian was a great vocalist.

Yes!At least someone finally acknowledged Ray Gillen's talent..

I was one of the 400k who bought that first album...I had forgotten about Badlands and didn’t know about this story

Badlands was an incredibly awesome band. One of the most underrated of all time. Agreed they were not hair metal. Very bluesy and can definitely see the humble pie influence especially in the vocals. Voodoo highway is in my top 10 greatest hard rock albums of all time. Jake E. Lee is one of hard rock/ metals greatest guitarist ever. Saw his first tour with Ozzy and opened with bark at the moon....unbelieveable. he. Had big shoes to fill and did a great job.

I’m a huge fan of Ray Gillen’s vocals. This was a very interesting story. Thanks for putting it together.

Saw them on that last 1992 tour in UK, Newcastle Riverside, they sounded amazing, like they were trying to prove to each other how good they were. It was well known they were splitting up and before the gig we wondered if they would just be going through the motions. A few seconds after they finished Ray Gillen was heading out of the main door through the club, to get away quick, he was looking for a taxi (cab). We spoke to him briefly and he said he was looking forward to "Pastures new".

Just because they had long hair doesn't make them "Hair Metal" Far from it. God I hate that label, Hair Metal.

Badlands is my second favorite rock band of all time, behind Led Zeppelin. Considering Jake E Lee's intense, blues-infused hard rock project produced only 3 albums, I think that says a lot. Jake created awesome material with other projects and bands but he reached deep into his soul and found something unique and truly special with these 3 albums-- especially the Badlands debut. The second album seems to be trying to appeal to a broader audience but is still very very good. The third album is excellent and it's a total shame so few have heard it. The song, 'Sun Red Son' is SOOO FREAKIN AWESOME! The guitar solo breaks rules and throws music theory out the window as it screams for your soul. Similar to but different from how this was accomplished with Jake's solo in the earlier, Dancin on the Edge'. IMO Ray Gillen had vocal talent and ability in a league with only a handful of incredible voices-- Robert Plant, David Coverdale, Freddy Mercury, Geoff Tate... Thank God these artists came together and created this small catalog of incredible blues rock music. None of these men are wealthy as they ought to be.

I saw Ray in Texas when he was with Black Sabbath - great show in a smaller venue...

I had the tab songbook for their debut album in 1991/1992 and I poured over it every day. Between that and Ozzy/Randy Tribute, my high school days were packed with playing those albums over and over and over. I never could nail that solo to Rumblin' Train.

Jake replaced Brad Gillis, not Randy Rhoads. And Jake got along with everyone, he wouldn't give up his publishing right.

Saw them in concert in Atlanta and was blown away by how great they sounded live. I really wish things could've been different and they could've been as successful as they deserved.

Myself and a close friend of mine were HUGE fans of Badlands when their first album came out. I think their 2nd album, while having a different sound than their first album, was equal in quality to their first. The death of Ray and break up of the band was a huge bummer for me. I still listen to their music and am still influenced by Jake E. Lee's guitar playing.

I was at the Astoria show. What a performance!! We all expected a black female soul singer which Jake had stated had replaced Ray (NOT John West as reported…he was later). Was amazing when Ray ran in stage and produced a very intense performance.

Have you ever done a video about the band House Of Lords? I really used to love their music back in the day! I think their most popular song was I Wanna Be Loved. Thank you for helping me to remember a lot of bands that I had completely forgotten about! Keep on Rockin dude!! 🤘🤘🤘

Badlands was great. I got to see them live 2x. You left out the part of how Ray knowingly infected multiple girls with HIV on the last tour. He killed more then 1 girl and the record company was sued. That's why they wont re release any badlands in the us. The parents of the dead girls didnt want them making money off of badlands and it was part of the law suit. Very sad. Kinda hard for me to enjoy badlands and Ray's work after hearing of this sad news.

As well known and appreciated as Badlands' first album is, it is still highly underrated, imo. It's one of the greatest efforts to ever come out of hair metal genre, and to me it's right up there with Ratt's "Out Of The Cellar" and Whitesnake's "Whitesnake." Jake E. Lee Is still one of the greats and Gillen had that haunting quality in his vocals that was every bit in the same powerhouse which spawned Robert Plant. Even though their collaboration was short-lived, their material, especially the first album, still remains a staple. You must go find it. Jade's Song and Winter's Call will convince you.

I was lucky to see Badlands at The Bristol Bierkeller..I have a signed 8x10 bw,a drum stick and a t-shirt ❤❤❤❤❤ They were AMAZING..Voodoo Highway is one of the best albums ..period!!!!❤❤❤❤❤

Sacred Groove was a solo record by George Lynch. It wasn't a Lynch Mob album.

You should cover Jason Becker. Such a tragic tale

My husband and I loved Badlands. We still listen to their albums. Ray was so talented. Thank you for this video. It was great to see

Wow , did not expect this video! Great background on a band I knew very little about. Maybe a video on all the common members of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Black Sabbath? Oh; and a Talk Show video would be cool too.

Jake E Lee was actually fired for wanting credit for his work in writing Ozzy's songs. Also Ozzy was not easy to get along with. Jake E Lee was so upset with the way Ozzy treated him that he didn't touch a guitar for two years. Gillan talked him into playing again.

3 amazing albums! One of my favorite bands of all time

Ray had a phenomenal voice

Terrific little video. I regret never getting a chance to see Badlands live, although I did see Jake live about five or six times with Ozzy, and he was amazing every time. It's a very tough business. I had a lot of hope for Badlands after the release of that debut album, which is a classic.

Good start...but you kinda missed the HUGE settlement that happened after Gillen had infected some unknowing young ladies with HIV. Albums pulled from shelves and $$$ to the victims. Really tragic.

Great video! A tragic story for what could have been a big big band. Cheers!

Most underrated band in history. Don’t believe me? Go listen to all 3 of their albums.

Those first 2 albums were pure gems. Jeff Martin was the singer in Racer X, Paul Gilbert's old band before becoming the drummer in Badlands.

Trying to say what is a great band/album is difficult. The way I judge 'em is how many times I listened/played them. The Badlands debut will always 'rank' high for me due to the fact I listened to it consistently for at least a year and still love to today, 30 years later. 10 of 10, solid top to bottom. Ray was absolutely a killer vocalist and Jake, sublime on the fret board.

I just listened to the first Badlands record last week. Nice work here.

I remember Eddie Trunk telling Jake E. Lee that the Badlands first two albums are out of print because of Ray Gillen infecting Women with AIDS so the record company pulled them out of print at the request of the victims families

A fantastic band, i love all their albums even the album dusk that came out after gillen died, when sun red sun recorded their album gillen was in a bad situation so he recorded vocals for a few songs only so the rest of the songs were sang by other vocalists such as john west, i saw jake e lee live in 2014 with his band red dragon cartel, the band played songs of badlands, ozzy osbourne and their own songs from their debut album, ray gillen was one of the best rock vocalists of all times, his best vocals are in the second album of a supergroup called phenomena from 1987, thank you for sharing.

I don't comment a lot , but got to say your videos are top notch.

The Black Sabbath Eternal Idol expanded edition has the Ray Gillen version on disc 2.

Awesome video my friend. Have a wonderful day.

That first album is a hard rock guitar master class.

The entire video is quite interesting. I was surprised to hear that Jake E Lee had issues with other members of Ozzy's band. Is there (or will you make) a video on that? Kudos, man!

Thanks for another interesting story 👍🏻

I love both of their records. VooDoo Highway is full of songs that I absolutely adore. I am happy that I was not aware of the tension between the band members at the time. I never knew about that until today. I loved the band too much so it would have been heavy for me.

I was a HUGE fan of Badlands back in the day. They were pretty much the anthem of my Freshman and Sophomore years of college.

What a underrated band! Listen to the vocals and guitar on “the Fire lasts Forever” from the album Dusk. just amazing! 👍🏻

Badlands was such an amazing group. I wouldn’t exactly call them hair metal though. They truly were a special band that deserves much more recognition than they get.

Saw Badlands on their 1st tour at Rock and Roll Heaven in TO. Great show. Gillan was super charismatic onstage. There's no way this was a hair metal band.

That was one of my favorite albums. Jake E Lee's guitar work was astounding. Great video Can he beat it, or will Badlands be this week winner

The REAL tragedy is the label's refusal to remaster and re-release their debut album, because of their perception of Gillen post diagnosis. By far the most underrated album of the era. It's pure gold.

You should do videos on the tragic lives of all the bands that never got a shot and where they ended up.

Voodoo highway is one of the best albums ever.

I was, am a huge Badlands fan.

Badlands self-titled first album came out around the same time Dangerous Toys and Skid Row's first albums hit. Skid Row overcame the Grunge invasion that was happening at the time and got pretty big. But Badlands were never given the attention they deserved ! And their music was Leaps and Bounds above anything Motley Crue or Aerosmith were putting out at the time. Dangerous Toys Self-titled first album was killer from start to finish, without one weak song ! Felt like a Hammer !! My best friend Doug and I drove 3 or 4 hours from Richmond, VA to see Dangerous Toys at Hammerjacks in Baltimore in '89 or '90. They were there along with Tora Tora and headliners L.A.Guns. We got pretty lit - I even did Kamikaze shots with Toy's singer Jason McMaster while Tora Tora was playing ! I really hit it off with a smokin' hot redhead whom I met there. She had apparently come down from NYC to see the show, and she invited me to come home with her (Giggity giggity !) but like an idiot I didn't go ! I was a young and inexperienced 21 year old and had only heard stories of the scary ole Big Apple ! Turns out she was the singer in a band called Pretty Poison, who I hadn't yet heard of... So now, in addition to remembering how great the bands were and what an awesome time I had, I also kick myself every time I think of the night I screwed up the chance to really get to know such a gorgeous, sexy and super cool girl - who just happened to be the singer for a band that actually had a video or two on MTV ! Talk about regrets !! Oh and Jade - if you happen to read this and remember me (Tommy from Virginia) Just know I wish I'd have had the balls to come with you to New York that night ! Who knows what mighta happened .......

Anyone wondering why Sharon is the way she is and does people dirty? She gets it from her dad. He did the same thing to Black Sabbath.

I love their second album a lot.

That 1st Badlands is 1 the best debut albums ever , front to back its amazing

Badlands was so damn good! Ray had some killer pipes! I love introducing younger people, musicians especially, to Badlands.

Man, Voodoo Highway is one of my favorite albums of all time.

Badlands is the greatest band that never got to make it big. These guys were INCREDIBLE. Jake is the best guitarist Ozzy ever had (hey, I'm a RR disciple, but it's true), and Ray Gillen has possibly the greatest voice in rock history.

One of the most badass bands of the 80s, America's answer to Whitesnake.

Good review. I have first 2 badlands records and enjoy them both.

My high school GF lived the next town over from me. I used to walk to and from her house every day. A good 8 miles rounds trip. Any way, she got the 1st album right when it came out and made me a tape of it. I listened to the entire thing on my way home that night. Start to finish i was blown away. They truly are a hidden gem.

Badlands rocked harder than any hair band! Saw them live and they blew me away!!!

I saw them in 1991 at the Stone Pony, NJ. AMAZING

I really enjoy this channel, and think you do a great deal of research. However, there was a lot more going on regarding Ray Gillen and his impact on the legacy of this band.

Congratulations to the poster of this video, who clearly spent 20 minutes researching Badlands to make a 6 minute video. It’s not even “the tragic story of ray gillen” it’s a six minute story about the history of Badlands.

The first Badlands album is still one of the best rock collections ever. Drama aside, it belongs in everyone’s playlist because Jake was able to showcase his talent w/o having to deal with Sharon and Ozzy. The context that they screwed Jake on Bark at the Moon is important in the narrative of how this band unfolded.

Ray Gillen was arguably the best lead vocalist in rock During Badlands all too brief history

Dreams in the Dark!Great song!

One of the best voices of ALL TIME!

It baffles me that anyone in the last five to ten years still tells people to like, subscribe, and hit the bell. Everyone knows how KZfaq works. 😊

Thanks for this, they were a great band. I wasn't going to subscribe because you have too much guns and roses on here, but I had to when I saw this, Another band I would love to hear about is The Four Horsemen, that would be fantastic!

Honestly I haven't heard of this band but this was a very interesting story.

Far from a hair band. Those first two albums are simply incredible.

You should do a documentary on Savatage, the Death of Criss Oliva & their Evolution into Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Savatage were also managed Paul O'Neill, and had a track called Strange Wings, which featured Ray Gillen on backing vocals.

Wow I never realized how handsome Ray was, what a loss musically.

Can you do a video on the history of Canadian dance trio love inc please I’m a big fan I miss them

Badlands was a Blues based hard rock outfit. Killer grooves and singing. My fave all those years ago.

Badlands' first album was definitely a cut above the rest, kind of like Blue Murder in the quality of the songs and music. The later hair metal scene was so bereft of genuinely good bands as the labels just catered the music to a female audience. As for HIV, it was not only a death sentence, but also a source of shame for those dealing with it. Sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov contracted it from a blood transfusion and his family kept the diagnosis under wraps until well after his death for fear of the diagnosis ruining his professional reputation. In that sense, those were bad times.

I got to see them twice, In Dallas with Eric and Denver with Jeff. Greg was my Bass spirit guide.....until I heard Trujillo!

"Sacred Groove" is the first solo album by George Lynch, not a Lynch Mob release.

knew Ray a bit in the latter years of his life... solid guy and funny as shit.

Greatest singer I've ever heard!

Powerhouse, what a gift to listen to!

It's a travesty they weren't bigger than what they were. Absolutely brilliant, talented musicians. Although I didn't know about the Gillian thing.

This band had so many zeppelin elements and was so unique on their own. They could have conquered the world