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If it could, it would

Couple of Machine Head related articles in the Vintage Guitar magazine. Both have originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of the magazine, and now are also available online. Roger Glover was interviewed on the occasion of the Dweezil Zappa’s remix of the album. The recording circumstances are part of the Machine Head legend, so […]

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Before there was EVH

Guitar World has a story about the origins of two-hand tapping guitar technique, and Ritchie Blackmore is indirectly involved. It sounds like something out of one of those corny classic rock-themed parodies of Renaissance paintings. The setting is one of the most famed rock venues of all time, LA’s Whisky a Go Go, and the […]

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Allegro und Blues

The complete performance of Jon Lord’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra that happened in Munich in October 2024 has been posted on YouTube for your viewing pleasure. The piece was performed by the rock band Boxhead and Abaco-Orchestra conducted by Ina Stoertzenbach. Watch out for some delightful deviations from the canon.

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Substitute things

The Guardian has a piece dealing with “how rock’s drummers cope with furious sets in their 70s”, and Ian Paice is featured there, among his peers Rat Scabies (Damned), Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden), Paul Cook (Sex Pistols), David Kendrick (Sparks, Devo), and others. Ian Paice, 76, has just finished a tour with Deep Purple, the […]

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How on Earth

Steve Morse contributed guitar solo to the single Save Me by a Croatian band called Kings Point. The track will also appear on their upcoming debut album Surrender, produced by none other than Bob Ezrin, so that explains at least one step of how on Earth…

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Unfascinating rhythm

Continuing in the vein of In Rock Around the Clock, here’s another neural network hallucination — Burn as if it was recorded by a swing band. Sadly, the Gershwin’s riff in the title track went well over the silicon head. Anyhow, might be worth a chuckle, but not much more.

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The Post-Season Post

RG looks back on 2024 I trust everybody survived the preceding festivities with nothing more than indigestion. After being away on tour for a large part of the year, I finally returned home to spend Christmas, etc. with my family. The tour was one of the best, we all agreed on that. So massive thanks […]

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More than we asked for

Continuing on the slow news week theme, here’s something for that hangover morning — a Burn documentary, opinionated by a bunch of people most of us never heard about. Of the redeeming qualities, it has input from the ubiquitous Glenn Hughes, and from John McCoy (of all the people). The archive footage includes bits of […]

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Touring in 2025

The band takes some time for a well deserved break from the touring. We hope some of that downtime is being used to make some new music. Meanwhile, various members of the family continue touring on their own and with different projects, albeit mostly in Europe. Ian Paice kicks off the year in late January […]

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Bewitches all you gaze upon

It’s a slow news week as most people are enjoying the holidays, so here’s something for you to entertain yourselves completely ignore. A cover of Fireball by Canadian indie musician Rick White

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The one with Smoke On The Water

Speaking of the “best of 2024” lists, Machine Head made it to the Classic Rock magazine Best rock reissues of 2024: Yup, the one with Smoke On The Water. That song, and this album, made Deep Purple legends all over the globe. This, essentially, is a three-CD version. The first disc pairs the Dweezil Zappa […]

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Still equals one

=1 made its way into several best of 2024 lists. For example, it is at #9 on the Ultimate Guitar Top 20 Albums of 2024. Meanwhile in Germany, it tops Metal Hammer’s 2024 annual review in Hard Rock & Rock category, as evidenced in the January 2025 issue. Update [Dec 29]: the deluxe box set […]

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Having a sip

Snakecharmer General answers fan-submitted questions (Christmas Edition)

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Just to keep things interesting

To prove his thesis that “Life in Deep Purple has never been dull”, Geoff Barton lists 25 of the maddest moments from the band’s history. And California Jam is not one of them. If you’ve been around here for a while, you probably already heard about most all of it. Nevertheless, here we go: 1. […]

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Pedal to the metal

In a recent interview, singer Marc Storace of the Krokus fame talks about his audition for Rainbow circa the Down to Earth sessions

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The bouffant haired MTV mainstays

Louder Sound reprints a 2009 Metal Hammer feature on the hairspray era of Whitesnake, based around an interview with David Coverdale. For the first few years of the 1980s, David Coverdale was an incredibly busy man. After the demise of Deep Purple, the band he’d sung with since 1974 and that had made him a […]

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Passion, energy, fire, and just enough flamboyance

Harp playing Amy had a very purple weekend with listening to Highway Star and Smoke on the Water

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Glenn takes that

Retropop magazine reports that Glenn Hughes will be among the guest musicians on the upcoming Robbie Williams (of Take That fame) album. Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple played on something. Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath played on something. I know – Black Sabbath to Deep Purple. The yet unnamed album is due some time in […]

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Sharing the personal fun

Taking full advantage of the lull in touring schedule, Paicey resumes the regular programming on his Drumtribe channel. Shape of Things off the Turning to Crime sessions, and all that went into it

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For money, for fame, for the chicks, and for the music

Several press clipping that are of a too marginal interest to post them individually. Australian Guitar has a short feature on Hughes/Iommi collaborations on the occasion of recent reissues: “I’ve always liked Glenn,” Iommi says. “We’ve been friends for many years and go way back. I’ve always loved his vocals. When they get older, most […]

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