![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan2.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan.jpg)
Lazy Sod
A third single Lazy Sod from the new album =1 has been released.
[Update July 1]: The video clip was removed from public viewing just a few hours later without any explanation.
…And reinstated back a couple of days later:
[Update July 2]: Attempt #2, this time audio only
Straight from the horse’s mouth, as quoted by the ROCKS magazine, June 2024 issue:
Recently, a young journalist asked me how many songs I had written in my life. I replied that the last time my assistant counted, twenty years ago, it was over 500. I felt quite accomplished until she pointed out Dolly Parton’s 5,000 songs, calling me a lazy sod. I couldn’t help but agree and wrote down the exchange in my notebook.
Thanks to Lutz Reinert for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Waaaw, what a great and catchy song ! Love the riff and overall vibe, everyone play/sing great… Another brillant one… 5 on 5 to me, that album REALLY is promising !
July 1st, 2024 at 14:59Early Whitesnake-ish
July 1st, 2024 at 15:01Seems they’ve gone into more hit-chorus making, just like on The House Of Blue Light or Whoosh. Sounds good anyway, but aren’t we slightly tired of those Airey-type solos that just don’t stick in our head at all? 6-7/10 would be the most honest review, I suppose. Still waiting for the whole album though, Bleeding Obvious promises a lot even being played live
July 1st, 2024 at 15:35this Video ist the best out of the three so far ! Yeah. A good rock song.
Seems like the video is gone again, but I have my TAB with the video still open and repeat until 1 = 2
=)
July 1st, 2024 at 16:22Released by mistake! It went down after 10 views! I hope this is the weakest one cis it actually is nothing special instead some good work from Don and decent singing.
July 1st, 2024 at 16:32Or perhaps not😁
July 1st, 2024 at 17:16Was it an unintended leak, or what happened?
July 1st, 2024 at 19:33I’m pretty sure bad ole Rasmus was behind it. He ain’t gonna give up his advantage of sovereign knowledge. The Catholic Church didn’t want book printing either. We are to be kept in the dark!
Or maybe the “unintended leak” was in fact intended to raise appetite? 😎 We live in an age of deception …
https://img.atlasobscura.com/Vl_HiRvD6cR_GMzYg2TKoq3QYkZaa2kkuh-1-9LJSiY/rs:fill:12000:12000/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL2Fzc2V0/cy81YWNhZDVjN2Yy/NWY1ZjI5MWJfU2Ny/ZWVuIFNob3QgMjAx/Ni0wOC0xMCBhdCAx/LjUxLjMzIFBNLnBu/Zw.png
July 1st, 2024 at 22:58It’s called a teaser 😂
July 2nd, 2024 at 08:05Once thing I leaned from Now What and it was from their first song in the album called ‘Simple Song’
Time it done not matter
But time is all we have.
My understanding is since the aging population of DP fans I think people want to hear the album before mother nature call it a day on us.
Patience is a virtue
Peace ✌️
So far not overly impressed from the songs that they released. I thought Simon was more on the heavier side and it still sounds like Morse era. Songs are not bad but nothing that immediately grabs you. Same like Whoosh. Where are the upfront riffs? Heck even that Rolling Stones song Angry is so much better than what DP has released. It has a nice strong riff and catchy chorus and I can’t stand the Stones!!!
July 2nd, 2024 at 10:26I was lucky enough to see and hear the video. Excellent song. The chorus is very strong.
July 2nd, 2024 at 10:27@8. Uwe, Bit harsh on Rasmus, who has displayed near saintly characteristics over the years, with the Catholic church which hasn’t. We await St.Rasmus’s latest epistle with heightened interest.
July 2nd, 2024 at 13:29I was momentarily weak in faith, David, forgive me!
July 2nd, 2024 at 23:09People and Uwe. The next chapter in the review is up. It’s the ballad. Love it!
July 3rd, 2024 at 00:26Got a hold of it now!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85jT9sBomwc
The riff is very Mean Streak’ish, more Blackmore than anything Steve ever attempted. The kind of riff a guitarist plays in a rehearsal space and then everyone starts laughing and says: “Are we Deep Purple now or what?!”
Attila’s comparison to early Whitesnake isn’t off the mark, but I’m more reminded of GILLAN (the band), I can envisage John McCoy and Colin Towns bopping behind their instuments to that chorus.
Don’s electric piano during the bridge(s) and at the end of the organ solo is ABBA’esque and even a bit kitsch in its faux drama, but, hey, I like it! He did that in Eyes Of The World too and it already had me cracking up back then, Don channeling his inner Benny Andersson!
https://media.giphy.com/media/XK8ubiGrbCvHbZeMMr/giphy.gif
Sehr schöne Musik, a bit banal, but in a good, life-affirming way.
July 3rd, 2024 at 03:36As a loyal forever fan of DP, I am always happy to have them around. Yet, I must admit that on these three songs I don’t see anything striking me. When “Nothing At All” was released, everything, and I really mean everything, was making me happy, the riff, the flash of genius, the keyboard, the lyrics. Here, I hear some good old friends who I’ll always love, but nothing really impressing. Please, don’t get me wrong. I’ll love Purple forever.
July 3rd, 2024 at 05:32Simon is brilliant, so close to Ritchie from his best days .. the first solo reminds of “Strange Kind of Woman” … the second solo is even better but has one flaw .. short … at least 30-45 seconds are missing, Simon caught the working temperature…why “scissors”guys, Bob ?!
July 3rd, 2024 at 05:50So listen,
July 3rd, 2024 at 07:52so learn,
so read on
You gotta turn the page, read the Book of Taliesyn
Hear the song of lovely Joan
Her sound so sweet and clear
Very poppy and hit record oriented song!
Definitely reminds me of the 80s era stuff – except I think this stuff works much better. I agree with the comparison to Whitesnake – up until the hammond solo I was like “eh, this is alright.” and then Don just hits you with these crazy, CRAZY runs right at the very end and so many tasty chromatic licks from the band and damn, I’m sold!
It’s the most commercial I’ve ever heard DP sound – I don’t think that’s bad, it’s just different! I’m gonna have to adjust – and I think I’m gonna grow to really like this record. I’ve got a good feeling about it!
July 3rd, 2024 at 07:53sounds good, a bit like ZZ Top Tush!
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:01There is a hint of a whitesnake song riff in it.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:20Can you someone help me or I am just imagining things
Peace ✌️
At places the groove of it makes me think of Long Live Rock and Roll. Love both.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:27Reminds me of ZZ Top, sort of, guitar wise at least at the start of it. Not too bad a song all things considered. Cheers.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:28Oh sugar, it’s whitesnake’s ‘Fool for your loving ‘
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:36Riff
It’s a blatant case of plagiarism, it will all end up in court, 😂😂😂😂 just love it.
The battle rages on
Peace ✌️
@13 Ah a penitent man. I’m not sure I am in a position to grant absolution (blues!) but I’m sure you would gain merit with a few hail Mary’s.
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:53ZZ Top riff with a very Gillan/Deep Purple chorus. Sounds good to me. IMO the Morse era albums all have a couple of mid tempo bland tracks but none of the three we’ve heard so far fall into that category.
@14. Cheers Rasmus. All very well written and the reality of the tracks matches your description. Is part 4 the last and when do we get it?
July 3rd, 2024 at 08:58I like it, it’ different and it should be!
July 3rd, 2024 at 09:18Alessandro #16 got It.
July 3rd, 2024 at 10:34Simon Is so fresh that people still write thing’s like “he play like Steve” “he play like Ritchie”..come on.but if you criticize him because he isn’t up to par they’ll tell you that he has to be himself and play as he wants
Let me Say “you got the wrong man”. I really can’t like this. The overall sound of this kinda like purple Is terrible. The only thing’s they do Better than before Is promotion and music video.
it’s my opinion, it certainly won’t change the world. If you like this stuff, go ahead and listen to it.
@24. When the riff kicked in I started to hum the vocals of that said WS song. Good track anyway.
July 3rd, 2024 at 11:51Non bad but tending to the pop.
July 3rd, 2024 at 11:59don airey is a copy paste
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:00@15 Yeah, I get the “Mean Streak” vibe in this track too.
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:08It’s good song by all, it does not have the shortcomings of portable door. Solos are good and Gillan is comfortable and catchy. Black night vibe is all over, so it’s not breaking any new ground but still as one off is fine within the album variations:)
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:21@24
July 3rd, 2024 at 12:38It reminds me of Whitesnake’s, Give me all your love tonight. Does anyone else hear that?
I think you guys are all getting hen and egg confused: DP, i.e. Ritchie wrote those types of riffs long before ZZ Top or Whitesnake did. If there is one thing you can (somewhat unjustly) boil him down to in the 70ies then it is being a riff furnace.
DP were one of the chief progenitors of making the riff central to a song and repeating it over and over, it became their formula/recipe (and people who don’t care for Purple cite this as the major reason why they dislike the band), and IG would very often weave his voice and chorus ideas into those riffs (or even sing them in unison, he wasn’t above that either).
This is a Deep Purple forum and you guys start citing ZZ Top and Whitesnake tracks as being inspirational for a new riff-dominated Purple number – SHAME ON YOU! That’s like saying a new Paul McCartney track “sounds a lot like Oasis”. 😂 Listen to In Rock for ultimate penance, you blind heretics!
(Walks off stage, huffing.)
July 3rd, 2024 at 14:30For some unknown reason I listened to why didnt rosemary together with this track. Surprising how good things sound from half a century ago.
July 3rd, 2024 at 15:30Yes, banale, a padavan’s job, but with its inherent simplicity somehow guarantees itself a place in the history of popular music. One note though: Jon’s organ sound is what ot should be. 60 years on, with all the no-nos for a keyboardist in a rock band (give more blond hair implant to a league of guitar shredders on a single stage), fuck it (saxon: where are they now, the broken heroes), that sixties hammond survived a lot. Should come to the fore.
July 3rd, 2024 at 15:58Hammond is my favorite rock instrument, ahead of bass and guitar. I think it’s an incredibly versatile and mighty instrument and not every Joe Blow plays it either, much less well.
My wife winced slightly when she heard Don’s solo arrive in Lazy Sod: “He’s a lot edgier than Jon was, that’s already too jazzy for me, Jon was more melodic.” And she is right, but I have long made peace with Don’s style: Yes, he is edgier (and also flashier) + more angular than Jon, a lot more 12-tone technique (which Jon wouldn’t eschew all the time either, but he was generally content with his Arabic scale exploits when he wanted to play something “weird”).
She is also rather adamant that Big Ian “needs a haircut fast” and that the current state of his hair cannot be reasonably described as such. 🤣
July 3rd, 2024 at 16:24I know they are pushing 80 but this makes Johnny’s Band sound like Motörhead.
July 3rd, 2024 at 16:41BTW: I love Little Ian’s cartoonish outstretched arms at the end of the vid! Still the little drummer boy, aged 76. 😆
July 3rd, 2024 at 16:50NomeACaso #28, when Steve came on board, I didn’t want him to play like Ritchie – impossible and useless – I wanted him to play like Steve. I want Simon to play like Simon. But I want a guitar player who strikes me with his personality. As for now, I don’t see his mark here. Still, I hope I’ll find it. The good part is that he is not a boring guitar shredder… I have Enough of that.
Uwe #35, I agree. Why comparing with Whitesnake or ZZ Top, when Ritchie made already it? And I have the impression that if you slow down Mad Dog you’re not far from the beginning of this song.
Peace
Alessandro
July 3rd, 2024 at 17:04My initial feel was: Deep Purple does their take on Bad Company. Very “can’t get enough-ish” to my ears as well as this Whitesnake one, too. Not exceptional composition wise, but still it sways me right. We got five islanders in the band again and it’s telling. It’s less angular and adventurous than it used to be with Steve, but sounds so more how I like Purple to sound. Grit in the guitar chords, long notes, no staccato in the rhythm. And Don at last is on fire. Gillan, again has his bumps and punches in the lyrics, he really got his mojo out of his trousers to the paper on this album to my ears.
July 3rd, 2024 at 17:40On a more positive note, I am hoping it will only get better from here. It’s difficult to deliver the goods if the drummer is not driving the band. This is way too laid back with Paicey virtually unrecognizable. The organ sound is also a strange choice, closer to a toy organ than a real Hammond.
July 3rd, 2024 at 17:58Actually the Riff is very similar to Neil Young – see T-Bone from RE-AC-TOR album – I think then Neil Young re-used that riff for This Notes For You – maybe I am wrong but that’s what is sitting in my head now lol
July 3rd, 2024 at 17:59#31 AndreA
Don wants to be (and was for last twenty years) the next incarnation of Keith Emerson. His phrasing always falls in Keith’s style aura and that’s a shortcoming that irks me a bit, because if he wants – he can be diverse and full of feel no iota less than Jon Lord always was. But he somehow chooses safe paths in Purple, with lots of leanings towards ELP mainman. Which not always fits the DP sound best. But at least he still kicks this goode ol’ B3 around well. With all this said, I don’t see anyone else taking the Jon Lord booth as well anyway. Younger guys would end copying Jon’s style without a feeling. Don is who he is – the only guy with the musical background diverse enough to be the man with pomp and circumstance on keyboards. That’s what we want from Purple, isn’t it?
July 3rd, 2024 at 18:19Wow! This thing rocks like in the old days! Mr. McBrides riffy playing really makes the difference and drives the number forward plus extra cool drumming from Mr. Paice … the entire band plays absoloutely great! Bonus: Mr. Gillans voice has this wonderful patina. Love that! A real hit for me as an “stone old” Purple fan since “Mark I”! Hopefully more of that cool stuff on the album! Rock on!
July 3rd, 2024 at 18:49There are not many devoted and dedicated Hammond players still around or of the younger generation, so I’m happy to have Don with the Purps even though he’s – Thorsun is right – closer to Keith E than Jon L, but then he always was. It’s just his natural style and that’s fine. Don is the mad professor on keyboards and that is an image too, Jon was: “Hello, I’m Mr Concerto and giving this outfit some semblance of culture!” 😄
One thing in favor of Don is that he’s really pushing the band hard live, more so than Jon who in his latter days reverted even in DP a bit to coasting à la Whitesnake (he was still great, but not as awesome as he had been, I guess he was beginning to have other things on his mind).
[I think the Dutch kid in Glenn’s band is actually quite good, just the right amount of gung-ho devil-may-care sloppiness and raunch. He impressed me and I haven’t been impressed by keyboard players in the ‘Greater DP Family’ in a long time – unless they are called Jon or Don of course. (Honorary mention: Colin Towns was of course great too.)]
July 3rd, 2024 at 20:30Great Song for Radio Stations. Groovy and Popstyle. Get straight into your ears. A real headbanger for venues.
July 3rd, 2024 at 20:32This riff reminds me No Class (motorhead).
July 3rd, 2024 at 21:53@15 Uwe:
you’re right, it also immediately reminded me of the flavor of the Gillan band….finally a hard blues song with non-obvious passages, as only Deep Purple can do, and they haven’t done for years!!
having said that, I prefer the other two singles, maybe it’s because I find them much more FM music.
and finally Ian Paice sets his drums on fire like I haven’t heard since Abandon!
I agree with those who judge Don to be a bit repetitive lately, more than anything it seems to me that the passage of chords he makes to connect the verse to the bridge is something he has already played in several previous Deep songs, perhaps he could have “hided” it a little with a different arrangement…or that harmony came from someone else’s pen, but still abused in the purple repertoire of recent years.
other than that, great song!
July 3rd, 2024 at 21:58and then I love that Purple are making all these “minimal” videos where they put their face into it, and a lot of it, what magic they still have!…excellent promotion!
That opening riff instantly reminded me of 80’s ZZ Top, not Blackmore at all. The sound of it & that is not a bad thing as Billy Gibbons is a wonderful player & influence on younger generations as well as older. A Stratocaster it ain’t or even that ole Gibson from the 60’s. First impressions usually bring a memory or two to the fore. Cheers.
July 3rd, 2024 at 22:44I like the songs that they have released so far, and Lazy Sod might be my favorite. What is standing out to me is the quality of Simon’s solos. Looking forward to some heavier stuff on the album that usually doesn’t get released as a single.
July 3rd, 2024 at 22:56“This riff reminds me No Class (Motörhead).”
Which is ZZ Top’s Tush with a minorish verse, even Lemmy admitted as much! 😎
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg_bWlmbeb0
Re Don repeating himself: Let’s be fair, Jon had his bag of tricks and mannerisms too and didn’t reinvent the wheel every time he played a solo – even in his classical compositions there were recurring themes and similarities. And more than Don, Jon was a veritable showman, either crouched over the organ or fully-maned head thrown back, rocking it back and forth …
https://64.media.tumblr.com/174a2046c99620ae30fbea73381f5787/tumblr_psox6m7R5C1tcjonq_500.gifv
https://64.media.tumblr.com/3b53ad3128c0d3796ea681e65dea95ed/tumblr_psox6pG41M1tcjonq_500.gif
https://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jon-Lord-with-Deep-Purple-in-concert-1973.jpg
https://hecraig.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/jon-lord_2.jpg
That’s not knocking Jon, I loved the man, but like Ritchie he had a flashy stage persona too and not everything he played was filled with breathtaking virtuosity or originality, he had his cliches, gimmicks and “sure audience wins” too.
Speaking of, here’s a nice interview with him from the Now What?! period which probably has been on these pages before:
https://www.classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=970
Interesting quote from it:
Jeb: What is it like playing on stage with Steve? Being the keyboard player in Deep Purple is a lot like being a lead guitarist.
Don: There is a lot to do. Usually, as a keyboard player, you look down the set list and you think, “Oh, in four numbers time I have to do something.” The rest of the time it is pretty easy. In Deep Purple, I look down the sheet and go, “Oh, how am I going to get through this.”
Steve very much leads the charge. He is full of ideas and it really astonishing how much he has in the way of ideas. We clash a lot in a friendly way. We butt horns, so to speak, quite a bit, but that is good for the song, the material and for the band.
July 4th, 2024 at 00:31Lamentably, Nick Foley doesn’t have the cute dimples and nose wrinkling mannerisms of the qualified ladies usually embellishing this site with their (reputedly) virgin observations, but – nature has a habit of compensating – unlike them he has an organ (or two) and plays with it too (his Don solo analysis is at 09:33).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_3384n_XyI
July 4th, 2024 at 03:10Once I’ve got past the opening riff (I agree it’s like Tush) – and IMO it’s a good riff – it turns into the sort of track that only DP write (something I find hard to define) and Simon really shines here. His solo on Portable Door was quite Morse-ish but his solo here is definitely not and it’s a cracker.
July 4th, 2024 at 12:07Nicely ZZ TOP-y, very nicely. After 3 singles so far, I´m fully, absobloodylutelly satisfied.
July 4th, 2024 at 14:22Well, I like it and yes, it’s definitely poppy ( if that’s a word ) but, isn’t it lovely to see the band that we’ve all adored for all these years , having some fun and enjoying their music …plus , good old Gillan still gives those mischievous looks to the camera every now and then …just like from the Gillan band on Top of the Pops in the 70s and 80s
Ps
Anyone notice the nod to ” Shape of Things ? ” ..Yard birds ( I think ? ) …and covered on ” Turning to Crime ” ( quite brilliantly actually)
Incidentally, I’ve got an old Gillan interview here from around 1981 ( Radio 1 ) …where he says ..” I’ll be singing until I die ! ” …hope its not prophetic …..but I think he’s right !
July 4th, 2024 at 20:52It reminds me of Sleeping On The Job!
That even rhymes and makes sense: Lazy sod sleeping on the job …
July 5th, 2024 at 01:24More whitesnake than zztop.
July 5th, 2024 at 11:12I listened to the song on headphones. It’s really good easy hard rock blues that I haven’t heard since the 80s
IMO the riff is more like “Give Me All Your Love” than “Fool For Your Lovin'” – mind you they were playing Tush as an encore around that time.
@58 and of course Sleeping On The Job features one of the best couplets in the history of hard rock: Ultrasonic, Gin and Tonic, Sleeping On The Job.
July 5th, 2024 at 13:10Io amo i Deep Purple.
July 5th, 2024 at 14:29Herr Gillan was alway great with those.
July 5th, 2024 at 14:53Mr Hornung
July 5th, 2024 at 17:32That’s interesting…I was getting Glory Road era too !….I guess its inevitable really, to make all these comparisons , when they have such a large back catalogue.
I was also getting ” Fool for your loving ” too …but, surely Paicey won’t come up with that riff …and I definitely can’t see Gillan copying anything from Coverdale !
Yeah, David Black, one of the Whitesnake encores around 1988 really was Tush, but renamed by DC a bit lascivelly on… Tits.
July 5th, 2024 at 18:29@10 … I found Whoosh to be fantastic. This is quite the endorsement from my purple perspective. I fully agree.
July 5th, 2024 at 19:43You gotta remember what Paicey said in his interview during the release of ” Whoosh ” …about there only being ” so many notes and so many chords ” etc etc …and I’m no songwriter but, I reckon he’s right …how many bands do we know of ( apart from RS ) that are writing new songs after 50 odd years ?
There’s bound to be inflections of old tunes …and things that remind us of ” The things I never said ” lol
Might be a bit contentious but, I wonder how much of this is from Simon ? Not much I’m guessing…I reckon they’re all Gillan/ Airey/ Glover compositions…I think you’ll find Simon ( as brilliant a guitarist as he is ) is just a session player here
July 5th, 2024 at 20:15@AndreA 31
I like Don Airey ..a lot ! Think he fits in perfectly and he’s such a decent, humble guy …
Just to give you another story of my band meetings ( I haven’t had many )
It was Sept 2002 ( Jon’s farewell tour ) ..Plymouth …anyone else there ? It was a fantastic gig ( the night Gillan, Glover and Morse walked into the crowd during Ted ) due to another dickhead security guard who wouldn’t let the fans go to the stage …so Gillan came into the crowd, and I’ll never forget , he said ” Well, if you can’t come to us …we’ll come to you ! ” …after that, the crowd surged to the front of the stage ( I and my sister..it was actually my now late sisters idea ) ended up right in front of the stage, touching the stage !
The security guard stormed off , muttering some expletives ! And the atmosphere exploded into euphoria …it was like we were all kids again …Steve Morse shoved his guitar into the crowd ( and I could touch it and play a ” bum” note ) he handed me his beer, laughed at my singing …and we got plectrums etc …it was an absolutely amazing , incredible and exuberant night . Gillan was absolutely in his element and totally loving it !
Anyway, hope I’m setting the scene enough ….cus after an amazing sweat filled and booze soaked night and tearfully saying goodbye to Jon …we chatted with fellow fans by the stage for a bit, reflected on what a surreal and amazing evening it had been and my Sister and I made our way out of the arena and into the foyer …..and there, sat down with a few fans / mates was none other then …Don Airey !! …I couldn’t believe it ! How did he get off stage ..and run around to the foyer before us !?
I walked past and said in a very surprised way …” Great gig , Don ” …as I didn’t want to interrupt him with his friends …and he replied in a very thankful and humble way ..” cheers ” …with his friendly smile .
I just couldn’t believe it
I’d love to hear from anyone else at that gig
That said…as I’ve said before…please ditch the Rick Wakemen synth solos Don ! Lol
July 5th, 2024 at 20:51@67 Steve, I was there at the Plymouth Pavilions, Sept. 2002, just a couple of days before that historic final concert at Ipswich – I too distinctly remember the three front people coming down into the audience, that was an excellent gig!
July 6th, 2024 at 09:02However this album will be a bomb for me because I have the impression that it leans towards classic hard rock with blues veins, leaving at home those prog atmospheres present in the last three albums, perhaps beautiful but which tire me after a while.
July 6th, 2024 at 10:30#66
So we agreed to disagree (to quote Gerry Rafferty)…
I personally don’t believe Simon is the session player here in new DP setting. There is a lot of hints and bits in the surroundings suggesting he joined the party on partnered terms. The album is great, it hasn’t been that good for years. And Purple was always a band, where lots of creative sparks came round from guitar noodling around. Steve has created a good few of his best tunes just warming up, playing incendiary things that were picked by other members (Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, Never A Word). The way the band is now reinvigorated and the new material is strong – comes in a large part from his presence and skills. And I love it, the hype about the new record hasn’t been that butterflies-in-the-stomack to me since 2013.
What worries me more is the fact that they did not cure IG properly since Istanbul gig. He’s still struggling to sing and I can’t see him surviving this kind of punishing gig schedule. If they at least ditched the Space Truckin’ and Highway Star in favour of No One Came or Money Talks where he could more rap than sing – they’d made it easier for his throat… I’m worried. The US leg of the tour is put to hazard IMO. It’s painful to watch and harms the overall feeling of the band doing well – your frontman is not having that, clearly soldiering and struggling through.
July 6th, 2024 at 11:02#67
Nice story of the gig, Steve. It must have been so hard to se Jon go. I miss him everyday. And that is regardless of Don – who is a monster on his own right, helping the purple machine to crawl on. I wouldn’t call on dropping the synths solos, though! They’re much tastier to my ears than Rick’s – less flash, more melody. And funnily enough Wakeman resemblances put us closer to Jon Lord – as Jon and Rick were close in Jon’s last years. If I were to choose between Don going either for Emerson or Wakeman – I go for the latter!
July 6th, 2024 at 11:08@67 Steve
July 6th, 2024 at 12:27I was too harsh in my post @31, I admit it. It’s that Jon Lord’s charisma, his melody and his imagination was unique. But is it true that Jon’s Hammond is locked in a warehouse? How I miss his mustache.♡
Innocent thought Coverdian @64: I don’t think that DC made anything more lascivious than it already was, if you look up “tush” …
“the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on. synonyms: ass, backside, behind, bottom, bum, buns, butt, buttocks, can, derriere, fanny, fundament, hind end, hindquarters, keister, nates, posterior, prat, rear, rear end, rump, seat, stern, tail, tail end, tooshie”
Herr Gibbons was lewdly singing of getting himself some ass. DC just moved things a little higher, perhaps he isn’t much of a derrière man.
July 6th, 2024 at 14:48@67: No, please don’t, I love synth solos! That Tarot Woman intro ranks among the highlights of Rainbow’s oeuvre for me and I always loved Colin Towns’ synth excursions with IGB and Gillan too. Also Manfred Mann with his Earth Band, his synth solos always took me on a journey. I know it has become a dying art, but I personally find synth solos exciting and “really out there”.
Re Simon’s compositional input, Steve, I’d be surprised if it was anything less than substantial. It would be very un-Purple to not flock around the ideas of a lead guitarist, think Blackmore, Bolin or Morse. In fact part of the reasons why Clem Clemson didn’t get the job Tommy Bolin took were lingering doubts about how much he would be able to contribute in the songwriting department (he hadn’t written much ever with Humble Pie – while Tommy came to the audition bursting with ideas). Simon otoh, as his solo output shows, is a prolific writer.
July 6th, 2024 at 15:10I just watched a documentary that was “From here to Infinite” and I was hit hard by two moments with Steve Morse. One on how he is clearly suffering with coming to the terms that his right wrist gave out after 50 years of forming the bridge with the pinky set out to work the volume knob and the second where he muses on the fact how is it possible that men of that age are touring and working that hard. “It must be something about them, British. They are like that Energizer bunny – unstoppable. I’m sure that if we had a road crash, like that, head on, the only fatality in that – would be me. They would, like, gathered from there, dusted off their shoulders and asked – ‘So, where’s the tea?’ “. So there you have it, he’s been thinking of calling it a day there and then (the documentary rises the question if this was to be last DP album they did).
And then Ian Paice is in: “Steve once said a beatiful thing – ‘I might be not the 1st guitarist in Purple, but I want to be the last.” Love you Steve, but that’s not to be. And what’s more adding grain of pain to your unfulfilled wish – is that we like the guy who’s decided to take over from you.
I’m excited for what’s to come and wish them all the best.
July 6th, 2024 at 19:55#74
Lieber Uwe, it’s great that you give Colin Towns a mention here and there. I always had him on my lists right after Jon Lord. His style and imaginativity on keyboards made Gillan’s bands something super special. Harmonic crossover between progressive rock and NWOBHM? Only thanks to that man. I will go as far as that to say that playing synthesisers was Jon Lord’s weakest department, but for Colin it’s a big big forte. “On The Rocks” intro suite is a clear example of that and the track itself is in my Top 10 of most beloved tracks. The way it develops and goes on like the freight train, is absolutely astounding.
If it wasn’t for how bad was the fallout between Gillan and the rest of his band on 17th December of 1982 – maybe the collaboration between Colin and Ian would be possible again. And I must say that combining of the talents of Morse and Towns could in my book end take Deep Purple right to the pantheon of the progressive rock. I wouldn’t mind him seeing in the keyboard driver seat. Of course, that’s just wishful thinking as Colin completely moved away from the rock music after Gillan split. His scores of TV series however have this amazing unique sound of his sweet Moog synth and limitless imagination of painting the moods. Big hero of mine, right up on the level with Jon Lord, tough never appreciated enough to be mentioned on the same breath length along with Lord, Emerson and Wakeman. Pity.
July 6th, 2024 at 20:30@67 AndreaA
July 6th, 2024 at 23:02I do understand what you mean , Jon is our Godfather…and always will be …We all love him.
I do believe though that Don is the only one that could have carried on the baton ….and he is so humble about it , its wonderful. Not like that Dick head Glen Hughes !
I’m sure others on here will know better then me but, I’m pretty sure I saw an interview where Don said Jon had donated his Hammond B3 to the band ?
@68 Stathis
July 6th, 2024 at 23:11Wonderful. Thanks for replying! And wasn’t it a great gig ! There was just something really magical about that night …a proper old grassroots gig at little old Plymouth ( it’s probably my favourite Purple gig . And I was at Knebworth too ! ) Do you remember the NEC gig a few days later? And Gillan was still arguing with the security blokes ( I don’t think he likes them very much !) …Maybe it all started in Copenhagen in 1972 !? Lol
I also saw them at Bristol Colstan Hall that year ( horrible place…I think its been pulled down now ) …and Bernie Marsden came out to join them
OK, I’ll relent on Don’s synth solos …I think my phobia started on Back to Back from Now What .
I’m going to sound horrible here ( and I really don’t mean to ) but, I think Simon is a brilliant guitarist, his improv on stage is really exciting, I just don’t like the thought of a buying a Purple album featuring someone with no pedigree…at least when Purpendicular came out , we knew who Steve was and it was exciting.
I guess I’m just miffed at Steve leaving and I’m a little bemused at the circumstances, surely Simon could have filled in until ….( you know what I’m saying)
This new album better be good …I do like what I’m hearing so far though
July 6th, 2024 at 23:20A short though spicey track which many seem to link with oldies from long ago.
Usually I m not that lazy but spontaneously thinking……ahhhhhhhhh, yes, there it comes from…..is not happening at the moment.
Gillan era Gers , Breaking chains or one of these other ones maybe my brain seems to think.
July 6th, 2024 at 23:31I gave Whoosh a spin a few days ago (shock horror) & a couple of songs stand out to me. As many have stated before it is a better album than Infinite to my ears. Of course Nothing At All is the stellar song on the Whoosh album, however I do like The Power of the Moon, The Long Way Around & Man Alive with Gillan doing his spoken word narration ala Richard Burton or Vincent Price. The lovely rather short instrumental Remission Impossible & the wonderful ‘cover’ of And The Address to be played loud. Excellent keyboards from Don Airey on the Whoosh songs that I like. This new McBride DP album sounds more melodic overall though, better melodic chorus singing from Gillan on the 3 songs I have heard so far. Time will tell. Cheers.
July 7th, 2024 at 00:53@67: I seem to remember that he did offer his Hammond to the band, and Don might have used it in the beginning, but it was in bad shape so Don got another one. I may be wrong though.
July 7th, 2024 at 07:34Rick Wakeman outside of Yes I don’t like that much, excepting Journey & moments on Six Wives & Arthur. Keith Emerson whilst the most flamboyant & technical gifted of any ‘rock’ keyboard player I have heard or seen on live performances, is a tad too jazzy, flash etc. Good in places, very very good. Jon Lord was more grounded & as we know not as flashy leaving out synths etc most of the time. Tony Banks is the most melodic I have ever heard along with Richard Wright. Don Airey is in there somewhere, more a progressive player to my ears than hard rock. Most of the above are actually except Lord. Cheers.
July 7th, 2024 at 07:37@67 Svante
The more I think about it , the more I think you’re absolutely right ✅️
I looked at some you tube videos last night and he doesn’t seem to be using it anymore .
I must say ” Lazy Sod ” has such a catchy chorus , I I can’t get it out of my head ! Hope they’re not trying to rival Taylor Swift for pop records !
Now…I’d like to see a video for a bit on the side !
July 7th, 2024 at 08:18@77Steve
yes, true, I agree with you, also on GH. To me he seems like an eternal Peter Pan, as foese as Michael Jackson was. Great artists but with a surreal image that borders on the ridiculous or maybe it really is 😅
July 7th, 2024 at 09:28in the next album I hope there will be space for Gillan’s harmonica. I♡it🎶
July 7th, 2024 at 09:42