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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 09:42I think Jon’s Hammond had been Chris McVie’s.
I believe Don used it for a tour until it got dropped, and replaced it with an A100.
July 7th, 2024 at 11:33Or rather three, as storage is cheaper than shipping the thing across an ocean.
#86
I respect your affiliation for it Andrea, but I have it opposite. Rather pedestrian playing and rarely works as effectively as it did on “Lazy”. The age and respiratory issues might also contribute to the absence of it, now days. Gillan doesn’t have the lungs of Mel Collins.
July 7th, 2024 at 13:38@ 88 ciaoThorsun
imho
it’s true that it wasn’t the day before yesterday but in Purpendicular and Bananas there are some beautiful harmonica pieces, not just Lazy. However I love Painted Horse, what a beautiful little gem ♡ for Gillan’s breathiness it always depends on how you want to play it..
July 7th, 2024 at 16:08Wow , I never knew Christine McVee had Jon’s organ !!! ( sorry couldn’t resist !)
July 7th, 2024 at 16:25I bet they’re up there in heaven now , doing a duet !
It amazed me the amount of musicians who came out of the woodwork to pay tribute to Jon when he died .
@AndreaA …I always cringe when I see Glenn on the california Jam video….what a pratt ! And all this name dropping all the time ..Bowie, Chad Smith etc etc …I think his recent stuff is really good ( with J.B and J.B ) …but why can’t he learn some humility ?
Speaking of Mark 3 …I think Blackmore had the right idea of touring schedule with his MOR thing …maybe Purple should copy that ?
No slur on Gillan whatsoever…but the poor guy is nearly 80 …I won’t even live that long, let alone sing !
Only one notice more: I wanted to listen to 3 released songs so far also only in audio… and picked out maybe only ONE problem: Simon´s guitar sound! It´s just… ordinary if I compare this with Ritchie, Tommy, Joe, it´s just ordinary. But I
July 7th, 2024 at 16:43will easily used to it, no worries, just… just…nuff said.
@78 Steve
July 7th, 2024 at 18:27Actually Bristol was the next day after Plymouth, was there too. After that show, Bernie Marsden was well pleased to have played with the band, and he told me, “now I have played with all of them, except Ritchie Blackmore, well, perhaps one day it will happen”.
Pity it never did.
I wasn’t at the NEC that year, I hate that venue (especially since November 1993!), but my first time (as was yours, I surmise) was indeed Knebworth 🙂
And THAT was a day worth writing about!
@92 Stathis
You must be from my neck of the woods then ? I’m down in Exeter …hence all the South West venues .
Did you ever go to Cornwall Collesium? St Austell ? I was just a kid in those days ( before Purple reformed in 84 ) …and I had to see all the bands that came out of Purple…first was Whitesnake ( Come and Get it tour ) …and inside the back of the programme was a thanks to John Lennon ( who’d just been murdered ) ..Saw Gillan there on the Double Trouble tour ( great band, Janick Gers had just joined ) …and incidentally, Gillan had to postpone that tour because of …..Tonsillitis!
I actually had to see Rainbow at Stafford Bingley Hall ( Difficult to cure tour ) …it was more like a big cow shed !
…your bringing back some great memories Stath …thanks .
A lot of people don’t like the NEC …never bothered me though …I remember from that gig a brilliant version of Speed King …and the way Steve’s guitar echoed around the auditorium when he done Strawberry Fields …before Smoke …it was special.
Of course , all this is on the DVD …but somehow, that DVD doesn’t do it justice.
Now Knebworth…wow ! …I guess that has to be my favourite really ( Plymouth 2002 is a very close second though) I know a lot of Purple fans didn’t like Knebworth…but I thought it was ace! I was a starstruck 18 year old who never thought he’d see Purple live …there were honestly grown men around me in tears as Highway Star kicked in! …Why didn’t they film it ? Blackmore I guess .
July 7th, 2024 at 20:03Didn’t they do the riff from Still of the night at Bristol with Bernie ?
I didn’t like that venue at all …too claustrophobic
@Stahis 92
….you really are bringing back some Memories..was Plymouth the Tuesday and Bristol Wednesday?
I know the NEC was the Saturday night .
I’ve told these stories before but I’ve been up outside Gillans house in Lyme ( a local told me where it was ) ..and I always remember, in his grounds he had a …Telephone Box ! No prizes for guessing why …but you might ” Accidentally on Purpose ” get it !
July 7th, 2024 at 20:16Incidentally, I’ve met a few locals who have met him ( non fans ) ..and they all say what a great guy he is .
I even met someone who had their house on the market at the time he was moving down there …and Gillan viewed it…decided it wasn’t for him …and rather then let the estate agent do it … Gillan went back personally to the sellers to say thanks but no thanks ( which the sellers were really, really touched and impressed with) …I mean what sort of guy does that ? A global superstar…and he takes the time to do that !
@93 Steve
I have that concert on a double cd. I love it! ♡
July 7th, 2024 at 20:20@AndreA 89
You’ve got me thinking about Bananas now, and I would agree with you, what great Harmonica on the title track !
Just imagine how good an album that could have been if Ezrin produced it ( nothing against Michael Bradford) but , I guess Ezrin is Premier league and Bradford is league 2 …just imagine if Bananas was left to stretch out a bit ?
Do you know, that was 21 years ago !!
I really hope we get some really gosebumpy, spooky sounds on this new album …Bit on the side sounds promising…and Ezrin is always on about letting them stretch out …Simons got more effects pedals then Hollywood..so…let’s see …or hear !
Incidentally…what was anyone’s worst Purple gig ? Mine was without doubt NEC 2003 …they were like statues !
July 7th, 2024 at 20:36Knebworth always scratched my head a bit. One gig in UK after reformation only, really? What was in the tour planner’s head? But what a gig that was. They played most everything worth of the tour except for CIT which IG could have done that night easily anyway. Under The Gun was underplayed to my ears, but KAYBD (one of the few only times where Blackmore’s slide work spoke to me essays in lilthing tongues) and Speed King made up for it in spades. Love that gig. It showed to me that it was worth the wait.
July 7th, 2024 at 20:48#90 Steve: what is MOR?
#83 MacGregor: I don’t know that Rick Wakeman has ever played with Journey (one of the bands I love most together with the Purple family), but maybe I’m ignorant
apart from what I said previously about the repetitiveness of some of Don Airey’s passages, I believe that he is a true keyboard king and that he can play anything, from prog to hard rock to AOR to blues to jazz, anything and even excellently
July 7th, 2024 at 22:39Wakeman was always too floral and over-ornamental for me, Emerson sometimes too harsh and mechanical, Jon had groove, but some of his classical compositions were if truth be told bordering on romantic movie soundtrack kitsch. Very pastel pastoral …
Colin Towns was a mad piano genius and great at the synthesizer too – I always thought that´he didn’t take the GILLAN split as hard as the others, he was already growing out of the rock format, look at what he does today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BscELaZpz9k&t=38s
He’s brilliant.
Steve, is Simon’s pedigree really that bad? Teenage guitarslinger Wunderkind, Sweet Savage heavy metal credentials, Andrew Strong sideman, Snakecharmer, Don Airey Band (who discovered Simon when he was playing at a concert event Don staged) and Simon’s own blues artist career which got him known at least in blues aficionado circles? Ritchie was just a session player who had never played in a popular, chart-topping band when he co-formed DP, and Tommy Bolin was only really known to a couple of Mahavishnu/Cobham fans and fellow musicians when he joined Purple in 1975, his stint with James Gang had gone largely undetected in Europe at least (I’m not aware they ever toured with him in Europe).
Also: Steve Morse left after decades of earning more money than he ever had before thanks to DP’s many gigs, he was faced with a hand conditon that is not getting better and forced him to change his right hand playing in a way that will never allow him again the same breathtaking precision fluidity he had in the 90s and Noughties, most of the material he contributed to DP was not being played live (at least not for longer periods in the set) and, tired of touring, his wife fell seriously sick … It kind of made sense for him to step out when he did, his (well-deserved) prominent place in the Purple pantheon of musicians is secured.
Finally: Peter Pan = Michael Jackson = Glenn Hughes? Add Prince and I’ll agree, AndreA! Yes, Glenn is very much the diva artist. He should have listened more to David Bowie though as regards fearlessly reinventing yourself/shedding your scales as a musician. If there is one Blackmore decision that really pains me then it is not letting an impressionable young Glenn Hughes guest on Bowie’s Young Americans or Station To Station. That could have been really something and perhaps set Glenn off in a totally different direction as an artist. Mind you, it’s not like he didn’t try with the underrated Play Me Out to radically leave his Purple past behind. But in the era of Punk a solo album by a white stadium rocker (thus scaring away black radio stations) exploring funk in depth was doomed to failure.
July 8th, 2024 at 01:02Fla76: Steve referenced with ‘MOR’ Ritchie’s “Monsters of Rock” nostalgia Reunionbow trip.
And Herr MacGregor is sometimes economic/outright lazy with words, he didn’t mean Steve Perry, but Ole Glitzy Cape’s (in my view vastly overrated) opus Journey To The Center Of The Earth …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcbeSf77xjk
I like Journey (the band) too, but among the Purple congregation here we’re in a minority I fear, there is little love for AOR melodic rock here, real Purple fans sniff at anything that gets played on the radio and then revert to the 20 minute version of Space Trucking on Made In Japan. 😂
July 8th, 2024 at 07:20A Bit On The Side
July 8th, 2024 at 15:35it promises to be a bomb song 💣 🎶
I’ve got nothing against Simon whatsoever…I think he’s brilliant .
But you just hit the nail on the head that he’s played with Gillan..” discovered ” by Don …so , he’s the obvious one to just fill in as they will be stopping soon .
I wouldn’t buy his solo albums ( just saying) …and I can’t see the rest of the guys letting him come up with all the ideas on what is very likely the last Purple album .
I can remember on the 2007 tour in Bournemouth, Gillan turning to Steve Morse and saying ..” Steve, you might not have been there at the beginning…but , you’ll be there at the end !” …???
Anyway, I see Purple are over in Florida soon …so , let’s see if Steve joins them on stage then …that will make me eat my hat !
I’ve just had a thought …these last few albums have finished with a ” fun ” track ..Roadhouse Blues etc …well, we know Simon loves Thin Lizzy ….wonder if they’ll do a version of ” Boys are back in town !” LOL
July 8th, 2024 at 16:36AndreA 101
Bomb 💣! …you’re obviously down with the kids …I’m not up on these new phrases at all but, yes, that’s the one I’m excited about too .
I reckon there will be some stunners on this new album …jaw droppers ! I reckon they know it will probably be their last ….and they’re going to leave us begging for more !
Only 10 days to go now ..
July 8th, 2024 at 18:35And , at the end of the day , isn’t it fantastic and hats off to them that we all still have this level of excitement and anticipation after all these years ..God bless em
I can remember cycling into town to pick up my copy of Double Trouble ( on vinyl) …and Difficult to Cure etc …and here we are …40 years later …waiting for Amazon ! Lol
@AndreaA …Do you mean Knebworth? Yes, I’ve got it too …In the absence of pink ? Brilliant…and I’m glad Thorsun loved it too …and I have to agree ..Speed King was amazing ( do you remember Gillan sat on one of the tour chests , head banging ? During the middle part ) …what a day ! I remember Meat loaf on a crutch ( because he’d broke his leg ) ..effing and blinding at the fans in his American way …then he fell over ….and everyone cheered ! Lol RIP …actually, didn’t he write a song about Purple being Rock and Roll mercenaries after ? ( I don’t think they swapped Christmas cards )
Stathis …if you’re reading …South West concert club ? Do you remember the busses had to park miles from the venue ( something to do with cattle grids …I think 🤔) ..I didn’t get home till about 7 in the morning….but, boy was it worth it !
July 8th, 2024 at 19:34Phil Collins in the charts with No Jacket Required
Dead or Alive …you spin me right round ….and occasional deeply edited versions of PS and KAYBD …played on the radio…they were the days !
AndreA …where are you from ? I’m guessing Italy ? ..I’ve got a brilliant bootleg video from Milan in 1996 …the Italians love them , don’t they ? Not to mention the brilliant female tribute band SKOW
Knebworth 85 …I have a fantastic bootleg tape of that ( yes tape ) …its worth listening to because all you can hear is the fans singing and cheering …really captures the spirit of the evening
July 8th, 2024 at 19:39#100 Uwe:
thanks for the clarifications!
Colin Towns was truly brilliant, fundamental to the composition of Scarabus & CAT which are incredible albums, still very modern, they could have been recorded in any decade from 1970 to today how fresh they sound!
when I read Ian’s autobiography, I was a bit upset because he didn’t praise the IG band period very much, probably because for him it was still a period of financial problems, with the record company and with his ex-wife….
when the band became simply Gillan, there was the most mainstream turning point and success came, and if I remember correctly it was Ian who said he got angry with the band because he no longer wanted to do that hard jazz which for an attentive listener is perhaps the highest artistic point of our big Ian
July 8th, 2024 at 19:57#100
July 8th, 2024 at 20:36Uwe – Space Truckin’ from MiJ is lame😅🙃”Mandrake Root” from Aachen 12/7/70 is the real deal, this one time through 33 minutes Lord is eating Blackmore head to toes with the boots on. And these loads of feedback and echo on the Hammond. Hardcore but timeless!
#102
Dear Steve, still sceptical about Simon, I see 🙈 wait until the album is out and tell me then if you think a puppet (or puppy) could fit in that well and write such stuff. 😀
And I truly wish you Steve M getting a guest spot on your concert in Florida. And you don’t have to eat your hat (you can leave the hat on🤠) just enjoy it. I would be excited myself by prospect of them two joining forces. And Joe S, too. Purple G3. Just imagine that, how cool would that be😀
July 8th, 2024 at 20:45Thorsun
July 8th, 2024 at 23:14I genuinely hope you’re right ✅️ I’m honestly not a Simon hater or anything…far from it …as I said before, its not his fault Steve left, I just wish the whole band could have come out and made some sort of gesture towards Steve …but, it was like …he’s gone …the juggernaut rolls on regardless
Ps , I’m glad Uwe cleared up the Blackmore thing , I think they also called it Memories in Rock .
But , surely you jest about Space Truckin on MIJ !!!? …nearly every time I hear that ( which is often) ..I have tears at the sheer incredulity of how it’s possible for a band to be so f*****g good !
Colin Towns …I’m sure everyone knows the story about him writing ” Fighting Man ?” …if they don’t and are interested then I ( or someone) would be happy to elaborate.
July 8th, 2024 at 23:23Ps
Anyone know what Big John McCoy and Mick Underwood are doing now?
#106
Fla, “Clear Air Turbulence” is masterpiece for me to this day and the best IGB album. It’s a joy to listen start to finish, very atmospheric and finely crafted. Colin’s work on CAT and 5Moons is just perfect, precise, moody yet spontaneous and catchy. And it was just his debut in IGB. Can’t praise him enough and to my senses IG never fully understood how great and important collaborator he had 1977-82 in CT. Colin created a wealth of mammoth tracks in that period. “Fighting Man” (his best Moog solo IMO, such a vibe and mastery of note choices, should be learned by all keyboard players), “Mr Universe” (slaying version on “Live at the BBC 1980”, Bernie rips it up on it), “On The Rocks” (perfection in every detail of composition and execution of sonic picture), “If You Believe Me” (a NWOBHM band doing perfect stab at the gritty blues!) and “Born To Kill” (a progressive metal masterpiece long after Pink Floyd and before Dream Theatre). My personal top 5. I love Colin’s work so much!
July 9th, 2024 at 05:42#109
Steve, my beef with MIJ’s Space Truckin’ is only because the inferior version is picked up for the album. The one with best improvisations, drive and insane lividity of Blackmore and Lord is on the 1st night. The only reason probably why the never picked it up is that they went out of sync in the section closing Blackmore’s solo. (BTW to this day I can’t write a proper tabulatury of this wicked guitar organ figure they played 1968-73 on closure of the jam).
And it’s a crying shame – in that particular case – I’d let the studio fixxing in; the world just should marvel at what was played on 15th of August with the fookup mended. 16/17th runs were kind of ordinary in comparison – not once-in-a-lifetime. Very good but not exceptional.
July 9th, 2024 at 08:03@ 105
July 9th, 2024 at 10:55Hey Steve,
yes I am Italian (Milan). My first concert was in 1987, The House tour… what emotions!! I have a double purple vinyl of this concert: a testament! Every time they come I don’t miss them. In 1991 (or 1993?), I saw Gillan with his band on the Naked Thunder tour: twice. In the second in a seaside city. I remember in the morning that Gillan with his roadies were jogging along the seafront and I with other boys joined together to run together shouting “Gillan! Gillan!”, like in a Rocky film!! It was really nice. In the first evening after the concert we waited for him outside in the street to take photos together. He was very helpful and I told him “I’m sorry there weren’t many people there tonight” and he replied “But I played for whoever was there”, lots of smiles and a nice handshake! I have a tdk90 from this concert. Great Gillan, what a beautiful person. A few years ago I met him on an FM radio in Milan, for the release of One Eye To Morocco if I remember correctly.. He had a good whiskey scent! I love it ♡
#111
Thorsun, I honestly can’t find a better album than another in big Ian’s solo discography…. certainly the IGBand period was the most experimental, but from Cherkazoo to One Eye to Morocco Gillan wrote incredible songs
without fear of contradiction I can affirm that Ian Gillan was the most influential and artistically eclectic rock singer in the history of music together with Freddy Mercury…Plant, Ozzy, Jagger, Rodgers, Coverdale, Hughes and all the other great vocalists of the greats hard & heavy bands are light years away from Gillan’s production!
July 9th, 2024 at 12:30@99. Being a classical music type with the exception of Deep Purple that I can relate to emotinally (with all those fantastic composers with whigs gone), I agree. I saw Lord’s concert in a traditonal music hall. Kitsch. I wanted to leave, I stayed for respect. His concerto in 69 promised a dofferent path.
July 9th, 2024 at 13:43@114Fla 76
July 9th, 2024 at 13:46for me Gillan was the best of all and you can understand it from this fantastic testimony
https://youtu.be/T7NXt9K3B4g?si=WyPaBgschZhRTOE9
Fla76 @106, WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjkuRK0LLA8
… here as the only guy who liked IGB (if truth be told: MacGregor came round eventually, sluggishly as is his habit, but still, not bad for a drummer …)?!!! NOW you’re all of the sudden crawling out of the woods!
I love all three studio albums by IGB plus their Budokan live outing (impressive how well they played their complex music live), but I guess it is fair to say that Big Ian didn’t really identify with that music all that much. He has said about the three albums “interesting, but not a single straight beat on them” and I guess that is echoed by what Colin Towns once stated: “There was too much music in the Ian Gillan Band for Ian’s voice.” And Fenwick and Gustafson have both said that Ian didn’t have much input in the music (except for vocal melodies) and just let the band do what it wanted to do (which in essence was to be like Weather Report/Return To Forever/Al Di Miola/Brand X) – until it became all too much for him. So, in a way, Ian’s contribution to IGB was a bit like that of an outside session singer invited by a fusion band.
BUT WHAT A CONTRIBUTION is was! I’m not aware of any fusion/jazz rock unit that featured vocals remotely like IGB. Most of them have soulish to jazzish singers (if at all and not just instrumental), what Ian did stands out by a mile. So maybe he really didn’t know what he was doing, but he still did mighty fine. It was an unusual muiscial enviroment for him, he might have been out of his depth, but he was brilliant. (Tommy Bolin didn’t really know what he was doing on Cobham’s Spectrum either, he wasn’t a sight reader, the others all were, he just played along, but look at the outcome!) And I believe that IGB were also a good training ground for Big Ian when working on some of Steve Morse’s and Don Airey’s more jazzy compositions in Mk VII and VIII.
I just wish I would have seen IGB live once. I had the chance, didn’t go for some dumb reason and could kick myself for it!!!
https://assets.fontsinuse.com/static/use-media-items/123/122419/upto-700xauto/5f7afa2b/@2x/s-l1600.jpeg
https://fontsinuse.com/uses/35836/easter-rock-festival-1977-posters-and-tickets
It was an eclectic mix to put it mildly: Ozzy era Sabbath, IGB, then comparative newcomers AC/DC and The Doctors of Madness which were really something else, Bowie’sque art rock meets punk/new wave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHCvi0C48mY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vETkMFLxlgM
Strangely, by all accounts of people who went there, the mini festival was a success and all bands, stylistically worlds apart as they were, went down well.
IIRC, IGB also toured the US in a package line up with inter alia Nazareth, Slade, Thin Lizzy, Angel (a band composed of DP fans!) and sometimes even Ted Nugent, but those combinations did apparently not work so well. IGB wasn’t headbanger stadium rock.
https://www.thinlizzyguide.com/pictures/magazine_clips/760610_advert.jpg (Thin Lizzy were a last-minute-addition and hence not named on the ticket)
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSUCViyNxwnfiihxOqXoIGOz8ofFzBxKyoJV4h6J6cnouymF51dqEf449xm4TuGn5V3lYs&usqp=CAU
It would have made more sense to have paired them with one of the fusion greats touring back then, but that is where Ian’s “DP screamer” pedigree probably proved detrimental to getting booked.
July 9th, 2024 at 19:03The Naked Thunder tour was a commercial (not artistic!) disaster in Germany too, AndreA, I remember seeing him in some small movie house turned mini-club (smallest I’ve seen any ex-DP member play, and that includes Glenn Hughes and Nick Simper or Paicey with Purpendicualr or Roger Glover with Pete York’s blues outfit) out in the boondocks where no decent international act ever plays and even that was half-empty. The gig itself, however, kicked the proverbial butt, Big Ian, that great Y&T drummer, that lanky towering bassist from Jefferson Starship (or Airplane, I always get confused) and Steve Morris of course roaring through the set. It wasn’t DP by any means, but it was an exciting rock gig (though one that had me worried about Ian’s economic future – but, alas!, the re-reunion was fortunately looming only a couple of months later).
@111: And now Thorsun all of the sudden gets all IGB-feverish too … ARE WE SUFFERING A BELATED FUSIONITIS PANDEMIC HERE OR WHAT?! 😎
For years I was unjustly ridiculed on these pages, “IGB aficionado” and what not … You vill all liff tö regrät zis …
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2f/Hellboy_Shot_1.jpg/220px-Hellboy_Shot_1.jpg
Only mildly related: Rumors about Big Ian not loving Ri(t)chie are herewith ruthlessly debunked:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/yT8AAOSwwVVl-lHj/s-l1600.jpg
July 9th, 2024 at 19:27AndreA
July 9th, 2024 at 23:33That’s wonderful stories…thanks, I love hearing stuff like that !
It’s funny cus, when I met him , he smelt of alcohol and cigarettes ! Do you think he likes a drink!!! Lol …actually, I didn’t finish my story as apparently, on the day I met him ( Bournemouth 2007) …him and his late wife , Bron , walked from the book signing back to the concert hall , eating pie and chips ! ..imagine that ? The Star of the show, walking through all the fans in the town centre, before playing the gig ( I didn’t see it but a couple at the concert told me )
I too saw them on the HOBL tour …it was March 87 in London…2 nights at Wembley…and on the second night, Blackmore didn’t come out for the encore ! …and it snowed in London.
I’ve got bootlegs of all this stuff ( I wonder where you go to get bootlegs these days )
Your story of the jogging on the beach is really cool and it all equates because, he had just been fired from Purple…and I seem to remember, he lost a lot of weight ! I missed him on that tour ( no Internet in those days to check the dates ) but Naked Thunder was a great album . No Good luck should have charted . Sadly, I think a few members of that band have passed now . Oh yes, I seem to remember him doing a great version of Puget Sound ( it’s on the video )
You’re a big fan aren’t you ! I know they love em in Italy 🇮🇹 wasn’t there a big gig in Verona? ( I’ve got the DVD
Have you ever seen the female tribute band SKOW ? They’re from Italy…and play amazingly well …love the keyboard player
@112
July 9th, 2024 at 23:38Thorsun …I take your point , but we will have to agree to disagree .
Any of the 3 versions of Space from MIJ will do me ! In fact , any version from the tour …Copenhagen even
I absolutely love Mandrake Root though, Scandinavian nights, BBC …even the one from long Island ( although the quality is poor)
I’m guessing you’ve seen the ones on the you tube ? Why oh why are they so heavily edited !? It’s criminal
@ 117 – “… here as the only guy who liked IGB (if truth be told: MacGregor came round eventually, sluggishly as is his habit, but still, not bad for a drummer …)?!!! NOW you’re all of the sudden crawling out of the woods”! Indeed Uwe, we drummers can be a critical lot in certain aspects. Seriously though as I have stated before, things can move slowly all the way out here in ‘a land down under’. I remember noticing a few youtube comments a while ago stating a similar scenario in regards to ‘getting into’ the IGB. Some people were not into them at the time but appreciate it much more these days. It was a ‘odd’ collaboration for Gillan himself in a way. All good though.
July 10th, 2024 at 02:50That second festival billing from 1977 would have been ok along with John McLaughlin’s Shakti & Caravan. But not with Sabbath & ACDC at the same gig, bizarre indeed. “For years I was unjustly ridiculed on these pages, “IGB aficionado” and what not”. Sheeesh, I had better get the violin out, or better still a cello, much more mournful for Uwe’s lament. Still, at least we seem to have cheered him up somewhat, time to break out the popcorn & fire crackers. Cheers.
Do I get stoned here if I intrepidly reveal how that endless Mandrake Root coda in A and G (yawn) resurrected for Space Trucking sometimes overstayed its welcome with me? 30 minutes of the same two chords, Roger playing root note A and the fifth and then root note G and the fifth – dada-dada dada-dada … – and Jon (“Hmm, now what does this drawbar on the Hammond do, let’s try …” 😂) + Ritchie basically playing what they want over it? I thought it sounded very 60ies actually and was relieved when it dropped out of the set. Don’t get me wrong, I love DP’s improvisations, but with a perhaps a bit more adventurous harmonic background.
I know, I just committed a sacrilege … A Hammond B-3 will no doubt drop on me from the heavens within short.
https://i.imgur.com/VY9LHFH.gif
July 10th, 2024 at 02:51@119 Steve
July 10th, 2024 at 07:10That’s two more concerts we have both attended, Wembley Arena March 3 and 4 (my birthday!), supported by a surprisingly good Bad Company. I did the whole UK 1987 tour.
And no, I’m not from your neck of the woods, I live in Greece actually, but I do make a point of seeing Purple on their home turf 🙂
@119 Steve,
July 10th, 2024 at 08:21I don’t follow SKOW.
Yes they are good musicians but I don’t like cover bands, furthermore they make me laugh because they cover a new DP song the day after it comes out. Ridiculous!!! In Italy no one follows them as far as I know..
@ 122- yes indeed Uwe it is the 1960’s feel indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqQWntzevy4
July 10th, 2024 at 09:33@ 122- or Dave Edmunds in the band Love Sculptor. Anyone think that Ritchie was inspired by this, among other things? Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IBgRPUcwt4&t=101s
July 10th, 2024 at 09:50The bomb song 💣 🎶🎵
July 10th, 2024 at 11:52https://youtu.be/E6-RwNjmpCg?si=1TaHoku7HbcbcW6H
I’m not very knowlegeable re The Nice, so I wasn’t aware how much early DP had ripped them off on this particular track! Thanks for making me aware.
July 10th, 2024 at 14:04Grazie mille for posting, AndreA, that is a great new track, I love it when Purple groove. Gillan is not out of the woods yet with his cold, but once he is, I think he will handle the new stuff just fine.
A cold can happen to any singer. I’ve heard Halford sing with Priest with such a bad cold that he couldn’t even speak between songs (he apologized for it at the beginning of the gig), Glenn Highes as well and I witnessed Billy Idol sing with such an awful cold it was physically painful to watch him. He soldiered through. Which was admirable on one hand, but he was of course shipped off to the emergency room two days later by his management with raging peneumonia, the tour being pulled.
July 10th, 2024 at 15:22@AndreA
Thanks for posting the video …band sounds good and I do like that new song …but , boy is Gillan struggling! …now, I’m really, really worried for him
Ps
I love SKOW …I think its great that some talented ladies are keeping the interest going . I’d see them if they came to England.
@Stathis
July 10th, 2024 at 16:44Wow, we were at all the same gigs …and yet you’re thousands of miles away ! I’d forgotten Bad Company we’re support ( who was the singer again ? ) I’m pretty sure Simon Kirke was on drums .
I also have a weird feeling that Harvey Weinstein promoted those gigs !?
That was the night where Ian and Roger said hello to us from their cars …they couldn’t get out cus there was some sort of security issue.
I tried to wait by the stage to see them …but, none other then Bruce Payne came out to politely say …they’re gonna be a long time !….I wonder why !? Blackmores antics ! Lol
Wow you’re a really dedicated fan ! ….and it was a lot colder in London that night then Greece !
On second observation: Nice to see that judging from the Graspop clip, Big Ian listened to my wife – as you do and (or else …) should – and got himself a haircut!
July 10th, 2024 at 21:50#116 AndreA
I had already seen this rare video, amazing!
# 112 Thorsun
July 10th, 2024 at 22:31you are very demanding if you would like another space truckin instead of the one made in Japan…. would you say that Martin Birch made the wrong choice?…. I don’t think so…
in any case, the improvisation of space truckin is simply the natural continuation of that of mandrake root, the beauty for us is that even if there were guidelines, it was always different every evening…..it’s a shame that in the 80s MK IV didn’t pay too much attention to the sounds and created a lot of cacophony..
however the improvisations of mandrake root and those of Nice/ELP were very similar (although obviously I prefer the musical ride of MK II), but I don’t remember which of the two bands was the first to do it…
#117 Uwe:
I take your words as a compliment!
I don’t remember when thehighwaystar.com started, but 25/30 years ago I was already reading it (and I also read Ian’s Caramba site) but I never wrote anything…..then as the years went by I came to these pages less and less and then I started again slowly, and here I am.
first Purple concert: 1993 TBRO tour in Milan, I went alone at 16 years old taking public transport!, last ROTD tour…in between I saw about thirty dates including Royal Albert Hall for Lord tribute (I think I and my ex-girlfriend were the only Italians present), of which I also loved the first part of the concert with all of Lord’s solo material and more, and I hated the second part with the “usual” Deep Purple Setlist with the usual songs, completely off topic compared to the evening where they should have done the Purple pieces with the keyboards as protagonists….bitter taste in the mouth, a missed opportunity in my opinion.
I regret that I was too young not to see IGB on tour in 1982 and 1991 in Italy, and MK IV on the PS tour in Switzerland in 1985!
tonight MK IX are playing in Italy, but I was late getting the tickets and there were no longer 2 nearby for me and my girlfriend, and since big Ian has voice problems, I hope they come back for some dates at the end of 2024 or early 2025 to see them one last time after so many years
July 10th, 2024 at 22:52@ 127- thanks AndreA, enjoyed that first thing in the morning with my coffee & awake 100%. Gillan is doing ok there all things considered. We are talking about a singer who set the bar incredibly high 54 years ago. So many acts postponing or cancelling gigs at the moment with that curse going around still. Nice to see plenty of instrumental music. Cheers.
July 10th, 2024 at 23:37AndreA @116
July 10th, 2024 at 23:45Thanks for posting that video , really kind of you to take the time for us ( I think ) I’ve seen bits of it before ..I’m not sure of the timeline though, I’m guessing it’s Mauritius around the time of Accidentally on purpose? …but , I could be way off
Brilliant video though…and thanks again
@134 MacGregor
Yes, Gillan seems to go better.
@135 Steve,
I don’t know exactly where he is in that video, I think it was in Caiman Island.
That video is fantastico!
July 11th, 2024 at 08:56the Rome Setlist from the day before yesterday:
Highway Star
July 11th, 2024 at 12:05A Bit on the Side
Hard Lovin’ Man
Into the Fire
Guitar Solo
Uncommon Man
Keyboard Solo
Lazy
Portable Door
Anya
Keyboard Solo
Bleeding Obvious
Space Truckin’
Smoke on the Water
Hush (Joe South cover)
Black Night
Gillan is getting better and better
July 11th, 2024 at 14:42https://youtu.be/F3RzVBURZXo?si=Pw4mCwRiBvGBegLx
Good, I’m off to see him at Schloss Salem next Thursdsay!
July 12th, 2024 at 00:13AndreA that Grand Cayman jam vid @116 is a treasure, grazie mille – I didn’t even know it existed, wow! Big Ian channeling his inner Buddy Holly and Elvis. That influence from early rock’n’roll crooners set him apart from people like Paul Rodgers or Robert Plant who had more of a Blues background. And it made DP sound more rock’n’roll (in a 50s sense) than, say, Sabbath or even Zep (though Boogie With Stu was a great homage to the 50s too). I always liked that bow to the past with them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8a_rdKVyRk
Big Ian’s jam can’t have been from 1984 though, the AOP material (not yet written or recorded in 1984) and Ian’s hair give it away, I’d say 1989 or thereabouts more likely.
July 12th, 2024 at 01:12Freedom fantastic song, Lucille made in Purple!… Gillan’s screams are incredible!
July 13th, 2024 at 22:42I have always thought rhe in Freedom Gillan uses some particular effect for chamging the tone1.
July 14th, 2024 at 18:52nononono!!!! Gillan makes the octave leap and fires his famous “falsetone” at maximum power….if I remember correctly in Child in Time he reaches at the over-high A, and here in Freedom (from my memory that I’m humming it without listening to it now) is lower
July 16th, 2024 at 21:55