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And that’s how you lose the Concerto
Nathan and John at the Deep Purple Podcast are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Concerto for Group and Orchestra resurrection with a couple of episodes. The cherry on top is a bonus podcast with almost an-hour-and-a-half chat with Paul Mann. We highly recommend picking up a time to listen through it.
And once you’re at it, check out our own coverage of the event back in 1999.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Thanks, Nick! Paul is an absolute delight to talk with!
September 30th, 2024 at 19:41The Los Angeles gig was on Aug. 25, 1970, at the Hollywood Bowl.
September 30th, 2024 at 23:10I have it from a reliable source that it wasn’t lost, but that Ritchie hid it.
“Jon’s score cannot be found anywhere you say? Gosh, that’s too bad!”
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kA335edgxKfSP9r8KpiYQe.jpg.webp
October 1st, 2024 at 00:32Paul is a big part of the DP family
October 1st, 2024 at 13:57I fondly remember the PO concert in memory of Jon Lord with another great friend of the DP family, Bruce Dickinson.
As the sound of DP is primarily based on the eternal battle of keyboards and guitars, so “Concerto” is based on the equal battle of symphonic musicians and rock bands. An instrumental rock quartet in a fight with 74 members of the Philharmonic and a fight of fifty fifty .. full sound, harmonies merge , music for goosebumps, “Concert’s Third movement”, plus support in the songs “Pictures of Home”, “Perfect Strangers”, “Tears of the Dragon” and especially “Bourrée” were great musical moments, for goosebumps from the pleasure of the sound. Big credit to Paula Mann, he proved the thesis that classical and rock can be successfully combined.
Paul thanks for keeping Jon’s music alive.
@Uwe Hornung, this theory comes up in the interview! 🙂
October 1st, 2024 at 17:00Thanks for the Paul Mann interview, so many wonderful insights there & Ritchie’s wash bag joke played out with Paul’s uncle, classic. Cheers.
October 1st, 2024 at 22:41I haven’t gotten round to listening to it yet – still applying for online courses on Indian spiritualism after having seen the interview of the illuminated Reverend Hughes –
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kA335edgxKfSP9r8KpiYQe.jpg.webp
[“We’ve got a genuine Indian guru, who’s teaching us a better way …” @01:53]
but it struck immediately that the list of natural and usual suspects is logically headed by Richard B. 😆
October 1st, 2024 at 23:30Not Ritchie keeping health with an apple a day, but this here should have been the link #7, sorry!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuvfIePDbgY
October 2nd, 2024 at 06:17That Ritchie phone call image, is he trying to get a LA Connection there? Those lyrics to that song say as much, maybe that was the first time Ritchie ever had a hand in some lyric writing influence. Cheers.
October 2nd, 2024 at 08:06“Operator place a call keep it secret but let it through
investigator knows it all he’s at the window i wonder who
i’ve got to cut the line and let me drift find a haven in the storm
i got no time i need a lift to where it’s sweet and close and warm
ooooh l.a. connection
oh l.a. connection
l.a. connection”
So Ritchie stole all 60 parts?
October 2nd, 2024 at 10:36“Don’t be silly, Henrik, of course I had good help from conspirators!”
https://2img.net/h/31.media.tumblr.com/16e7cc2474b4e46e9a35f239dbacd3f9/tumblr_ms9kt4aeqi1sfw8yfo3_250.gif
October 2nd, 2024 at 13:02As was his devious nature, Blackmore was great at coming up with the most innocent hiding places to initially shield his purloined bounty from discovery.
https://2img.net/h/25.media.tumblr.com/2e148bd0ed907831d530a8a51bbdf7ac/tumblr_mspvzo63G91rs8wsho1_500.jpg
October 2nd, 2024 at 13:19Lieber Herr MacGregor, Dio has always said in interviews that LA Connection was a nasty send-off to Tony Carey who had become Ritchie’s preferred target during the LLRnR sessions (allegedly, not all his parts were wiped from the final version of the album).
Personally, I thought that was a severe mistake for Rainbow long term. Tony had more rock star presence as a keyboarder on stage than David Stone, Don Airey and David Rosenthal put together, he had a raunchy feel to his playing and a budding songwriter talent that might have helped Rainbow conquer the US market in the then not too distant future with more commercially accessible music. I’ve always wondered what would have happened had a Rainbow line-up of Ritchie, Roger, Tony, Bobby (or Cozy) and Joe Lynn Turner released a version of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJFh3_jifoA
I think it would have established them smack-dab in the US. Catchy tune, memorable lyrics latching onto American gangster mythology and a theme made for a great MTV video, Ritchie with his hair greased back would have made a mighty fine Soprano!
But then Tony being squeezed out of Rainbow gave us the crucial David Stone input to Gates of Babylon plus led to the eventual introduction of Don Airey to the Purple family. But neither the two Davids not Don ever impressed me in Rainbow days as much as Tony had done. I stood before his keyboard fortress of solitude at my first Rainbow gig in 1976 and he was a really gung-ho soloist crouched above his keys.
October 2nd, 2024 at 14:13I do look at certain lyrics in different ways & yes I am well aware of the origins, in that sense. However looking at LA Connection, I do think is that an ode to Glenn & others perhaps, some of the lyrics are right on the money, so to speak. That is why I posted the entire lyrics over at that Hughes story a few days ago. Agree regarding Carey & his possible ongoing contribution to Rainbow. Alas as we are aware, personalities do clash & no doubt Carey’s annoyed Blackmore big time & also possibly some of the others. As we are aware Jon Lord didn’t get in Ritchie’s way in Purple & as Blackmore in Rainbow wanted keyboard players in a more background sort of way, whenever they came up with something, well his attitude to that was very different it seems. Look at how many keyboard players he went through. From one in DP to half a dozen or so in Rainbow. Well I am slightly over stating the numbers a little, but it is there for all to see. There seemed to be an emphasis put on that also around the 2016 ‘Rainbow’ gigs. Jen will be playing a ‘supportive role’ or words similar. A little side stage humour at the end from Ritchie after this short Jens interview. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8jr1L-rqW0&t=35s
October 2nd, 2024 at 21:43I’m sure Jens J is a super nice guy and an effin’ hot keyboard player, but his skills didn’t show on the gigs I saw. I think it was a mix of his nerves playing with Ritchie and the blatantly under-rehearsed status of the band. He tries to make light of it in the interview, but the fact of the matter is that this particular Rainbow line-up would have needed all-day rehearsals and 13 repetitions of the repertoire – fully electric in hall-like rehearsal space and not “acoustic” on Long Island. Or maybe he was thinking all the time: “This is not really how this song goes, but I can’t tell Ritchie that.” 🤣
The few seconds where the rhythm section plays/soundchecks MOTSM say it all – it’s not like David the drummer and Bob the bassist can’t play (they both can), but for crying out loud they have zero understanding for a heavy foundation, they play the song like its friggin’ dance music with a skippy groove. I don’t know what band David played in before he joined BN – it cannot have been a heavy one. And Bob came from Mink/Willy DeVille, now that was fine music, but in no way does it prepare you for what is required in Rainbow.
People from a non-heavy musical background underestimate that you need a certain attitude to play heavy music credibly. I’ve been to auditions with non-heavy bands decades after I had stopped playing hard rock or heavy metal music in bands, but even today if I play a couple of licks on bass with people who don’t know me or if I pick up a bass in a music shop, people will say: “You’re from the heavy faction, right?” 🤣 And it’s not like I play heavy metal tunes to warm up!
I’ve been to auditions with bands that played a more lounge type/jazzy/flamenco groove music with a female singer (think of something like Sadé) and at one point the guitarist would stop playing (himself having been in a heavy metal band once as he said) and commented:
“Uwe, you have a great sound, have obviously done your homework and play versatile and even humorous stuff on your bass, but everything you do and how you do it cries:
RRRAAAWWWKKK !!!
I’ve tried for years to get this stuff out of my system and now you’re bringing it all back! 😂 Sorry, but that is not what we are looking for.”
And you know what? He was so goddamned right with everything he said, and I wasn’t offended at all. They were nice guys.
October 2nd, 2024 at 23:17It seems to me that neither Paul nor the guys interviewing him are aware of Colin Hart’s book ‘A Hart Life’ or am I mistaken?
No matter, Paul is a lovely man and the interview brought back great memories plus some new realizations. That Big Ian came up with the idea of redoing the Concerto with DP again doesn’t surprise me. Although his vocal input is just a few minutes, he must have realized how much it is part of the great DP history.
By any standard, the Concerto is not Jon’s greatest work to me – he wrote better, more developed music in later years -, but it is a charming piece of history that deserved being restaged. I saw the second RAH performance and the one in Frankfurt on the subsequent tour and was moved every time. That said, for me the musical high points were Big Ian doing the brilliant Via Miami, Roger’s Butterfly Ball excerpts and Paicey’s Big Band version of Wring That Neck/Hard Road.
Thanks to Nathan, John and Paul for devoting the time.
October 3rd, 2024 at 14:54I knew that sending that short Jens interview snippet of ‘Rainbow’ would trigger an outburst, again. I wasn’t going to send it, but then thought, what the hell. The Jens joke by Ritchie, ‘he snores too loud’ or something like that was worth it I thought. Perhaps not. Cheers.
October 3rd, 2024 at 21:26Not an outburst at all, I feel sorry for the guy, Jens would have deserved a better Rainbow line-up to play in – and that includes the guitarist.
Yeah, Ritchie can still be funny in his comments, but he tolerated people within ReunionBow 2016 he would have kicked out of the Rainbow auditions at Pirate Sound in 1976 after, say, five minutes. Think about it. Is there anybody out there who believes that Bob Nouveau/David Keith 2016 were a better or as good a rhythm section as Craig Gruber/Gary Driscoll, Jimmy Bain/Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley/Cozy Powell, Roger Glover/Cozy Powell, Roger Glover/Bobby Rondinelli, Roger Glover/Chuck Burgi or Greg Smith/Chuck Burgi? Stand up and be counted!
October 3rd, 2024 at 22:42Paul has such a wealth of information regarding Jon and his music, and rightly so; based on his years of personal interaction with Jon and his labor of love transcribing and cataloguing Jon’s music since his demise. Yet it is very intriguing to me that he knew and was influenced by Don before he ever met Jon. I particularly was glad to hear him say that keyboards in Deep Purple don’t have to be a Jon/Don choice: It’s OK, nay, normal and desirable to appreciate them both. Jon is correctly a hero to me, both because of his music and his example of being a person of kindness (Paul’s word), and I love Purple with Jon on the keys. But I also dig what Don has done to keep Purple fresh and exciting, and I love Purple with Don on the keys. The key (no pun intended) is that both Jon and Don were/are authentic to who they were/are as musicians, and not carbon copy clones of each other. And that’s a good thing. They both bring a different, yet wonderful, flavor to DP that we can equally enjoy. It’s a good feeling to hear someone who knows them both reinforce that fact.
October 4th, 2024 at 18:45Indeed Jens had his work cut out for himself & I don’t mean that in regards to his ability & not being up for it. Trying to remain disciplined would have been difficult enough I would imagine. His first band he was inspired by as a youngster was Deep Purple, so to do that would have been a blast in that sense. The fact that he is a rather laid back quiet chap helped there & it makes me wonder if he was chosen because of that before his keyboard prowess (well it would have been both). We know Keith as the drummer choice was a touch suss, in that he came from BN. Blackmore’s missus being involved in it all says a lot. Ritchie was keeping everything low profile, which makes us wonder why he did it at all in the end. I stumbled upon that Jen’s clip in doing a search of him to see what he thought about that, after so many years had passed. It was a bit cringe worthy for me too, not to worry. If it wasn’t for that little bit of footage at the end with Ritchie, I wouldn’t have bothered at all with that video footage. Having said all that, I am glad though that Blackmore didn’t end up trying to do the ‘mega’ star reunion, with so called ‘famous’ or ‘past famous’ faces. It was far too late to attempt any of that pseudo rubbish. Cheers.
October 4th, 2024 at 21:59You know, we make fun of Joe here all the time, me included, his wigs, his cringeworthy stage raps, his big mouth, the whole new Jersey/Soprano thing, the way he has become a Putin-boy.
But if you look at this Rainbow material-heavy gig from 2016 with him – same year ReunionBow was shakily treading the boards again – it’s no contest really. This is how Rainbow sounded in the 80ies though these guys could not afford the equipment, backline, sound system, lights and venues Blackmore had on the basis of his fame:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EuwaPMkyUE
Ronnie Romero was a YouTube cabaret singer in comparison back then (though I grant Ronnie that he has greatly improved since then and is doing a good job with MSG).
Ritchie couldn’t even be assed into getting a decent line-up together and doing some proper rehearsal work.
So on the basis of this, I’d say: Joe would have done a much better job – and compiled a better line-up too. No one sings this stuff better than him.
October 4th, 2024 at 23:54I attended Ritchie’s Rainbow nostalgia show in Glasgow in 2017. I knew going in that I shouldn’t expect it to be up to mid-1970’s standards given Ritchie’s age, arthritis, and the low key band he had in tow. But though the energy wasn’t huge, Ritchie pulled off some really tasty guitar solos on several tunes – not blazingly fast runs, but more subdued with a lot of slide work is what I recall. As for Jen’s performance, nothing really special on display throughout the show, and I did find his keyboard solo overlong, meandering and didn’t really go anywhere. Not the most inspiring concert I ever attended, however it was a chance to see Ritchie run through several old Purple chestnuts and Rainbow classics for probably one of his last times.
October 5th, 2024 at 01:15You should have said hi Auntie/Dr Lao, I was there too. Of all the ReunionBow gigs I saw (3x Deutschland, 1x Scotland), that was the best one. Yes, there were some nice slow solos by him.
Jens’ keyboard solo that night was much like the fearsome Vasa, it sunk like a stone.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTucSF5hRNMbdQ5raz9jrjhfOx7ZxLA-fqqmA&usqp=CAU
October 5th, 2024 at 12:47Uwe! Seems we both travelled from afar to catch that show, and we both came away from it with exactly the same impressions. I couldn’t see you there as you must have been camouflaged in among all those Highlanders.
October 6th, 2024 at 15:39That’s tough luck, I wore a really skimpy, immediately accessible kilt for the occasion.
Tartan rules!
https://youtu.be/BehUdZMv22k
Great song, I stand by it.
And unlike many acts today they could actually play live, so there!
https://youtu.be/CBkxBfYrjIQ
October 7th, 2024 at 15:28MacUwe @ 25! If Fil of Wings of Pegasus says so, it must be true.
October 7th, 2024 at 20:42@ 26- MacUwe, now that is a good one DeeperPurps. The only thing I am concerned with, being of a fair amount of Scottish blood & all, is that Uwe has NOT been initiated into a MacGregor Clan in any way. Or has he? If not, I could certainly arrange a rigorous initiation for him to see if he passes or not. I would dearly love to do that. I would be fair, ruthless but fair. Oh dear, I have just realised, that MacUwe title could very well mean I am possibly related to him. To quote Iron Maiden, I had better ‘run to the hills, run for my life……….Cheers.
October 8th, 2024 at 09:50@27 MacGregor! And don’t forget the haggis for wee laddie Uwe, lots of it!
October 8th, 2024 at 12:12I like Fil’s matter of fact demeanor, he’s not outright nasty or character-assassinates whilst uncovering who has been cheating again.
Frankly, I always thought Les McKeown a more flexible and tuneful singer than the likewise Scottish Brian Connolly who was very limited with his glam rock sneer. Beneath all the shangalang-production, the Rollers had some good songwriting lurking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpPW4HhsCF4
October 8th, 2024 at 14:39@ 28 – oh yes never forget the haggis DeeperPurps. I just hope Uwe’s initiation doesn’t end up like this poor chaps did & also all the other innocent guests. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=373B9U4Dd60
October 9th, 2024 at 09:47@30….”And finally monsieur a wafer thin mint….Oh sir it’s only a tiny little thin one”.
October 9th, 2024 at 12:12I had never seen that sketch, it’s a more robust humor at work here!
I actually like haggis. I’m fine with most peasant foods around the world and do try them if I have the chance. I was once on attorney business in North Italy and we had tripe soup for starters – no one from the German delegation ate it, they all feigned excuses and the Italians rolled their eyes (it was a special of the house). All except one, I not only had one but two bowls. The Italians loved me for it, it bolstered my standing for the coming discussions with them no end.
What we eat and don’t eat is all culturally acquired. I generally think that if this is what the people eat here, then it won’t kill me either. When in Rome …
October 11th, 2024 at 02:58Coming to Concerto back again, in Munich at Herkulessaal (1974 JL, you know?) was on Saturday a concert with a local Coverband from Dachau (https://www.boxhead.de) and the Munich Abaco Orchestra (https://abaco-orchester.de). Patron was Pete York, who spoke some words (in German) and Paul Mann was also in the audience. The hall was nearly sold out and I thinks it was the most enthusiastic audience, the place ever saw. I sent a short review to the editors, but maybe not close enough to DP for publishing it, maybe still in the pipeline.
October 15th, 2024 at 12:13Nevertheless for the interested here a link to the program booklet: https://programmheft.abaco-orchester.de/ (with notes from Pete York in English)
For some pictures have a look here: https://www.facebook.com/BOXHEADrocks/ or just google “Abaco Boxhead”
Oh wow, Thomas, why wasn’t this publicized more, I would have gone all the way from Frankfurt!
The Programmheft is a real labor of love, nice!
October 19th, 2024 at 14:35