ROYAL ALBERT HALL - 25/9/99
What can I say? Brilliant, yes; superb, yes; wonderful, yes; but also moving. Every musician gave their all. The ovation at the end - and Gillan's slightly embarrased apology for no encore - helped make the most memorable of Purple appearances.
LSO - performing Malcolm Arnolds' compositions was a nice touch - and very entertaining.
Jon Lord - haunting music, realised beautifully and Sam Browns vocals were excellent. Miller Anderson did a good job too.
Roger Glover - great to hear the two B. Ball songs and R.J. Dio was as consistent as ever and a pleasure to see again. Eddie Hardin and Graham Preskett were inspired.
Ian Gillan - surprising but welcome choice of songs - "That's why God..." is one of the better Dreamcatcher tracks. Steve Morris (or Morse as Gillan accidentally[on pupose?] called him, was another welcome addition to the night.
Steve Morse - my opinion of him as a guitarist just grows and grows - and it was already high before he joined Purple. His playing throughout was brilliant.
Ian Paice - the best drummer of all time just got better. "Wring that neck", jazzed up? - it worked and how!
The Concerto - Marco de Goeij desrves a medal for his dedication to transcribing the Concerto. The LSO played their part brilliantly. Purple were perfection itself. Any misgivings about Morse playing Blackmore were quickly dispelled. Steves interpretation was simply beyond compare (and I never thought I'd ever say that!).
Jon was as solid as ever; Roger just exuded precision and enjoyment; Paicey was really on song and Gillan didn't look at the words too often and put as much effort and emotion into as possible.
Deep Purple - four great songs, performed as never before(?) and performed superbly.
The Finale - "Smoke" will never be the same again. So many musicians giving it what for - the audience on their feet singing their hearts out - excellent. OK so no encore - not surprising I suppose, although no-one wanted to leave. A 20 minute plus standing ovation, constant cheering....I'll remember this one for a long long time. Even the shitheads who called oput repeatedly at the start of the second movement (and were thrown out shortly after) could not spoil a night like this.
Thak you to all the people there - the musicians and the audience. Special thanks to Purple and extra special thanks to Jon - it wouldn't have happened without you mate. Hope you didn't throw up for too long!
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