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Gillan unhappy with BMG
The Live in Europe 1993 4CD box set containing both Stuttgart and Birmingham shows from which Come Hell And High Water CD was compiled, have been recently rereleased by Sony/BMG as two individual 2CD sets. Apart from an obvious attempt of milking the cow to the last drop on behalf of BMG, the rerelease of the infamous Birgmingham NEC show apparently pissed off Gillan to no end. He called the record executives behind this decision ‘opportunist fat cats’.
BBC Radio 4 will be covering the story tomorrow February 27, on the Today Programme.
Thanks to contactmusic.com for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I saw those in the shop and groaned. It really is disgraceful how BMG are treating these concerts.
Especially considering that these concerts were remixed to sound more bootleggy. Compare with Pat Regan’s mix on CHOHW; while his taste in drum sounds isn’t mine, it’s a much clearer mix that still preserves the live athmosphere.
February 27th, 2007 at 10:46Brief interview with Ian Gillan on the BBC news website here http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6390000/newsid_6399700/6399743.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm
February 27th, 2007 at 13:24Well maybe this will force the band to release a really tight show from the “”Bananas” or “”Rapture” tours. I seem to remember the Montreax show from the Bananas tour being exceptionally tight and rockin.
February 27th, 2007 at 15:44Ian Gillan has lost his sense of proportion on this. I am one very long-standing fan who would buy this album if Mr Gillan hadn’t unreasonably forced BMG to withdraw it.
February 27th, 2007 at 16:40This was over 10 years ago Ian – can’t you guys find even a little bit of forgiveness in those ego-bloated hearts of yours? Blackmore may have been a pain in the neck but his playing on that tour was peerless – just amazing and the band too was at its best in my opinion.
And remember you wouldn’t have the DP brand to milk for your pension without Mr B’s past skills and passion. There are very many of us who miss Blackmore and wish to goodness you people would start behaving like adults for once.
Sorry but I speak for a huge number of fans.
I believe one of these shows is when Blackmore throws water at Ian.. Then Ritchie comes in late for some of the tunes.. Just doesn’t play.. What a headache that guy was.. Thank goodness he’s gone!!! Long live the Morse era!!!!
February 27th, 2007 at 17:14I think this box will only be bought by die-hard fans, who collect all of DP.
And rememember: the concert is a long time before released on VHS-Video and later on DVD – so I think the decision to re-re-re-release the Birmingham show is not worth to be angry about.
And the Stuttgart concert is fantastic – so it’s intersting to compare both show. It is very obvious, that DP was (and still is) a very lively band, which plays every day in another way. No playback all very live.
So the best way to stop the moloch “musicindustry” is to release some live-concerts for free online on official DP homepage, “the Highwway Star” or the great “DP Hub” to download. Directly from the band free and for everyone. No one needs to buy bad compilations or illagal bootlegs.
..just an idea…. mybe a bit naive … but an idea…
Karl-Heinz
February 27th, 2007 at 18:09BMG have now withdrawn the CD Album more at BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6400545.stm
February 27th, 2007 at 18:40I bought the “Live in Europe 1993” box set over 12 months ago, so I am intrigued as to why it has taken Gillan so long to publicly condemn BMG/Sony for releasing their ‘worse ever concert’ and to ask the fans not to buy it.
Isn’t it a little bit late?
If I didn’t have the CD already, I think I would be ordering it now just to see if it really is as bad as he says. That’s what happened after I heard Glenn Hughes recommend that fans don’t buy “Last Concert In Japan”!!
February 27th, 2007 at 18:45Maybe he didn’t know about it. Keeping track of all Deep Purple releases is difficult even for a fan, and musicians tend not to be as fannish in their attitudes. It could well be that the first time Ian noticed the release was when he got a royalties check for it.
Or maybe the separate release of the show crossed a line. After all, that was the third time that show was released.
Like I mentioned on my own blog, both the CHOHW video/DVD and the boxed set provide context for the concert, either in the form of commentary or in the form of another, better concert from the same period.
February 27th, 2007 at 21:30[…] We have reported yesterday that Gillan is unhappy with BMG re-releasing the Birmingham NEC 1993 show on CD. The plot thikens. In an interview conducted by BBC he said that the album was re-released without his knowledge. BMG immediately announced that they are withdrawing the album. […]
February 27th, 2007 at 21:31It is odd that IG has no problem with his current record labels releasing so-called “tour editions” of ROTD & Gillan’s Inn.You know,those “Buy the albums again & get some extra stuff” cash grabs.A proper live album or dvd from either tour would have been appreciated.
March 1st, 2007 at 11:18If there’s such a problem with the “Blackmore legacy”…well, there doesn’t seem to be a problem playing the songs that Ritchie wrote and collecting all those royalities. Problem cashing in those residuals from SOTW, Ian ? Doubtful.
Ritchie’s work on this tour was stunning (NEC notwithstanding), and like it or not, he is integral to DP’s history, and you guys wouldn’t be where you are today had it not been for him.
March 1st, 2007 at 22:27The Stuttgart half of this show is amazing, and even the NEC shows comes to life in the latter stages, albeit not for long. I’ve waited years to hear the full shows that were edited down into Come Hell or High Water, and I bought this box-set willingly. And I also noticed that for two or three months it sold more copies than most other Deep Purple releases on Amazon (according to the Highway Star’s own chart) – beating lots of newer releases.
March 5th, 2007 at 22:42Honour to those who deserve it………
March 6th, 2007 at 20:33Read the recent McCoy and Torme Interview and see the remarks about DP without Blackmore………….
First, Machine Head T-shirt saga and now the album. Mr. Gillan and Co..please grow up. Ritchie left the band 13-14 years ago.
March 8th, 2007 at 05:06Well – all this talk about Blackmore vs Morse, it will NEVER be the same, that heart blues/rock feel and way to feed a note on guitar witch means so much for the total music left with Blackmore, why can’t Morse play on an old Stratocaster with a vintage Marshall stack to get the same kind of feel like Don doe’s on his hammond, it’s after all vintage guys playing vintage music, let Morse play with USA guys and show off, and let us get some Stratocaster sound back where it’s belong !
March 9th, 2007 at 00:41The problem of Gillan (i think) is who he don’t receive one only coin of the release
March 11th, 2007 at 18:36