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Three DP albums re-released on Friday Music
Three Deep Purple albums — Stormbringer, Come Taste The Band and Made In Europe — have been recently re-released in USA on the Friday Music label. They are being marketed as remasters, but reportedly have little (if any) difference in sound with the earlier CD releases.
Both studio albums are being remastered and remixed by EMI, so at this point there’s little reason to pick up Friday releases unless you’re a die hard completist. Even given the EMI’s track record of remasters being delayed for years.
What follows below is a pure speculation.
As Friday releases are legitimate and were properly cleared by Warner, it appears that Warner does not think those albums have any market as proper remasters. That makes us wondering if EMI remasters will see the light of the day in the States.
The EMI versions will have extra tracks. It will be interesting to find out what else they have left for Come Taste The Band, if anything. The extras for Stormbringer will probably be that instrumental of High Ball Shooter, that was in the Listen, Learn, Read On box set. And the quadro mixes as well.
Thanks to Kevin Dixon and Ron Harper for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
It’s good to see that these out-of-print albums will remain available.
However, Warner is making a mistake. It’s not surprising since Warner obtained Deep Purple by default in a buy-out of Tetragrammaton and never released those first three MkI albums, putting out “Purple Passages” instead. I don’t think Warner really ever cared for or supported Deep Purple in any 70’s incarnation as they should have been marketed.
Regarding “Stormbringer”… This album was supposed to have been a double album with each member getting a side to himself. I can’t believe that nothing more than the instrumental of “High Ball Shooter” is available.
It seems more likely that like Warner, EMI is losing interest especially as we get deeper into the Mark III and IV albums. It’s also disappointing that Roger Glover bowed out of the “Burn” remasters even if I understand his personal reasons.
Does any of this have to do with EMI recently dropping Purple from their label?
August 5th, 2007 at 23:05It’s not really surprising that these three are being released again. They’re the same three that were deleted by Warner Brothers back in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Metal Blade bought the rights and released them as remastered titles at the same time they released Ian Gillan’s catalog in the late 80’s/early 90’s. I wouldn’t be surprised to seem them reissued by different labels again and again in the future. Apparently WB will license them to anyone who is willing to pay their price. For what it’s worth, the Metal Blade reissues sound great. If these are cut from the same masters, they’ll be worth picking up if you’re not interested in the import versions with the bonus materials.
August 6th, 2007 at 01:35I also own the 3 titles on the Metal Blade label and they do sound good or at least a little better than the original EMI releases from the early 90’s.
August 6th, 2007 at 10:34After the introduction of the compact disc in the mid-80’s it took years before these 3 albums where available on this format. In fact they came out immediately as mid-price releases.
Perhaps this has to do with the fact that these 3 Deep Purple albums are the less succesfull and less popular albums of the 70’s and did not sell in the amount as the previous albums used to do.
A real shame because Stormbringer and especially Come Taste The Band contain some great tracks.
EMI will release a remastered edition of Stormbringer in the near future and it will contain the instrumental Highball Shooter version as well as several remixed and reworked tracks by Glenn Hughes.
It is a pitty that none of the other ex-members were involved in the remastering and/of remixing proces of the remastered edition.
I’ll bet that there will be a remastered edition of Come Taste The Band as well somewhere in the future, however it is not clear if there are any extra’s for that release, but the addition of a few remixes would cerainly be great.
Perhaps they could persuade David Coverdale to help with the remaster.
Leaves us with Made In Europe. For years the only ‘official’ Mark III live album until Live In London appeared in 1983. Since then we now have also the Mark III Final Concerts 2-CD and finally Live At Olympia 1975 2-CD.
Maybe they could release all the 3 recorded final concerts as a complete box-set as “Completely Made In Europe 1975”. Just a thought.
Problem will be to find the right label to do this, but Purple Records should try and make a deal with EMI.
A real shame Warner USA won’t be doing the remasters but luckily enough EMI and Purple Records will keep on completing the remastering of the original albums.
So basically this means that there won’t be an American release for the Stormbringer and Come Taste The Band remasters with bonus tracks? I still find it amusing that Warner never released the In Rock remaster here in the States.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:50BLAH BLAH BLAH.YOU GUYS REALLY LIKE LISTENING TO YOURSELVES TALK DONT YA.IF YOU HAVE THE RECORDS YOU HAVE THE RECORDS.NUFF SAID.I ONLY HOPE PURPLE THEMSELVES DONT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS REMASTERED BULL.THEY MAKE ENOUGH TOURING ALL YEAR LONG
August 6th, 2007 at 14:41The back catalogue keeps the band going. They can only tour with enough record company support or the band folds, and in recent years, they’ve had a lot of trouble with record companies. When those records go out of print, a part of Purple dies as younger fans will not have access to them.
Touring is an expensive project. They make money, but at the level Purple are currently doing, they don’t make as much as you might think. Promoters and ticket vendors make the big bucks with high prices, service charges, sur charges, handling fees, and all that rot. Anyone who has bought a ticket recently knows exactly what I’m talking about.
I know in Rainbow, Blackmore used a lot of his own money to finance his tours during times when most people were into disco. He got into a more commercial sound in order to survive. He was criticized for the Bonnet/Turner years, but it was out of necessity to keep the band alive.
People go to concerts and then buy albums–much of them old–therefore it is important to keep the back catalogue in print. Participation from present and former members adds an attraction and lends legitimacy and gives even a person who already has the record a reason to get the new version.
We avid fans are especially fond of booklets, remixes and bonus tracks and notice even the slightest changes, such as the remix of the title track on “Burn”. Things such as studio chatter, demos, and other things that are of historical significance are especially interesting to us.
As far as what Deep Purple makes, they put in their time and never got the credit they deserved. They are the most underrated group in rockdom. I hope each member becomes a billionaire. Whatever they’re making, it’s not enough.
And yeah, I like to listen to myself talk. And others, too. There are a lot of good opinions and points made on this site. And some not so good ones.
Good discussion, Purple Ron. I’d forgotten about Metal Blade. They were responsible for getting out things on CD that I couldn’t get anywhere else.
August 6th, 2007 at 15:40back catalogues my ass.im a huge purple fan and i know that purple hasnt been selling well enough of any records to make a living.they are making all thier money touring.not selling a 100,000 records.
August 7th, 2007 at 02:37Jon Lord said that “Smoke on the Water” *alone* is worth “six figures a year”. And no, if the back catalogue were deleted, they wouldn’t be selling any records, now would they?
It’s true DP hasn’t charted in a while in today’s rap and hip-hop climate, but their record sales have topped 50 million copies–most of it the old stuff.
August 7th, 2007 at 04:18Its all about their financing the Purple Pension Programme (PPP).
Release as much as you can (even if its crap) and hope it sells.
Stick some bonus tracks on and re-release it again……………its all for the fans…………yeah right.
How many versions of ‘Burn’ do you really want? 1,3,5,10,25 ???
PPP is in full swing (not to many years left now)…….so go out buy those re-issues, safe in the knowledge your record/cd collection boasts 28 different releases of ‘Stormbringer’, and 33 releases of ‘Come Taste The Band’
Get a Life
August 7th, 2007 at 07:50*Ha ha* :o)
I already had “Burn” but I got the remixed album for the extras and didn’t think it was “crap”.
I won’t buy the old version again. The point was without the back catalogue, the kids won’t be able to get into DP like we did when we were 16. The albums mentioned above are not re-releases. They are just keeping them on the shelves.
I do plan on getting the new “Live in London”. The excerpts I have heard sound like a great mix, without edits, and with “Space Truckin'” included–it’s the entire show. It’s a DPAS-sponsored release.
By my count, I have seven versions of “Burn”: The original mix, the remix, the “Live in London” version, one from “Archive Alive,” “This Time Around,” Glenn Hughes’ “Burnin’ Japan Live” “California Jam,” the one from the Long Beach show on “King Biscuit” and the Whitesnake version on “Live in the Still of the Night”. Did I miss any? I need a live Joe Lynn Turner version and I wish Mark 8 would do it as well.
Only then will my life will be complete.
August 7th, 2007 at 13:10thanks cranberry i agree with you totally.dont get me wrong im a purple fan since sixteen years of age.the re-releases are nonsense.and by the way hip hop & rap have nothing to do with declining sales.its the writing that has suffered greatly since steve morse joined the band.
August 7th, 2007 at 13:14arf arf arf
Hey Steve Stewart:- Musical tastes change over the years. DP had their time during the 70’s, and like it or not they will never ever achieve that success again. Im not sure its down to poor writing, its just how it is.
I cant see the point in buying all the re-issues, and remasters, and all the other ‘kept on the shelf’ crap. These cd/records have always been available in the shops for the younger generation of fans to buy, but the record companies obviously want to rake in the money before the DP retirement party.
Get your bonus, extended (5 secs worth), and previously un-released(for a reason) tracks here!!
August 7th, 2007 at 15:43If the albums are deleted, how can they be on the shelf? Magic?
August 7th, 2007 at 15:58Give us a remastered Come Taste The Band sometime in the near future…criminally underrated album,
August 8th, 2007 at 03:26with great songs & the band in full (albeit different) swing:especially the late(&Great) Tommy Bolin!
Magic??……………….now is that the remastered version? You know the one with the 7 BONUS tracks, including the 7″ version and the 12″ EXTENDED version of ‘South Africa’??
It just a damn pity that it doesnt include a live version, and of course a version by JLT (still time for that)
August 8th, 2007 at 13:45hey rascal a hit is a hit regardless of the era.good writing is good writing.their are still rock & roll bands selling millions of records.if richie was writing the material the records would sell.
August 8th, 2007 at 14:36That’s right Steve Stewart!Rascal doesn’t care about the song-quality, as long as it’s dependable with Morse & Airey…or so he states in other areas of this community.how ’bout picking on Tommy Bolin for a change, Rascal…that JLT-thing of yours(&Cranberrys)is boring and nobody cares what you think anyway!!!
August 8th, 2007 at 15:06Thats scrap dependability then………………………..and just stick with song quality, the kind of quality that Blackmore so often refused to play.
Wouldnt want to pick on Bolin……………….he had talent
August 8th, 2007 at 16:20Ok, that’s it then.Come Taste The Band just deserves more credit, ’cause it’s really great and versatile album in my opinion…just like Purpendicular!come to think of it, those two records have quite a lot in common…not musically, but the freshness & ‘the hungry delivery’ of a new era is evident on both cases.maybe it’s also the input of the then new guitarists that make them sound so good…
August 8th, 2007 at 16:53Is n’t it a bit late to be putting out CD re-releases in shops in this era of MP3 downloads? Record shops have a grim future ahead of them, as most homes now have a PC with a CD writer. Some record companies prefer this because it cuts down on overheads like manufacturing and warehouse distribution…it’s not as if people buy CDs for their artwork. Even new ‘audiophile’ digital formats like SACD and DVD-Audio have not succeeded
– I reckon the way to go will be a few thousand (at the most) pressings on high-quality vinyl, and the rest will be downloads.
As far as remasters go, I don’t know if people will really care about new Mp3 files, unless they launch some new kind of downloadable, audiophile ‘lossless’ format…and even then most will prefer the lavish artwork and rich sound of analogue!!!
August 8th, 2007 at 19:25P.S. David Coverdale condemned the 2004 ‘Burn’ remixes as not sounding punchy enough – I think he has a point, compare the vinyl with the 80s CD and the CD sounds obviously cleaner but maintains much of the weight and tone of the original…the newer remix is definitely clearer but lighter, and not necessarily to the benefit of the music. So beware newer may not be better!
August 8th, 2007 at 19:38hmm lets see rascal,oh yeah when richie rejoined and wrote the perfect strangers album,how did that sell? very very well as i remember.since steve not so well.as far as richie refusing to play quality,he wrote then played nothing but quality
August 8th, 2007 at 21:23Mmmm….. lets see steve stewart, oh yeah, Perfect Strangers…….the reunion album…………sold well………so it should have!! the first DP album in 8 years, and the first by MkII in 11 years. How did ‘House Of Blue Light’ fair? Wasnt Blackmore on guitar?
Im not saying RB didnt write and play quality……………….But could you depend on him playing it? Having seem him on a couple of occasions with DP…………you can’t
Its purely a matter of opinion as to Morse’s writing and playing ability……….But he’s a constant in the band……………..and he is dependable, and he gave a lifeless DP another chance
August 9th, 2007 at 09:51on richies worst nite he was still more entertaining to watch and listen to. in my opinion purple has steve playing far to many leads.as good as he is he eventually repeats himself over and over.i always got the impression when richie ran out of ideas he played badly rather then repeat himself.by badly i mean sound effects and beating on his guitar.i always smiled and laughed out loud when richie hit his clinkers.such a huge prescence on stage.
August 9th, 2007 at 12:56On Ritchie worst night he would might play with his back to the crowd, or even walk off……………….very entertaining.
Morse can repeat himself………………..but at the same time seeing Blackmore beat his guitar over and over again isnt inspiring either, its a worn out cliche, a gimmick.
Lets face it, Morse isnt trying to be a Blackmore clone, he has a different style, but of course when he plays the classic tracks he gets compared to Blackmore.
Of course we come back to the same discussion about DP playing mainly classic tracks, why? Cos Blackmore is a better guitarist/writer………….or is it just nostalgia? As its been said before its about filling venues, and financing the DP pension scheme, so the classic tracks win hands down because thats when DP, and similiar era bands were at the top.
August 9th, 2007 at 14:34Really, with no itention to argue, I think the problem with DP sales is not Ritchie or Steve: both House Of Blue Lights and The Battle Rages On sold poorly even if Ritchie was there, so I doubt it’s all about him. I believe it’s more a combination of facts: after the Perfect Strangers tour Gillan’s voice started declining (on recent live recordings it’s a plain shame hearing him struggle thru The Highway Star or Space Truckin’), the better part of songs on HoBL and TBRO s*cked big time, a brief JLT incursion damaged the identity of the band as well… So, there’s a whole string of reasons why the sales went down.
November 19th, 2009 at 16:58