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An exercise in undiluted musical excess
Metaltalk has an illustrated review of Glenn Hughes doing his Deep Purple set at the Maid of Stone Festival on July 22:
Maid Of Stone – Saturday. By the time the Headliner, Glenn Hughes, arrived, we had stopped caring about the rain and the weather. Many had since departed, yet those who stayed to the bitter end, bitter being the operative word as the wind had not eased, were presented with a pure masterclass of Deep Purple classics.
Though, in view of their soaking wet and cold state, probably many fans were happy for the headliner to play a shortened set, this was my one main gripe of the weekend. How come the Headliners played the same length of time as all the rest of the bands on the bill?
Surely, they were entitled to more than an hour. Answers on a postcard, please.
That said, this was a well-packed hour, and despite a slippery stage, Glenn brought his ‘A’ game to the park. Playing a set built entirely around Deep Purple songs, this was a delight and a wonderful slab of nostalgia with which to finish the day.
Continue reading on Metaltalk.
Photo: Robert Sutton/MetalTalk
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
That’s just Glenn, you might be wet and cold with half the audience already gone and he hits the stage like the proverbial stormbringer proceeding in OTT fashion to give you your own semi-private California Jam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0jBbVvF84E
And to give his band credit: They recreate the Mk III sound like no one I’ve heard before even if the drummer has obviously listened more to Bonham than Paicey in his life. : – )
July 30th, 2023 at 21:52Loosely related, Hughes Thrall get a belated re-appreciation (Coverdale Page are listed too).
https://www.loudersound.com/features/rocks-20-greatest-one-album-wonders-the-bands-that-made-one-album-then-vanished?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=XCR_NWL&utm_content=XCR_NWL_Automated_Airedale_Final&utm_term=2336264&m_i=y_jD_XG4J88vthXvZ_Rrpp5podayPIMD1Pl2T4pQgSSSzSzdQqg3SGXdSPBrl0%2B%2B421gbhNVaiX6glF4ksBkBIUvIPO7qqKM0IdJipaFyP&lrh=199007781f3533110f3accf4bc0e44864279d3c418099568635739e9512e596e&M_BT=2729425703832
July 31st, 2023 at 00:16John Corabi, Glenn’s prede- and successor in The Dead Daisies and also the best singer Mötley Crüe ever had, has only nice things to say about Glenn:
‘Adding extra appeal to the Best Of collection are two unreleased tracks – “The Healer” and “Let It Set You Free” – both are Glenn Hughes songs. “Yes,” confirms Corabi. “When I go on stage, I’m going to be singing a couple Jon Stevens songs, and I’ll be singing three or four of Glenn’s tunes, plus my own stuff that I wrote with the band. So, they sent me a link for it, and I was listening to those last two songs. I’m like, ‘Man, these are great!’ It’s going to be a good record. It’s awesome! It’s just a little taste of all versions of the band. It spans the whole ten years, and I think it’s going to be cool. Like I said, the two Glenn songs, the unreleased ones, they’re fucking bad ass! He’s a beast.”
Did it surprise you that Glenn Hughes left The Dead Daisies? “Um, yes and no. Glenn’s like… if you look at him historically, he’s always got his fingers in something. Black Country Communion, I saw a post about them doing some stuff. I don’t think there was any weirdness or bad blood between anybody. I think he just kind of wanted to go back to doing his… I guess it’s the 50th anniversary of the Burn album (by Deep Purple). So, he wanted to go do that. I think he’s got some stuff lined up with Joe Bonamassa. You know… whatever. It is what it is. I love Glenn. I’ve known Glenn since 1992. I met him with Mötley; he sang on ‘Misunderstood’ with me. Dude, I was just telling my wife the other day, I showed her the moment that I was like, ‘Who the fuck is that guy?’ I showed her a video clip of Deep Purple playing The Cal Jam (in 1974), and they opened with ‘Burn’. I showed her the video, and Glenn Hughes is in that white satin outfit, playing his guitar, and his hair is everywhere. He just steps up to the mic, and he does that middle section of ‘Burn’, and he does those screams. She was just sitting there like, ‘Holy shit!’ I go, ‘Right!’ So, if you’ve got to be replaced by somebody, or you’ve got to replace somebody, that’s the guy! I love Glenn. I wish him nothing but the best in whatever he’s doing. Hopefully I’ll get to see him and give him a hug sometime in the near future. But boy, is it a pain in the ass singing his shit! If you want to get an idea of what I’m going to sound like singing Glenn’s stuff, think Tiny Tim singing Pavarotti. Somewhere in between there, I’ll fall into that massive grey hole,” jokes Corabi.” ‘
July 31st, 2023 at 18:12Uwe
” the simpler charms of fellow Deep Purple offshoots Whitesnake or Rainbow”
Mmmmhhhhhhh
July 31st, 2023 at 18:35Stop press, my above post wasn’t finished yet,!
John Corabi, Glenn’s prede- and successor in The Dead Daisies + also the best singer Mötley Crüe ever had, has only nice things to say about Glenn:
——————————————————————————————-
https://bravewords.com/features/john-corabi-on-rejoining-the-dead-daisies-everybody-had-to-get-away-from-each-other-to-appreciate-what-we-had
‘Adding extra appeal to the Best Of collection are two unreleased tracks – “The Healer” and “Let It Set You Free” – both are Glenn Hughes songs. “Yes,” confirms Corabi. “When I go on stage, I’m going to be singing a couple Jon Stevens songs, and I’ll be singing three or four of Glenn’s tunes, plus my own stuff that I wrote with the band. So, they sent me a link for it, and I was listening to those last two songs. I’m like, ‘Man, these are great!’ It’s going to be a good record. It’s awesome! It’s just a little taste of all versions of the band. It spans the whole ten years, and I think it’s going to be cool. Like I said, the two Glenn songs, the unreleased ones, they’re fucking bad ass! He’s a beast.”
Did it surprise you that Glenn Hughes left The Dead Daisies? “Um, yes and no. Glenn’s like… if you look at him historically, he’s always got his fingers in something. Black Country Communion, I saw a post about them doing some stuff. I don’t think there was any weirdness or bad blood between anybody. I think he just kind of wanted to go back to doing his… I guess it’s the 50th anniversary of the Burn album (by Deep Purple). So, he wanted to go do that. I think he’s got some stuff lined up with Joe Bonamassa. You know… whatever. It is what it is. I love Glenn. I’ve known Glenn since 1992. I met him with Mötley; he sang on ‘Misunderstood’ with me. Dude, I was just telling my wife the other day, I showed her the moment that I was like, ‘Who the fuck is that guy?’ I showed her a video clip of Deep Purple playing The Cal Jam (in 1974), and they opened with ‘Burn’. I showed her the video, and Glenn Hughes is in that white satin outfit, playing his guitar, and his hair is everywhere. He just steps up to the mic, and he does that middle section of ‘Burn’, and he does those screams. She was just sitting there like, ‘Holy shit!’ I go, ‘Right!’ So, if you’ve got to be replaced by somebody, or you’ve got to replace somebody, that’s the guy! I love Glenn. I wish him nothing but the best in whatever he’s doing. Hopefully I’ll get to see him and give him a hug sometime in the near future. But boy, is it a pain in the ass singing his shit! If you want to get an idea of what I’m going to sound like singing Glenn’s stuff, think Tiny Tim singing Pavarotti. Somewhere in between there, I’ll fall into that massive grey hole,” jokes Corabi.” ‘
——————————————————————————————-
LOL – that “Tiny Tim/Pavarotti”-reference to Glenn is great (and very apt).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5WtX1egZBk
It’s also nice to hear that the imminent Best Of double CD of the Daisies will feature two unreleased Glenn-featuring songs*** , so they are not writing him out of the band’s history or anything.
*** Yes, of course as buying bait for the Purple crowd, what were YOU thinking, how else is Herr Lowy going to refuel his 2 million Dollar Spitfire Mk VIII and subsidize his Aviation Museum in Temora?!
https://australianaviation.com.au/2019/01/between-rock-and-a-hard-place-an-interview-with-david-lowy/ ]
July 31st, 2023 at 18:56RV, it’s not my statement, but I think both Whitesnake and Rainbow were indeed a lot more conventional than Hughes Thrall. Never forget from which band Pat Thrall came …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-zhE8x1kAc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Ay4d5bWtw
(Automatic Man were one kick-ass outfit btw!)
But returning to Hughes Thrall, you name me ONE Whitesnake or Rainbow song that sounded remotely as modern and unusual as these here in 1982, both Whitesnake and Rainbow were firmly footed in the past by comparison (one band tried to sound like Bad Company/Free with a shot of Mk IV Deep Purple, the other like Foreigner with some neo-classical flourishes and some DP influences as well):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z_OkiSPzPI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3pIzKwGbi8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Q-8r2Fyg4
I’m not saying this was all Glenn’s do, Pat Thrall played a HUGE part and he was probably the most sympathetic co-songwriter Glenn EVER had. It’s too bad that there never was a follow-up to that great debut by them.
July 31st, 2023 at 19:19Re: Uwe @ 6. Yes indeed, Pat Thrall is a very fine guitar player. In fact I recall reading an interview of Glenn Hughes about 10 years ago in which he stated that the best guitarist he had ever worked with was Thrall. That’s a significant endorsement considering that Glenn has worked with Blackmore, Bolin, Iommi and a plethora of other well known players.
August 1st, 2023 at 23:54Listening to the quadrophonic mix of Stormbringer from the 2009 Kevin Shirley reissue as I type this. Makes a great album sound even better. The best Deep Purple album with the coolest bass melody in You Can’t Do It Right? They were one of the biggest hard rock bands in the world in 1974 and decided to celebrate it by releasing an r&b and soul album. A pretty cool thing to do, it must be said 🙂 Even if it meant alienating their fanbase.
August 2nd, 2023 at 18:52I was into Pat Travers in the 70’ties, and on one album I have, Heat In the Street, Pat Thrall played guitar with Pat Travers – that was quite something. A strange choice for Pat Travers to add another guitar player besides himself. I guess Pat Thrall had other qualities as well (backing vocalist). Peter “Mars” Cowling on bass and dummer was Tommy Aldridge. Great band.
August 2nd, 2023 at 20:59Thrall was inventive: His approach was less “How impressive can I be on this instrument?” and more “What can I do with this instrument?”, much like a keyboarder and unlike most guitarists.
He was excellent with Asia too. I liked him better than Steve Howe who while having qualities of his own is not really a rock guitarist. There I said it, YES fans! (No doubt, Herr MacGregor will now crawl out from underneath what used to be Ayers Rock and scold me!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-YQ1FwS6_o
August 3rd, 2023 at 00:07Scold you, do you think you are getting away that lightly! I have summoned the mob, (again). The only trouble with other guitarists playing anything Steve Howe originally did is that it doesn’t sound quite right. Well it is a bit like that with any guitarist trying to play what other guitarists are known for with their individual idiosyncratic parts. Thrall did a decent enough job, not that I was into Asia after their very ordinary 2nd album & after Howe left, but I do remember hearing little bits here & there. A bit like Trevor Rabin playing 70’s Yes classics, good enough in certain places but not quite right overall. I am trying not to be too critical but the Mob are demanding a hard line of retribution, so I have no choice. Cheers.
August 3rd, 2023 at 07:07Totally agree with Uwe Hornung Pat Thrall was definitely Asia’s best guitarist, although Howe was good when I saw them in 1982,he added a rockier edge which sounded much better. As for Rabin I saw him with Anderson,Wakeman and he was immense again better than Howe although Yes diehards won’t hear of such a thing.
August 3rd, 2023 at 17:52For the record: Herr Howe is an absolutely idiosyncratic guitarist and impossible to copy, but a real rock guitarist he ain’t. But he did fine with YES where Chris Squire was basically a lead guitarist one octave lower, providing the riff structure to many songs.
But with Asia I thought that both Mandy Meyer (I love that third Asia Album) and Pat Thrall just rocked more than “guitar academic” Steve.
August 3rd, 2023 at 21:36Steve Howe is many things except a ‘standard’ blues rock player. Country, jazz, bluegrass, flamenco, classical & whatever else I have left out. That does sort of separate him from the typical rock guitarist indeed. Which is one of many reasons he appeals to so many as a guitarist. One thing he was never going to do in the 1960’s was play blues rock as everyone else it seemed was doing that. Asia was never going to be his thing, the first album worked but so do many first albums from a new lineup or a so called dare I say it as I cringe, ‘supergroup’. One thing noted is how many guitarist Asia went through after Howe, all good players no doubt but it does make me wonder & then they returned to the original lineup after decades.. He was out of place in many ways, it comes back to the arrangements & the songwriting. AOR indeed & MTV. Another thing of interest is how much Steve Howe loathed the Trevor Rabin era of Yes music. Coming from Asia & watching Yes go through a similar style in many ways. Oh how times did change & not particularly for the better. Not to worry. The 1960’s & 70’s did have some really innovative ‘rock’ guitarists who didn’t play typical rock music. John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana & Al Di Meola are just a few who spring to mind. The video did kill the radio star. Everyone it seems or almost everyone was infected by the shorter & more commercial aspect to songwriting in the 1980’s & further on. The corporate filth side of contemporary ‘rock or popular’ music. Remember what that banker or corporate record company joker said at that Jimi Hendrix Royal Albert Hall gig, ‘this noise makes lot’s of money’ something like that. Cheers.
August 3rd, 2023 at 23:38LOL, I remember a YES gig I went to where Steve H “had to play” Owner Of A Lonely Heart and it was almost touching to see how he had to force himself to do it with an expression of horrified disgust and utter bewilderment at how ANYBODY could like this particular piece of music which to him was obviously undiluted shite. It was so beneath him, it appeared to be physically painful. Hilarious to see him soldier through it and at the end hand his guitar to his guitar tech with a sigh of relief as if it had been irretrievably desanctified by an especially vile and unspeakably lewd act.
Professor Howe can be a real hoot – if you like me find nerds entertaining!
August 4th, 2023 at 12:02Stephen, I saw ARW too and compared to YES they were incredibly heavy! There is always a certain airiness in the sound of YES, but ARW were bludgeoning in a good way. Wakeman seemed to be enjoying himself, lots of humor in his playing, Anderson sang well and Rabin was versatile, virtuoso and gung-ho in a way that reminded me of Steve Lukather.
It’s a pity they never recorded new material.
August 4th, 2023 at 12:16There is no love lost between those two guitarists & what they think Yes should sound like. I remember reading the Steve Howe’s disdain comments in the late 80’s & also after the Union tour ego trip of 1991. I also read at a forum somewhere that Rabin allegedly started playing an ACDC riff in the middle of a 70’s Yes song on that Union tour. They were both placed on opposite sides of the stage for a reason! It sounds like the old feud scenario where things start to get out of hand in a band with two dominate personalities, (cue Blackmore & Gillan). Yes should have never had that 8 member re’union’ tour, what a typical management & record company disaster that was. Howe’s disgust at having to play anything from the Rabin era as you said was comical in his attitude, but also embarrassing. I have a dvd of the 2004 classic lineup concert where they play one or two Rabin songs. I am relieved they ARW didn’t record new material because it would have been as before, (Big Generator & Talk albums) with Rabin dominating the songwriting process ( AOR) with only a little bit of help here & there from Anderson & Wakeman. Plus I do not think that Wakeman would have worked out with Rabin, too much simplified keyboards from Rabin himself, what would Rick end up doing in the recording process. Rabin is too dominant in the songwriting & producing also & I noticed when they were apparently exchanging new song ideas online it all broke down after a while, we can only imagine why. That is what success re 90125 & Chris Squire wanting that to continue & leaving it all to Trev. He after all gave Squire that ticket to the USA & all the party scene & the glam & all that crap that goes with it. Squire was never the same after all that, except on the Keys to Ascension brief classic lineup reunion 1995 & also the symphonic 2001 tour & the 2003/4 tours with the classic lineup. Otherwise it’s back to the AOR style of the 80’s & with a new lad in AOR in Billy Sherwood as his mate. Now days Howe is dragging the name through the mud with another final attempt at trying to sound like YES. Billy Sherwood, Geoff Downes and a replacement sort of sound a like lead vocalist & also no Alan White on the drums RIP. I was impressed with the Band of Geeks playing YES classics recently with Jon Anderson, very versatile & nailing those epics like they use to be played, correct tempo & all. And it isn’t called Yes, so that makes it ok for me. Sorry for the Yes rant, this is a DP site after all. Cheers.
August 5th, 2023 at 00:41@ 6
Hi Uwe
Yeah, I know, that s why I did put it like a quote.
Although often, for me that is, very overwelming, I appreciate your posting of the seemingly endless musical universe you gathered in your head.
I used to know Thrall from Pat Travers and never went into the other stuff, not sure why.
August 5th, 2023 at 16:32The new YES album is not as horrid as Heaven & Earth which still featured Squire and White + had Roy Thomas Baker as a producer, what a disappointment that was!
August 6th, 2023 at 00:53@17…qt.”That is what success re 90125 & Chris Squire wanting that to continue & leaving it all to Trev”…
That about sums-it-up too with Yes…They were lucky to even continue-on by 1983, & Mr.Rabin brought them massive success unheard of before, like a phoenix rising from the ashes lol !…( Rumour has it that the recording was well under-way (90125) before the others were encouraged to regroup, & even call themselves “Yes” once again…One thing led to another & another etc etc ).
This success no doubt irritates Mr.Howe no-end, which is sad imo, as he is a unique player, & should know better.
The 1/2-hr live arrangements of tunes that Yes did in the 1970’s were awesome works-of-art, but difficult to get airplay with, except for Radio-broadcasts.
It’s kind of a similar scenario here I suppose with RB & SM, with your age-group determining your preferred guitarist. The difference being that RB doesn’t rock-the-boat…In fact, RB has always acknowledged DP as Jon’s band, & probably had given Steve the nod-of-approval decades ago. At least we have peace here in this regard.
Peace !
August 7th, 2023 at 09:34The Yes regrouping was initially Cinema by name with Squire, White & Rabin., then Tony Kaye (keyboards or that should be Hammond). Record company along with management wanted a ‘new’ Yes & Jon Anderson was approached & brought in to pretty up the song melodies & improve on lyrics etc. Trevor Horn was the producer & also contributed to a few songs. It is a cracking album, it is what followed that lowered the bar somewhat & Anderson & Kaye were squeezed out so to speak Interesting that previously Rabin was going to possibly link up with Keith Emerson before that in England. I couldn’t see that ever working out, especially as Rabin also plays the keyboards & eventually Tony Kaye was relegated to Hammond only status on stage.. ‘Leave it all to Trev, he writes the hits & gets us shit loads of money & fame etc’. Squire the Joker. Cheers.
August 7th, 2023 at 22:59Ritchie accepting DP as Jon‘s band? Since when? The changes from Mk I to Mk II and from Mk II to MK III were both attempts by Ritchie to wrest control from all other band members. Jon just went with Ritchie’s flow (or force) – and also where the money was. When In Rock became a success, Ritchie was pretty much in control of the band already. When Ian Gillan battled Ritchie for control (or at least joint leadership with Ritchie), the writing for him was on the wall. Come the demise of Mk III, Ritchie realized that the other Purple members would not accept another line-up change instigated by him, so all he could do was pull a Houdini himself and reappear with Rainbow which to all intents and purposes was “his Deep Purple reloaded“.
The history of Deep Purple is in great parts one where Ritchie either has it preferably his way or leaves in a huff. He‘s rowed out Gillan twice and left both times when the subsequent line-ups did not work out to his liking (Mk III) or failed commercially (Mk V). And while he rated Jon as a musician, he never accepted him as a band leader, much less owner of DP.
August 7th, 2023 at 23:37I think in hindsight & reflecting after Jon Lord’s unfortunate passing Blackmore did say something along the lines of, ‘Jon was always the elder Statesman for DP’. Or words to that effect, correct me if I am wrong. However at the time the band was in action with Blackmore certain things didn’t appear that way, possibly. Who knows what Blackmore really thought even then, but the post Lord era was finding Blackmore a little more relaxed & melancholy & he may very well have acknowledged Lord as the soul of the band, or words to that effect. Cheers.
August 8th, 2023 at 07:33@22…I’m pretty sure that RB states “DP as always being Jon’s band” is on the “Ritchie Blackmore Story” DVD circa 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s8hKhTd9Z8
Peace !
August 8th, 2023 at 08:02At least these recent Yes comments are under the appropriate heading ‘An exercise in undiluted musical excess’. Not that I personally find Yes that, however so many bands were tagged with that saying back then. Even Deep Purple at times, early 70’s. Space Truckin’ live, 20 minutes, ‘undiluted musical excess’ indeed. The journalist’s or at least some of them just couldn’t understand a song lasting any longer than 3 minutes, let alone 20 minutes. Poor souls it almost makes me feel sorry for them, almost! Cheers.
August 8th, 2023 at 08:51Oh yes, absolutely no argument there, Jon was pretty much at all times the “spokesperson” or “elder statesman” of DP! A member of the supervisory board, even a king. But never the Prime Minister or CEO actually running the band.
That said, as rock bands go, DP was a very democratic outfit. I always saw it as a collective with the original three – Ritchie, Jon and Paicey – having perhaps vetoing rights, but I never saw Glover, Gillan, Coverdale, Hughes and Bolin as hired hands. The band benefitted from being a democracy, but Ritchie saw it, as time passed, unfortunately as only a weakness. I’m personally convinced that the magic Purple encapsulated for me (and Rainbow lacked for me) was down to that free spirit element.
Ritchie drove the band, but he never owned the car either. He realized that, hence he always jumped ship when he couldn’t have his way anymore. But had you asked him in 1973/74 whether he thought he was working in Jon’s band, he would have probably hit you with his stovepipe/pilgrim hat!
August 8th, 2023 at 10:09@26…The early-days would have been a very-crazy-time, & all the after-the-show footage of the band rarely, if ever, has RB having anything to say for interview reasons…Understandably, he despised the “filthy-press”, & yet, they were a part of the R&R circus.
And there’s no-doubt that GH has had an incredible career, & survived much turmoil & controversy, & should be celebrated.
But we also have to be realistic here, & the dice rolled a certain way for all concerned. And that includes the members of “Yes” too lol !
Any band that has “had its time” per-se, & can then bounce back years later & continue on for another 4-decades with only a few regretful reshuffles in that time, is a true working band, & should serve as inspiration to the young folks, that it can be done.
Peace !
August 9th, 2023 at 02:45Purple were only ever really cutting edge, contemporary and culturally relevant in their Mk II 70ies phase. Mk I was a slightly quaint and behind-the-times freak outfit oscillating between pop, prog, rock, classical and psychedelia (charming but really all over the place) and Mk III and IV were – let’s be honest with ourselves – just extremely well-honed arena & stadium rock for people that would have otherwise liked Grand Funk Railroad, Foghat and Bad Company too. (Nothing inherently wrong with that, but hardly edgy.)
August 10th, 2023 at 15:49@28…Mk-IV never had a fair chance to bloom. CTTB was indicative of what was to come, but they never delivered.
Tragedy indeed. Mk-IV could have been easily the best MK to have come from the DP family, it just needed a couple of more albums to prove itself. It was of-the-moment-music, & that’s what success is all about. All they needed was a little more time for the audience to settle-in to the new format & dig the new grooves & sounds arriving. Most of the early heavy bands at this point were floundering or didn’t exist anymore. Mk-IV could have been really successful imo, & out-sold all other previous Mk’s given the chance.
For myself, if I compare CTTB against RB Rainbow debut, this is what I realize…Both get played here at my place, one at least every 2-weeks, the other maybe once or twice a year, in honour of RJD’s contributions to the band & respect for his passing.
Peace !
August 11th, 2023 at 00:21@ 29 – I have to comment Gregster. There are a few ‘could’ words mentioned in your comments. Might as well add a few others, should, would, if, maybe, however etc etc. DP MK IV couldn’t deliver live concerts of decent substance to honour the name Deep Purple, they floundered big time. They were spent creatively, physically & mentally. We know what Jon Lord & Ian Paice think of it all. Regarding Rainbow & why do some aficionados here keep comparing those two bands? The first Rainbow album was a solo album of sorts with Dio’s band backing. They didn’t perform live ever, maybe that was a good thing & we will never know. If only that had applied to MK!V things may have been different. I digress a little. Two totally different entities for two totally different reasons other than writing, recording & eventually playing live rock music. Blackmore did not attempt to create another DP. The agendas were totally opposite of each other.. One band still existing & attempting to forge ahead with some new different ideas with a new guitarist & another new band starting out with an ex DP guitarist & seeking a different path. Each to their own however both bands stand on their own in my mind. Cheers.
August 11th, 2023 at 07:19My gosh, you Australians do tend to assume extreme viewpoints, dontcha?! One guy says Mk IV would have been the new Beatles if we had only let them, the other one that they couldn’t play shit.
May I take a somewhat more measured stance, you two warring wombats?
– Mk IV were a good band, ‘eclipse everything DP did before and after’ they did (and would have) not. But I believe they would have filled stadiums for a few more years until Tommy would have waved good-bye, you know how he wanted to sing his own stuff with his “not-a-range-wonder-but-intimate”-voice. Part of DP’s charm was always that they sounded a little Yuropean, exotic for the US, but Mk IV sounded like an American rock band most of the time. Hit singles would have eluded them (hard rock became more AOR/meldoic pop rock in the later 70ies, not something Purple excelled in), but then that was never DP’s game.
– I have quite a few Mk IV boots, I have yet to hear one where Tommy was the catastrophe some people say he was. Even the Budokan gig is a spirited performance, with an ailing lead guitarist who did his best and an organ player covering for him – as you are supposed to do in a band. I for one would have liked to be there and the Japanese fans didn’t seem to be disappointed either – domo arigato! Tommy wasn’t an enigmatic lone gunslinger like Blackmore, true, but he was enchanting (and ahead of his time) in his carefree androgyny and a sight to behold. He also played some very musical lead guitar – if not in Blackmore’s technical league, granted, but then who was in 1975/76?
“Blackmore did not attempt to create another DP. The agendas were totally opposite of each other. One band still existing & attempting to forge ahead with some new different ideas with a new guitarist & another new band starting out with an ex DP guitarist & seeking a different path.”
No, certainly not, he just tried to recreate a DP somewhere between In Rock (1970), Machine Head (1972) and Burn (1974), i.e. AS IT HAD BEEN, the ole reactionary! With less organ and more guitar, zero swing and groove, plus escapist hogwash lyrics along the lines of “I lost my pet dragon in the mists of time, boo-hoo-hoo, how bad is that, eternal despair reign o’er me in the twilight of the moon !!!” Very adult, spare me.
Ritchie liked to compete and he believed he could more or less take over Deep Purple’s audience – what he failed to see was that Purple’s audience wasn’t just male adolescent headbangers, but people who perhaps like a bit more variety with their music and not a 10 minute guitar solo introduction with buzzing single coils “because the friggin’ Rainbow lighting rig is always interfering” to every song!
And those people heard that Rainbow was ACTUALLY LESS than Purple. Less musical communication, more flaunted ego of a single man, “heads-bowed-down-we-must-overwhelm-everyone”-battering ram’n’roll with a “we-must-always-show-just-how-brilliant-the lead-guitarist-is-because-he’s-paying-for-all-this-you-know”-stance. There is a reason why Rainbow didn’t take over the world nor preserve DP’s success, dammit!
Rant over. LOL
These Aussies, always so emotional and in a state.
August 11th, 2023 at 21:35@30 LOL !!!
1.I only said “could” twice, & it can only be speculation of course.
2. Q. & qt. “Regarding Rainbow, why do some aficionados here keep comparing those two bands” ? …
Ans. / Reply… That’s because they’re the first releases from what many saw as 2 x new bands, & both albums are substantially “funky” throughout, especially CTTB, which imo shytes all over RB’s debut, though it has merit.
3. Q & qt.”The agendas were totally opposite of each other.. One band still existing & attempting to forge ahead with some new different ideas with a new guitarist & another new band starting out with an ex DP guitarist & seeking a different path. Each to their own however both bands stand on their own in my mind”….
Reply. Alas, it’s all history now, but one could also suggest that one band was started to get away from the drug-abuse besetting some members in a former band, whilst the other died from the drug abuse besetting some members…
@ 31…Uwe said ” I have quite a few Mk IV boots, I have yet to hear one where Tommy was the catastrophe some people say he was”.
R. I agree, the band was as strong as ever at times ( even better than ever perhaps ), & one thing that’s not often mentioned is how sometimes the crowd were quite horrible towards Tommy, & how cruel the can be. This didn’t help anyone, & possibly addresses why the US-of-A & the rest-of-the-world gigs were likely much better received than elsewhere.
As much as I like the Mk-III boots & MIE etc etc, its the Mk-II & Mk-IV live releases that do it for me.
Peace !
August 12th, 2023 at 02:38“Extreme viewpoints”? good humour there Uwe”. Not too much different to many comments & that includes people with a crystal ball. “These Aussies, always so emotional & in a state”? Cheers.
August 12th, 2023 at 04:00Trying not to appear ‘extreme’ in any way with my comments. Uwe pretty well sums up the many differences between classic Rainbow & Deep Purple & of course to complete the difference are the songs themselves. I presume we are talking Dio era Rainbow. Different melodies, different approach & the only thing obviously that will have a similarity is the guitarist himself, one musician & with the rest of the band totally different musicians. No swing, there is another difference that Uwe has constantly reminded us of. Less organ & more guitar, another difference, no duelling call & response etc either. Different lyrics as Uwe who has a penchant for certain lyrics has reminded us of time & time again. “Ritchie liked to compete and he believed he could more or less take over Deep Purple’s audience” that is a first for me that one. “And those people heard that Rainbow was ACTUALLY LESS than Purple”. Not less just different. There is that Rainbow is a poor man’s DP attitude again. A different audience in many ways also with die hard DP aficionados also & no doubt a liking for rock music, hard rock music & many people would not have been comparing between the two bands (what for) & just enjoying it for what it is. Unless of course they went to a recent MK IV gig & then in desperation craved some decent hard rock music. (I couldn’t resist that dig).
August 12th, 2023 at 06:14“There is a reason why Rainbow didn’t take over the world nor preserve DP’s success, dammit”! Oh I didn’t realise Blackmore & company were trying to preserve DP’s success. Who would have thought? However as I have already stated it is the songs, which classic Rainbow songs sound like DP? Cheers.
Most honorable Herr MacGregor, let me rebut!
– Read the Sounds interview with the homicidal Heathrow radio electrician and then tell me again with a straight face that in 1975/76 Ritchie was not competing with Purple and not hellbent on sucking up their audience (plus mistakenly cocksure to be able to do so)! And that interview is not a one-off, around the same time there was an expansive article/interview with him (in the accompanying pics he was practicing with a javelin in some park – he was good at that as a youth and had great aim) in the NME where he said the same things, mainly that Rainbow would have taken over Purple’s audience irrespective of the Bolin line-up splitting up or not. Ritchie was all gung-ho about taking over the Purple crown in those days.
– Back then, EVERYONE I KNEW compared the Rainbow debut with CTTB and all former Purple fans – me included (initially, I took a few weeks/months to change my mind) – preferred Ritchie’s work, the songwriting, the riffs, even the sound was so familiar. CTTB sounded fresh and confident, but the huge Tommy Bolin stamp on it took some getting used to. It’s also ironic that the Rainbow debut, although recorded in the same studio with the same producer (Munich Musicland/Martin Birch), sounds so much worse than either Stormbringer or CTTB (in hindsight probably the best-sounding 70ies product of Purple, largely due to Bolin being unlike Ritchie a playful whiz kid in the studio, there are TONS OF GUITAR OVERDUBS on CTTB, but they all sound organic). Anyway, if the riff to MOTSM doesn’t sound like something that couldn’t already have been on Burn for you, then I don’t know. Dio even sings it in a Coverdale vein and range (save for the nonsensical lyrics). Likewise, the Uriah Heep Gypsy riff of 17th Century Greensleeves had already been kicked around by Blackmore in Mk II days, Roger revealed in an interview once. And on Rising, A Light In The Black could have already featured on Fireball, I can easily envisage how Ian Gillan would have sung it and Jon’s hammering piano accompaniment. Dio btw never liked that song because he didn’t know what to do with it.
– What really set Rainbow apart from Purple was that Ritchie’s solo career music was initially (= Dio era) darker and constituted a reactionary return to a more Yuropean sound (Mk III and IV had become heavily Americanized over time). Ritchie sounded more English and even Middle European with an American singer (albeit with Italian roots) than ever before. The darkness and the un-American-ness were ironically also IMHO Rainbow’s key birth defects and the reason why they never took Purple’s crown: They lost the female audience of Purple, that was a key component in the latter’s success. The Bonnet and Turner eras were Ritchie’s belated and somewhat desperate attempt to rectify that, but let’s be honest with ourselves: he was really crap at being Mick Jones.
– Blackmore either steers or jumps a ship. Except during Mk II’s early years (and Mk I before), he didn’t work all that well in a collective. Jon Lord once rightly said: “What we irretrievably lost with the demise of Mk II was our ability to work as a collective.” And it was Ritchie who ended Mk II in a hope to gain even more control of the band. That backfired when the new boys (DC & Glenn) refused to be petrified by Ritchie’s diminishing role (and lingering threat to leave) and thought they could have a go at leading and carrying the band themselves. That and only that is why Rainbow ever came into existence. Had Ritchie presented his Stargazer riff to Purple, I’m sure it would not have been turned down by the other Purple members, but rather into something that would have been different from how we know it today, but perhaps even better, more varied and less bloody-minded …
August 12th, 2023 at 13:35@35…
Something certainly happened (once again) within the Mk-III ranks between the “Burn” tour, & the making of “Stormbringer”, with the result musically being the polar opposite of “Burn”…
Perhaps it’s obvious that 4/5 enjoyed each others company & after-hour-entertainment-luxuries, & RB couldn’t or wouldn’t communicate his views, so left…I myself find it difficult to deal with “drunks” if I’m not partying with them &/or started partying with them when the “bottles” were first cracked open…Easier to leave, that’s for sure.
The resulting sounds found on CTTB are awesome imo however…It’s a great album that’s aged far better than anyone would have expected it to.
Peace !
August 13th, 2023 at 07:20Don’t forget that Ritchie’s marriage with Babs/Bärbel Hardie
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a3/34/bf/a334bfa54c5a0a7b60133c9448f2f14d.jpg
was crash-landing between Burn and Stormbringer, I don’t even think she moved with him to the US in 1974, but stayed behind in England (to this day?). Rumor has it that Babs wasn’t the demure-docile type, but gave as good as she got, the divorce was messy. So Blackmore sees another marriage go to hell, he’s uprooted from England and Glenn (plus in his footsteps Little Ian too) become(s) enamored with more rhythmically nuanced American RnB-influenced music, a development Ritchie is wary of. You’d be forgiven to at this point start thinking whether with everything around You in turmoil there is maybe another life outside of DP. Especially if you hear Ronnie Dio singing almost every night opening with Elf for you and there are signs of a power shift within DP that won’t make a third Blackmore coup in only six years any easier.
I still think that it was a mistake. Some of Ritchie’s most mature, musically adept and consummate playing finds itself on Stormbringer. Ritchie always believed that only he could push himself to greater heights, but that was a misconception of his. He underestimated his brilliance in meeting the challenges of others. The solos on Love Don’t Mean A Thing, Hold On and Holy Man are brilliant. Subtle, understated, adult, extremely musical, tasteful + no flashy gimmicks.
I don’t think that drugs were decisive for the Mark III split – Purple didn’t have any more drug-related issues than, say, Led Zep, Eagles, The Who, Johnny Winter, Status Quo, Uriah Heep, David Bowie or Alice Cooper. The mid 70ies were an era of debauchery everywhere. A professional and tough management could have kept such a situation reasonably controlled.
August 13th, 2023 at 16:31Yes I do still like Blackmore’s playing on Stormbringer the album. Even those songs that he apparently loathes, they must have had something going on for him to play such inspired solo’s. It helps me still appreciate Stormbringer as an album, even if I tend to skip some of those songs most of the time. The occasional listen still brings a sense of magic in hearing Blackmore nailing it. Deep Purple were not really a drugs band per se, at least not until mr funky soul Glenn Hughes became a member. From my perspective of it at least & don’t a few members say a similar thing on a documentary somewhere? Hughes would have been responsible to some degree wouldn’t he? Am I being unfair in that judgement? Those other bands & musicians were definitely hedonistic debauch fools in that sense, only MK IV Purple dropped to that level eventually, well some members at least. Cheers.
August 13th, 2023 at 22:37Glenn coked a lot, but with DP he only reached his “Columbian produce zenith”in 1975 or so, after Stormbringer had been recorded and toured – hanging out with the Thin White Duke as he did back then cannot have helped either; David wasn’t exactly a role model of drug-free sobriety.
Glenn was forcibly sent home to England to clean out (a bit at least) during the recording of CTTB in Munich. That is why Tommy plays bass on “Comin’ Home” and Jon’s voice joins in on the”Coming Ho-oh-oh-oh-ome” chorus (together with DC and Tommy) – Glenn simply wasn’t around and you can hear it, there is no falsetto harmony in the chorus. DC also erased a lead vocal track from Glenn (in addition to Getting Tighter and This Time Around, Glenn had sung sole lead on a third CTTB track initially) and replaced it with his own (lead) singing.
It was Jon who said that he always marveled how “coked out of his head” Glenn could be and still put on a good performance live. Glenn was young and healthy back then, it takes a while until cocaine unleashes its full destructive force on you. For a while it just makes you think you’re invincible (not that Glenn was ever – with or without drugs – a shrinking violet on stage and would have needed any bolstering in that department!).
August 14th, 2023 at 15:24@39…
Yes well, management could have intervened & ensured a bag or two of Buddha / Thai-sticks, Panama-Red, Kentucky-Blue or other perfectly suitable cannabinoid be made available at all times, & kept the intake down to PM-hours only by having the minders provide the after-dinner-mints imo…
It’s quite true that some narcs will open your imagination-up, but at the expense of poor performances, so a balance needs to be struck in-between creativity & productivity. I guess they did get it right in the studio, as performances were always pretty-good.
Peace !
August 15th, 2023 at 06:23