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Machine Head‘2024
Rhino/Warner are preparing to release a yet another “super deluxe” reissue of the Machine Head. It will include the album newly remixed by Dweezil Zappa, plus two live recordings — the March 9, 1972, gig at the Paris Theatre in London (a.k.a. In Concert’72), and an audience recording from Montreux Casino in April 1971.
The new remix of the album could be of particular interest, as it will be released in Dolby Atmos format on Blu-ray. Which is essentially multitracks together with metadata with instructions for the customer premises equipment on how to mix and pan them to create a 3D soundscape.
As for the Montreux recording, Deep Purple played two gigs there in April 1971: on the 16th and 17th. The gigs are remarkable for the decision made then by the band to record the next album there in December. You know the rest of the story. The April 16th gig was filmed by Swiss TV and bits and pieces of it were used in a contemporary documentary The Revolution.
Track Listing
1LP
Dweezil Zappa 2024 Remix of the 7 album tracks + When a Blind Man Cries
3CD
CD One:
- Dweezil Zappa 2024 Remix of the 7+1 tracks
- 2024 Remaster of the 7 album tracks
CD Two: In Concert ’72
CD Three: Montreux ’71
- Swiss Yodel
- Speed King
- Strange Kind Of Woman
- Into The Fire
- Child In Time
- Paint It Black
- Wring That Neck (Hard Road)
- Black Night
- Lucille
Blu-ray (Audio Only)
- Dweezil Zappa 2024 Atmos Remix of the 7 album tracks + When a Blind Man Cries
- 1974 U.S. Quad Mix of the 7 album tracks + When a Blind Man Cries, Maybe I’m a Leo, and Lazy mixed in Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound
The new edition is due out on March 29, 2024. It can be preordered here (US, Canada & Japan) or here (rest of the world). Listen to Smoke on the Water in Dolby Atmos sound, mixed by Dweezil Zappa.
Thanks to our editor emeritus Trond Strøm for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Dweezil Zappa getting in on the remixing etc & why not. The original quad mix is the only thing that interests me, being nostalgic & all. Although it isn’t really surround sound music rock ‘ n roll to my ears, unless it is Pink Floyd or similar artists that have many layered instruments & sounds etc. But that original Quad mix is always a nostalgic desire in some ways. Would it sound like I think it did sound all those decades ago? Probably not as time does take it’s toll, however curiosity does kill this cat occasionally. Hmmmmmm, a stand alone Blu-ray would be the one to get if that ever is released. Cheers.
February 6th, 2024 at 19:41Hosanna, hey sanna, sanna sanna ho …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8EQ-E2oMsk
And about time too! No band of Purple’s stature has been as dismally treated regarding its back catalog.
Nice touch to have Dweezil do the remix and remastering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtHWfKYY6sA
Wetting my pants as I write.
February 6th, 2024 at 19:45The quest of the interviewer girl to extract some political counterculture commitment out of Ian, Roger and Jon is cute in its “doomed to failure”-approach. The German voice-over is even more dogmatically sourpuss than her questions in English.
I guess any attempts to turn Deep Purple into the Edgar Broughton Band were futile …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-RSrY6OJ-Q
February 6th, 2024 at 20:06I think that I will wait for people here to review it before I pony up for it (AGAIN!) What can D Zappa do to it that would make it any better? The Montreux ’71 is the only thing that I am really interested in since I already have the other stuff in various forms. Does anyone know if that really is unreleased, especially considering all of the stuff out there?
February 6th, 2024 at 20:07For memory can’t recall the exact date, but wasn’t this box set released awhile ago? Uncertain if it’s exactly the same or are there any extras? Or different formats?
February 6th, 2024 at 21:54Yo,
At least there’s a new live recording in there..
Dweezil knows-his-stuff, & can play guitar just like his Dad could, & is right-up-there with the likes of Satch & Steve Vai…And he likely knows a thing or two about mixing etc, since he spent a lot of his time “remastering / mixing”with his Dad’s catalogue with both older & new releases, that are now owned by Rhino…That’s right, everything from FZ is now the property of Rhino…The family sold-out a few years ago now.
I hope new listeners enjoy the new version, but I have plenty already thanx.
Enjoy !
Peace !
February 7th, 2024 at 01:59What? No Purple Records Open Ear label on the vinyl? Sacrilege!
February 7th, 2024 at 06:21Record companies will keep milking fans as long as fans keep buying this sort of thing. I gave up donating a long time ago.
As for the remixing, I’m firmly of the opinion that albums like this should not be tampered with. They should stay as they were on the day they were released. Who knows if Jon Lord would be happy with this remix? Has Ritchie been consulted? Who knows if John and George would approve of all Giles Martin’s work on the Beatles catalogue, regardless of whose son he is?
February 7th, 2024 at 09:55One can never have enough Machine Heads, it’s the consummate DP record, nuff said. It’s when everything came together, experience, production quality, inspiration, songwriting craft, an ear for tunes and even a pop touch. I wanna be milked, yes please, I’m a glutton for punishment!!!
No Pete, this is not a reissue of the 40th Anniversary Machine Head boxed set from 2012
https://www.discogs.com/release/3960500-Deep-Purple-Machine-Head
which was remastered by Jon Astley.
While searching for the allegedly released upfront teaser mix of SOTW (didn’t find anything, at least nothing I could access here in Europe), I stumbled across this remix here from 2021 which had passed me by. It’s sort of the headbanger’s version of SOTW – imagine Saxon or Judas Priest performing the song (or the way Black Sabbath did it, but not as sluggish) -, but has some really nice details and ideas. Probably the best DJ ‘metal meets dance’ mix I’ve so far heard of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDbEP79nC4o
Also goes to show that SOTW in its original form was not (yet) really a heavy metal track.
February 7th, 2024 at 14:27“As for the remixing, I’m firmly of the opinion that albums like this should not be tampered with. They should stay as they were on the day they were released. Who knows if Jon Lord would be happy with this remix? Has Ritchie been consulted? Who knows if John and George would approve of all Giles Martin’s work on the Beatles catalog, regardless of whose son he is?”
I have a more “Talmud & Tora”-exegesis stance to it. To me a new remaster or – more so – a remix is a current sonic interpretation of an artist’s work, it is not supposed to replace the original, it’s just another way of looking at it.
Jon Lord had an open mind regarding all things music, I think he would have been chuffed by Dweezil sitting at the mixing board. Ritchie? You never know with him, but he certainly had no issues with having the Blackmore’s Nigh debut remixed (which came out well). In any case, I’m sure Dweezil will be respectful of the origin work.
As has Giles Martin been with the Beatles oeuvre btw, a real labor of love.
I love spending my time comparing different remasters and remixes. It’s not always a case of better or worse, but of “oh, that’s different!”.
In any case a seminal album like Machine Head deserves a 50th Anniversary “full enchilada with all toppings” release.
Re In Rock, it breaks my heart (and ears) that we are still stuck with that abrasive, ear-grating mid-90ies remaster and remix. That was 30 (!) years ago, in the twilight of CD remastering, so much more and better could be done with it today.
February 7th, 2024 at 14:57@8
I have three versions of the Orchestral Suites by Bach. I wonder what J.S. would have to say about it.
February 7th, 2024 at 15:37John, your question has been answered: Yes, Jon Lord would SIMPLY LOVE the Dweezil remix (not so sure whether Ritchie would too, see below!), here is a teaser of it:
https://www.prostudiomasters.com/album/page/233025
So, judging by the prominence of Jon in the new mix, Zappa jr. is more a Jon than a Ritchie fan!
I actually hear stuff from Jon I haven’t noticed before.
Other observations: Big Ian is louder (which will make my wife happy as she is always complaining about Ian being too low in the mix: “Why isn’t his voice louder?” “Because it’s not a friggin’ Slade single, dear!”), there is more echo-o-o-o-o-o … + reverb and Dweezil has gone for an overall grittier sound thus taking up the old grumble of Made in Japan fans that Machine Head supposedly sounds ‘sterile’ in comparison to the MH songs played on MIJ.
All very interesting, don’t you think?
PS: Roger’s Rickenbacker growl is “cream-in-your pants-now!”-worthy!
https://img.fotocommunity.com/roger-glover-deep-purple-1972-a4486534-ad84-4c17-a442-10572666f367.jpg?height=1080
February 7th, 2024 at 16:21John (8) Don’t buy it then. It doesn’t replace it just presents it from a different view point.
I’m not aware that an audience version of the ’71 has circulated previously. Can anyone confirm/deny?
February 7th, 2024 at 16:52I love boxsets, so I don’t mind at all ! In fact I wished that the entire MKII, MKIII and MKIV catalogue could be rereleased in this format ! Keep them coming !
February 7th, 2024 at 19:07And there goes the drum sound buried in the mix, again. That sounds bloody awful that sample, best not go off that surely. There is always something that will suffer at the expense of something else. Sheeesh my coffee just curdled. Curiosity killed this cat, again. Playing around with something that is set in stone, hmmmmmmm. We can only shudder in wondering how that Amos mix is going to sound, or perhaps we better not. Looking at these ‘new’ remasters from anyone who dabbles with them, it is a fine line indeed. Looking at it comically it is like a little boy playing around with someone else’s toys, messing things up, until the other boy returns & then …….! Each to their own & thanks for curdling my coffee Uwe, he he he. Cheers.
February 7th, 2024 at 19:50@ Uwe
I m not looking forward to “creaming in my pants” , I never did and pray it wont ever happen.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cream+my+pants
I m not equipped here with modernised devices so I wonder if I should get something out of that teaser remix.
The first thing I wondered was :
What will they ve done for/to the audience recording?
February 7th, 2024 at 20:29Did it get a special treatment as well or did they pick a boot and copied it 1 : 1?
Sigh, never ask a drummer whether something sounds right. You’ll always end up with something like this here if you follow their recommendations …
https://youtu.be/0e0qYP_PTlY
… and they will still moan: “I can’t hear myself properly!” 😂
RV, for consolation, at your assumed age the pants creaming thing is perhaps not that high on the worries agenda anymore. Morning glory ain’t what it used to be either, where did that once so reliable ‘car jack’ rigidity go?
Also: I don’t think you need high end equipment to hear the differences of the Dweezil mix, even a cell phone will do, it’s THAT apparent.
That ‘71 audience recording did exist as a boot previously. Who knows, if it is what the Swiss TV camera people recorded at the time, it might even sound decent. I’m sure they’ll do some magic dust sprinkling with it.
February 7th, 2024 at 22:31Yo,
I have the “Classic Album” DVD of Frank Zappa, & it mostly features Dweezil & co sitting at the mixing console inspecting the little nooks & crannies in sound that puzzled them for years about his dad’s work, but that they could now investigate, since the original-master-reels were digitally transferred, meaning near-instant rewinds & countless re-listens, of any track possible, whilst isolating anything else recorded.
Perhaps someone like Dweezil has heard things within the MH masters that others haven’t yet, & will bring them forward in the mix to warrant all the blurb. And with multitracking a simple “cut & paste” in today’s world, the sound can be fattened-right-up, or spread-out wider in the stereo imagery. It could prove to have interesting results depending on what he was asked to do, & how-long-the-leash was that he could work with.
At the end-of-the-day however, the original mix sounds great, as it’s fat, warm & clear in sound, & that compliments the time of its release, especially from the direct original master-tape to CD transfer in the 1980’s, when CD’s were new.
It’s the live recordings that can be enhanced 10-fold in today’s world, so I tend to think that that’s where these gems will sparkle the brightest.
Peace !
February 7th, 2024 at 22:49Despite the fact that I am quite satisfied with the original sound, I have already ordered this box set, only one thing spoils my mood: I was so hoping that ABandOn would be released on vinyl for the 25th anniversary. Will we really have to wait another 25 years for it to be released for its 50th anniversary? If I live this long, I don’t think I’ll buy vinyl anymore.
February 8th, 2024 at 00:22It is just typical of these ‘electrified’ musicians to show no interest in the most natural sound there is, drums. Turn the guitars etc up to 11, hang on can we go even higher, you bet we can. What about the bloke singing, turn him up as well. No surprises there then ‘can we have everything louder than everything else’. Where is the most natural sound of them all, still a la natural, oh well. That is what being primal is all about I suppose. Although the vocal in it’s natural & not electrified format is very primal indeed. Even organic. Cheers.
February 8th, 2024 at 00:27Maybe it is time for a’unplugged’ Machine Head. I will do a review & I will also try to not be biased towards the drums & to not mention anything else, he he he. I was surprised in one aspect to Uwe’s comments because he normally goes in to bat for Ian Paice with bells on. Is there any sign of forgiveness with my comment, no & what about empathy, definitely not & compassion, what is that? Shame on Uwe for forgetting the most clinical part of the ‘engine room’. Cheers.
February 8th, 2024 at 00:39I’m still waiting for a remix/ remaster of the “ house of the blue light “ what’s going on?
February 8th, 2024 at 00:54Having listened to the SOTW preview I’m not impressed… way too much reverb on the vocals with Gillan so high in the mix, little Ian has been utterly buried ‘neath the everything louder than it was bass, ‘boards and vocals… sounds like Ritchie has been mostly eradicated within the verses too.
It sounds like a run through – Ritchie… which might delight some, but it’s not for me.
The original mix might not have been perfect, but it sounded like a band effort… this sounds like things have been messed with too much from a purist perspective, but I guess to others it’ll be an interesting sonic diversion.
February 8th, 2024 at 07:39Not again.
February 8th, 2024 at 09:21With some decent marketing including Ritchie and Dweezi, the 3 remaining members, there is no reason why this couldn’t hit the charts in a big way. Top 10. Just needs some imagination, some hard work and a few favourable mentions.
February 8th, 2024 at 10:40I think I might get a Ouija board & summon Cozy, I will simply say ‘help’. Get a decent drum sound so we can actually hear them. Even Bonzo perhaps & Keith Moon also, show these modern day musicians what a real drum sound is. Time will tell & wish me luck. I can just imagine Cozy turning up, Hi Dweezil I am Cozy Powell & I’m a drummer & no one ever messed with my drum sound, so you had better get this drum mix for Ian Paice perfect or else. That should work, hopefully. Cheers.
February 8th, 2024 at 11:32“I was surprised in one aspect to Uwe’s comments because he normally goes in to bat for Ian Paice with bells on.”
I cannot let this stand, Tasmanian Devil, I really can’t:
1. I worship daily and passionately before the percussive altar of the Church of Paiceology. Bespectacled Ian is to me everything a grooving rock drummer can be, I adore the man and his playing. It is NUANCED.
2. Strange as it may sound, Ian doesn’t need volume to be effective and band-influential in his drumming. He’s not like Bonham or Powell, those Rambos/Sylvester Stallones of drumming, where enhanced volume is part of their larger-than-life style. I always hear Little Ian well because I am magically drawn to his playing, IT IS INTERESTING & MUSICAL, INVITING YOU TO FOCUS ON IT. Put it that way: If pressed, I prefer busy and creative drumming to loud drumming – I’m a great fan for instance of how Mark Nauseef drummed with the Ian Gillan Band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W38VaugKAq0
I think the drumming is magic on that track and music in itself.
3. I am aware of drums having become louder over the decades in popular music. I’m no fan of that development and that’s not because I dislike drums, I don’t, but I find overly loud drums tend to cheapen the music, it’s like a glaringly overlit porn movie. I think Glam Rock was the first genre that amplified drums in the early 70ies and much as I (still) like that music (geared to sound good on the radio for a teenybopper audience), whenever I hear overly loud drums today my first thought is still … Mick Tucker !!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5oKFRsrAog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ZVsgxsk1I
Now Mick was great for Sweet, but nuanced he wasn’t, rather more very much in your face. Since Glam Rock waned, Disco Music and even Heavy Metal (Metallica!) all have all carried the “I need more drums !!! (And not just cowbell …)”-baton further. It is what it is, I guess people just like loud drums, that primal-tribal thing. That said, where it fits “stomp” drums can be nice,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUpGRXT18R8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtzdigGGZys
but Deep Purple’s sound generally doesn’t require it (and to be frank: I found Powell’s volume with Rainbow always slightly annoying, overt and ham-fisted).
3. All that said, from what we have so far been able to hear, I don’t share the impression of some of you that Ian has been undermixed by Dweezil – listening to it on headphones the drums are definitely THERE. Mind you, Ian’s drumming on SOTW has never been a heavy metal tour-de-force, it’s actually even coolish-collected laid-back + filigree. I remember an interview where Paicey was justly proud of “not resorting to playing the obvious” on the track – just think of his double-time snare rolls during Ritchie’s solo. And then imagine what Cozy or Bonzo would have done to the track …
4. I guess we will all have to wait how the Dweezil mix sounds on a regular stereo before we can pass judgement. Still, I expected the apparent grittiness of the mix to elicit some greater enthusiasm with y’all!
February 8th, 2024 at 13:21Here you are, you ole “Spirit of Cozy”-summoner!
I think he never really progressed much from that drum sound …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csFw4RdacxE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Di3mu19b9k
Incidentally, Suzi (Quatro) played the bass on ‘Dance With The Devil’.
********
Al @22: Last I heard, the masters for Perfect Strangers and The House Of Blue Light are irretrievably lost, ruling out a remix or even a decent remaster forever. Do you have different information?
And what’s with that rumor that Made In Japan was remixed by Steve Wilson, yet was never released and is collecting dust in the vaults?
February 8th, 2024 at 13:41With respect Uwe it isn’t loudness I am talking about with that sampler & as you said we will have to wait for a decent sounding disc or whatever format to know for sure. It is the clarity that annoys me with a bad drum mix, example Bill Wards drums on Sabotage & Born Again. They sound like cardboard boxes behind a wall of mattresses. Muffled & buried under an avalanche of ‘noise’. Regarding Cozy’s sound & volume yes even I have to be in the mood for it when I decide to play music he is playing on. Bonham’s sound isn’t THAT loud, Cozy did put an extra emphasis on volume & power. I remember Tony Iommi saying years ago that Cozy taught him the way that drums should sound in heavy rock during the Headless Cross recording sessions & no doubt also when playing live. Ian Paice has always had a good & wonderful drum sound from my memory of it especially in the 70’s. And that is one reason (perhaps the only reason) he became involved at the mixing desk. Making sure his drums sounded good in the final mix. Perhaps the Pearl kit & different recording technology & producers has changed it a little from the DP reunion era, but we can always hear everything. Good clarity in the mix is essential. It always worries me a little if no band members are over seeing these remixes that some people do. Many that I have read about have someone from the band hearing it, especially at the final mix before it goes to pressing etc. I have never heard about Steve Wilson remixing Made in Japan and quite frankly it does NOT need it & I wouldn’t listen to it if anyone should touch (& annihilate) that original sound. That is disappointing to hear about the PS & THOBL masters being ‘lost’. Cheers.
February 8th, 2024 at 19:42If they release just the 3 CDs at a sensible price I’ll get it. I’m not stumping up £100 for it! Not bothered about a mix from a bloke who is Zappa’s son and that’s the only connection, weak. My Blu-ray player is nowhere near the hi-fi so a waste of time… and money. Only interest is really the ‘new’ Live stuff.
February 8th, 2024 at 23:02@28
I wish the Steven Wilson rumour was true. I just been listening to his remix of the “Tales…” by Yes and it mightily impressed me with its power and clarity compared the thin sound of the original release.
February 9th, 2024 at 08:13Yet another massive box with several versions of the same thing where are the smaller collections without the glossy stuff for those of us that just want to listen to the new mix etc. sell the different formats separately or at least in smaller lesser fancy packaging PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
February 9th, 2024 at 12:33The Dweezelish mix of SOTW is now available in full, go to 04:58 to hear some Big Ian ad-libbing and Mighty Lord soloing you’ve never heard before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG1airpoNDs
I S T I L L N E E D M O R E B A S S ! ! !
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/eb/41/ba/eb41bad135a5f19f2ec69b1b31249202.gif
February 9th, 2024 at 13:09Oh that’s horrible. Just a complete mess. Stick to guitar, Dweezil, you’re no producer.
February 9th, 2024 at 15:04£99 for a remix and a bootleg. Fcuk that.
I’ve bought Machine Head three times already (Vinyl, CD, 25th Anniv) Ditto the BBC set. This ripping off hard core fans is getting beyond a joke.
February 9th, 2024 at 15:22It’s not “expensive”, how vulgar!
The correct marketing lingo is:
“reassuringly value-instilling priced” !!!
February 9th, 2024 at 15:46@ 31 – Yes indeed & Tales From Topographic Oceans is the only Yes album I am interested in regarding the re mixing etc. A busy & atmospheric album it is & I have heard some of it online & it sounded much better, so Yes it is. Cheers. @ 33 – bass guitar what is that? We don’t need anymore of that at all, drums are what it is all about, I told you that Uwe. You need to get your priorities in order ole son. Cheers.
February 9th, 2024 at 20:25Just my 2 cents for the moment.
I ll make up my mind hearin the whole shebang on YT
I love loads of boots that already sound really great because this or that.
Appearantly its too expensive or difficult to release these boots and pulling it through a modern AI , or whatver, tool.
Am I suffering from Alzheimer Light again or…….am I right to assume that Dutch VPRO radio NEVER sold the their Paradisco 1969 recordings to the band because they asked too much for it?
February 9th, 2024 at 21:47“Yet another massive box with several versions of the same thing where are the smaller collections without the glossy stuff for those of us that just want to listen to the new mix etc. sell the different formats separately or at least in smaller lesser fancy packaging PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
All good things come to those who wait, Tony! It’s gonna be like with the recent 2023 James Guthrie remaster of Dark Side Of The Moon which was at first only available in a lavish(ly priced) “an arm & a leg” boxed set, but less than a year later also in single CD format. I waited until then because I didn’t want another Pink Floyd boxed set.
Eventually, that audience recording from 1971 will be made separately available too. Pink Floyd did the same with DSOTM Live at Wembley.
Lavish boxed sets like the slated Machine Head one hit their sales peak early on (and slyly include “newly found” rarities to catch those initially hesitant buyers who might be wavering, but succumb eventually to the “this is the only way to get it”-catch) – once that market segment of nostalgic aging baby boomers who don’t listen to all their music with AirPods (like yours truly!) has been exploited, record companies think of the more casual or budget oriented buyers (or those who have a loving wife telling them “WE DON’T HAVE ROOM FOR ALL THESE BOXED SETS ANYMORE!!!”
).
Capitalism always delivers a product to where it’s needed, no worries.
February 9th, 2024 at 22:06It makes me wonder if Dweezil Zappa was approached to do this remix because of Frank’s association with Montreux & the ‘break a leg Frank’ ad lib says it all. Of course Franks horrible assault by that pleb resulted in more than a broken leg & was very serious indeed. Cheers.
February 10th, 2024 at 01:49Sure he was approached for being Frank’s son, what else could it be? Irrespective of whether one likes his remixing and remastering or not, it’s a decision that has loads of charm and likely sees his old man draw one of his sardonic smiles in that atheists’ heaven he must inhabit.
Dweezil was born 1969. So he must have earliest childhood memories of a song ruling the US airwaves in 1973/74 that name-checked his dad. There must have been that moment in his childhood where he asked his father: “Dad, why are they singing about you in that duh-duh-duuh, dud-duh-dud-duuh song?” I find something like that intriguing – as you guys will have probably noticed, I love connecting dots between pieces of music history. Just imagine if someone had told the Purple guys in 1971 that SOTW would become their most famous song, make them all wealthy forever and that Frank Zappa’s firstborn son would in half a century remix it in an age of digital music processing where people mostly hear their music from telephones 📞 they carry around with them? 👽
And who knows whether at all and more importantly how the musical setting of the SOTW riff would have been written had the Zappa gig and the fire never happened. Incidentally, I do wonder whether “some stupid with a flare gun”-Zdeněk Špička who (let’s get this right: was suspected to have) acted, uhum, ‘somewhat over-enthusiastically’ 🔥 at the Casino still lives? Does he still uncontrollably twitch when he hears Gillan sing the incriminating line? 🤔
https://darrensmusicblog.com/2021/01/22/deep-purples-smoke-on-the-water-so-who-actually-was-the-stupid-with-a-flare-gun/
That said, knowing our ‘Resident Randologist’ Gregster, he probably doesn’t deem Zdeněk royalty-worthy either … 😂
February 10th, 2024 at 14:43“Break a leg Frank”…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Es7opmsMI
*A decent person doesn’t raid the bank-account via a court-decision of an honourable employer, who paid-in-full their contracted-wages, after having their name credited within the gatefold of the worlds-most-popular album, now 50-years old & selling well.
qt. “The evidence brought before the court is in-contraverteble, & fills me with the urge to defecate…,
There’s no need for the jury to retire…,
Tear down the Wall”…
Peace !
February 10th, 2024 at 22:14Well it could be what it is for many of the musicians & producers etc that get offers to do such things, ala Steve Wilson. If they haven’t already asked to do it they accept it or knock it back. A coincidence? Possibly but more than likely someone from the record company suggesting perhaps or someone else or even Zappa himself. However as you said it doesn’t matter, what DOES matter is the quality of the delivery. Should have someone from the Purple family of that lineup been involved? Busy that they are & are any of them interested at this stage of their lives. Robert Fripp oversaw the initial King Crimson remix, the Lizard album. Steve Wilson had to twist his arm though to do that for a few different reasons. I am not sure if Fripp checked in on other remixes later on. Steve Wilson quickly developed a rather good amount of respect to be left with it. Word spreads quickly. Anyway the pressure is on ‘young’ Dweezil & as Gillan said ‘Break a leg Dweezil’. Cheers.
February 11th, 2024 at 09:19good evening, again to earn money….nothing new yet!
February 11th, 2024 at 19:41Georgivs @31: Apparently, there seems to be some truth to Steve Wilson having done a 5.1 remix of Made in Japan in the past that was initially slated for a release with the 40th Anniversary reissue (which in the end did not contain any 5.1 remix at all, be it by Steve or anybody else) ten years ago:
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/suggestions-for-steven-wilson-multi-channel-remixes.25765/
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/deep-purple-made-in-japan-blu-ray-audio-in-5-1.19096/
Steve Wilson is quoted with:
“There are a lot of things I’ve done that have gotten shelved. I mean, Deep Purple’s Made in Japan (1973) — I did that years ago, and it never came out. The Seeds of Love (1989) by Tears for Fears I did 18 months ago, and that’s still waiting to come out. I think a lot of these things will come out. As you say, it’s just a matter of timing.”
No idea whether a 5.1 remix from likely more than 10 years ago is still in a state of the art shape enough to warrant a release when the 50th Anniversary reissue of Made in Japan comes up (as it likely will, especially if the current Machine Head 50th Anniversary sells well).
My hope is in any case that Rhino might kick off something here that in the future sees, if lamentably not all, then at least milestone albums such as In Rock and Burn receive a similar treatment. The way the Jethro Tull back catalog has been rejuvenated in the last 10 years (currently 14 albums and counting – from the 1968 debut This Was all the way to 1982 The Broadsword & The Beast; mind you not all those albums in between were strokes of genius) has IMHO role model character for how DP’s oeuvre should be fairly treated as well.
Alas!, but Tull fans lap these reissues up, whereas judging from the often muted response here DP fans seem to be less of a sonic vanguard to put it mildly …
February 11th, 2024 at 22:56Regarding In Rock especially who would have those master tapes? Jethro Tull & Ian Anderson has retained most if not all master tapes over the years a bit like Zappa did. I suppose when one ‘band leader’ has everyone under control or at least in check that would be easier to keep hold of. Deep Purple would be anyone’s guess with certain albums, a bit like Black Sabbath also. Jimmy Page is another who has kept his hold on Zeppelin’s masters. Some artists do have that interest in mind, others not so. A shame indeed. The Jethro Tull remixes by Steve Wilson are the 1970’s albums only I think. Same with King Crimson. He may gave changed his mind but originally he was only interested in bands & certain albums that influenced him when he was younger. Also that era of Yes & ELP. Not sure about anything else as I don’t follow everything he does. The 80’s & beyond Crimson remixes are by (current) guitarist vocalist Jakko Jakszyk. I am not sure who has remixed 80’s Tull albums, unless Wilson changed his mind & is doing them. Cheers,
February 12th, 2024 at 07:56So it appears that Steve Wilson has also remixed the early 80’s Tull albums . And the early 80’s Crimson too. Jakko did the Thrak album from the mid 90’s. Seems like I had better get out from under this rock more often. Cheers. A interesting take on the process Wilson goes through in doing all this remixing etc.
https://www.soundonsound.com/people/steven-wilson-remixing-classic-albums
February 12th, 2024 at 10:16Yo,
Uwe said…qt.” – Judging from the often muted response, here DP fans seem to be less of a sonic vanguard to put it mildly” …
DP fans have been blessed for many years with re-issues, & apparently Roger Glover’s extended versions of the albums from the later 1990’s are likely what most hard-core fans would be happy to have upgraded to. It made sense to upgrade with these reissues, & yet, record companies “have” to find a hook to sell the next batch 10-years later.
And let’s not forget that certain albums missed the upgrades all-together until the late 2000’s, with say the shoe-shine-album Stormbringer & Made in Europe via Friday Music. And thankfully, they did a pretty-good-job imo, at least with MiE.
And it matters little what sonic upgrades or remixes have to add, since most people don’t know where there ears stand & have never had them tested, yet alone accounting for the multitude of media types the “new-sounds” will be played on.
That said, it’s likely that the final quality control measures ensure that the new version will sound its best on the newer equipment being sold to the public, & that means digital amplification with matching speaker-sets, including home-theatre-packages. And so it should too.
It’s very likely that those who don’t like the current version / mix, are playing it on older analogue equipment, where perhaps where it will really shine is in the 2.1 / 5.1 & 7.1 environments, where it will sound fine in all the preset bollox artificial arena settings.
So yes, it’s an appropriate upgrade gimmick for the modern digital times perhaps.
Peace !
February 12th, 2024 at 12:17Name me one artist with as pivotal and commercially successful an album as In Rock who has seen his work remastered and remixed exactly once (!) – twice if you count in Steve Hoffman’s sectarian 2009 remaster – in a time span of, gulp, nearly 30 years:
“In 1995 a remastered and revised 25th anniversary edition of the album was released by EMI. The album was remastered by Glover, adding “Black Night”, “Jam Stew”, a new mix of “Cry Free”, and remixes of “Flight of the Rat” and “Speed King”.
In 2009 audiophile label Audio Fidelity released a remastered version of Deep Purple in Rock on a limited edition 24 karat gold CD. Mastering for the CD was performed by Steve Hoffman. This release follows the original seven-track format with no bonus tracks.”
That is truly eye-rubbing stuff. For lack of a better word, Purple’s back catalog has been criminally neglected.
I used to put this down to John Coletta/Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd retaining the rights on the 70ies stuff + the affiliated legal wranglings, but as of 2019
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01016257
Deep Purple (Overseas) Ltd is history so that is maybe the reason why Rhino gained access to the Machine Head master tapes. So all of you: Buy this now PLEASE, so we will perhaps see the same lavish treatment for In Rock, Fireball, WDWTWA, Burn, Stormbringer and CTTB in the next years (I haven’t got that much time left, no delays!). And if Dweezil could be won to do all of these, I’d be happy with that. (I’m not a great fan of former or current band members being in charge of remasters or remixes – they tend to be both too close and too old.)
In contrast to the fate of the masters of Perfect Strangers and The House Of Blue Light, the masters of the DP 70ies output are all available; even the ones for CTTB – deemed lost for quite a long time – were eventually found and served the Kevin Shirley 2010 remix and remaster.
Certainly In Rock is deserving of a boxed set release for sheer historical relevance. In LP album size please with an embossed relief recreation of the iconic sleeve. That cover is a piece of classic Pop Art, no less.
February 12th, 2024 at 15:00Uwe with the greatest respect what are you hoping to hear in all these supposed remixes & remastered albums that have been done already, well most of them. A little bit less tape hiss or rumble & noise. More clarity where none is available any more as it has been already dragged through a shredder? Or are you hoping surround sound will reveal some sort of magical definition? It is rock music & stereo is the better sound for most bands anyway. Sure there are a few albums that need cleaning up, but to suggest these modern day ‘trendy’ aficionados need to do it is like letting a child be in charge of the candy store. A respectable band member if available should ensure certain things are not trashed etc. Why do you think the musicians I mentioned previously oversee their albums being manhandled. They are set in stone & will always have their charm & that is the way it should be. Some of these surround mixes on albums sound appalling, people playing games with their new toys. Steve Wilson does appear to put special emphasis on retaining the original sound. Machine Head sounds great as an original recording in many aspects. Does it need all this again. It comes off the record sounding wonderful & always has. There are drums on that record too, we can hear them wonderfully. Regarding Dweezil if that version of Smoke is anything to go on, well enough said there. Time will tell & yes we are an almost extinct species, so be it. We have enjoyed the most stellar part of it. Deep Purple In Rock will always sound that way & so it should. Regarding artists with only one or two remastered releases of a career defining album, there are plenty. Tull’s Aqualung, Crimson’s In the Court & many more. They still have that same old sound to them. A bit dated if that is the way to put it. Is there any need for all these extra bells & whistles? Time Gentlemen. Cheers.
February 12th, 2024 at 20:27@ 49…
New record / CD buyers are the ones that need to be encouraged here Uwe, as it’s their chance to grab a new re-issue of product that’s entering its 5th-dacade of service & reincarnation…
That said, the fate of all the remaining material being reincarnated depends on who-pays-what for the rights & ownership, & then invests in the processes involved.
I suggest that boxed sets in mini-LP-sleeves decade for decade or Mk-to-Mk, combined where needed, to make a worthwhile investment is what’s needed to keep the back-catalogue alive & well, & to help distinguish between OEM releases & after-market releases.
The Deep Purple Overseas Live series is well over-due for completion, & needs to be addressed before any-more bollox is released that’s been already reincarnated 3-4 times yo ! C’mon EarMusic, lift your game !
Peace !
February 12th, 2024 at 22:04“Uwe with the greatest respect what are you hoping to hear in all these supposed remixes & remastered albums that have been done already …”
I’m not an audiophile, but I can recognize a good remix or remaster if I hear one. The 1995 In Rock remaster and remix didn’t sound good even when it first came out, it exacerbated the issues that particular “garage sound” recording always had. To this day, I’m waiting for a remaster/remix that will give In Rock some warmth.
Likewise, a little hiss doesn’t bother me. An acoustically 100% dead room with absolutely no hiss is unsettling and unnatural to the human ear. I’m not a friend of extreme noise cancellation at all.
What I like in a fresh stereo remix (I don’t really care for 5.1, I’m a stereo guy like you) is color, detail and a certain liveliness – when everything is just more “there”. Yeah, I would like a Burn remix where you can hear Glenn’s bass as well as you always heard him live or as well as you can hear Roger on Machine Head. Yet I don’t see remixes altering a classic album beyond recognition, In Rock will always sound ‘garagesque’ and abrasive and Machine Head always like you were watching DP in the studio recording it.
And it’s not always a matter of one mix being better than the other, sometimes they are just different, but each of them worthwhile. The 1993 remix of MiJ for instance revealed Darron Goodwin and Simon Robinson as Ian Paice acolytes: If you want to hear every detail of what Little Ian played on those three nights, that is the mix to listen to, albeit at the sacrifice of hearing Roger’s thunderous Rickenbacker well! (The 2013 Kevin Shirley and the 2014 Martin Pullan remixes of MiJ/the three concert nights both thankfully reinstated Roger sonically, but the 1993 remix will continue to – crash, bang, wallop! – in all eternity warm the hearts of people who otherwise also enjoy drum clinics – yes, they do exist!
)
A fresh remix/remaster every 10 to 15 years or so is to me just an interesting aural snapshot of how a historically relevant album is perceived. It doesn’t necessarily need to replace everything that was mastered and mixed before, but it’s nice to have for someone like me who likes to reinvestigate music even if it is very familiar to him
Finally, I hate to say it, my Tasmanian brethren, but ‘Aqualung’ (the album) has been remastered (not remixed) at least more than half a dozen times by now, most of those remasters are pretty awful because – Ian Anderson and Steve Wilson agree on this – the source recording is crap quality, sounding worse than any Jethro Tull album before or after it; there were issues with the studio facilities at the time IIRC. Steve Wilson has said that he tried to improve it as much as he could, but that even after his remix it remains Jethro Tull’s worst recorded album by a stretch. Of course, that doesn’t say anything about the quality of the songwriting or of the involved musicians’ performances, yet somewhat weirdly, ‘Aqualung’ for all its popularity was never one of my favorite Tull albums (nor did I ever find it sounding any good); I prefer the bluesy debut ‘This Was’ and the glammy-decadent ‘War Child’.)
February 13th, 2024 at 16:35Fair enough Uwe & I am also aware you are a collector of music as such so seeking out certain items is in your interests more than my own. However I do also crave a nice clear punchy mix with rock music. Regarding Tull’s Aqualung album I was thinking of the remixing & not remastering. It needed a remix big time & it sounds much better although I do wish Steve Wilson had knocked the lead guitar level down a little. It reminds me of Tony Iommi on certain Sabbath records. Electric 6 string guitarists eh of which Steve Wilson is one. However he does place high respect to retaining the original recording so he has obviously left it as it is. Aqualung is a pivotal album the same as In Rock & The Yes Album. After searching & experimenting on their first few releases of which there are some fine songs etc, they ramped it up a few levels into another realm. Those albums were all very successful in launching those bands careers. Aqualung is where Tull became much more ‘rock’ the same as Purple with In Rock & Yes also with Steve Howe joining. Regarding In Rock yes it could it be smoothed over a little & cleaned up if the Master tapes are available. Would a remaster from other source tapes clean it up at all. As you said technology has advanced in leaps & bounds & it does also depend on who is doing the remix & or remastering. I suppose there is only one way to find out. Remastering can improve an older original recording immensely. It depends on the quality of the original source as Steve Wilson talks about in that link I sent recently. I think of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here album. The 2011 ‘new’ release sounds wonderful compared to the original flat & tape noisy release. Superb actually that re release as are a couple of other Floyd albums. Meddle & Animals also sound much better. In regards to those other remixes of Made in Japan I have yet to hear those. I just cannot imagine that album in another light, but as you said another aspect to the recording could be interesting to hear. With the remixed songs on the Burn album re release don’t you like the bass guitar up more in those remixes? Only four songs plus the instrumental Coronarias Redig. I need to have another listen to those. Reading comments years ago & I remember some people being critical of Hughes & how he upped the bass guitar too much in the mix. I don’t think it is too loud at all, the drums are too low though but I would say that wouldn’t I. The whole album deeds a modern day reboot though & it matters who actually does that re mix. Some people mix it differently to others as we are about to find out with Dweezil & Machine Head. With the Machine Head extended ‘Smoke’ alternative mix from 1996 the keyboards sound a little too loud for my liking, especially towards the end. I am getting more acquainted with that different Blackmore solo on that version & the ending also. Bravo for Roger Glover for adding that version even if it did invoke the wrath of The Man in Black. Cheers.
February 13th, 2024 at 23:07Yo,
@52, I have little love or knowledge of any “Jethro Tull” material, other than knowing the name. Beyond that, I’m adrift…Though I may-have grabbed a 2/h record that I didn’t like at all, as it was “Aqualung” oddly enough. I didn’t make it through the first track, & put-it-away for another time, that hasn’t happened yet over 30-years later lol !
I’d also dearly love to hear new & improved ( if possible ) editions of “Eric Burdon & War”s material, that has sadly slipped under the radar of Rhino & others since 1993…”Declares war” & ” Blackman’s Burdon” ( along with1976’s cash-in “Love is all around” ) are sublime artistic masterpieces, that deserve refreshes & new-CD-availability even more so than any DP material imo, where surplus remains in-stock & on-the-shelves of many a record-store world-wide. Eric Burdon & War ROCK !!!
Also, (if it’s possible to contact me privately & arrange a contract), I’ll personally remix & master any material you want, & to your specific needs as requested. It’s not so much difficult, but rather time-consuming for best results, & that requires a small service fee for time spent on each re-master. Guaranteed, satisfying result(s).
And other bands such as “Spacehog” could also do with re-releases of their material, which imo remains sublime, & more than worthy of the 5-CD mini-LP boxed-set releases via Warner Bros etc etc. Though they only made 4 x superb studio releases, a 4-track live EP exists, which means a full shows recording exists, & could be used as a 5th -disc. And since these sound truly sublime already, it’s only a matter of printing-out new copies & repackaging…CHEAP !!! ( hint,hint )…
I recently acquired the 2013 self-release of theirs “As it is on Earth” & insist that these guys deserved better. It’s taken years to source this baby ( without having my pants pulled-down & being bent-over from attached fees ), & it’s equal to the other releases as far as quality of music goes. Very happy listening ! Great band !
Peace !
February 13th, 2024 at 23:15I loved the triple version of LIJ in 1993.
I was confused years later to read bad reviews on it.
I grabbed Anniversary Editions when they started that, what I expected it to become a complete series, format, both on Vinyl and CD
It really took the fun out of me when they didnt do it all the older albums.
I dont own a LP player anymore, just bought the vinyleditions because I loved the coloured vinyls, the artwork etc
But I would have bought the rest of them If they done the work on it.
So one of my favourites WDWTWA was skipped but Stormbringer came on vinyl and double cd…
It became a mess.
Along the way I had many wishes.
I d loved to buy a deluxe Anniversary of the last MK1 album on vinyl including a large poster of that painting.
Around the time the Bosch exhibition where one probably could buy things like that I missed out on.
Its weird, on one hand it saddens me how things have been handled and or that I ll be gone by the time they correct mistakes.
On the other hand, what am I thinking, its not impossible I ll leve this earth within 5-10 years and no one there then to care about the stuff I gathered.
It might even happen that it all land in a huge waste container.
February 14th, 2024 at 00:30I wonder who will be around in another 30 or 40 year to remix the remix of the remix?
I wonder who will really care?
Im just waiting for the ‘Born Again’ remix – come on Tony!
February 14th, 2024 at 12:49“With the remixed songs on the Burn album re release don’t you like the bass guitar up more in those remixes? Only four songs plus the instrumental Coronarias Redig. I need to have another listen to those. Reading comments years ago & I remember some people being critical of Hughes & how he upped the bass guitar too much in the mix. I don’t think it is too loud at all, the drums are too low though but I would say that wouldn’t I.”
Those remixes aren’t bad, Herr MacGregor, but I think Glenn just made the bass more “oomph” when he should have perhaps twiddled with the mid-range more to enhance general audibility of his bass lines. His recorded Rickenbacker just doesn’t sit well in the mix (though Roger always sounded great with his Rickenbacker on MH, MIJ and WDWTWA + the same engineer – Martin Birch – was at the desk, go figure!).
*******
“I loved the triple version of LIJ in 1993. I was confused years later to read bad reviews on it.”
Beste RV, I welcomed that release too at the time and I’m sure it was a labor of love of Simon Robinson who was understandably excited to have found + hear all this previously unreleased material. What probably happened was that he and Darron Goodwin got carried away focusing too much on Little Ian’s drumming. Perhaps they should have taken a break at one point and return to the remix after a few weeks of “resting their ears”, but it’s of course easy to comment in hindsight that a particular mix overemphasized a particular instrument too much. I’m happy we have that 1993 release.
February 14th, 2024 at 16:44“I wonder who will really care?”
Well, I will, Rascal, unless they can by then pry my assorted beloved anniversary remix and remaster boxes from my cold dead hands!!! 💀⌛️⚰️
Seriously, in, say, ten years from now there will likely be KI augmented anniversary releases of classic rock records that will employ the original recordings only as a sketch to be “colored”with then contemporary sounds. I believe getting KI to then generate an “In Rock that sounds like Machine Head” or “a Burn album sung by Ian Gillan” will not be a technical issue.
February 14th, 2024 at 19:46Flash thought: And I’m sure there will be a “Gregster Honorary Mix” of Mk III live gigs with all Glenn Hughes input scandalously removed. That is what he is waiting for, his heinous plan all along …
February 14th, 2024 at 19:52Both Burn & Stormbringer are very light recordings. Light Purple could have been a apt description. However Stornbringer sounds better off the record & disc to my ears, as you say Burn does need a touch up of sorts. And then we have both Rainbow Rising & LLR&R both sounding light on & a little muddy even to my ears. Hmmmmm, maybe Blackmore left his mark there possibly I don’t know. The MIJ remix from Simon Robinson & Darren Goodwin sounds like it would be my cup of tea with Ian Paice’s drums ‘up’ in the mix. Not necessarily though as I think they sound wonderful on the original MIJ, so why they did that is anybody’s guess. Possibly frustrated drummers were they? Were they both clairvoyants & they had a hunch there would be frustrated ‘drummers’ whinging & whining in years to come about the drums being ‘swamped’ in the final mix by all the other instruments. Anyway hats off to them both for flying the flag. I should have a listen to it, congratulations may be in order. Seriously though that was that era (the 90’s) of god awful drum sounds in metal, grunge & industrial ‘music’. So were they trying to ruin everything perhaps by making it sound more modern? Cheers.
February 14th, 2024 at 21:33Yo,
Rock said…qt.“I loved the triple version of LIJ in 1993. I was confused years later to read bad reviews on it.”
I agree, the triple-CD-set of Live in Japan is an awesome experience, & all that’s needed to complete the events of those times, especially when you have the black-cover updated 2 x disc-set of MiJ from the 1990’s with the encores. Only a couple of tunes missing from all 3 x nights if you have these.
There are a number of reasons as to why it gets a bad-rap, but most have to do with the CD’s developing an oily sheen on them, that looks like someone spilled oil on the disc(s). I found that spraying with a wax-based furniture-polish all but fixes that.
Other people would have preferred the full-shows from each night, rather than the edited versions, that skipped selected tunes already found on MiJ for the encores.
Simon did state that the leash wasn’t long enough, & that the financing of the venture limited the project to 3 x discs only, & each disc has a limited amount of time, hence the editing.
What it ultimately proved very-well, is that the best tracks were released on the original MiJ, but it was also nice to have the others, warts & all too.
I’m still happy with this disc-set, & haven’t bothered with the 6-disc-set offered a few years ago. There’s plenty of other awesome DP Mk-II shows to get from the 1960’s-70’s & 1980′-90’s that equal or better the MiJ performances imo…It doesn’t make sense to get so hung-up about these 3 x nights. There’s the 1973 Japanese shows to consider too..
For my tastes on the 1972 offerings, Copenhagen is the one to beat, not MiJ, & it’s on DVD too.
Peace !
February 14th, 2024 at 23:22@ 56 – AI will do it for sure me thinks. At least that way it will be ‘perfect’ will it not. We can all rest easy knowing that. Regarding the Black Sabbath ‘Born Again’ album I haven’t noticed anymore comments from Iommi in regards to that. A little while ago he mentioned the Tony Martin era re releases coming out this year. Time will tell with any of those & also Born Again.. Cheers.
February 15th, 2024 at 00:36@56, @62: Just yesterday, someone used AI to remix Born Again: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAH3gOQGHLCXTs5EuAVGdYX1rQTJqNPc&si=BNbOEnd2B-71Kr-E
February 15th, 2024 at 07:34@ 63 – interesting & at least now we can hear the snare drum & kick drum much better. Maybe this AI could be a friend of mine after all. Cheers.
February 15th, 2024 at 08:52@64 Weren’t those original tapes located and now a propert re-mix is in the works? maybe a full live concert(s).It does sound better though and less muddy.I guess AI could be a firend of ours after all
February 15th, 2024 at 17:21Ok, Herr MacGregor, you may now wet your undies, the 1993 “Paice & Friends in Japan”-remix for you in full percussive splendor (Ritchie ‘properly’ on the right channel i.e. NOT like on the original vinyl)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdbD67hfy4c&list=PLYJGSGpz36TbQFU41FgS5oOuCbhWAykyj&index=8
It will always have its place in history, but for recreating the power surge you had when you first held the Made in Japan vinyl in your grubby little adolescent hands, I’d always recommend either the Kevin Shirley 2013 remix (Ritchie “wrongly” on the left channel i.e. as he was on the original vinyl)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTuQ7v1i5w
or the Martin Pullan 2014 remix & remaster (again, Ritchie ‘properly’ on the right channel i.e. in deviation from the original vinyl)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovDobfIV_WY&list=PL4cFJtUcmjZnfkQtHo0tJRQCuIrsQOet4&index=8
Ok, while we’re at it, here’s the Steve Hoffman gold disc remaster for the “slavishly faithful to the original vinyl sound”-audiophiles among us (again, of course, Ritchie “wrongly” on the left channel as he was on the original vinyl):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psFdqiPfhmg
***************
Now don’t tell me that all four mixes/remasters sound the same to you, or I’ll ship y’all to the otolaryngologist !!!
February 15th, 2024 at 17:48Hej Svante @ 63: Like you, I’m one of those weird people that dig the original murky mix of Born Again (sort of the musical equivalent to the camera work on ‘The Blair Witch Project’ as a movie!), but, yeah, this is crisper if not as moody and atmospheric as the original mix. But like in a good horror movie, sometimes what you don’t see/hear is scarier than what you do see/hear.
But I’m sure that a crisper remix of Born Again would make a lot of people happy, not just Ian Gillan.
February 15th, 2024 at 18:03@ 65 – yes they were found the Born Again master tapes but as Iommi said recently that getting them transferred to digital is taking some time. The Tony Martin era will arrive before Born Again I would think by the sound of it. I don’t think Born Again will ever lose that ‘dark murky’ sound that some here seem to dwell in, he he he. However some better clarity with the instruments & instrument levels would be nice. I listened to this AI version again late last night & the Zero the Hero track is really low in the mix for the guitars, strange how that sounds. The real deal is what we crave though & it was good to hear the AI mix even just for the drums sounding a little more to the fore. @ 66 – thanks Uwe for the links & I should have a little listen here & there. That old curiosity rears it’s head again. Will it kill this cat, time will tell. Cheers.
February 15th, 2024 at 23:01In our ongoing series of Pulitzer Prize-worthy, cutting edge, top notch investigative journalism entitled “The ugly truth and nuthin’ but the ugly truth ‘bout Deep Purple”, new pictorial evidence has now come to light casting a very dark shadow over Simon Robinson’s 1993 MIJ remix and its delinquent percussive focus …
https://media.gettyimages TV.com/id/84883708/photo/photo-of-ian-paice-and-deep-purple.jpg?s=612×612&w=gi&k=20&c=84xj1ibb2GeH3Gt22TUleHbGKcLyCYWUVh2i63I3fK0=
I know, I know, this is so incredibly devastating. We had no idea he had it in him. And poor Simon succumbed to temptation for whatever reason … He must have been humming “I need a drummer … with a whole lotta will, so he can help me pay my bill, I need the money, I want my money 💰 💰💰 …”.
You read it here first.
February 16th, 2024 at 00:04@ 66 – well Uwe the verdict is in. The Kevin Shirley remix is the right one to my ears. That first one with Ian Paice’s drums too high in the mix is annoying. (I can hear some here saying ‘too high. too low, swamped by everything else’ this guy has no idea what he wants). As you have noticed I do like all instruments equal in the mix if possible. Martin Pullan’s remix isn’t for me either, too messy sounding. And the final link you sent the Steve Hoffman gold disc set is ok. But Shirley’s stands out to my ears. That is listening online though to all of them, it does have limitations of course. Playing my Warner Bros USA standard release cd & that sounds fuller as expected. Would I buy any of those remixes, most probably not. I would need to hear them on cd first to persuade me. But I do thank you for the links, interesting to hear as I haven’t ever bothered to search for them before knowing they were out there. Am I stuck in the past (yes in some ways) but not always. Cheers.
February 16th, 2024 at 06:06Yo,
Here are the steps that need to be taken for proper appraisal of any music, whether remastered / mixed, or simply fresh-off-the-press…
1. Have your ears tested by a Doctor to determine their losses, if any.
2. It’s likely an even better idea to have your ears cleaned-out first, there are many methods to remove blockages, so pick one. If you have sinus issues from time-to-time, chances are that your ears aren’t at 100% efficiency.
3. One easy method is to roll a tissue around a plastic pen-shell, & then dip it into melted wax using an old fry-pan. Remove the pen-shell whilst malleable, leaving a waxed-tissue in the shape of the pen. You then rest your head side-ways on a pillow on the kitchen bench, whist placing a towel around your exposed head & selected ear. You then have someone place the waxed-tissue lightly into your ear-opening, & then light it with a match or lighter. The warm air created in the ear-orifice melts the wax build-up, & is naturally pulled-through the burning flame, clearing all cavities & sinuses. Do the other ear too, & watch-out for blockages. Remove, & do as many times as necessary.
4. Set your EQ-dials / sliders on your listening medium to zero, & turn off any bass enhancers or idiotic amp pre-set-effects.
5. Choose your preferred listening medium, head-phones or whatever at your favourite volume levels, & enjoy.
6. People these days aren’t to confident in their own decision-making, & seek others guidance / opinions to help them on their way.
7. On the basis of No.6, your opinion could falsely mislead people in their decision making, so if you don’t know where your ears are at, or your equipment is below-par or not set-up in a neutral setting, how can you possibly offer guidance in this matter.
8. Only ever take advice / guidance from people who can confirm their state of hearing, typically via medical certificate, & who also state what devices / stereo set-up they used, & confirm that no EQ or effects were on.
9. Trust your own ears first & foremost. If it sounds good, it is good. Anything else is bollox.
Peace !
February 16th, 2024 at 09:30Oops, my link to the evidence didn’t work in post #69, let’s try again:
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/84883708/photo/photo-of-ian-paice-and-deep-purple.jpg?s=612×612&w=gi&k=20&c=84xj1ibb2GeH3Gt22TUleHbGKcLyCYWUVh2i63I3fK0=
If it doesn’t work now, just copy the full link and google it. Or google “Ian Paice with Dollar bills”, that infamous aboard-the-Starship snapshot of the percussive tax exile in 1974.😂
February 16th, 2024 at 13:19I did copy & paste that link yesterday & looked at a myriad of those Getty images. Some I have seen before many I haven’t. I did notice Paice all cashed up & also the image of him holding one finger up & I am not talking about him ‘flipping the bird’. However there are a few embarrassing images of MKIV especially Hughes & his extravagance. Debonair Glenn we would call him. Cheers.
February 16th, 2024 at 19:57Incredible when you hear SOTW remix they even could not match IG volume over the track – even on the demo posted…in 48/24 bits ! There are phrases you hardly comprehend the singing on second verse while its seems to be solid on the first…its worst than a amateur job…”Leonardo, sorry…I did not like this pale yellow on your Mona Lisa…lets get some fresh air…”. You just can’t handle and understand a job done when you were two years old – you simply don;t have perspective, study and lived long enough, Dweezil.
February 16th, 2024 at 20:56“3. One EASY METHOD is to roll a tissue around a plastic pen-shell, & then dip it into melted wax using an old fry-pan. Remove the pen-shell whilst malleable, leaving a waxed-tissue in the shape of the pen. You then rest your head side-ways on a pillow on the kitchen bench, whist placing a towel around your exposed head & selected ear. You then have someone PLACE THE WAXED-TISSUE LIGHTLY INTO YOUR EAR-OPENING, & THEN LIGHT IT WITH A MATCH OR LIGHTER. The warm air created in the ear-orifice melts the wax build-up, & is naturally pulled-through the burning flame, clearing all cavities & sinuses.
https://38.media.tumblr.com/3b866c4ddee98e43bad4abdd5625e6b6/tumblr_nlj2iqXYCj1qb6v6ro1_1280.gif
DO THE OTHER EAR TOO, & watch-out for blockages. Remove, & do as many times as necessary.”
WTF ???
https://preview.redd.it/vi4ldytkeajy.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=7f850973d105038ca9090a4398912d142c9424ea
DON’T
TRY
THIS
AT
HOME !!!
I am at liberty to state on behalf of
The Original Deep Purple Web Pages ‘The Highway Star’ Est. 1993
that NEITHER responsibility NOR liability in any shape or form is assumed for Gregster’s “one easy method” recommendation. Nick and Svante have both assured me – credibly so – that they NEITHER advocate NOR condone inserting waxed fire loads into ANY bodily orifices to subsequently light them.
“Earlobes ablaze, the head’s on fire
The Aussies’s flames are reaching higher
We were fools, didn’t think he’d fry us
All we feel is: “BURN …”
https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_1%2C$multiply_0.74%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_2000%2C$x_0%2C$y_371/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/ef13d17d8b5197cc802c86dc70ba099166d23c14
February 16th, 2024 at 21:43My understanding is that the audience recording is from an uncirculated show although I guess we will have to wait and see if that is indeed the case. Of course it would have made more sense to include a show with some Machine Head material as part of the setlist. If the ’71 audience recording is of superior quality I would have preferred that it be issued separately and not as a part of this package (although I’m sure it will at some point).
I am disappointed to see that there was no attempt made to include alternate takes/solos from the sessions as I understand these do exist.
February 16th, 2024 at 22:14@75
LOL ! It works a treat, & of-course it’s a little dangerous.
Apologies for not forewarning non-cautious peoples, but I thought the safety alerts spoke for themselves, you know, matches, lighter, & fire things lol.
Amazing results are possible however, that doctors cannot achieve, that’s why I posted this remedy up. It’s when so-much-gunk comes out & blocks the internal air-flow of the tube that you need to unblock, or use a new one.
So yes, be very careful people, but it is a very real solution that works effortlessly, & painlessly, with 100% remedies in minutes.
Peace !
February 16th, 2024 at 22:50JB, Ritchie will have your head on a medieval spike for that! 😂 Roger is not getting Christmas cards from Ritchie anymore because of one (!) alternative solo (on SOTW) he wasn’t even responsible for on the initial MH remaster and remix.
February 17th, 2024 at 01:22In our ongoing successful series “First Aid in the Bush Rendered Right”, resident survival instructor Dr. Gregster will address in next week’s contribution “A stone-sharpened can lid & some mouth suction – all you need for efficiently combating potentially lethal snake bites 🐍🧪💀 in the Australian Outback” reptile encounters of the unwelcome kind, stay tuned!
February 17th, 2024 at 11:49Uwe I cannot believe you haven’t thought of this Hawkwind aka (Hawklord’s) song.
“A Sheila in the bush by a Coolabah tree
Needed an urgent appendectomy
The Flying Doctor like a true Australian,
Performed the operation with a sardine can
He made a rough incision and tried to chew it out,
He had no anaesthetic, so she started to shout,
She started to shout, when he was chewing it out,
She started to shout, he tried to chew it right out,
He balled up his fist and scientifically socked her,
Look out you’d better duck,
Here comes the Flying Doctor”
The mention of performing an appendectomy with a sardine can further emphasises the doctor’s resourcefulness and ability to think on his feet. It showcases his willingness to do whatever it takes to save a life, even if it means using unconventional methods. The line about the patient starting to shout when he tries to “chew it out” suggests the doctor’s limitations and the lack of proper medical tools or Anesthesia. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQyM-3HMg4&t=2s
February 17th, 2024 at 21:12We are all Flying Doctors out this way Uwe, he he he. Seriously though the candle wax scenario does work, although I am talking about the purchased ones, not home made. Those sound a little more risky. I have witnessed it working on other people at home here. Not on my blocked ears though unfortunately as for some reason my ear wax is too resilient & doesn’t shift at all. I have to use a warm water solution with a rubber syringe (purchased from a chemist) & gently flush out the wax. And it takes forever for me, I am not sure why but it is probably all this rock music & playing with guitarists & bass players over the years that has done it. Nothing to do with Drums of course! Evil rock music, always a problem. If in doubt call the Flying Doctor & he or she will use some bush remedy or something. Cheers
February 17th, 2024 at 21:27It is all happening out here Uwe & not only in the ‘outback’ either. Even in the cities strange things can occur. Get out here & get a taste of the ‘real’ world old son. Cheers.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-17/eastern-brown-snake-caught-in-redback-spiders-web/103479010
February 17th, 2024 at 21:35Yo,
@79…Pretty-much all dangerous animals & spiders keep to themselves, & generally only bite in self-defence. In other words, they don’t attack anything, they defend their space…So turn around once spotted & keep walking away yo ! A Great White Shark or large Tiger shark may be trouble however, as they “mouth” things to determine edibility, so you lose a lot-of-blood escaping…And some are so large, you can be swallowed-up whole.
Peace !
February 17th, 2024 at 22:17Re the appendectomy: Trust Bob Calvert to find the right words for the constraints of Australian state-funded health insurance!
As for the baby-🐍, I’d imagine that its venom probably doesn’t have too much effect on a more insect-type animal like the redback spider 🕷️ (I know, spiders aren’t really insects) while the eight-legged one’s neurotoxic venom is highly efficient against a vertebrate like the snake – that gave it the upper hand!
Keep posting this stuff, at this rate I’ll never get my wife to set foot on Australian soil!
https://youtu.be/TjDAiq2-xeU
February 18th, 2024 at 14:30Yo,
Care for a swim anyone ???…
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/100979216632299198/
https://suzystorontozoo.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-tiger-sha.html
Peace !
February 19th, 2024 at 05:31But those poor animals only suffer from unjustly bad press! Their rate of mortality at the hands of humans dwarfs the few successful reprisal attacks they make.
Edith doesn’t like swimming in the ocean – sharks or no sharks – in any case, so that is one issue less.
February 19th, 2024 at 13:33Yo,
Uwe said qt.”Edith doesn’t like swimming in the ocean – sharks or no sharks – in any case, so that is one issue less”.
Then all-is-good, & there’s little to concern yourselves with ! The main issue travellers find with Oz is how large the continent is, so it takes longer than estimated to get from place-to place, & how warm the country is, though with changeable weather more-so down south.
Peace !
February 19th, 2024 at 22:50I know I am late to the party, but for sound quality, I use a lossless music player to play my music in FLAC format mostly.
Most of my catalog is CDs ripped into the player OR a few high resolution downloads.
I can tell you that my crown jewels that I own with Purple are the following:
The Made in Japan Deluxe Boxed set from 2014 (4 CDs, plus a DVD). The sound is immaculate and blows LIJ out of the water (no disrespect to Simon R. and his liner notes are much more interesting on the LIJ release).
The Listen, Learn, Read On Boxed Set- again the sound is amazing on this set and I almost didn’t buy it thinking that I own most of the outtakes already. Liner notes stellar as usual.
I hope the Machine Head Boxed set remixes are interesting, but I cannot see how they will top Glover’s remixes from 1997.
I haven’t ventured into Dolby Atmos and gosh, that could be an all new rabbit-hole for my wallet that I fear.
My 2 Cents,
Frank
February 20th, 2024 at 02:07When Simon R did the Live In Japan triple remix, remixing was still very much in its infancy, you can’t really compare it to a remix 21 years later. I understand that there must be some kind of schism between The Highway Star and Simon R/DTB/DPAS (the origins of which are probably long lost in time, I never looked into it), but I’ll always be thankful to him for how much DP & related family rare material he has unearthed over the years.
If he just wouldn’t have been so friggin’ adamant of always doing the lettering on the CD spines in the wrong direction! 😂
February 20th, 2024 at 17:59Yo,
The DPAS “Live in Japan” CD’s were intended to be side-by-side complimentary pieces to MiJ with minimal difference in sound quality, except for the removal of tape-hiss, & correcting(?) the RB & JL stereo imagery from left to right.
As was always known, the 2nd night was the best for performances & recording levels / results, whilst the 1st night saw the playing a little-stiff, & the 3rd night had the drums too loud, & the mix remaining unrepairable ( from memory ).
This information leads one to think that the 8-track recorder used automatically reduced the recording into a 2-track stereo format, rather than 8 x separate / individual tracks that could be worked with. This means that only mirror-imaging of stereo L to R could be altered, & the over-all gain / volume level of the recording adjusted / remastered, though subtle EQ adjustments & reverb added once digitalized, could also be had, to get the clearest representation of what was recorded. So they wanted the purest sound deliverable & achieved that. Individual instrumentation mods / improvements are not possible.
On this basis, any other remixes would only be playing with the dials to get another re-EQ’d sound & gain setting, based on what the latest computer DAW information reveals.
The original CD / Tape / LP sound superb, no need to spend-up imo. And the folks that do, “have” to justify the money spent by saying its better. Blind-fold tests would be great if it wasn’t for the L to R adjustments being the give-away of the modified post original masters.
Peace !
February 20th, 2024 at 22:41I’m not so sure, lieber Gregster, I believe part of the “found treasure” aspect at the time was indeed that they found the master tapes for all individual tracks, i.e. dr (more than one track dedicated to them), bass, organ/keyb, voc and guitar. So they could actually remix it from scratch. And the third night – though the band had perhaps played best there – was found marred by the not so great general acoustics of the hall, something that could not be rectified in the aftermath.
I’m no expert, but I believe that technically you can only remaster – not ‘remix’ – the stereo mix down of a recording. That is why Perfect Strangers or The House Of Blue Light can never be remixed because the pre-stereo mix down masters are deemed irretrievably lost (apparently though not in the great Universal Studios fire 🔥 in 2008, but already before). We can only hope that they might still show up someday, just like the ones for Come Taste The Band did.
February 21st, 2024 at 14:40Yo,
Leiber Uwe reported qt.
” 1.I believe part of the “found treasure” aspect at the time was indeed that they found the master tapes for all individual tracks, i.e. dr (more than one track dedicated to them), bass, organ/keyb, voc and guitar. So they could actually remix it from scratch”.
2.”And the third night – though the band had perhaps played best there – was found marred by the not so great general acoustics of the hall, something that could not be rectified in the aftermath “.
R1. Yes, once again, age has got me, & the print now too small to read on the CD liner-notes lol, but I remain convinced that the “little-black-box-8-track” supplied by the Japanese, did mix the 8-tracks down into 2-track-stereo, that likely used a then new 1/4″ cassette. The reason for this is that the excuses for the differing sound quality each night has remained & is always used regardless of which edition is released ( until now it seems ). And it would have been a very-large machine to record in the full 8-separate-track format, (eg, a video-recorder where there are multiple heads in use can be modified to work in this way, & it’s digital recording too).
R2. This statement doesn’t hold water my friend, simply because microphones are generally placed around 6-inches + or – from the speaker boxes, so acoustics cannot possibly be picked-up via the recording. Certainly the FOH mics if used may have lost some acoustic advantage per-se, but that’s also why “reverb” is artificially used in the studio to add the necessary gloss & shine to the recording when needed…In fact, this is what Martin Pullan of Eden Sound did with the DP ( overseas ) Live series releases, varying the reverb-amount & type in real-time through playback, to augment instrumental & sung passages. Subtle, but effective, especially when you can also see the results via computer-screen as well as hearing them.
So in finishing, if what you claim is true, we can all expect a new fresh release of MiJ featuring the 3rd night, since its been remixed from 8-track-source, instruments properly balanced, & is better than the original release, because the 3rd night is claimed by some to be the best…Hmmm…
Peace !
February 21st, 2024 at 22:04No doubt this article may appear here but just in case. A few here (or one at least) will enjoy this.
https://www.loudersound.com/features/ritchie-blackmore-leslie-west-mutual-respect-deep-purple-mountain
February 21st, 2024 at 23:18PS: Made In Japan was recorded via two four track recorders coupled together, there was no immediate mix-down to just a stereo mix, that was done in the studio according to convention, but the source masters weren’t erased. Still, just an eight track (or even more archaic still: 2 x four track) recording wasn’t exactly state of the art in 1972 anymore, especially for a band of the stature of DP. By then technology had advanced to 16 track, the ‘Rolling Truck Stones Thing” had it, Machine Head had already been a 16 track recording, Deep Purple’s first I think, the Stones had used 16 track recording as early as 1969 in London and in the US in October 1968 the second (and most successful) Blood, Sweat & Tears album had been among the first 16 track productions (at the then newly equipped/upgraded CBS Studios in NYC) ever. But nothing better than two four track devices were available in Japan as a mobile option to record a concert (or three of them), so Purple and Martin Birch who had been dragged along to record the gigs had to make do.
But who knows whether Made In Japan’s stark sonic assault on the senses and sheer aural excitement of a live gig would have been as organic, vivid and punchy had it been recorded on 16 track?
February 21st, 2024 at 23:38“So in finishing, if what you claim is true, we can all expect a new fresh release of MiJ featuring the 3rd night, since its been remixed from 8-track-source, instruments properly balanced, & is better than the original release, because the 3rd night is claimed by some to be the best … Hmm …”
Unlikely.
Why?
Because the third night was in Tokyo, not Osaka. Different hall and while the Budokan Hall’s acoustics are generally appreciated, they can be tricky (just listen to the Cheap Trick live album from there which is pretty much a billowing sonic mess). (It’s a hall that was not built with music in mind, but for martial arts competitions at the Japanese Olympic Games in 1964.) Anyway, something with the setup there must have not been quite right and the original music wasn’t captured as well as in Osaka. And no amount of remixing – that is the Aqualung curse – can compensate a poorly recorded original signal.
That is not so say, however, that sometime in the future there will not be KI-enabled possibilities to embellish and enhance the originally taped signals to then process them further. You might still get your third night in a better sound, lieber Gregster, but don’t hold your breath just yet.
And do not underestimate how much the sound of a hall affects not only what the audience hears, but also the stage sound*** and what is being recorded. At the volumes Purple played and their instruments all completely miked via the back line (I doubt they already used DI in 1972) for both the PA sound and the recording there must have been significant amounts of bleed from the sound of the hall into the stage mikes too.
***I remember seeing Bon Jovi at a huge football arena in Frankfurt in 2008, the Commerzbank Arena as it was then called was notorious for its awful sound and treacherous echo and seconds-long delays. The band was of course using in ear monitoring, so the venue’s notorious sound should have left them unperturbed, they had their own stage mix after all. Yet three songs into the gig, Jon Bon Jovi steps to the mike and says “This place really sounds like … SHIT, I’m sorry for that, it must be terrible for you down there.” And he was right, the band sounded abysmal through no fault of their own (I’ve seen Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen sound no better there too), yet they valiantly soldiered on. I avoid Commerzbank Arena gigs like the plague – fortunately, DP is no longer an act large enough to fill it.
February 22nd, 2024 at 01:19Yo,
@93…Great article, perhaps some in here may take notice… And what’s even better, is they get 2 x band choices to follow-up-on, namely “Mountain”, & “West Bruce & Laing”…Though I must admit to being surprised to learn that it was “Mountain” that influenced DP, & dropped RB’s & IP’s jaws down…I guess that gives some kudos to Corky Laing lol ! Anyhow, this is the boxed-set that you can own for around $20:00, & is all you need to scratch any Mountain itch…
https://avxhm.se/music/Mountain-Original-Album-Classics-u1.html
@94…Well it would appear then that 4 x tracks / 1 x recorder would be used for Ian Paice & his kit ( typically 1 x bass-kick-drum & 1 x snare + 2 x overhead for cymbals & tom-toms ) & the other recorder for 1 x guitar, 1 x organ, 1 x bass, & 1 x vocals…
And yet again, we here over the years that the drums were too loud on night 3, but we got “The Mule” for MiJ, & we got “SOTW” from night 1 since it was the only night that RB didn’t completely mess-up the riff. And the rest was night 2, with the then appraised best performance & recoding quality…
Peace !
February 22nd, 2024 at 01:28@95: One favorite of mine regarding acoustics is on The Who late 80’s live album. John Entwhistle is about to introduce a song and says, “Hello!” About half a second later, the echo in the arena replies, “Hello!”. Entwhistle then says, “I just said that!”.
(I was sure this was on “Join Together” but I can’t find it now on the Spotify version. I know Entwhistle said the song was about a guy going to a hooker so maybe they cleaned up the version for the streaming services.)
February 22nd, 2024 at 10:30Well, JAE, as his last hours on Earth showed, did not mind the company of hookers at all. I’ve always wondered whether the two most likely young sex workers who were with him when his cocaine binge-induced cardiac arrest set in had even the slightest idea which bass god they were servicing.
And I can never make up my mind whether that was a real rock star “way to go out” or a particularly sad setting, dying before people who don’t even know you.
February 22nd, 2024 at 13:34Gregster, the “too loud drums” issue on the third night might have been due to too much of the drum signal bleeding into Roger’s bass Mike, meaning that if you pull up Roger in the mix, Paicey’s drum volume goes up too (and then decreasing his own direct drum signal to compensate negatively impairs the overall sound quality).
Not that Simon R – given his sonic preferences as evidenced by his Live in Japan mix – was unduly bothered by drums ever being too loud! 🤪
February 22nd, 2024 at 13:51@ 98 – interesting John Entwistle story as I have only just finished listening to his wonderful Too Late the Hero album (1981) after many years not hearing it. Joe Walsh on guitars & keys & his sideman drummer flute & keyboardist Joe Vitale. The song Love is a Heart Attack is a reference to that very life style that Entwistle lived although he was inspired by a story that he read of a chap who was told by his doctors that he had better give up everything or else. Twenty years or so earlier than when Entwistle departed this world & he apparently loved that bit of the travelling rock ‘n roll lifestyle. Apparently he refused doctors orders of NOT to fly before leaving England for that USA tour & that his heart was shot & he HAD to have major surgery. Entwistle “sod that I am off’. I think band members said a similar story about him. That was John etc. Cheers.
February 22nd, 2024 at 21:18Yup, Pete was seething after JAE’s death that he had kept him and Daltrey in the dark that he was in no state to tour. The reunion tour at the time actually only came about because John had huge tax debts and needed fresh money. And then, before the tour even starts, he buys a stash of cocaine with his bad heart and organizes himself a little orgy.
Depending on one’s view that was either road warrior -romantic stylish decadence or a terrible waste.
February 23rd, 2024 at 14:57Yo,
An error of judgement on John’s behalf is the likely reason for his demise…Regretfully Pete has most of the publishing rights to the Who’s music, which is why he remains so well-off. And Roger was always at ease with the $$$ as he also had a solo career & an acting career. And Moon-the-loon was by all accounts on-the-return to health & prosperity when he was taken away too soon.
I suggest that the R&R lifestyle was well ingrained with John after 40-years in-the-game, & his “Coke & orgy” was simply a way of starting the treadmill of touring for the next-few-months, just like John Bonham & his 4 x quadruple Vodka’s for breakfast & a ham with cheese roll, whilst on the way to band rehearsals.
RIP both John’s & Moon.
Peace !
February 24th, 2024 at 10:04John’s solo ‘career’ was never more than a glorified hobby/pastime – I have severe doubts if he made money from those tours and albums, more likely the opposite. He relied on those profitable Who mega tours to earn a living (his songwriting contributions to The Who were rare and often only happened if Pete bent his arm to force him; he was, however, a gifted arranger for his day job band) – and for a former accountant his tax discipline was not all it could and should have been, you know what they say about death & taxes.
Actually all his solo albums are now in the process of being reissued as a boxed set by Cherry Red, they had been hard to get for a while.
February 24th, 2024 at 14:07@27 I used to enjoy Mark Nauseef’s work with the IGB. That is until two drummer friend’s pointed out Mark’s repetitive hi-hat work, where he does that open/closed thing where, when it’s hit it makes a kind of “shhwup” sound (sorry don’t know the technical term). It gets old quickly because he employs it too much, possibly because he thinks it funky. Apart from that I love the songs.
February 24th, 2024 at 20:12John Entwistle was a good songwriter & I do think that he couldn’t get many or very few of his songs onto The Who records, probably because of Townshend’s vision & prolific output. I do also remember reading about Townshend lamenting after Entwistle’s death that he should have been more open & easy going in that respect. I have heard some of his early to mid 70’s songs a long time ago from friends who owned a few albums, I should have another listen online. TLTH was a must have album because of Joe Walsh & Joe Vitale’s involvement for me. That & seeing & hearing the video for the title song on tv, it sounded good, real good actually so I bought the lp. I then repurchased the newer cd release about 15 years ago with a couple of extra demos etc on it. A talented musician was John. He did have a knack of sorts for his own music which is good, unlike other bassists like Chris Squire who released only one solo album during his life & Geddy Lee also to date. Cheers.
February 24th, 2024 at 21:04Yo,
All the members of the Who could write songs, as proved by their 2nd album “A Quick One While He’s Away”, where each were allocated equal time for their songs to appear on the record, & credited as such too…But their management was encouraging / inventing the “Rock Opera” theme, with excellent success via Kit Lambert, who would edit the good from the bad with Pete’s music, & leave the others contributions wanting.
There was too much music from everyone, & not enough room on albums to fit them all on, whilst Kit was mining essentially Pete’s demo’s.
This is why John & Roger also started their solo careers around 1973, as the Who’s music was so successful, that there was no room for their contributions, especially with Kit at the helm delivering success after success with “Tommy,Who’s Next & Quadrophenia”…
John’s first solo effort was titled “Bang your head against the wall”, referring to the lack of interest of his songs making it onto a Who album, with the last one being “My Wife” from “Who’s Next”.
Peace !
February 24th, 2024 at 23:06That’s what Jimmy Page once commented about The Who that they supposedly “weren’t a real band”, but a “musical dictatorship under Pete Townshend as Führer” (said the man who around that time flaunted an SS hat and jack boots on stage if his whims overcame him!) which didn’t make JAE all too happy who pointed out in reply that Pete had never once told him how and what to play on bass on a song. (There wasn’t too much love lost between The Who and LZ in general. Townshend thought LZ in return lyrical nitwits and their stage act indulgent.)
And there was also that notorious Daltrey interview where he said that he “didn’t care much for John’s songs in a Who context” which had JAE snap that “Roger doensn’t know better than anybody else what’s good for The Who and what isn’t.”
I’ve read that Pete often pressed for John to contribute songs, not so much because he thought his songwriting great (he found “Boris the Spider” novelty and “My Wife” overtly vengeful), but for inner-band diplomacy, i.e. “to keep the peace“. He did rate him as an arranger and of course as a (lead) bassist.
And Roger’s solo career relied overwhelmingly on outside songwriters like Leo Sayer, Russ Ballard and Chris Thompson. But songwriting was never his chief quality, what he did with his voice was open the stadiums to Pete’s often introvert and very personal songs. He communicated Pete’s work to the masses more effectively than Pete ever could.
February 25th, 2024 at 14:22Yo,
@107…What surprises me the most about the WHO, apart from the members being so gifted in their allocated roles, is how different each album is, & yet, they still sound like the WHO. They were certainly keeping the finger-on-the-pulse, & were one-of-a-few that really forged-out a modern-rock template for people to follow in their wake in the early 1970’s.
The revised deluxe “Live at Leeds” sits well as a representative work of the band live, & is up-there with the likes of “Made in Japan”. Pete’s a better soloist than he’s credited for, as this album proves.
Apart from the music being excellent, they also had TV & generally the press on their side through their career. “Who are you” the album ends the first era quite well imo, & deserves more credit than is given, along with “By Numbers”, as these actually do equal the 3 x predecessors imo. And the 1980’s recordings aren’t as bad as one may think with Kenny Jones behind the kit, but they come across soft until you hear the bonus live tracks added at the end.. And I personally think that “Endless Wire” is right up there with the early 1970’s magnum-opus’s. ( I’m awaiting the “deluxe” edition of the last release, so I don’t have to buy it twice…There’s typically heaps of extra material, often completely new tunes not repeated already )…
I still wonder how the Beatles were so popular when there was the WHO to enjoy…
Peace !
February 25th, 2024 at 22:22Ego’s eh? When I hear about one musician saying something negative about another, particularly in regards to songwriting I think of one emotion, jealousy! Townshend is in many ways what many musicians dream of doing but never end up achieving it. A prolific, astute, clever & brilliant composer. Led Zeppelin never had one guy doing it all, so it is sort of predictable that Page would say that. But they could be all winding everyone up too. Bands & their so called ‘rivalry’ eh? Roger Daltrey couldn’t write a song to save his life, so there would have been moments we would think where that did come to the fore at times. Daltrey did do some wonderful covers on his ‘solo’ albums & that is fine & he would be the first to admit that he cannot or couldn’t be bothered to write at all. At least Entwistle could write & did get the odd song on an album. It was in the very beginning Daltrey’s band at first then with the added ‘Who’ members coming along it ended up a unit. Maybe Rog felt he had some say at times & he was the ‘straight’ one in regards to keeping that band on the road so to speak. Townshend was overwhelmed at times by the pressure of coming up with everything. Moon & Entwistle ‘indulged’ as Pete also did to escape into the hedonism thing. We hear about that jealousy scenario with certain members a fair bit over time in regards to that dominance or insecurity, for want of a better description. Cue Deep Purple, Uriah Heep & Black Sabbath to mention a few..
February 26th, 2024 at 03:56Someone has to come up with the goods & certain bands had one person doing it all it seems. The Who, The Police, Dire Straits, Jethro Tull, etc. What about Simon & Garfunkel, only a duo of course but there was rivalry there with Art not writing anything & developing a chip on his shoulder apparently about that. It happens. As long as we get to hear wonderful songs I don’t mind. Other bands have more collaborating going on in that regard. The royalty thing then rears it’s ‘ugly’ head in regards to ‘songwriting’. What a mess that all can be. So much for bands getting together to create music & to have some fun. Cheers.
Yo,
I guess Warren Zevon said it all “Lawyers, Guns & Money”…
Roger Daltrey remains to have about the best working Rock voice to my ears at the moment, though Ian Gillan isn’t far behind.
Both have aged extremely well, & their voices deliver even more bounty than ever imo.
And when bands actually begin their work together, it’s often an even playing-field as far as song-writing & input goes regarding original materials. However, should success be found, the usual modus-operandi is “we’ll try & do something similar to that again”, & peoples roles tend to become automatically assigned.
Peace !
February 26th, 2024 at 07:18Fasten seat belts, Uwe is about to commit another sacrilege!
I think The Who’s Live At Leeds (also the extended later releases and the Hull gig where they had to transplant part of the bass tracks from Leeds, which just goes to show that Entwistle and Moon were not that obsessed about playing TOGETHER) sounds dated, not just today, but also back then when it came out in early 1970. It sounds like a 60ies band turning up their amps “to 11” at the dawn of the 70ies and hammering through their 60ies singles without any subtlety, glorified garage so to say. It’s an album looking backwards. To my ears The Who only arrived in the 70ies – but then resoundingly so – with “Who’s Next”, cue in the keyboards!
In short: I subscribe to the Rolling Stone view at the time:
“Greil Marcus, writing in Rolling Stone, was less enthusiastic and said that, while Townshend’s packaging for the album was “a tour-de-force of the rock and roll imagination”, the music was dated and uneventful.”
The Leeds recording cries for a keyboarder or at least a second guitarist. Townshend was a great songwriter and I like his voice, but he was not versatile or accomplished enough as a guitarist to carry a set like that. Definitely not in the league of Blackmore, Alvin Lee, Beck, Clapton, Jimmy Page, Paul Kossoff, Rory Gallagher, Hendrix or Trower and it shows glaringly on that live album.
Listening to a live recording from DP or even LZ or Uriah Heep from the same time period, it’s another world, those bands were leaving the 60ies behind and forging a new sound which they could also reproduce on stage live due to their larger or – in the case of LZ – at least multi-instrumentally better staffed (John Paul Jones) line-ups.
Ok, you can now release the lions, I’m ready.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHFxNlgOprs
February 26th, 2024 at 13:55Unleash the demons at least if not the lions. I agree in regards to the Live at Leeds album. I have never owned it as I heard it a lot from a guy way back then who was a Who freak. Tommy was where it all started to gel & lets face it, that just like King Crimsons debut album In The Court (which always will have that ‘dated’ sound to it just like In Rock does) were a template for the 1970’s. The Who are a 70’s band for me also. Much more mature & getting away from their ‘roots’ in that sense. They usually play a few of their hits from the 60’s to warm up when playing live, at least in more recent years. A good idea I think as it gets Daltrey’s voice in shape for the tour de force epics that follow. Seeing them in 2009 was one of the greatest live concerts for me, in a larger setting especially along with Deep Purple in ’84, Floyd in ’88 & Yes in 2003. Grandeur indeed, uplifting & surreal in many aspects, especially for us Aussies as we don’t usually get that sort of experience out this way. I didn’t miss The Ox on bass as I have never experienced his presence in a live setting. I have plenty of VHS & DVD’s of him with The Who & yes I would have preferred him to be there as so many others would have. Pino Palladino was wonderful on the Bass guitar & he certainly knew the songs & had a very powerful sound. Cheers.
February 26th, 2024 at 20:23I am actually hearing for the first time the ‘extra’ Tommy songs from the Live at Leeds re release from the 2001 era. Strange to hear those songs from the original four piece band. It sounds good though except the bass guitar is really low in the mix. Those songs & instrumentals are so much better than anything The Who ever did before. Sure they previously had a few good songs here & there but their albums from the 1960’s were too sparse & 60’s sounding for me. I just heard the Hendrix ‘Purple Haze’ riff at around 13.20, ha ha ha. Paying homage no doubt. Cheers.
February 26th, 2024 at 21:14@ 108 – ” I still wonder how the Beatles were so popular when there was the WHO to enjoy…” Indeed & the Beatles for me are vastly over rated. A good studio band with many very good songs at times with George Martin adding so much to many of their arrangements. But live playing???????? Live is where it is really at as we know. The studio offers a insight usually, but I am afraid for the Beatles it was all they did bar the 4 songs on the rooftop in 69 or 1970 wasn’t it? Don’t talk to me about the dreaded early 60’s girly songs. How good was that band? Wings was a snapshot in the early to mid 70’s of what should or could have been achieved. At least with McCartney he didn’t do that horrible ‘rock ‘n roll’ that Lennon did. Boring that is. Lennon again was good in the studio, but……! Now send in the Lions. Cheers.
February 26th, 2024 at 21:36In great German tradition, I will personally command the U-boat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA
to torpedo you on this, you Tasmanian Troll!
Utter nonsense 🤣, Herr MacGregor, by their sheer immense playing experience 👌 the Fab Four could wipe the floor with any other early 60ies band live!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nisU8XDl-dM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BieoyTzP8aQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXiKbll-32Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLGzRXY5Bw
February 27th, 2024 at 07:35Yo,
No need for the lions Leiber Uwe, as the original release of “Live at Leeds” is essentially cover material covered by the WHO. Thankfully, the gigs were much longer, & incorporated their own material also, & the issue I have of the album has all the “Tommy” sequences included, plus a fair chunk of their first attempt at a rock-opera, with “A Quick One”. For sure there’s a 1960’s WHO vibe throughout, but you have to have history, & the WHO were a 1960’s band, that set the controls for Rock standards in the 1970’s.
I do disagree with the reporter however, but then he hasn’t got the up-dated version to report on either with all the “Tommy” stuff lol ! Pete Townshend didn’t have to do a whole lot solo-wise because the bottom-end of the band was super-charged with Moon & the Ox, but I feel his solo’s deserve more credit than they get…Fat, tube-saturated lead tones with unique phrasings that hint at times towards jimi isn’t what I call a recipe for disaster…Just ask the folks at Woodstock what they thought of the band !!! ( But don’t ask the schmuck that sneaked on stage, & started a protest for his friend that got busted, who then saw the blunt-end of Pete’s SG to the back of his head followed by *uck off ) LOL !…
Anyhow, back in those days, the driving force of the band was Moon, & that’s what makes “Live at Leeds” something special…The Ox compliments Moon with much oomph as possible, & it’s a wonder his fingers didn’t fall off…And then there’s the underlying humour & comedy that’s often overlooked…And it’s all topped-off with a singer with a top-notch wide ranging powerful voice in Roger, & held together by Pete who does some singing as well, but it’s mostly falsetto, that annoys me a little to be honest, I much prefer Roger.
Anyhow, that’s that…I listened to “By Numbers” & “Who are you” through the day & that’s that itch scratched LOL !
Peace !
February 27th, 2024 at 12:16You, Sir, seem to have issues with falsetto singers of any ilk, so I’ve noticed! Shall I submit you to my Sparks collection as desensitizing treatment?
https://youtu.be/C3CIDPuxwrY
https://youtu.be/sjU4-o4x7gY
Or bring some Darkness into your life?
https://youtu.be/DBfmX1xvNVQ
February 27th, 2024 at 13:54I know it’s a weird choice, but the largely melancholic “By Numbers” is my favorite The Who album together with the obvious “Who’s Next” (sort of The Who’s Machine Head)
I also dug a lot of their 60ies stuff – it’s tuneful – though to me they were then still very much a singles band (until Tommy). For acerbic lyrical wit, Ray Davies/The Kinks are my preference though.
February 27th, 2024 at 15:38As I said don’t talk to me about the Beatles ‘girly’ band era. Ever since they recorded Rubber Soul & lets face it, that is when they became so much more interesting to so many people. As you can tell by my comments I don’t listen to that early era & sure there were one or two good songs developing after a few years, however? Upon their final rather short tour in 1966 they didn’t perform any songs live from that new album did they? Then it was all studio only, no live playing at all except for the four songs on that roof top in ’69, which were grand by the way. They were desperate to get out & play live as was evident when they all went solo. Too much embellishment in the studio & as we know unless you are going to play live with extra musicians to enable that or do a ‘unplugged’. I do place a fair bit of importance on live playing after composition Uwe, so they didn’t deliver from 1966 to the end with any of their ‘recent’ material. Ridiculous that is to me & many others I have talked to about that. I do own The Beatles albums from 1966 onwards on cd & nice songs & arrangements here & there & rated very highly, McCartney in particular although Lennon had his way also with many wonderful songs & George of course was sublime. Get out & play live guys, that is what it is all about. George Martin, bless him. Cheers.
February 27th, 2024 at 20:25Yo,
“By Numbers” is better than most people realize…Perhaps its downfall lay with the opening track, which has an awesome groove going, but is followed-up with lyrics armed for a young man wanting to go fight in the US-of-A civil war lol…So Slip-kid doesn’t make sense as an opener, or a single (for me at least), but if the US-of-A market is your goal then…
“Tommy” is the masterpiece that pops the band at the top of the heap, & states everything that the WHO were & to become, whilst retaining that humour. And it does come across strong imo live, & not wanting for more instrumentation. I think with records & tapes / CD’s the panning of the instrumentation L to R opens the door to “lack of” discussion, but what is there, has to be placed somewhere…And now-days, it’s generally the 16 or so mics on the drum-kit that spread-out the stereo spectrum that fill-out the stereo imagery for what are essentially 3-peice-bands with a singer. This wasn’t available just yet in the late 1960’s, or at least realized. This makes the band sound much fuller & bigger than they are, just listen to any RUSH live recording.
“Who’s Next” speaks for itself. If you don’t have it, you’re missing out…I bought it for a “tenner” at a service-station after filling-up with petrol, & then went on to grab their full discography after listening to it, ’nuff said.
“Quadrophenia” is probably the album that’s aged the best to this day, & its sublime, & has content that’s still very relevant today…It’s only fault is that you need time to listen to the whole thing from start to finish. There’s also a streamlined version that’s very-good too, that compliments the film made in 1978, so it’s the “Soundtrack” version, that’s much shorter, & has some new tunes & redone tunes affixed to it, along with other various artist tunes from the 1960’s that made-it onto the film. Be careful what you order, though the soundtrack has its merits, & is worth acquiring too, even if by mistake.
Peace !
February 27th, 2024 at 22:19I never purchased By Numbers as it sounds a little like a Townshend solo album in places, not that that is a bad thing as I own 3 of his solo albums from late 70’s to mid 80’s & they are great. Numbers sounds a little out of place, it was apparently recorded in haste & Townshend wasn’t up for it at that time. Truth be told the whole band probably weren’t from what we read. Still it does have a couple of quality songs on it, how could it not? The next album Who Are You was much more a Who album, the last of course with Moon the Loon. I watched the live dvd from 1996/7 of them performing Quadrophenia today, great to hear those songs. It is the only classic album that I haven’t replaced as yet with a cd. The remixed releases are the ones to get, wonderful sound they are. Tommy & Who’s Next are surreal. Cheers.
This is how to enjoy studio time recording an epic. The Who with Who Are You.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbBDrceCy8
February 28th, 2024 at 09:46@119…
Yes, the later Beatles albums are when they turn from a teenage-pop-band, into developing skilled musicians & songwriters…And even the very underappreciated Ringo complimented them all quite well imo. He is quite a capable singer & songwriter, as his post-Beatles achievements prove well, as with George too.
Regretfully, in a world having many people living within negative influences leading their lives, it was the constant death-threats that stopped the Beatles touring beyond 1966…And we must remember that George Martin was pivotal catalyst in the bands musical development & recording possibilities.
I’d still be a WHO or Stones-fan for sure had I been born 10-years sooner rather than a Beatles fan, but there’s no denying the success, & that warrants respect & some appreciation, especially since they helped Jimi out with his career.
Peace !
February 28th, 2024 at 10:51@ 122- I didn’t forget Ringo as I have always liked him & his contribution was rather good in all those ways you mentioned & more. I don’t know about the fear factor being a reason The Beatles didn’t play live after 1966. There is no doubt they were very stoned so it could have been simply that paranoia set in & they were too freaked out to venture outside the studio, he he he. Seriously those teenage girls would have dropped their idols like the proverbial hot spud as soon as they heard the acid & pot influence music & lyrics. Cue the saying ‘what is that, I don’t like them anymore’. So the audiences would have changed with the music & there could have been plenty of opportunities to venture into the live setting without all that god awful screaming girl hysteria that was unbelievably embarrassing to put it lightly. I also think it could have been an image thing, it wouldn’t have been only the Fab Four on stage if with extra musicians to accompany them to deal with all the extra musical embellishments. Of course they were becoming estranged to each other also, so that could have been an issue as well. The drama of it all. I just don’t rate them as a ‘normal’ band in that way, they didn’t play live at all, sort of pointless in a way isn’t it? It sort of puts them into the ‘manufactured’ realm a little. All that trickery is wonderful & very innovative but……..! Cheers.
February 28th, 2024 at 21:43Yo,
@123, it was definitely the death-threats that stopped the Beatles from performing live. (I’ll wait for Leiber Uwe or someone to chime-in for further confirmation). They decided “To hell with that” & became a studio band. I’m pretty-sure I recall that from a George Martin documentary, & it made sense…Just ask Mr.Lennon ( RIP ).
1. From the little live footage I’ve seen, the crowds are / were uncontrollable & packed together tighter than sardines.
2. The crowds were louder than the band, regardless of what tune was being played.
3. One “could” have taken a band-member out during a show, & who would know who it was ??? All eyes & ears are on the band.
Anyhow, I really don’t like this train-of-thought, & in finishing, neither did the Beatles…
* WW-I started via an idiot / assassin with a gun.
Peace !
February 29th, 2024 at 11:53Regarding ‘Beatle mania’ I have never bothered reading about all that over the years, hearing about it on the news way back then was enough. However curiosity gets me reading today about their manic touring especially in the mid 1960’s. Yes indeed there was hell to pay in that sense. The British ‘invasion’ & Lennon’s comments etc didn’t help things it seems. King Crimson’s initial tour to the USA in 1969 was a disaster & many things occurred there that were more than frightening by the sound of it. Certain band members quit after that. Fast forward to the early to mid 70’s Black Sabbath touring & the hassles they had over in the mid west of the USA & crazed fans as such. There would be plenty of other acts that had similar stories to tell no doubt. Rock ‘n roll eh. Who said it wasn’t noise pollution? Cheers.
February 29th, 2024 at 22:23I think it was definitely a mix of things:
– the prevailing hysteria and screaming at their gigs,
– death threats to the band AND life/safety considerations for their fans due to Beatlemania,
– the inability of both the then available public address systems technology AND of their backline/instruments to transmit/convey a credible sound especially of more intricate music at the then huge venues The Beatles were forced to play due to their global popularity,
– boredom with having been a live band for so long (in Hamburg they had played four to six hours everyday!) and
– finding a studio atmosphere much more conducive to the further development of their music. They already knew they were a great (and experienced) beat band live, but they wanted to go somewhere else.
The technological development for making and transmitting rock music in a live setting between 1965 and 1970 was of course huge, but The Beatles missed all that, holed up in a studio environment as they were. By 1969/70 they had the itch to play live again, but by then the band was disintegrating (and not just for Yoko for chrisssakes 😂). Had The Beatles continued as a band, I’m sure they would have resumed touring/playing live and the technology of 1970 and afterwards would have gone a long way to help them recreate to a reasonable standard most of their music live (with added touring musicians of course).
Anybody who has seen Macca live (I have) can attest to how good he is before an audience and how he must be an incredibly tough taskmaster for his bands to get there.
As you guys well know, I’m more a dedicated DP (& Family), Judas Priest, Status Quo, BÖC, Sparks and Be-Bop Deluxe fan than a Beatles one, but I appreciate their singular greatness and importance for all pop and rock following them. Compared to the pivotal Fab Four all other groups are just … well … “also not bad” bands.
BTW, these guys here are my favorite Beatles cover band, they’re brilliant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0r511_QZJc
March 1st, 2024 at 17:39Yo,
Even Ian Paice tells a story of when touring Texas US-of-A, mid-way through the drum-solo he hears a loud bang, only to discover after the show, that there was a bullet hole found on the stage-set-piece about 10-ft above his head…
Peace !
March 1st, 2024 at 23:00I have a Gibson EB-0L bass (for the uninitiated: the long-scale version of what guitarists always falsely call “an SG bass” because they don’t know any better) from the late sixties
[It’s what Michael Devin plays here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9StbjGTjXfo ]
that had part of its rosewood fret board blown away all the way through the mahogany neck due to a bar room brawl in – you guessed it – the Lone Star State. The bass was an innocent bystander in the truest sense of the word: It was resting in its stand on stage minding its own business when a stray bullet hit it.
I’ve had the whole bass lovingly repaired by my luthier, but to commemorate the event in an unbridled gun laws environment he put a cartridge into the repaired fret board where the bullet hole was. It actually plays and sounds very well and it’s always a nice story to tell (rhymes!) when someone asks me in a rehearsal room about it.
Yes, those gruesome Yanks, they even shoot basses, don’t they.
March 2nd, 2024 at 02:22Good story regarding the Gibson bass guitar you have Uwe, nice to hear. @ 127 – Regarding Ian Paice & his experience yes I do remember that one. Cheers.
March 2nd, 2024 at 19:58@128…
Cool story Uwe !
Peace !
March 2nd, 2024 at 23:18The 1971 Bootleg from Montreux now advertised as a download from Amazon for £8. Glad I didn’t splash out for the box set just to get it.
March 22nd, 2024 at 12:04Downloaded Montreux 1971 this morning at have started to listen to it. For a 1971 bootleg it sounds good but there are several breaks in Speed King. Haven’t got much further but will update as and when
March 28th, 2024 at 10:53It’s now available on Spotify (and probably other streaming services).
March 28th, 2024 at 13:46I watched the YouTube promo of Dweezil and Matt Pinfield and having listened to the comparisons between the original ’72 and the new remix, I was disappointed in the bright and forwardness of the sound. The AnalogPlanet review says the LP was a product of the times and generally dismisses the quality of LPs and how they were recorded. I don’t know who this Mark Smartroff reviewer is but he sounds like a younger “newer is better” champion, or is merely propping up new product and taking undue shots at originals to promote a reason to have the kind of job he has. His reasoning has plenty faults about it, and they’re often the same faults you start to see and hear in the vinyl community about new releases and audio quality in general. And though anyone can make comparisons between two disimilar things to gain an argumentative edge, stereo systems now are NOT better than they were in the ’70’s, and Smartroff and others who use this style merely skip across any nuance to jettison the reader into believing newer is better as a matter of course. This misaligned approach in channeling modern perspectives is further exacerbated when people of stature related to an earlier time cash in to jump on this bandwagon because they have a new stake in the game (Zappa in this case, Grundman, and a few others who rather offhandedly dismiss great original work to garner interest in what they’re peddling now).
Don’t get me wrong, I was excited to see this and as curious of the outcome. When a sympathetic/subtle remix serves the original recording’s intent (as in most of Steven Wilson’s remixes) there can be very transparent change in the sound of the original, akin to simply listening on a better system than one previously had, yet the music itself seems hardly changed. Dramatic remixes alter the feel and balance of the original and (at least for someone like me) are simply another person’s idea of what they’d like the mix to be. We all love something audio and music related to get excited about. I thought the YouTube comparisons were sufficient enough to demonstrate the remix is not subtle and the results are not audiophile, but very upfront, bombastic, and unbalanced in a very unnatural way. A fun listen and worth having? Sure, remixes are interesting alternatives but my concern is that they’re being spoke of in a way that proposes most originals are flawed products “of their time”. In SOME cases it might be true (this isn’t one of them) and it’s worrisome to think an exagerated mix using who knows what kind of artificial alterations are being considered replacements or actually anything of an audio improvement, let alone “better”. That said, enjoy the novelty, nothing wrong with that, but this is a serious changeling of the original whose sound needn’t have any apologies.
April 17th, 2024 at 11:17I’m totally with you, Michael, there was no necessity for the Dweezil Remix, but it is fun to have. And I sure still do recognize DP in it.
I think the original MH is a very well-engineered and -produced album, not only for the times, but for eternity. HOWEVER: That was never an uncontested opinion. I know so many people who preferred the MIJ versions of MH songs because MH was deemed “too sterile, direct and compressed, not enough room or hall ambience”. I was never one of those people (MH’s and WDWTWA’s sonics stand head, shoulders & dandruff over In Rock and Fireball in my ears), but I sure remember the disputes (I always preferred the Machine Head studio versions, but found myself in a minority).
I believe what Dweezil has done – unwittingly or intentionally – is make MH sound more vibrant and live – ironically exactly what DP intended to do at the time when they chose to record it in the Casino (to then, alas!, end up in hotel hallways …). Did he to that end go pretty far in altering the integrity of the original? I’m not contesting that. Listen to (and keep!) both.
And one thing I’m sure of: Rick Emerson would have reacted to that Remix with a broad smile and a “Yessssssss, THAT IS how I always wanted it to sound!”
https://media1.tenor.com/m/39z_8dT7-hQAAAAC/jon-lord-deep-purple.gif
Now checking out for the Glenn Hughes gig …
April 17th, 2024 at 15:33@ 134 – good points indeed. I was surprised as to analogue planet & another stereo site (whose name escapes me at present) comments on this new Atmos release. I thought they would be more realistic in a sense, not as dismissive. It is as if they are talking bout some poorly recorded album from a long lost time. Still, trends do that to some people who get all excited & lose their way. DP are not an immersive experience band, neither are many other rock bands & also other forms of music. I suppose there may be a cinematic experience immersion movie in the making soon, animated of course like the Smoke video. I can’t wait, oh hang on I might stay at home & listen to the paint dry. Thanks for your comments. Cheers.
April 17th, 2024 at 23:37