Release of the Deep Purple’s new album was the top story today, April 7, at the Deutsche Welle cultural news programme Euromaxx.
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A very relaxed conversation with Roger Glover and Ian Paice as posted by German TV channel WDR
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So here it is. One day before official release day. InFinite, the vinyl edition.

Reported to play at 45 rpm – presumably to achieve best possible sound quality from the vinyl – the tracks are spread out over all four sides.

This copy spins somewhere in Denmark and was delivered by the mailman today. Have you also received yours? And how does it sound, feel and taste? Let us know!

With thanks to Morten Overgaard.

With inFinite already out in some parts of the world, while in others still hours or days away, here is a brief roundup of early reviews from around the web.

The Rockpit:

The single that preceded the album ‘All I Got is You’ is quite possibly the best thing here, a track that manages to capture vintage sounds and past glories without sounding either too self-conscious or indulgent, all it really lacks is that killer hook, but it more than passes muster.

The rest of the album is as you might expect is a bit of a mix, though thankfully rather like it’s immediate predecessor ‘Now What?’ its a mix of the good and the very good, with, rather nicely, a lack of any too blatant or obvious filler.

themusic.com.au:

Some veteran rock outfits desperately attempt to recreate decades past on record, sonically and thematically. Conversely, this sounds effortlessly ’70s Purple, and it’s not just the bluesy licks, fat Hammond organ or Ian Paice’s distinctive drumming. Hip Boots’ Zeppelin-esque swagger scores; Johnny’s Band and On Top Of The World find vocalist Ian Gillan in his storytelling element. A middling Doors cover flatly ends an otherwise solid affair. Seasoned fans mightn’t be easing up on their copies of Machine Head or Burn anytime soon, but should give Infinite a shot.

AllMusic:

…InFinite is a winner; it proves not only that Now What?! was no fluke, but that Deep Purple, even at this stage, still have plenty left to offer musically and creatively.

Uncivil Revolt:

All in all, the fans are in for an enormously satisfying release that will last a while. And so are the masses, if they can finally wrap their head around a band they have no vast knowledge of, particularly in America, but of course everyone’s heard the name. A name that very well could be releasing one of their best albums to date, as well as their last. There is a sacred chemistry and ultimate spirit to this band that appears will somehow never fizzle. And the mastery of Bob Ezrin helps to maintain that pot of pure musical gold. Subscribe to what you will, but subscribe to them either way.

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Ian Paice and Roger Glover were guests on German Radio 21. And it resulted in an entertaining 20 minute interview, in which they were asked about their favourite drinks, what smartphone app gets the most use, which person they’d like to become for a day, and a whole bunch of other amusing nonsense. You can watch the interview on facebook. The introductions and chatter are in German, but the interview itself is in English.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

The same issue of Burrn! also features an interview with Ian Gillan and a short review of inFinite (not very flattering). Apart from the things that have been said elsewhere during this promo campaign, Ian gives his track-by-track of the lyrics. Once again, exercise caution as this is just the gist of it and in reverse translation from Japanese.

Time for Bedlam
This is about frustration regarding the “system”. The lyrics are impressionistic. Roger wrote most of the lyrics in this album. In this song, I just added some phrases to Roger’s idea.

Hip Boots
This is about the boots that come up to the hips that slaves in the US wore when escaping by the Mississippi. They brought the music along when they escaped. So the message is about hope.

All I Got is You
This is a simple song about a couple breaking up. You can tell that the music develops as a result of some jamming. It also shows how naturally the band is playing in the studio.

One Night in Vegas
Lyrics by Roger. A guy goes to Vegas, gets drunk, meets a girl, and gets married within 10 minutes of meeting. It’s a miracle, but they are together after 30 years.

Get Me Outta Here
Idea by Roger. He is in some undesirable situation, I am not sure what it was. I’m just imagining, since I have not been in such a situaion all that much myself.

The Surprising
This is really an instrumental tune. Very impressionistic.

Johnny’s Band
Kids get together, form a band, play gigs, make some hit records, then get influenced by alcohol and drugs. People leave one by one, but two guys remain and continue to make good music. And everyone sings together. It is quite emotional. We have seen this happen many times.

On Top of the World
Ian’s wild experience in an Asian country, on top of a tall building. [As documented in his autobiography. — THS]

Birds of Prey
Again, Roger’s song, I don’t know what it is about, but very impressionistic. This is also basically an instrumental tune.

Thanks to Akemi Ono for the info.

May 2017 issue of Burrn! magazine in Japan features Ritchie Blackmore on the cover and a 14 page feature inside, including interview with him and Candice. Here are the more interesting bits of what they’ve said. Customary caveat: this is in reverse translation from Japanese.

On recording new material:
Burrn: We understand you were recording some material in the studio.
Ritchie: We were recording until yesterday in the studio at our home. We finished yesterday. We recorded some songs for Blackmore’s Night and 2 songs with the new singer for Rainbow.
B: Do you have any plans for release?
R: No
Candice: It first started as a 20th anniversary thing for Blackmore’s Night, re-recording some old material, but we came up with new songs. We have no plans for release right now, we were just having fun, but we may release when the right time comes but not right now.

On being a father:
R: I cannot believe I am playing the father’s role. Our children are very “natural” and tell you the naked truth. Rather than make me mad, it makes me laugh. Especially Autumn, she makes me laugh all the time, she is a natural comedienne. Although I try not to laugh more than 5 times a year, I could break that rule in one day.

On Rainbow in Japan:
B: You know we are waiting for you and Rainbow is very popular in Japan. Rainbow’s Memories in Rock won the Gold Disk Award in the DVD division, which is like the Grammies in Japan.
R: You mean no other DVDs were released in Japan?

On Ronnie Romero:
R: When I heard him, he seemed like the right guy to sing the Dio era songs of Rainbow. He is versatile, he can sing like Freddie Mercury or Ronnie James Dio or Graham Bonnet. The reason I did not ask Joe Lynn Turner is because I thought European fans wanted to hear the Dio lineup of Rainbow. I was very surprised that tickets sold out in 15 minutes. It was nice to know so many people wanted to hear Rainbow at this time.
B: Is Ronnie Romero the new singer you mentioned earlier?
R: Yes, I wrote one new song, and also recorded one of the old ones. Ronnie, who is in Madrid now, added his vocals and sent it back. Rather than make an album, we may release as singles.

On Bob Dylan:
R: I thought it was about time he got an award. I believe there are two geniuses in the US, one is Bob Dylan and the other is Billy Joel. I appreciate anyone that recognizes Bob Dylan.

Special thanks to Akemi Ono for the info and translation.

Short, but sweet and very lighthearted — an interview with Roger Glover and Ian Paice that appeared on WMGK classic rock radio station broadcasting out of Philadelphia. This is also the proof that not all classic rock DJs are clueless.
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Ultimate Classic Rock has an amusing anecdote of how a swedish session man Tommy Denander got to play a single chord on inFinite:

The band were on tour and had a couple of days in Stockholm – not a lot of time left before mixing started, so it had to be recorded while on tour. I got to record Ian’s vocals together with Roger Glover, and additional keyboards with Don Airey. But then Roger says, ‘We’re missing one guitar chord on this song. Bob says, ‘You’re a great player, so you can do it!’ As I walk to my room in the studio to grab my guitar and amp, I just laugh loud in my head. I quickly copy Steve Morse’s sound and add three first-take dubs that sound perfect. I was done in less than a minute!

…Nothing can ever be cooler or funnier than getting to play one chord on a Deep Purple album.

Thanks to Ultimate Classic Rock and Nigel Young for the info.

On June 9, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release the third show of the last year Rainbow triplet — Live In Birmingham 2016. This release follows Memories In Rock – Live In Germany, that was compiled from the two German shows played a week earlier, and which by many accounts were of a lesser quality performance-wise. The Birmingham show have been previously available officially only as a part of the pricey “super premium” Japanese box set.

Disc One

1. Over The Rainbow / Highway Star
2. Spotlight Kid
3. Mistreated
4. Since You Been Gone
5. Man On The Silver Mountain
6. Soldier Of Fortune
7. Medley: Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth) / Drum Solo / Bass Solo / Band Jam / Keyboard Solo (inc Toccata & Fugue in Dm) / Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth)
8. Catch The Rainbow

Disc Two

1. Perfect Strangers
2. Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll
3. Child In Time
4. Stargazer
5. Medley: Black Night / Woman From Tokyo / Black Night
6. Burn
7. Smoke On The Water

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.