![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/mcbride1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan2.jpg)
Hey baby, what you gonna do
Here’s a track not covered too often — Rat Bat Blue, performed by Dario Mollo and the Space-T.
Space-T are:
Andy Senis – Bass
Fabio Meggetto – Keys
Andrea Biancheri – Vocals
Alessio Benedetto – Drums
Dario Mollo – Guitar
Thanks to BraveWords for the heads up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
A gem is Rat Bat Blue & one of many wonderful songs from that superb album, WDWTWA.
May 3rd, 2022 at 23:41Jon Lord’s solo is classic Lord indeed on the album & the guitar riff, drums, vocal & bass make it one of Purple’s heaviest songs to my ears. Good to see a band cover a lesser known track, although this vocalist struggles to deliver in many ways. I am familiar with the guitarists name as he worked with Tony Martin post Sabbath. Cheers.
I always thought this song was one card short of a full deck. It’s a good song, but it could have been great. The band was facing alot of difficulties at the time. This is a really good cover and I liked the way the keyboardist and guitarist shared the solo. I think that was an improvement over the original version.
May 4th, 2022 at 00:19If I had to the power to add one song to a DP concert set list, it would be this one. What a fantastic riff. Space-T does it justice.
May 4th, 2022 at 04:36@ Dr. Bob: So would I. 🙂
May 5th, 2022 at 09:51I would love to hear Rat Bat Blue live, however… the riff is borrowed. 🙂
May 6th, 2022 at 11:08Rat Bat Blue riff comes from Bobby Parker´s Watch Your Step (probably most “borrowed” riff in rock history). And if you find that Bobby Parker riff, you will notice that actually Rat Bat Blue is grandkind of What´d I Say from Ray Charles. 🙂
May 6th, 2022 at 11:12@ 6 – indeed it is, I learn something new every day. Not surprised at all though with Blackmore & Page & others, they sure did ‘borrow’ ideas etc from previous musicians & certain songs. Thanks for the information. Cheers.
May 6th, 2022 at 22:15@5
https://youtu.be/xokONwQUa6M
May 6th, 2022 at 23:15I never knew they played this live, Deep Purple – Rat Bat Blue, Live, Reading, UK 1996
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TudO6TvBkg8
May 10th, 2022 at 15:39That was a great tour, lots of fresh ideas.
May 11th, 2022 at 18:15Ritchie had been lugging that borrowed riff around for a while, here at : 1:28 …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy1fJbjsg2M
Recovering from hepatitis and pressed for new riff ideas during the recording of WDWTWA, he probably scraped around in his memory.
May 22nd, 2022 at 21:37BTW: Jon’s lightning-fast keyboard solo intro (2:37 to 2:57)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6poRsrl_574
was artificially sped up in the studio and could not be replicated live. In an interview much later (post-reunion) he would regret it and say that that was the only time he “cheated” in the studio and wished he’d never done it.
I always liked that part, it sounded hilarious and experimental, like something out of Wendy/Walter Carlos’ soundtrack to Clockwork Orange, Alex’ infamous hi speed sex scene with the two ‘devotchkas’ from the record store.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LllkjmviQmo
I wouldn’t be surprised if Jon took a little inspiration from the music to that scene, Clockwork Orange was notorious around the time the WDWTWA recordings took place.
May 22nd, 2022 at 22:05We had a conversation about this altered first section of the keyboard solo a little while ago here at THS. Those early studio speed oscillating machines, I don’t know what they are called, didn’t Pete Townshend use one on Who’s Next? Also the Floyd used something similar on the DSOTM album sessions. I played WDWTWA really loud last weekend, well most of it & if it isn’t Purple’s heaviest sounding record then I don’t know what is, apart from In Rock of course! Although In Rock is an older recording & has that rawer feel to it.
May 23rd, 2022 at 06:26The bottom end is wonderful on WDWTWA, that bass guitar & is it keyboard bass pedals also at times, man it’s heavy. This album still sounds fresh to my ears & it hasn’t aged at all. A favourite of mine from the Purp’s. A wonderful album. Many of DP studio albums are quite light in their sound, not heavy sounding at all. Cheers.
It has a phat sound, true. I prefer Machine Head and WDWTWA to In Rock and Fireball – th e band had grown as songwriters.
May 23rd, 2022 at 22:31It has a phat sound, true. I prefer Machine Head and WDWTWA to In Rock and Fireball – the band had grown as songwriters. Roger’s Ric on the last two 70ies Mk II albums sounded so much better than his P Bass on In Rock and his Fender Mustang on Fireball.
May 23rd, 2022 at 22:32A band so good that, though falling apart from overwork/personal tensions they still managed to cobble together an album which I enjoy more now, than I did then. It’s kind of … how Purple Mark ii … in a parallel Universe …would sound 😀
Tension from Gillan/Blackmore of course (they didn’t speak or meet once during its recording) .., the singer having handed his notice in months before. They still managed to produce some fantastic performances, despite the originality in the writing not being quite up to par on this album. That spark previously came from jams by the whole band but not here when they were possibly sick if the sight of each other, through overwork (Six American “jaunts” in one year)
It sounds great on a good Hi Fi and in many ways I appreciate it more now than I did then. A great cover by this band but it serves to highlight just how good Purple were/are, when you listen to the artistry/musicality displayed on the original. What a band.
May 25th, 2022 at 06:16