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O2 reveiw at The Arts Desk

A well written review, in which the author goes to see the Purple show a tad sceptical, but comes out totally enthusiastic.

If anyone tells you that Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969) wasn’t a masterpiece then they’re an idiot. In fact, it was, more or less, the only successful use of an orchestra with a rock band ever. Now, 40 years on, a pensionable Purple have hit the road again with a full symphony orchestra. But they’re not playing the Concerto. They’re playing their hits. And, critically, they’re performing them without founding keyboardist, Jon Lord, and guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore. And so, at 8.30pm when support band Cheap Trick had failed to ignite the room, even with a five-necked guitar, a 12-stringed bass and a lead singer looking like Dave Lee Roth, it looked like this might be another nostalgia night for music past its sell-by date.

Read the whole thing at The Arts Desk.



16 Comments to “O2 reveiw at The Arts Desk”:

  1. 1
    Tim says:

    Thanks for the review.

    Anyone know whether a show from this orchestral tour will be filmed for a DVD release?

  2. 2
    Peter says:

    Tim:
    Monteux 2011 was released one month ago… Its filmed during summer leg of orchestral tour.

  3. 3
    Larry R. Toering says:

    What’s the point? It can’t top the new Montreux release…. not much in the DVD catalog comes close to that.

  4. 4
    Roberto says:

    I just ask myself how good and superior should be the Verona one…

  5. 5
    Antonio&Riccardo says:

    Hi, I was in O2 Arena with my son who’s ten, and we enjoied a great exhibition of the guys!!! I think there were 20,000 people or more, and Roger, Ian, Ian, Don & Steve made a great, unbelievable show, with a perfect matching with the orchestra…
    Very good also the performance of Cheap Trick, they ignite certainly the area in front of the stage (we were on the nineth row), and my son caught the copy of their last album cover thrown by the mad guitarist Rick Nielsen!

  6. 6
    Tracy Heyder (Zero the Hero) says:

    Larry, if you were answering #1, I believe he was asking about the tour in general. I don’t think he was aware of the Montreux 2011 release…….

    Cheers

  7. 7
    Larry R. Toering says:

    Obviously not… and Verona will be coming out anyway, or so they say. That will be a nice one according to how well the gig went anyway.

  8. 8
    Tracy Heyder (Zero the Hero) says:

    I’ll be looking forward to that one too…..

  9. 9
    Solidevery says:

    Live at Montreaux 2011 has mixed review about Ian Glllan’s worn-out voice. Some fans feel Gillan resembles Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, whose weak vocals were derided by former band mates Gilmour and Wright. This concert tour with orchestras is good fan service, although the expenditures bring up deficit and might not regain the cost for low sales of the dvd and concert ticket in the USA, where DP once distributed free tickets to audiences.

  10. 10
    Wkrn says:

    Steve Morse doesn’t seem superstar like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai or Joe Bonamassa, so his relatively moderate guitar play has been much more suitable for current Gillan’s weak vocals.
    In fact, since “High Tension Wires” (1989), Morse’s albums never made any chart success on Billboard 200 in the USA.

  11. 11
    Tracy Heyder (Zero the Hero) says:

    Ahhh @10,

    Here we go again. A chart success monitor. What does that in this day in time matter regarding anything PURPLE? Especially in the US. Apparently another non-concert attendee. Morse is jamming the tunes as hard as ever. Gillan is doing just fine. Have you even the effort to buy a ticket and see for yourself??? I doubt it.

    Cheers

  12. 12
    Tracy Heyder (Zero the Hero) says:

    Continuing from #11…

    Moderate Guitar play? WTF are you talking here? He is spotlighted and playing quite boldly from where I sit. Of course again, I have actually sat in a seat at a Purple Concert many times. Please enlighten me regarding your actual witnessing them and him.

    Cheers

  13. 13
    Vavoom says:

    We know Steve Morse is basically jazz fusion-type guitarist. So Mark 7/8 Purple remind me of Ray Fenwick era’s Gillan Band (1977-78), which was purely jazz rock, but was commercially failure in the UK. Ironically, DP remains popular in Europe, but in more competition U.S.A., they are classified to third-rate classic rock band such as Uriah Heep & UFO.

  14. 14
    Vavoom says:

    Steve Morse fans understand he is basically jazz fusion-type progressive rock guitarist, though being also influenced from a country and blues.
    So Mark 7/8 Deep Purple remind me of early Ian Gillan Band (1976-78), which was purely progressive jazz rock.
    While DP remains popular in Europe, in more competitive U.S.A., they are classified to second-rate classic rock band with Grand Funk Railroad or Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

  15. 15
    Sami says:

    Heep, Ufo, ELP & IGB: all great in my book, must

    be something wrong with me…

  16. 16
    Tracy Heyder (Zero the Hero) says:

    Vavoom..

    Care to write it again and change it again too???? Comparing DP of today to IGB of ’76 is way off the mark. I have the records and have seen and heard live footage of IGB and DP, plus been to many DP shows. No comparison my friend. Purple in no way shape or form generate a jazz/ fusion feel, especially to the degree of those IGB days. I’d say they compare to the ‘Gillan Band’ though.

    Cheers

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