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He’s a genius!
NJ.com has an interview with Candice Night and Ritchie Blackmore, full of family anecdotage and the story behind Carry on… Jon.
Candice:
We were in CVS and I said, ‘Autumn, what Easter card should we get for Daddy?’ And all of a sudden, she became Belle from ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ She said, ‘Don’t talk about my father that way! He’s a genius!’
But don’t tell Ritchie, or his head will get bigger. He’ll say, ‘See? I’ve been telling you that for years.’
Ritchie:
We were snowed in, in that blizzard (on Feb. 8). The engineer and myself, the producer, we had nothing to do. I said, ‘I have an instrumental that I’ve vaguely finished. Do you want to try it?’
I wrote it on the spur of the moment. I had a very melancholy kind of tune. Then I started thinking about Jon. I thought maybe we should do an organ part at the end, as a tip of the hat to Jon. Pat Regan is an accomplished organist. We put the organ sound on, and off he went. I guided him on a few things, like riffs and how Jon played syncopation with his right hand.
So it was a throwaway idea that turned into something. It was something to Jon, a way of saying thanks for the years. It’s hard to talk about, when someone says, ‘What did you think of Jon?’ I’d rather play a tune. We wouldn’t have put it on if we hadn’t been snowed in. Maybe Jon caused the blizzard.
Thanks to jonlord.org for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Autumn is now 2 years old?
A bit soon to talk like that perhaps?
June 8th, 2013 at 10:46I think she might be a few years or almost. But I’m with you on this. That is not likely to be a vocabulary word that early on, unless she hears it one hell of a lot. 🙂
June 8th, 2013 at 16:47She is 3 years old now
June 9th, 2013 at 07:31Yeah… She must have tutored to say mommy is a genius , dad is a genius, Granny is a genius. Sorry just couldnt resist that one. Just goes to show what they talk around her.
June 11th, 2013 at 11:39Nice to hear Ritchie talk about Jon. I can’t wait for the CD!
June 11th, 2013 at 13:14Aquí la dedicatoria de Blackmore a Jon Lord, que belleza. Carry On….Jon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5bc06vGF_c
June 12th, 2013 at 14:59A beautiful up and top Blackmore melody full feeling and heart.
But what surprises me and strikes me indeed ,is in the secund part the keyboard becomes so wonderful through and interact with the Fender just as if it was Lord playing…just shivering…
I also noticed that nearly to the end the fender makes soft harmonious chords in true deep Purple style …I thought with shivers on Perfect Strangers begin…
It ‘s great not only for this wonderful piece of music but also as a tribute for Jon!Thanx Ritchie!
June 12th, 2013 at 20:34You can listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=R5bc06vGF_c
June 13th, 2013 at 08:04Reminds me to “The Loner” from Gary Moore, but again: nice, emotional tune. RIP Jon.
I looooove those sunglasses on Ritchie!! lol!!!!! He´s the man!!
June 13th, 2013 at 16:05nupsi59 @8;
You are SO RIGHT!! I am quite disappointed at TMIB here. Being a Gary Moore fanatic and Blackmore fanatic at the same time, I can’t believe he did this. It is the LONER which is my favorite instrumental from Mr. Moore. Who would have thought RIP actually meant RIP OFF. One would have thought Ritchie would have been a little more inspired to ‘feel’ a riff for JON than to ‘steel’ a riff for JON. The short intro to Uncommon Man on Now What?! is a true example of ‘feeling’ the riff. I get goose bumps and a lump in my throat every time I hear it. This lame thing from Ritchie only makes my skin crawl…. ‘Carry On Jon’? He should have called it ‘Thanks Gary’. Oh and also, it doesn’t even hold a candle to ‘The Loner’.
Compare below:
Carry On Jon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alh0aVlfKQw
The Loner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAeQjuTVmbU
Pretty obvious, HANDS DOWN. Shame on you Ritchie!
Ch-BeerZ?!
June 15th, 2013 at 22:32Regarding ‘The Loner’ track, I first heard that on the Cozy Powell record ‘Over The Top’. I think the British guitarist Clem Clempson played that guitar & according to the credits Max Middleton wrote it, but maybe Gary Moore could have co written it with Middleton, depending on what you read. Apparently it is a tribute to Jeff Beck who Cozy Powell also played with, among others! It does smack of Beck’s style for sure! Gary Moore ‘covered’ it, depending on how you could look at the definition of the word ‘covered’ that is! There are some great guitarists on those Cozy Powell records, the ‘Tilt’ album has that mind blowing Gary Moore track ‘Sunset” & Octupuss has the very melodic track ‘Dartmoore’ from Moore again, among a few others! The ‘Loner’ is a very melodic track also, but whether Blackmore ripped it off, I don’t know about that! His reputation precedes him in that aspect, it has some similarity, but Blackmore has always played that style anyway at times, so some notes are similar. After all this time in rock music, it can happen, some things sound a bit like other things! That is what my ears hear at certain times anyway. Cheers!
June 16th, 2013 at 08:43@10 (Tracy)
June 16th, 2013 at 13:24Thanks for your comment! I put some of my favourite Rocksongs on my youtube-channel nupsi 59. You are kindly invited to check it out. I’m working on a video for the song “The Messiah will come again” but it’s still in progress…
Have a good day.
At least he “borrowed” from the best and not some hack! 🙂 The key’s different, he did change it some. That’s something. Isn’t it!?
June 16th, 2013 at 15:55My first initial reaction to listening to ‘Carry on…Jon’ was ‘The Loner’ by our very own Gary Moore. To be honest I am slighly disappointed with Ritchie here..now whether he was ‘inspired’ by Gary’s tune or just directly copied some notes is anyone’s guess! I think Ritchie should have been a little more original..its a beautiful piece of music from Ritchie nonetheless but I wonder why I can’t get Gary Moore out of my head….
June 17th, 2013 at 12:19Maybe it’s a sacrilege but I listened to “Carry On Jon” a few times and somehow Ritchie’s Strat tone has changed, but not for the better. The guitar sounds quite strange to be honest, at least it doesn’t have the same quality as to when he was with Purple. I prefer the Gary Moore tune as well, believe it or not. But the organ playing reminds me more of Jon than anything Don played on the new Purple Album.
June 18th, 2013 at 23:50It isn’t Gary Moore’s tune, it was apparently written by Max Middleton who was in Jeff Becks band in the mid 70’s, on some of his classic albums! It is a a tribute to Jeff Beck, some sources say Moore co wrote it, some do not! Clem Clempson’s original guitar playing on the original version on Cozy Powells ‘Over The Top” album, leaves Moore’s version behind big time! Check it out & see!
June 19th, 2013 at 11:21I am a fan of Gary Moore’s late 70’s to the mid 80’s material, a wonderful player & a good songwriter also, but he started to bore me to tears around the Run for Cover album. Wild Frontier I didn’t get into at all!
His later blues material had one or two decent tunes, but his earlier material was by far, more melodic & had a much more emotional feel to it for me!
Blackmore’s tune is Blackmore all over, some notes are the same, it isn’t a rip off at all, Blackmore is Blackmore! He was playing that stuff eons before a lot of players were!
I also have to say, it is great to hear Blackmore on that Strat, playing brilliantly as he does! Wonderful indeed & with the almighty Sabbath’s new album crunching it’s way across the globe, life is good! Old school guitarist again, forget the rest! Brilliant!
June 19th, 2013 at 21:36@17 I think the same too,cannot be.Regarding Gary Moore May Rest In Peace,never gotten into his music,especially the last 10 years or so,playing the same boring blues,no appeal at all to me !I like him with Thin Lizzy,but never been a big fan of him!Life will be better if Blackmore plays some more rock…but that it is a wishful thinking! lol.I wanted to like the latest bore Blackmore’s Night,but God I find myself skipping …..sorry doesn’t do it for me !
June 20th, 2013 at 04:09Gotta say that I have to agree with Tracey. Carry on Jon sounds remakably like “the Loner” especially the shape of the opening verse phrase. The first six notes are exactly the same and the phrasing and delivery also. What are you playing at Ritchie? every guitarist knows and reveres this song?! Also Tommy H, Ritchies tone is really processed 🙁 There is no tonal range at all!! This is rendered even more obvious when compared to GM’s fantastic and beautiful tone on the Loner…
You should have made more effort for Jon, Ritchie 🙁
June 20th, 2013 at 08:29After the initial shock (I immediately recognized ‘The Loner’) I was happy to hear the rest of the tune, including the Hammond bit at the end. Ritchie recently said ‘Hush’ was his all-time favourite JL-solo and although I don’t play keyboards myself, I think there’s a bit of the same technique on this track here.
June 20th, 2013 at 19:10This ‘Loner’ track has me thinking of different possible scenarios. It is sort of bugging me now, as I am hoping the ‘Man in Black’ may have recorded his version of that melody & pays due credit for it. Has anyone read the album credits to see if it lists the track as Middleton/arrangement Blackmore perhaps? From what I am reading regarding Gary Moore recording his version of the song, he placed his name after Middleton to signal his additional arrangement of that tune! Or maybe Moore did co-write it with Middleton in 1979, but didn’t play on it, but I doubt that would happen, although that situation can occur in music at certain times.
June 21st, 2013 at 05:48Moore still called it ‘The Loner’, where as Blackmore is calling his ‘Carry On Jon’. Blackmore has had a reputation in earlier years particularly, for ‘borrowing’ an idea here & there. It is the early verse section of this tune as Jeff @ 19 suggests, which is very similar & then it tends to change into a more Blackmore type of instrumental!
The other scenario I am thinking about, is that in 1979 when Cozy Powell was recording his ‘Over The Top’ album, he & Don Airey were in Rainbow. Did Blackmore hear the original tune with Clem Clempson on guitar & was ‘influenced’ directly or subconsciously by it? Or did he hear Moore’s later 1987 version & was influenced by that in some way! I had never heard of Moore’s version until Tracy @ 10 – provided the link to the song. When I first listened to it, I knew I had heard that instrumental somewhere before, & then it hit me, I know that instrumental from an earlier Cozy Powell record that I own! Oh well, not to worry, I like all “3” ‘versions’ anyway, all three guitarist are wonderful players of melody! Cheers!
Yes MacGregor,
I am full aware of the origin of the song. I have all the Cozy albums (vinyl and beyond). I just consider it a Moore song because he took it and turned it into an epic tune that I never get tired of listening to. It basically became His as did Hush become Purple’s even though Joe South wrote it and recorded it. I am also totally aware of the fact that many songs have familiar parts from other songs. It’s obvious at this point that there can’t really be a verse of a song that hasn’t already been done due to the fact that there are millions of songs written and only so many variables can exist. That being said, there is a huge difference between a familiar ‘part’ of a song and a song that’s total structure is copied. Yes, it does change some toward the end. Mainly the keyboard portion, but 75 percent of the tune is a definite Loner clone. What pisses me off is that not only did he Rip off the Riff, he then alluded to how it ‘just came to him’ and then has the audacity to cheapen his dedication to Jon by throwing it his way as though it was heart felt. Sorry, I ain’t buying into it. As I stated above, the first 2 minutes of ‘Uncommon Man’ is True heartfelt raw emotional expression. Original too. I truly believe that Ritchie has disconnected himself so far from his Purple past that ‘Carry On Jon’ was just an afterthought and he did it due to an obligation rather than from his heart. The Rip off speaks for itself. It would have been in much better taste to have just covered the Loner honestly and dedicated it to Jon because he felt the song reminded it of him or something, but to take it, rename it and do a little changing to it and calling it his? Blasphemy!!!!
Ch-BeerZ?!
June 22nd, 2013 at 00:52@22 I guess it is easy for him to cover others people songs and ,and make his own arrangements,next album he is going to cover ABBA or make Deep Purple songs poppy and medieval.
June 22nd, 2013 at 15:55Tracy @ 22 – Yes, I know what you are saying, I guess I am only hoping there is some plausible reason as to this sounding ‘very’ similar to ‘The Loner’. As it isn’t titled “The Loner’ that rules out Middleton getting a credit I suppose, with an “arranged Blackmore” after Middleton’s name on the song credit on the Blackmore’s Night album! If anyone has the new disc, I guess they may be able to confirm what the credit title is for that Carry On Jon track?
June 22nd, 2013 at 23:28I am not going into the Blackmore’s & Lord friendship or respect thing though. They were still friends who got together & enjoyed each others company. So Blackmore’s feeling to Lords passing are personal & none of us will ever know what he was, or still is feeling about Jon Lords passing! Cheers!
@22 Mc gregor dude hate to say that but after several listening,the Loner and Carry on …Jon,I have to admit that it is the same song,minus the organ,Gary Moore is better sounding and I like the guitar tone better,Ritchie’s playing has that thin guitar sound and not the thick heavy sound of his Stratocaster,,,don’t know but something is off.Overall,you don’t need to be an expert to say that is the same song!If he is passing this for his own song,he hsould be ashamed of it.stolen !
June 25th, 2013 at 00:34Just forced myself to listen to “Carry on Jon” again and must say Ritchies delivery and articulation are as usual astonishing (as Jon might have said) Still find the melody too close to “The Loner” and frankly not as good melodically OR musically.
I love this man’s playing and have done all my (guitar playing) life. His attitude often dissapoints me though and his blatant “borrowing” or exact lifting of other writers with such flippant regard for the original work is beginning to sap my admiration for him 🙁
June 25th, 2013 at 07:34@ 24 MacGregor I have the disc and it only says ‘music by Ritchie Blackmore’. I listened to the song again last night and though there are about 8 notes that ‘sound and feel’ very similar to ‘The Loner’ the rest of the song is vintage Blackers through and through.
June 30th, 2013 at 09:23@24 yeah our great MIB would never “lift” or” borrow” riffs or melodies from other musicians,he never done it in the past lol
July 1st, 2013 at 18:45Anthony @ 27 – thanks for that info, appreciate it. I agree with you that it is only the start of it that sounds very similar & the rest is classic Blackmore. If people return to some of his Rainbow instrumentals, they will hear similar notes & melody structure in some of those as well. There is the very real scenario that he may have never heard ‘The Loner’ at all. Who can tell? Only Blackmore himself would know that. I remember an interview with him from decades ago, where he said he does not listen to other rock music. He said he listens to older traditional music, not rock as it is the last thing he wants to hear, being in a loud rock band & all.
July 2nd, 2013 at 11:14Frank Zappa was the same apparently, didn’t listen to rock, pop or modern music at all, ever. Cheers.
@ 27. Only about 8 notes sound and feel similar?! Are you kidding? Remind me how many notes there are in the musical scale again? Please stop defending him. He doesn’t care, Ritchie admits (on video) that he stole all his most famous riffs…Doesn’t mean he is not a great guitarist 🙂
July 2nd, 2013 at 13:03Jeff Summers @ 30 – “Please stop defending him” – I did not realise Blackmore was on trial. Guilty until proven innocent or is it innocent until proven guilty? He didn’t steal his most famous riffs at all! He was inspired by other ideas & turned them into something else, expanded upon them, played them backwards even. It is music, most musicians are inspired by something else from another time. Cheers.
July 2nd, 2013 at 22:08@30 Depends what musical scale you are referring to though I am not going to get into a music lesson on here. Sorry I just counted again and there are 7 notes not 8. 🙂
July 3rd, 2013 at 07:00@31 He’s not on trial of course, I’m just dissapointed in the blatant rip off/s 🙁 Believe me I spent half my life extolling the virtues of Ritchie and DP, but find it difficult to justify his position as a composer when he has stolen so much.
“Inspired?” I think you may be unfamiliar with the originals Mr MacGregor as I once was…:(
@32 the western musical scale (although he often uses the harmonic minor often associated with eastern music) – but we are referring to “Carry on Jon”. The first octave alters the course of the melody of course, in any scale…but that is irrelevant here.
July 5th, 2013 at 07:49hey guys,I get your “critique” like Tracy would say lol,but where are the the music critics,they make a living out of it right?They didn’t notice that Jimmy Page and Zepps lifted half of their songs and lyrics from other folk,blues people?I mean they are great musicians,but creatively they stole big time! I’m just trying to get in the middle of this long winded conversation about the case of Carry on …Jon.
July 5th, 2013 at 19:19Let’s play Spot the Riff! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izsVZup02-4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BTM07B0U64
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wh2VrmTUeA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPE-kDrQA2g%5B
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvtabNAb_wE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6er0wKcDCg
July 5th, 2013 at 21:44Jeff @ 33 – Stolen is not the word you should be using, unless you can provide the facts in black & white for all to see. We have all watched Blackmore on the video clip where he talks about what ‘inspired’ the Lazy riff & others & the original riff thing is shown from Cream & Ricky Nelson’s Summertime & Hendrix’s Stone Free for Speed King & other basic songs from other artists. He took little ideas & embellished them. Mozart, Beethoven & where else does one want to go with the ‘inspired’ rave? How many other artists are ‘inspired by other artists? Also, Blackmore has always credited previous songs that he has covered either in Purple or with Rainbow. On the Bent Out Of Shape album, “Snowman” Howard Blake arranged Blackmore, is just one example. What about all those blues players that have ‘stolen’ riffs? What about Jon Lord, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman all ‘inspired’ by the great of classical & jazz, you can hear it all through their playing. Where do we cease to be ‘inspired’ or commence to ‘steal’ other people’s ideas? Certain people presuming Blackmore ‘stole’ Max Middleton’s “The Loner” maybe should step back & give a benefit of the doubt perhaps, because not one of you actually know where he pulled that ‘idea’ from! None of us were present when he played that riff for the first time. Who can tell? Cheers.
July 5th, 2013 at 23:32@35 What’s your point? Blackmore like all great musicians are ‘inspired’ by all kinds of music from Beethoven to The Beatles. Even Hendrix was inspired by the great blues players. Get me a riff / music where Gates Of Babylon or Stargazer are so called ‘similar’?
Eric Clapton is often cited as a guitar god but he plays strictly blues and has done for the last 40 years…blues that has been played since the 1930s….
I don’t get this attitude towards Ritchie and its rather pathetic and childish!!!
July 6th, 2013 at 20:47Blackmore showing where he was inspired from with those little riff bits, opened the proverbial can of worms! I was glad to see that clip, wonderful stuff indeed. It makes me wonder how many people actually were aware of the fact that guitarists & keyboard players & even vocalist do take little things from somewhere else, to create ‘their’ thing. It has been happening for centuries & will continue no doubt! Maybe it ‘shocked’ some people to see that video of Blackers! It is a classic. He hasn’t ripped a song, like others have, but that is another story. I wonder where music would be if no one ever used a chord or note or scale or whatever, that someone else had already used. Think about it, it would be very limiting indeed! Regarding the ‘Burn’ riff, I have a vague memory of reading about that decades ago.
July 6th, 2013 at 22:36A Blackmore interview in a magazine from the late 70’s early 80’s period, where he said he heard it from an old tune from centuries ago on a European radio station. He took it & turned it around etc, if my memory serves me correctly, but I may be wrong on that one!
Some have mentioned an old Gershwin tune also. I loved it when I heard that rave from Blackers years ago, what a great idea for a riff. I remember Jon Lord talking about Blackmore doing things like that & he found it rather amusing & no doubt inspiring also!
Cheers.
I just need to add some comments regarding the supposed rip off track riffs! Summertime is a 12 bar bass run that so many used, before & after. Where did the bass player get that cliched run from, who can tell. Fred & Adele Astaire with Gershwin on piano, I cannot hear anything from Blackmore in that I’m afraid. It’s A Beautiful Day, so is it Jon Lord ripping this keyboard thing off for Child In Time or Blackmore? Sounds like Blackers is being blamed for that one as well, but who can tell who came up with ‘that’ idea to use it? Maria Moita, Smoke On The Water, sheesh, now that is clutching at straws I feel. I can hear a little thing there though, but really!
July 7th, 2013 at 02:53Watch Your Step – Bobby Parker – 12 bar blues if I ever heard it, a zillion have played that & still do. Is it similar to Rat Bat Blue or Rainbows Fire Dance? A standard guitar thing that most young learning guitarists, learn at some stage! Some guitarist never get away from it. More clutching at straws I feel! Poor Blackers, drawn & quartered & hung out to dry & over what?
I am now looking further into similar riffs to other artists from Deep Purple. Sheeeeesh, if this keeps up, I will have to burn all my Purple & Rainbow records, cd’s, vhs tapes & dvd’s! Then I will have to sue for having my life ruined by Blackmore! Talk about taking me for a ride! Seriously though, there is a guy by the name of Bill Parkinson from the Lord Sutch & the Savages era, who says he wrote & played the riff that was used later by DP for Mandrake Root! Nick Simper told him about it way back then & Parkinson approached DP management who ‘allegedly’ paid him a small fee for the rights or something similar. I listened to the music on youtube & it is the same! Now if that is the case, man that is a direct ripoff big time (allegedly)! Parkinson has an official website where this is explained further!
July 7th, 2013 at 06:23I also found ‘another’ version of the walking bass line used in Summertime, this time by a band called The Blue Magoos ‘We Ain’t Got Nothin Yet’! Same riff! But that riff is a standard blues type riff of course, used by zillions.
There is also a Canadian band Warpig, from that era who have a song called ‘Rockstar’ which sounds incredibly like the Fireball song! Is it a send up I thought, did they rip off Purple, or the other way around. This is all starting to get a little confusing, who started this rip off rave anyway? Let me at him! Cheers!
The point to all this is as originally stated. Blackmore being inspired is one thing. Taking the main melody of a tune and just adding some other stuff to it to ‘make it his’ is like taking a Corvette and swapping emblems with a Mustang. The argument is about ‘Carry On Jon’ vs ‘The Loner’ and the fact that it was ‘written and developed through inspiration of Jon Lord. Yes, Ritchie has obviously ‘stolen’ many a melody and turned it into ‘his riff’. That is a fact Jack. I don’t have too much of a problem with that, especially since he does admit to it sort of. BUT, to be so cheap and shallow as to try and pass this ripped off song as an inspired original in tribute to the loss of his past fellow band mate is truly a sour note to say the least. I am a Blackmore fan. Have been since 1969 due to his playing. Not his composing. Yes he can take a song and make it his own. But it’s his masterful, unmistakably recognizable style of playing that has always been where he differs from the rest. Just play Ritchie, play…..
Ch-BeerZ?!
July 10th, 2013 at 03:22@ 40 I think the issue here is that Ritchie IS a genius guitar player, but not a dreat composer as some would believe. Ritchie has never sited that he is a great composer, he is often dismissive of his writing and admits himself that he “got that idea from” such and such a song.
However, dont take any credit away from the rest of the band who developed those ideas that RB bought to the table. Gillan and Glover ARE great writers in my opinion and Jon Lord is a genius composer. you can hear his influence in the classic DP tracks; the way he shifted keys and used modal inversions to add depth, dynamic and musicality to the basic ideas.
Ps: Fascinating Rhythm is notationally the same as Burn, Try playing the main theam in FR and then Burn and you will understand that the notes are exactly the same. FS is just in a different time signiture, hence: Fascinating Rhythm 🙂
July 10th, 2013 at 05:59By coicedence stumbled on this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cr4odojoSs
How did I get to listen to this?
http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/frank-sinatra-conducts-music-from-pictures-and-plays-161326.html
My education lacked appearantly. I thought Sinatra did just sing!
Anyway, zapping through the tracks to find VOCALS(…)I stumbled upon this.
OMHO it reminds me of Jon Lord!!!
July 19th, 2013 at 10:01Adding a short note to Ritchie and his ‘borrowing of tunes”. If you have watched any of the latest interviews posted here on this sight, he and his partner in crime blatantly express over and over where pretty much all of their songs come from. They basically scan around for ‘renaissance sounding music’ that is somewhat obscure and redo it. Again, that is all fine and good as long as they own up to it or give proper credit. But I still can’t listen to ‘Carry On Jon’ and not feel all icky inside regarding Ritchie claiming it as his. One thing that has happened though. Now when I listen to the ‘Loner’, I actually think of Jon Lord along with Gary Moore. That’s a collaboration that should have taken place. I can’t understand how those two didn’t seek each out. Gary Moore crossed into the Purple and connective world over and over working with Paice, Hughes, Airey, etc. What a shame he didn’t do something personal with Lord.
Ch-BeerZ?!
July 19th, 2013 at 14:03Tracy your not wrong there, Gary Moore & Jon Lord would have crossed paths at certain times, surely. Cozy Powell was another link there as well! Moore had a lot of respect from old school guitarists, Martin Barre from Tull speaks highly of him always.
July 25th, 2013 at 06:49It is a shame as they both play melodically, so a collaboration would have been very interesting indeed! Another one of those ‘what if’ moments! Cheers.
@ 43 Priest, Good comment. Exodus is a fantastic, romantic piece that also reminds me of JL’s compositions and string arrangements. In particular, the Concerto’s fantastic second movement, string section between vocals 🙂
August 2nd, 2013 at 06:09Tommy H. @ 15….
Really?! Don is all over the Jon Lord style of playing on this album in various places, plus he is of course showing his own style which is what makes ?! so awesome. You must not have listened too well to such tunes as ‘Simple Song’, ‘Hell to Pay’, ‘Body Line’ and ‘Out of Hand’. Both he and Steve finally hit the mark by melding their own way of playing with the classic ?urple sound. There are parts on these songs that you could actually be fooled into thinking Jon was actually playing. Yes, he will be there when they need him ‘Above and Beyond’. Jon showed up on this album through Don’s fingers.
Ch-BeerZ?!
August 7th, 2013 at 14:59@ 47
Sorry Tracey, I agree with Tommy H, I love Dons playing, but he lacks the most important aspect of playing keyboards in DP; He is not in Jon’s class when it comes to Hammond work. He plays more like he did in Colosseum II on NW?! His Moog and Synth playing are second to none, but Hammond? Even with Jon’s B3 is fractured and brittle…
For my money, the guy who played on “Lazy” with Bonnamassa and Barnes on Re-Machined is much closer to Jon’s hammond style 🙂
August 9th, 2013 at 08:25JS @ 48:
I agree with you both as to Don’s playing as a whole. He definitely has ‘HIS own style of playing. My point was that in listening to the songs I mentioned, he nails Lords style pretty darn good. As with Steve Morse, I am glad that Don is sticking to his own style overall. It’s what makes MK8 what it is. Not an impression of an older line-up trying to emulate their predecessor, but a new band playing their own music and giving credence to past eras in their own way. Don does a remarkable job in places that are of course in need of the classic Jon Lord ways of playing during such songs as Perfect Strangers and Lazy, but his style is a welcome addition to many of the other older tunes along with what he contributes to their new originals. As they chose not to find a cookie cut replacement for Blackmore, the same went for replacing Lord and these 2 are showing themselves to be the ?urfect choices for the job. As I’m pretty sure Steve Morse could play many of the songs note for note as Ritchie did, Don could come close to the same. But they don’t. And that is awesome because we get newer, broader versions of those songs we already have heard the old way over and over for 40 years. Do you really want to go back to what was? I don’t. Been there, done that. I love what IS and what’s to come.
Ch-BeerZ?!
August 9th, 2013 at 13:43Yeah, that’s right, Ritchie’s an old hack who’s been ripping tunes off for years.
October 27th, 2013 at 06:35I think you need to listen to “I love You much too much” by Santana (Zebop 1981) and then say where G Moore got the idea to The Loner.
March 23rd, 2014 at 13:36I love you much too much is among others credited to a guy who died 1946!!!!
@ 51 Over the Rainbow… GM didn’t write “The Loner” it was written by Max Middleton. He just interpreted it 🙂
March 27th, 2014 at 10:47