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Still got his boots on
Ian Gillan was interviewed by Andy Fox for his Rockshow on the occasion of the Vinyl Collection release. Of course, Andy knows his Purple stuff (he even played Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming on this show), so the interview turned out to be rather entertaining.
Listen to Big Ian discussing the the loose umbilical connections to the roots, the late Lenny Haze (he passed away on November 9), local cultural interpretations of the concept of god, nostalgic aspects of vinyl, leaving Purple in 1973, and his plans for the immediate future:
Thanks to Yvonne for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Ian keeps saying another couple of years, but I am not sure they would know what to do if they were not on the road.
But bodies cannot last forever.
I wonder if they could do a Fairport and set up their own summer festival – just to keep their hands in and keep the performing itch scratched.
November 23rd, 2016 at 10:29The majority of the contents of these recent interviews sounds like a broken record. Gillan albums had a great energy and Ian’ s voice was as sharp as a razor but the bottom line is the majority of the songs were weak and it’s not something that would have shaped heavy metal!!!!
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:21I agree that Gillan sounds like a broken record as a person and his voice is pretty cooked. But… “Majority of the songs were weak” and “not something that would have shaped Heavy Metal?” If the intensity and performances were strong who cares about “songs?” Especially in the Heavy Rock genre. All of his early solo albums are really good… Mr Universe, Glory Road, etc..Even the fusion albums were great. The problem is they weren’t produced that well and could really use a re-mix. This vinyl box is one thing but why can’t he spend the money and do his catalog some real justice? BTW… Does any musician set out to help shape a genre?
November 23rd, 2016 at 14:53@2 Adel, I’d say the majority of the songs were unique. Not weak. The Gillan bands approach to songwriting sounded like no one else. There was no formula and they were not obviously chasing commercial success like other offshoots of the DP family. Songs like: Mr Universe, Fighting man, She tears me down. roller, if I sing softly, born to kill, Bluesey blue sea etc. were brilliant and live they were the nearest thing to DP. They never really got a big break and were seriously under represented in the US but in this hard rock world of ACDC and Metallica clones, they still sound very fresh to me.
November 24th, 2016 at 07:23I have to respectfully disagree Adel. I think these songs have stood the test of time very well. I think the first 2 albums are as good as the first 2 Rainbow albums. Gillan was an under rated band that made kick ass music.
November 24th, 2016 at 12:01@2 Adel, the mind boggles!. It was all raw energy….
November 25th, 2016 at 04:522 – ” The majority of these songs were weak ” Thank you for enlightening me Adel, I had been under the illusion that many of these songs were really very good! How stupid am I ?
November 25th, 2016 at 07:49This is the first time I’ve heard Ian give an actual time span left to DP.
2 years is a sensible amount of time. I know Ian can exaggerate a bit/lot but I think he might surprise everyone and finish Purple with a lot of publicity and a big London gig, with guests, in a couple of years.
Sure he may still do some solo small gigs after but there is a certain quality level he won’t let it it fall below, in my opinion. 2017 is 50 years since the start of Purple. June 2019 will mark 50 years since Ian first got on stage with Purple.
A big Wembley gig is the way to bow out. Would love to see ex Gillan band members in the support band. I’ve bought the new vinyl box set and the songs are as strong as 99% of modern rock bands. The energy is unbelievable, turned up to 12. I think the new DP album will be good but everyone knows deep down the energy level, understandably will probably only reach, say, 6 but hopefully compensated for with tracks at or above and beyond the level of ”Now What?!”
Love to know what others think about all this.
November 25th, 2016 at 10:11@3,4,5,6,7
November 25th, 2016 at 21:18I take no comfort in saying that the majority of Gillan sings between 79 and 82 were weak.
But I take pride on saying that Gillan voice was top notch and cuts through the songs like knife in butter.
Ask the guys from Metallica to do a cover of bluesey blue sea and I bet you they can’t simply because vocally no one can sing it like Gillan. No loughing in heaven can only be sang by someone who runs marathons as It’s vocally so demanding for any current singer around today.
Gillan voice and energy made these songs great. But greatness can only be compared among who you comparing with as a band. Gillan was not just a voice just as Rainbow was not just a guitar riff!!
Peace to you all.
@9 Adel, of course you are right. He is the greatest hard rock singer of all time (in my book) but you can also compare your analogy to the success of MKII Purple also. So many Purple fans think that the success of the band was all down to RB, but it was not. IG had one of the greatest voices on the planet, was a great songwriter and amazing front man. RB knows how important a great singer is. I think that the Gillan songs were great despite Ian’s incredible voice ?
November 26th, 2016 at 13:37@9 Adel, sorry mate, but you’re outvoted 5 to 1… 🙂 lol.
November 27th, 2016 at 03:37