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Creative urges vs. songwriting pills

MetalTalk spoke to Roger Glover earlier today, March 1, “to find out more about the current ethos of the band, the inspiration for the new suite of songs as well as hopes and fears for the future”:

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.



21 Comments to “Creative urges vs. songwriting pills”:

  1. 1
    errolarias says:

    According to this : http://teamrock.com/review/2017-02-27/deep-purple-infinite-album-review# “Roadhouse Blues” in “Infinite” is nothing but a cover .. “The album closes with a perfunctory cover of Roadhouse Blues”..

    I don’t know what to think about..

    I don’t know if it is dissapointing …. We , as simple mortals, have to wait until April 10 to see

  2. 2
    Mike Whiteley says:

    The common theme in the handful of interviews that have recently appeared is that,as Paicey says, all things must pass….including Deep Purple. To borrow a lyric ” Let’s not drag it out,like a Cagney death scene”
    I would rather have Purple go out with vitality than become a mere shadow of its former self.
    I am sure that Ian G,Ian P,Roger,Steve & Don will know when to let the final curtain fall,even if they aren’t looking forward to it..

  3. 3
    Adel says:

    The clip is edited at the End. Roger thanks the interviewer and says. ‘Thank you son for reading out the questions I wrote for you’ Sorry guys but this interview is a hoax. No element of surprise and everything is a rehearsal.

  4. 4
    Bora Ciftci says:

    “I may not be the first guitarist in Deep Purple but I’d like to be the last” Steve Morse

  5. 5
    lahorapurpura says:

    #2 – Mike : I think that for Ian Gillan the curtain fell a long time ago.. I do not think he is feeling confortable recording new albums , or singing new songs , as a matter of fact, i do not think he is feeling confortable at all , even touring.. He looks tired and exhausted and his voice is now unidimensional and lacking of variations , sounds more like an old man talking than a hard rock singer.. An example ? Compare the Glenn Hughes’ voice in the recent album “Resonate” vs Gillan’s voice on “Time for Bedlam” , his vocal range has been reduced to just an octave, lacking of emotion and expression needed to reinforce this kind of music , in the other hand, Hughes’s voice is powerful, expressive, strong , as you can feel on his new album.. I think that maybe that’s the main reason because he choose to cover “Roudhouse Blues” of The Doors.. An easy song to sing, simple, an unidimensional piece of music, with simple lyrics.. If DP are going to say goodbye is because the lack of a good vocalist to keep on working in Hard Rock, and Ian Gillan in his stubbornness is unable to accept it.. All IMHO

  6. 6
    uwe says:

    Adel @3: Irony obviously isn’t for everyone – that is one of Roger’s standard quips at most interviews, he even did it at Lars’ introduction at the RRHOF. Trust Roger, the old interview junkie: The answer that he hasn’t answered already on behalf of DP has not yet been posed to him.

  7. 7
    uwe says:

    DP doing a Doors cover is unsurprising too, a look at 1969 Ian Gillan reveals how he patterned himself after Jim Morrison (then widely regarded as Mr. Handsome), flight leather jacket and all. Image-conscious Blackmore even remarked in a comparatively recent interview that besides having a great voice “he (Gillan) looked just like Jim Morrison!”

    The Doors, organ heavy and classically influenced (Manzarek’s do) as they were, were also an influence on DP: Fireball (the album), DP Mark II’s sole psychedelic outing, has quite a bit Doors influence to it. While the Vaniall Fudge (and therefore East Coast) influence is always stressed with Purple, they were no strangers to the West Coast sound: Look who the stole Child in Time from: West Coast band It’s a Beautiful Day whose respective album they constantly listened too when recording In Rock.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEKg9qyEQmw

    And finally, it wasn’t so long ago that Gillan sang “Light my Fire” on a Doors tribute (and didn’t do a bad job at it).

    So it’s all coming full circle. ; – )

  8. 8
    LRT says:

    I love how Adel predicts everything and how @5 thinks Glenn Hughes is for Steve Morse Purple. You can’t make this stuff up. One title for you sorry suckers. “Birds Od Prey” will wash your words away.

  9. 9
    LRT says:

    Of, that is.

  10. 10
    Mike Whiteley says:

    @ #5-Gillan’s voice has been a point of discussion for ages. I still like his voice, although I’ve witnessed some cringe-worthy moments at concerts,He did a good job of staying comfortably within his range on Now What.I hope this continues on InFinite

  11. 11
    Adel says:

    LRT @8
    I am not a foutune teller and I don’t have a fire in my basement that is fuelling hatred and I am hard loving DP family tree man.
    Address the facts.
    The interview was so weak and all the questions was written to the interviewer and he was just reading them out to Roger.
    Lahourapurpura @5 has a valid point. Glenn Hughes voice on Rosonete is different class if you compare him to Ian Gillan’s voice.
    If you like cheap corked red wine then you won’t come and taste the band properly.
    Peace and love to mankind

  12. 12
    uwe says:

    Even in the shittiest club, Glenn sings his heart out every night like he was still heading California Jam (I only saw him recently in Bochum and though he had a cold he was – as always – impressive). I love him for that.

    Gillan – if you want to be strict about it – had already lost lost some of the youtful elasticity of his voice when DP recorded Made in Japan – to my ears his young voice was never better than on Machine Head. He then changed his singing approach over the decades as his voice matured (in contrast Glenn’s voice never “matured” – it has remained pretty much the same and is as divisive as ever though I like it). He took a different approach with the vastly underrated Ian Gillan Band, then with Gillan, there was another stylistic adjusting with Sabbath, he tried to revert to old days with the Mark II reunion. The maturing came at a cost – his days as the effortless silver-throated screamer are long gone (as they are with Rob Halford), but his voice has also gained characteristics over the years it didn’t have back in the early 70ies. Just imagine how well he could sing the low register parts of Place in Line today when back then he practically had to force his voice to sound mature and older (and it sounded a bit like he was taking the piss or wished to provoke Blackers!).

    Two different singers, two different approaches. I will forever defend Glenn’s singing, but that doesn’t mean that Gillan has to ape his approach. Glenn is vocally an athlete, Ian is a storyteller. Glenn could probably reach those Child in Time peaks easily, but have you ever heard a memorable lyric from him? Gillan today is more an Ian Hunter (never a man with a significant range, but it didn’t do Mott the Hoople or his solo work any harm) type singer, but that is ok in my book. There was always more to him than just his initial range.

    That said, I wouldn’t mind Steve Morse and Glenn Hughes doing a project together, Steve can play hellishly funky after all and should appreciate Glenn’s taste for extended chords. If I’m not mistaken they did jam together in the 80ies, but due to Glenn’s coke affliction back then nothing ever came of it. Worth revisiting!

  13. 13
    Tommy H. says:

    @ lahorapurpura #5:

    Jesus! Gillan is almost exactly 6 years older than Hughes and that matters a lot at this age. Gillan is celebrating his 72nd birthday in August. Pay respect to the man for being in such a great shape which allows him to still sing and perform concerts. We surpassed the point where this is not a matter of course long time ago. Other people don’t even live that long. This kind of criticism is inappropriate if not hurtful. Where are going with this? He’s too old to do it, is that it? Hopefully somebody tells you to stop what you love to do when you’re getting too old – that may come sooner to some of us than you think.

  14. 14
    MacGregor says:

    lahorapurpura @ 5 – comical to attempt a comparison with Gillan & Hughes! I am doing the same for a second or three, but only to try & bring a touch of reality to your comments! Ian Gillan has performed a zillion more times than Hughes, has been around the traps much longer & has pushed himself incredibly hard at times! If only Hughes could hold a candle anywhere near Gillan, if only! Hughes would be a better bass guitarist than Gillan though! Cheers.

  15. 15
    Adel says:

    MacGroger@14
    Elephants are blessed with long trunks and big ears. I wish I could say the same about some of DP hard care fans.
    Ian Gillan would never share a platform with Glenn Hughes or David Coverdale or not even Joe Lynn Turner.
    But Gillan happily shared a platform with Pavarotti and made us all laugh.
    Not laughing at Gillan voice but laughing about the contrast of belly size!!!
    Peace and love to mankind!!!!

  16. 16
    stoffer says:

    Comparing Gillan to GH is almost impossible, Hughes’ voice is an absolute freak of nature (especially with all the abuse he put himself through) and it is still amazing! Resonate is proof of that..incredible LP. Gillan should be compared with singers of his era, Ozzy, Plant, or even Coverdale, where he holds his own and then some. I’ve been a Purple fan since the 70’s and do not define them as a Gillan led band, they have been an always will be a sum of their parts. As they close in on 50 years, obviously things have changed and Gillans voice certainly has. Try to imagine how many times he has sang SOTW or Highway Star and it still brings people to their feet! Can we sing along and scream like we did 40 years ago.. LOL..lets enjoy them while we still can it won’t be INFINTE?!

  17. 17
    Nigel Young says:

    Deep Purple ‘still have an album or two more in them’
    Deep Purple’s Roger Glover believes the band has at least an album or two more in them before quitting the world of rock.
    The British group will mark half-a-century of making music in 2018 and show little sign of slowing down with their 20th studio album, Infinite, due for release next month.
    The record will be followed by a world tour, titled The Long Goodbye Tour, but bassist Glover revealed its name should not be taken at face value.
    The 71-year-old told the Press Association: “We’re not planning on ending any time soon, but we’re also aware that we’re closer to the end than w e are at the beginning.
    “We don’t want to specify when because none of us emotionally can actually face it.”
    He added: “I personally think there’s another album or two in there.
    “Health, age, are the only concerns really as far as motivation is concerned none of us want it to end.
    “I can’t imagine what it would be like without Purple, it’s been a huge part of my life, bigger than huge, so the hole after it would be even bigger, but it’s going to happen.”
    Glover, who joined the band in 1969 before quitting four years later and re-joining during the 1980s, revealed Infinite was one of the most enjoyable records the band had ever made.
    “We’ve had such a good time in the studio, the last two have really been a joy to be working on especially with Bob Ezrin (Producer; Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss).”
    “We seem to have hit another seam of creativity that’s very much like Deep Purple but nothing like Deep Purple, nothing like our past.”
    The band will tour the UK in November, including dates at London’s O2 and Glasgow’s SSE.
    :: Infinite is out April 7.
    Press Association
    http://www.independent.ie/style/celebrity/celebrity-news/deep-purple-still-have-an-album-or-two-more-in-them-35524603.html

  18. 18
    Boswell's Johnson says:

    Not to be negative, but comparing Hughes to Gillan is like comparing Malmsteen to Hendrix; yes, Glenn has a very good technical voice, but as an artist and an influencer, he’s not even close to being in Gillan’s league.

  19. 19
    Adel says:

    Stoffer @16
    Very well said and very well balanced remarks.
    Since 1985 DP world tour Ritchie has been saying that Ian’s voice is not the same and Ritchie was taking lots of abuse for slagging off Ian’s voice.
    One thing I have to say about Ian that he will run DP to the ground rather than seeing a new DP formation in his life time. So he would not let go!!!

  20. 20
    Nigel Young says:

    http://www.irishnews.com/arts/2017/03/15/news/no-goodbyes-deep-purple-s-roger-glover-on-50-years-of-rocking-965231/

  21. 21
    Nigel Young says:

    Three songs Roger wishes he’d written:
    http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-deep-purple-roger-glovers-favourite-songs-35524989.html
    http://cdn.vidible.tv/prod/2017-03/13/58c6381925fd036f7e38ebc4_853x480_v1.mp4

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