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Tommy Bolin biography on US radio
Greg Prato continues promotion of his new book Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story. He will appear with an interview in the Electric Ballroom show on New Jersey radio station 95.9 WRAT FM this coming Sunday, January 25 at 10 am EST. WRAT says they broadcast over the Internet (see their website), but it doesn’t appear to be working in our heck of the woods.
Thanks to Blabbermouth.net for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I replaced Walsh, I replaced Blackmore, now I just gotta be me……..
Tommy Bolin
January 21st, 2009 at 13:43runnon from the dealer … tryin ta save ya soul
in the begining all you wanted .. was the calm before the storm, if the bluebird plays the eagle … you’ll find your song will turn ro stone
January 21st, 2009 at 16:36– tommy bolin should never have been a part of the deep purple saga!
January 21st, 2009 at 18:04Hans. Maybe not, but I love CTTB. It contains some of the coolest moments in DP history.
January 21st, 2009 at 22:31blackmorse……….I used to think CTTB was one of if not the best DP album ever, but IMO it has not held up to the test of time with the exception of YKOM and TTA/OT”G”, I still like the album just not nearly as much as I used to. (just my opinion)
January 22nd, 2009 at 02:18Cheers
I believe truly it was the drugs that had taken him away from his advantage and prospectus career. Unlike Jimi Hendrix, he was died before he reach the peak of his career. What a pity.
Hearing his playing in his solo albums, Zephyr, and CTTB (I couldn’t get Billy’s recording) makes me admire him so much as with other great guitarist. His style is very wide from rock, soul, funk, fusion, jazz, and else. It’s like four years full of music from Tommy Bolin. His playing is so honest, comes from his heart (I put him beside Clapton, Knopfler, The Edge, and Mick Taylor). Unfortunately I wasn’t around at the time, so I never captured the magic he brought to the stage (let alone DP mk4 shows).
I think he definitely done the best in CTTB. What a songwriter! He wrote most of the songs, his guitar playing was everywhere, and his soulful and smooth voice in “Dealer” made me shiver, contrast with Coverdale’s rough and bluesy voice. And ‘Coming Home’, ‘Drifter’, and especially ‘Gettin’ Tighter’ really blast and shown how he was a very talented guitarist. Even his minimalist playing in the best track ‘You Keep On Moving’ showed that they could effectively work together.
But what makes me sad is his performance in DP Mk4’s live shows. Men, except from ‘Gettin Tighter’, I realize that he even could never be a Blackmore’s guitar technician refer to his live performances. And all because of drugs (and egoistical, unlike Steve Morse).
In 1976 Deep Purple played for the first time (and the first time for a rock band in my country), his playing got mixed reviews (good, not bad, but Blackmore is very popular ’till today here). The two-days concert almost (I said almost) end abruptly by chaos (so, you will know where I come from?). I wish I had born at the time, the concert got the biggest attendance from all DP MkIV (one of the biggest from all DP shows), almost 80.000 people attended at each show (total 160.000 attendances).
All in all, I’m still hearing CTTB till today. For me, CTTB stands above all MkI albm’, WDWTTA, Stormbringer, HOBL, S&M,Abandon, Bananas, and in the same level with TBRO and Fireball.
So in my opinion, this is a story of a talented, honest, but unlucky, egoist, and fallen guitarist. Anyway, I still love him and I’m still dreaming and wonder what it’s gonna be if he continued his career with Deep Purple.
January 22nd, 2009 at 05:09CTTB is a great musical album with a good sound recordered: I love it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 07:35CTTB is about the only Purple LP I can still listen to, that and Purpendicular. I think it’s aged better than the others.Sadly,MKIV didn’t make my neck of the woods, and we didn’t have the instant access to find the surrounding dates until after the fact.
January 22nd, 2009 at 07:49It’s great ol’Tommy’s getting some press.He sure shot himself in the foot, but then again, it could never be the 70’s again anyway, although so many seem to think it can be recreated by getting Blackmore back.
Andre from Jakarta,hello! FWIW,Bolin was pretty jacked up for the second show there, which might exlain some of the press.He was pretty physically impaired from either:a. bad drugs b.injury leaving the stage c.slept on his hand wrong d.??? He still managed to play some hot slide on that set, though.
i LOVE come taste the band …. listen to it all the time ..its dp CLASSIC ..it HAS stood the test of time
but i like the first rainbow better than CTTB
January 22nd, 2009 at 15:19I like CTTB very much, even though I think that Ritchie is the one and only ever who s right for DP.
I have the Japanese version from 1990, it always sounded very good to me.
Now we are awaiting new editions of both Stormbringer and CTTB, last week I saw remastered editions of them from 2007 in the shop!!!
I dont know what to think of these.
CTTB has a comment from Johnny Bolin added, for example.
Gettin Tighter now for the DON AIREY gig in Zoetermeer, tonight at 20 30 h
Saw a review of his gig in Camden from recently
It triggered me to go after months of doubts and lack of enthusiasm and health
See ya tonight Frans, wherever you are now….
Cheers!
January 22nd, 2009 at 16:10I was lucky enough to see the MK4 line-up in Miami. After listening to all of the ‘Live’ recordings out there, it seems this was one of his better performances. I even came across a bootleg of that very gig recently. What a great find and a great gig to be able to reminisce on. It is a pretty good audience recording. Would have been at his solo concert also, but he died in Miami just before and that really SUCKED!!!!! I remember how I felt on the day I heard the news. I wasn’t pissed about losing the money for the tickets. I was just totally torn up about the fact that this great musician was gone and that Purple would probably be done as well…..I was right, until the Reunion in ’84. That was a LONG 8 years!!!!!
I find myself going back to CTTB quite a bit. I do believe it to be the best of the 3 Coverdale/Hughes efforts. I would love to see Steve Morse do the instrumental ‘Owed to G’ from this as a tribute to Tommy. That would be very classy and long overdue.
Cheers
January 22nd, 2009 at 18:02The nights he didn’t get drugs Tommy Bolin was fenomenal LIVE!!!!
January 22nd, 2009 at 18:05in fact live california 1976 is the best live album ever after made in japan…all the members were on fire!
I have from the archives vol I which is a masterpiece…listen to the live songs!even the rest is wonderful…
looking to Tommy pictures and listening to his voice I always thinked he was a shy, sweet and gentle man…
I will always love his tipical guitar sound and style…
He is the most underrated guitar player ever…
Thanks for your info cp.
Hi Tracy, you’re one of the lucky guy. I’m really jealous you’ve got a chance to see them in their best. Yes, I hope Steve Morse can add some parts or all of Owed To G into his solo guitar, that might be wonderful. I prefer Gettin’ Tighter but who’s gonna sing it that way? Invite Hughes to Mk8 concert is absolutely not a dream, it’s impossible.
Hi Roberto, could you tell me where can I get some of California 1976 archives. I can’t find the recording in my country. Yes, I love his style too. It’s unique and fun, apart from the facts that most of the guitar players in 70’s are typically heavy metal. Thanks
Cheers
January 23rd, 2009 at 06:16Deep purple live california 1976 is an official live album, you can buy it through internet sites. It is a bootleg called ‘on the wings of a russian foxtrat’ but has been officialized…
Tommy Bolin ‘from the archives vol. I’ is an offical compilation (with live songs, studio outakes and demo acousitc songs) and as the previous album you can find it trhough internet sites…
both are masterpieces…
January 23rd, 2009 at 14:01CTTB is brilliant, Tommy was brilliant, Purple has almost always been brilliant…
January 29th, 2009 at 15:29You Keep On Moving is a beautiful final moment for 70s Deep Purple.
February 8th, 2009 at 03:18Tommy Bolin was not only a great music writer, Great guitarist, and exelent singer, He was way ahead of Blackmore which is really eveddint by all the publicity he gets
June 5th, 2009 at 03:50all these years after his death. Blackmore has been washed up fo5r 20 years and steve morse cant sing, or be a front man other than plucing strings!!! He is basicaly a good guitarist Thats it!
just finished the bolin book. while i’m thrilled someone has written a pretty thorough bio, two reservations. first and most seriously, “touched by magic” needs both an a proofreader and an editor. there are typos and mistakes all over the place. the sequencing, endless quotes and general organization of the book is almost comical. i realize this is a labour of love, and again thank the author for undertaking it, but the book would be a real contender (and taken seriously) if an editor could have it for a week. i also think a bit of critical distance from the person and music would not go amiss. not everything bolin touched or wrote turned to gold, and he was in the end what all drug addicts are, fearsomely self-centered and creatively limp. one caveat: i downloaded the book from amazon; if this version is different from the print edition, i hope the ltter is an improvement.
July 31st, 2010 at 14:15