![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/mcbride4.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/mcbride6.jpg)
It’s a simple song
Classic Rock magazine rehashes the story we’ve heard a million times by now — how Smoke came to being. This includes an undated quote from Blackmore (that was at some point subjected to a rather poor OCR, and had to be corrected by us):
I was jamming with Ian Paice at a soundcheck, because we often used to get to the shows early. I said to Ian, ‘Give me a time or a measure that we haven’t played lately’, and he put down that particular beat, and I just went straight into that riff. It’s related to a medieval way of playing, because in those days they played a lot in parallel fourths. That riff wouldn’t sound the way it does if it wasn’t played in parallel fourths. But Paicey and I just went through it and it sounded like a backing track. I feel that we did things in Purple which were a lot better than that, that didn’t go anywhere.
Read more in Classic Rock.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
it must be annoying for DC and GH to see that year after year when different rock magazines writes about Deep Purle its always about the MK II line-up and many times about the recording of Machine Head and especially about smoke on the water and theres almost always a picture of MK II on the front page from around 1971-1972. Must be annoying…
May 28th, 2026 at 08:10Even though Mk III had likely the intent to be MORE commercial than Mk II (and an argument can be made that their music was less cerebral), they never took the singles market seriously, by 1974 DP had morphed into a stadium rock band relying on album sales. Around the world, there is not a single TV Studio appearance by Mk III pushing their music, their single releases, basically MJTYL and Stormbringer were perfunctory at best. Mk II at least had TV studio appearances all the way up to and including Fireball. SOTW as a single release was pushed on them by the US record company as we all know, but they did not promote it (nor Never Before or Woman From Tokyo).
So really there is not much for Mk III to complain about, they had Cal Jam moment of fame, but pushing an individual song? At least they got to play it, SOTW I mean … ☝️🥸
May 28th, 2026 at 22:45@1
Wiktor of course I get what you mean.
However the reason might be that the Mark ll line-up lasted much longer than the other line-ups, and reunited in the 80s and 90s before the final breakdown (almost wrote ‘countdown’ – you know to honour Europe and their hit..
Da..da..da..daaaa – da’da’daa’da’da’da’daaa – sorry, tried to write down the famous keyboard riff 🫣☺️)
And the fact that Ian G, Ian P and Roger still are such a vital part of the band.
I acknowledge DC’s and GH’s massive importance, but they were merely a comma in the long history of Purple.
What they did for themselves afterwards is of course exciting.
But just like Ron Evans and Nick Simper aren’t that much mentioned, I guess the same is true for DC and GH.
Ok, just hummed that riff, it’s completely wrong, but I gave it my best 😁
May 29th, 2026 at 05:37Well, not much reason to complain for DC I guess, his own band WS did even better than DP in the states … DP were just the starting point (but what a starting point!) of his career. Different thing with GH of course who has to see it as his (commercial at least) peek. And while he complained about being reduced to that and saying he was the wrong guy for DP and should have stayed with Trapeze he cashed in on BURN just 50+ years down the line. Pity though because he did release excellent music on his own.
May 29th, 2026 at 12:27@ 3
I hear what you are saying the thing is that me and my mates at the time never thought DC was a very interesting person
compared to IG and didnt have any interested to say in interwies either and when he tried to sing SOTW it became embarrasing
and when RB left DP became a ghost band that had ceased to exist.
Its friday!
May 29th, 2026 at 13:14Cheers!!
I liked Mk III, but they were never in sync with the Zeitgeist like Mk II were in the early 70s. By 1974, Purple were an established mega-act. Burn and Stormbringer are excellent albums, but they are not musical upheavals nor did they question or set off anything. Purple were by then saturated rock establishment and acted like it, still delivering quality work, but not rocking the boat.
May 29th, 2026 at 14:32What Wiktor says: In interviews ranging from the 70s to more recent years, I never got the impression that DC is well-read. He is first and foremost a music and cinema buff (he has an extensive music collection and it shows in the care he shows in repackaging his own stuff). Add maybe (largely dated) rock star fashion to that (once a boutique salesman …). Glenn is pretty much the same, I have never heard him talk about a book or culture in other countries or history, he has that attraction to Far Eastern philosophy, but that is more or less de rigueur with an affluent Californian lifestyle.
With IG you get the feeling that music is important to him, yes, but not to pretty much the exclusion of everything else. Ian is a keen observer of humans, warts and all. In contrast, DC never writes about real people, he writes about archetypes (the seductress, the goddess, the woman breaking his heart etc) including how he presents himself in his own songs (the lover, the brokenhearted man, the loner, the hellraiser). His emotions are grand, but at the same time paper-thin and hollow. It’s all adolescent graphic novel level. And not one of the many females he has sung about ever came to life to me like Mitzi Dupree did who I genuinely would have liked to have met (and not while she was spewing ping-pong balls either!).
Who knows what the hell Glenn writes about, I never really got his lyrics, they seem like endless esoteric chair circle self-therapy ramblings to me.
May 29th, 2026 at 21:54@4
“Well, not much reason to complain for DC I guess, his own band WS did even better than DP in the states”
– that’s true Max 😊
I was just thinking in Purple terms.
Because DC did really great for himself. But don’t you agree that when he joined Purple, well I’ve learned to appreciate him big time now (and have been reading up on the man), compared to Ian G, he was just a comma as a singer – in Purple?
And that might be why it’s always the Mark ll lineup and now the Mark (whoops have forgotten again what number we’re having here 😁) 8? (17?) that are always mentioned.
And interesting it is that even though there have been some major changes in the lineup, Purple have always been looked at as one band, not a band with many fractions. Or at least that’s my humble opinion (and all that jazz ☺️)
GH – well I’ve never been to a concert with this man, but I have a friend who did, and he was pretty impressed. But still, in the glow of Purple, merely a comma.
May 30th, 2026 at 04:54@6
And ohh boy did Purple rock the boat Uwe, when In Rock was released 😊
And Fireball, Machine Head etc..
Now I’ve been systematically going through Burn and Stormbringer, well Come Taste the Band too, and if I may draw a parallel ( sorry Beate, not bringing down your favourite guitarist 🙏🏼) when Steve joined, the same happened as when DC, GH, JLT and TB participated in the sound: the essence of the ‘real’ Deep Purple was diminished, quite a bit actually.
Because – in the lineups after Mark ll, they became funky (I’m not saying it’s bad, just not like the true rock Mark ll delivered) and yes it was good, interesting even, but not heart attacking (in the goooood way) like Mark ll.
And when Steve arrived, well, of course there were pure rock tunes, but the overall feel was more soft than compared to now (and =1 too)
So – Ian Gillan did and does have an enormous influence on the Purple feel
May 30th, 2026 at 05:09– at least as I hear (and see in my 🧠) ☺️
I take High “Ball Shooter Coverdale” over “Knocking At Your Back Door Gillan” any day.
May 30th, 2026 at 09:42DC’s double entendres mostly lack wit and are more akin to what you might find scrawled on toilet walls.
May 30th, 2026 at 20:30#10 Timur:
There are also those who prefer Sex Pistols to Led Zeppelin, or those who listen to trap and have never heard the Beatles, the world is varied and everyone has their own tastes especially if they love MKIII
#8 Karin:
dear Karin, calling MK III “a comma” in the history of Purple I don’t accept it and it is disrespectful to all the wonderful songs and creativity that MKIII had.
you’ve already written “the comma” twice but I think you should reflect on this and review these words because they are too demeaning and superficial, and anyone who knows the history of Purple and reads them can only think that you still have to know and understand the history of Purple in its entirety, free from prejudices.
#7 Uwe:
The assumption is that we are just fans and spectators of what our favorite musicians create, but I have to say that I have a certain frustration towards Glenn because I think that in the early 90s he was finding his way, and then in the last 25 years he has always sailed in safe waters without ever taking artistic risks that could have shown the world what he truly knew and still can do.
Of course I enjoyed seeing him live on the anniversary of Burn, but I would have enjoyed seeing him even more on a tour where he played the best songs from his first 4 solo albums and other songs that follow his true funky soul as only partially felt in “Feel”.
or maybe even Glenn (and all the other purple musicians) doesn’t deserve these “nobodies” criticisms like we are here?
May 30th, 2026 at 23:34All the talk about DP after MKII centers around them becoming funkier, I think Glen is mostly responsible for this. His influences were r&b and soul, which he brought to DP. I don’t think the band gave this a thought when they hired him. I always wondered if DP had kept Roger and had Coverdale as sole vocalist, that MKIII might have lasted longer.
May 31st, 2026 at 03:35@11
“DC’s double entendres mostly lack wit and are more akin to what you might find scrawled on toilet walls.”
You would know, as you seem to posses an extraordinary ability to come up with them and never miss an opportunity to use one here. Not sayin’ that 100% of them are good; but most of ’em are better than average.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex5kQUBW1SE
As Big Ian sang: “Drag that purse over here I got to talk to you” I’m pretty sure you know what he’s talkin’ about.
May 31st, 2026 at 09:20Karin is new to the Deep Purple family, we noticed that when she joined here with the David Coverdale comments. Better late than never is an old saying worthy of note. At least Karin is a Ritchie acolyte, so I don’t mind that side of her obsessive nature. As for ‘putting down’ other vocalists and their ‘feel’, well we revert back to my earlier comment. Cheers.
May 31st, 2026 at 09:40@12
Ohhh but Fla76, I really didn’t mean it disrespectful in any way, oh no dear, not at all.
My answer was merely a reflection of WHY DC, GH, JLT and TB aren’t mentioned more than they tend to be.
As I also wrote, hope you read that 😊, I have been listening to those albums where Ian isn’t singing, and I like them a lot – A LOT 🤩
BUT – reporters, music entusiasts and weirdos like myself, seem to think that the lineup in Mark ll, and the current with Simon McB, are among the best.
But that does not mean that the input from the former mentioned great musicians and singers are of lesser importance and quality.
When I mentioned them as a “comma” it was just how a lot of people see it. Because if they saw these fine men differently, I’m sure they would take them into consideration when talking about Purple in general 😊
Personally – and I really don’t think this can be a surprise to anyone in here – I prefer Ian Gillan singing ☺️😉
But I certainly enjoy the other singers too. Especially David Coverdale (and that was a tough birth for me to get through I tell you that, but I’m here now 😄)
But ohhh man I simply love the enthusiasm and need to protect and support all of Purple, so thank you very much for that 🤗
Btw: everything I write in here is just my opinion.
May 31st, 2026 at 09:50Just like everybody else 😊
So if you don’t agree then feel free to shrug your shoulders and shake your head in disbelief that I’m actually allowed to walk around freely ( I am you know 😁)
I loved Purple from In Rock, and, as mentioned before, preferably with Ian as the vocalist 😊
And life happened, as it tends to do, so I never got into Mark lll, lV and V until recently 😊
The LP Burn is hardly a comma in the history of DP!!
May 31st, 2026 at 10:58Well I would not call DP Mark III a comma. They were huge and they released first class albums, Karin. I listen to them far more than to Mark II and I think they stood the test of time.
Of course DC never reached the heights if IG in the lyric department. And it’s true what Uwe says about that, the characters in his songs are cartoon like if you will. Or they are metaphors for common subjects to mankind….either way you prefer. Blues, eh?
Gillan is a writer, a good one, intellectual, witty, sharp. Coverdale touches souls, hearts and….then some. I love them both for various reasons.
Relieved to learn that people more fluent in English than U am ain’t got a clue what GH is singing about!
May 31st, 2026 at 12:59But he does it in style!
I also wondered about that Robert. I also wonder what would have happened if they had kept Roger and gotten Dio as a singer.
May 31st, 2026 at 13:161. Mk III are of course far more than a ‘comma’, they were a part of the DP history in all their decadent splendor! To me, Mk III (and to an extent also Mk IV) encapsulated everything that was good AND bad in the mid seventies. They could have truly only existed in that era.
2. I find it interesting that as a live act, Mk III crisscrossed and conquered America and that two of its members – DC & Glenn – soaked up the US so much they would move their permanently and in fact both become Americans (not just by passport like Ritchie and Roger, but by cultural identification/immersion). Somehow, I cannot imagine Ian Gillan living on the West Coast of the US. Maybe the fact that both David and Glenn came from the North of England and not like Ritchie, Jon, the two Ians and Roger from the South of England or even Wales had something to do with it. To Coverdale and Hughes, California/Nevada became their mythical Shangri-La.
3. How can that “Glenn sneakily infested Purple with funk + soul and thereby brought about its demise”-myth ever be put to rest?
Ritchie WANTED a bluesy singer in the Paul Rodgers style, hence the “unkonwn boutiqe salesman from Redcar” aka David Coverdale. And – people like to conveniently forget this – he WANTED a funky bass player more akin to how Andy Fraser of Free played than Roger Glover.
Glenn never auditioned for DP, nor did he apply for a job there. He was recruited on only the basis of Ritchie, Jon and Little Ian having witnessed him as the frontman of Trapeze on various gigs they went to. Glenn signed the contracts for DP in April 1973 before he had played a single note with them – Roger was still in the band at that point (albeit having announced he would leave after their touring commitments in the summer of 1973).
Now, if you have ever listened to a live recording of Trapeze in 1972 /73,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOdVUU7acxE
those gigs were two hour long funk rock extravaganza jams similar to what RHCP do today. On the basis of witnessing these concerts, no one could have doubted that Purple was getting a huge slice of funk when they asked Glenn to join (poached him with money). And, for the avoidance of doubt, no one said at the time “But please play like Roger Glover once you’re with us and discard all those Black musical influences you so overtly brandished with Trapeze!” Then – surprise, surprise – someone as addicted to and immersed in Black Music as Glenn starts writing in that vein too (as he had done in Trapeze) and Ritchie who masterminded it all is all of the sudden supposedly aghast. 😱 It doesn’t make sense.
Is there anyone here with a healthy set of ears (unlikely with Purple fans, I know 🙄) willing to raise his hand and say that based on what and how Trapeze played, poor Ritchie could never have anticipated funk making an entry into DP? To quote Ritchie: “If you believe that, you’ll believe anything …”.
Blackmore got what he (thought he) wanted and then – as was all too often the case – grew tired of it quickly (just like he grew tired of Ian’s singing and Roger’s bass playing style before). And incidentally: None of the many Rainbow line-ups lasted longer than or even as long as DP Mk III. Blackmore didn’t even manage to record two Rainbow studio albums in succession with the same line-up (even though every musician was always handpicked by him), Mk III at least managed two or even three (if you count in CTTB where the line-up change only came about via Blackers jumping ship).
May 31st, 2026 at 14:31My text vanished while still working on it.
Something that really pisses me off.
Gillan and maybe also Roger was appointed as leader after Blackmore took a hike
I dont know what went wrong between him/them and Steve.
The for years hailed man that provided the sunshine all of a sudden seems to ve fallen out of their circle.
Personally I experienced as decades of annoying times to endure but….
Wrestling myself from my stance I see a band that with him more and more produced stable music.
What really made him resign I dont understand,several options have passed but even the grey old and wise Lord after decades still didnt understand.
May 31st, 2026 at 14:39My favorite DP album ever is “Made in Europe”.
MkIII was amazing and a legitimate part of rock history. It is also many fans favorite era.
They did not have the time to develop as MkII did, and as smartly pointed out elsewhere in the forum, they did not catch the Zeitgeist (whatever that is) as the former line up had either.
I have seen many DP and DP related guys live from 1992 on, and the ONLY one who could equal the performance quality and immense power of the golden 70’s era was Glenn (again and again).
I get Karin’s point, though: In chronological time it was brief when counted within the 50 years of logged activity the band now tallies, and outside hardcore fans circles (ie the casual rock listener) only “Machine Head” era seems to register broadly. It’s true and it is what it is.
Of course I also love the magical 69-73 era, but if you listen to WDWTWA and then the “Final Truckin” bootleg you do get a sense of things running out of steam for that particular 5-piece set of people…
Again, it’s always a matter of personal perception and preference!
It’s all good! 🙂
Cheers, J.-
May 31st, 2026 at 15:43@18
Dear Max,
I did not say they were nothing but a ‘comma’ 😁
Or, ok, I did say that, but it was a comment made to the situation that so many people, other than you magnificent Purple people in here, seem to only acknowledge Mark ll lineup and the recent lineups!
As I guess I have mentioned in here, many times, (and have been ridiculed quite a bit ☺️) I really like Mark lll and the next lineups (sorry, cannot seem to be counting anymore…) so please understand that I don’t look at them as merely a ‘comma’ (maybe a semicolon 😆 – oh sorry, too soon? 🤭)
I agree with you: Ian’s lyrics are right up my alley when it comes to witty and astute comments to life in general 😊
And yes, David has a certain je ne sais quoi regarding a person’s lovelife.
But he is very entertaining and his more thoughtful songs touch my heart more than even Ian’s songs.
If I may link a little tune (to show my sensitivity and sincerity ☺️)
https://youtu.be/F3e-KMT_J2c?is=WtwzUAQ7TinBWJLy
+
https://youtu.be/tZ1PfB59zf8?is=EFGqlUceY7feOnHq
+
https://youtu.be/zHph4-OriXc?is=1uUwkfREPISdp42f
+
https://youtu.be/PDb55-zN7CY?is=i9eeZ2QkD_8V-ct3
And with Mark lll:
https://youtu.be/uEFChMd8-7U?is=FHG1vhQ7Ko3Jc56D
This I love so very much!
And this:
https://youtu.be/t4fDCwDiWJQ?is=z9j7Tm4UMH1IjX9T
But also this:
https://youtu.be/JfwpJFS6Pgk?is=XunDYCzimwetngG4
And I tell you, I appreciate the way DC and GH shares the singing. I mean their voices suit each other 😊
This is lovely:
https://youtu.be/aUqJZnNl15M?is=qmn6ApM9HMQ5bQXh
Well, the TB era is also very interesting, and of course I can link to a lot more songs but I guess I have proven my point by now.
I really love Deep Purple in all its shades, and yes I do prefer Ian Gillan as the vocalist!
And no, I don’t look at the other Marks lineup as ‘commas’ – I was just trying to explain why they are not mentioned that often in the public discussions.
Of course among die hard fans as we are, they are important.
Am I soon to be forgiven?
May 31st, 2026 at 17:59@20
Dear Uwe
Please read my answer to Fla76 and Max.
I agree with you! Completely….
☺️
May 31st, 2026 at 18:01@22
Thank you J for being far more elegant in explaining what I mean than I am 😃
May 31st, 2026 at 18:03Mk II invented the music they were widely identified with: riff oriented Hard Rock with classical flourishes over a thundering, yet disciplined rhythm section crowned by a high-pitching, operatic lead vocalist who only sounded like a Black man when he reverted to Little Richard type falsetto screams. That was their successful recipe over four studio albums.
Mk III retained core elements of that sound, but embellished it via infusion with bluesy and soulish ingredients plus the new-to-DP introduction of harmony vocals by two lead vocalists who both in their own way s0unded and sang like Black men. Mk III were much more Americanized than Mk II who were as quintessentially Brit as a piece of Stilton or Cheddar cheese. The two Northerners that Ritchie brought into DP were still Brits too of course, but Brits striving to be Americans, something Big Ian for all his love of Elvis, Little Richard and Buddy Holly never wanted to be.
I think it’s no coincidence that Mk III were more a pronouncedly American phenomenon than any other Purple line-up (Mk IV of course excepted), they were the soundtrack for US arenas and stadiums. Blackmore, even though he grew tired of his new creation relatively quickly, had some real commercial nous with that radical line-up change from Mk III to Mk III.
And in line with the arenas and stadium performances, Mk III were also the more expressive performers. Everything was larger than life or – as a popular criticism of the time against Purple went – overindulgent and excessive. There was something “bunch of committed musos” about Mk II while Mk III were designed to impress. And that was not just down to both DC and GH loving the stage, but also to Ritchie, Jon and Little Ian who all three honed and perfected their rock gods image in Mk III.
May 31st, 2026 at 19:16What is in any case criminal is that a compilation devoted to Purple’s body of work from 1973 to 1976, i.e. consisting only of Mk III + IV work, is still missing!
It is high time for that (David and Glenn have bemoaned its absence too):
– From a curator’s point of view, I would divide the studio tracks into songs sung by DC and GH jointly and/or in call & response, and those sung by either David or Glenn alone, respectively, plus the three instrumentals they did (A 200, Coronerias Redig and Ode to ‘G’)
– Track for track comments by David and Glenn (both have time on their hands!).
– Throw in a decent remix of the Cal Jam gig, not because it was Mk III’s best gig, but their most legendary one. Of course Kilburn and Saarbrücken could be additional options too
– If you want to generate some extra sales you could throw in a bonus disc of Mk III/IV doing various Mk II chestnuts such as SOTW, Lazy, Space Truckin’, The Mule and Highway Star. More for historical comprehensiveness then really the quality of these renditions which was sometimes shaky. You might include Going Down, Marching Powder and Wild Dogs on that bonus disc too.
I will volunteer my liner notes for free!!!
What would be a good title? “Might Just Take Your Life: The Mk III & IV Years”
And I think for the cover: What could be more fitting than Ritchie trashing the TV camera at Cal Jam?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ljMvgA5STvk
Or his Marshall doing a little – carefully contained of course – nuclear test explosion?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vi5tAq7acnw
PS: Of course in Denmark it should come with a consumer warning sticker for Karin: “No Need To Buy This: 100% Gillan-free!“
May 31st, 2026 at 21:03@ #20, Uwe:
Yes, in 1973, David was selected because Ritchie wanted someone like Paul Rodgers. To me, David even sounded bigger than Rodgers with his rich baritone voice. But Glenn was hired because he simply was the biggest talent on the entire scene. Considering that Trapeze wasn’t such a huge outfit, they knew that they could convince him joining the band – after all, he was a very young guy at that point.
After Ian and Roger left, Ritchie’s position within the band became much stronger and he might have thought that this new incarnation of Purple will be much better than the solo band he already had in mind. The chemistry during those early Mk III days might have been great because the Burn album came about so effortlessly. I suppose that the majority of ideas that became the songs on Burn was already in Ritchie’s (and to a lesser degree Jon’s) drawer when the new guys joined. That’s most likely the reason why Ritchie thought that they could beat Glenn into shape with Burn and carry on like that. However, Ritchie might have changed his mind during the Burn tour because he understood that it wouldn’t work out the way he thought.
May 31st, 2026 at 22:07BTW, I don’t think that DP has a ruler these days. Ritchie wanted to rule and did so intermittently, but lost his grasp both 1974/75 and 1992/93 which had him throw the toys out of the pram both times. As regards Rainbow, I have yet to see proof that Ritchie was a skillful leader, that band never realized its full potential, neither commercially nor artistically.
Present DP is a collective of five men that agree on one thing (only): That not one of them should rule any of the others. That makes all the difference for the wellbeing and spirit of the band. DP works best as a council.
June 1st, 2026 at 00:07Rock @21: “Wrestling myself from my stance I see a band that with him (= Steve) more and more produced stable music.”
A Road to Damascus type conversion, no less!!!
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGgDBOJARPJ4vP76YPbncWnOoqONf0HEcnIQ&s
Schwester Beate will anoint you in due course.
June 1st, 2026 at 02:47Tommy, you’re right about Ritchie’s short-lived delusions of exerting more control over Mk III than Mk II, that both David and Glenn were in their early 20s while Ritchie was approaching his 30th, was also part of his equation. Picked from (in Glenn’s case: relative) obscurity and still young adults, Blackers thought he could do what he wanted with them – not so!
I don’t know how it was in the UK or in the US (especially Texas, their happy hunting ground), but in Germany in the first half of the 70s, absolutely no one knew Trapeze, their records were impossibly difficult to get (I should know!) and I don’t think they toured Germany (or other parts of the Continent?) ever. The first time Trapeze were mentioned in German music mags was in connection with the new bassist/singer of DP coming from there.
To this day I think that the number of people even here who (i) own something from Trapeze, and (ii) actually listen to it too, is miniscule. Glenn is in popular Purple lore largely perceived as an irritant with no personal history or musical pedigree. Anyone who ever bothered to give Trapeze a listen, however, could not have been surprised about his musical influence on and trajectory in DP.
June 1st, 2026 at 14:42Nothing to be forgiven, Karin. And I ain’t the one to spread forgiveness anyway. You’re entitled to your point of you as ee all are – or should be – to.ours. Just thought the comma comment wasn’t fitting.
And you’re right… the more thoughtful lyrics of DC can be very touching and are definetly no cartoonlike stuff. Things like Sailing Ships, Don’t Fade Away, Blindman or Northwinds give you something to relate to … something IG rarely does. He is thought not feel.
June 1st, 2026 at 14:59@27
Almost flawless Uwe, but may I suggest a single change, perhaps?
“Comma Divine: The Mk III & IV Years” 😀
* Special Deluxe 15-disc CD, Vinyl, BluRay, Poster, Memory Stick Limited Edition available only in Denmark.
Best regards, J.-
June 1st, 2026 at 15:12“But Glenn was hired because he simply was the biggest talent on the entire scene.”
Tommy, this is a touching moment for me, I have never heard someone in a Purple forum, where the reserved comments for Glenn usually are:
– “I can’t stand his singing.”
– “His silly funky bass playing, which he initially hid from the others, destroyed Mk III, they should have really kept Roger.”
– “He didn’t play much of a role, did he?”
– “He insulted Roger at the RRHoF!” (For the umpteenth time: No, he didn’t. He thanked Roger for the pivotal groundwork he had laid down making DP such a successful enterprise for him – Glenn – to join.)
– “He played too much and got in the way.” (He actually played less notes than Roger and left more space.)
sum up Glenn more succinctly and poetically – vielen lieben Dank! ❤️
June 1st, 2026 at 18:04@27
“consumer warning sticker for Karin: “No Need To Buy This: 100% Gillan-free!”“
– not only for me Uwe!
I actually know of several people who adore the vocalist!
June 1st, 2026 at 18:28And now we’re talking about being honest:
Which singer do you prefer Uwe? ☺️😉
It depends on the song! I prefer Mk II stuff with IG and Mk III/IV songs with GH/DC. I don’t think that IG could do Sail Away justice for instance like The Unrighteousness Brothers could:
https://youtu.be/VZnnuhQJSyU
You might as well ask a Sultan what his favorite from his Harem is and he will truthfully answer: “Variety is the spice of life.”
June 1st, 2026 at 21:17@ 34- spare us the woe and misery Uwe. Fair dinkum, what a lot of rot you do talk at times. Get out the cello and a few violins while we are at it. Talk about a deliberately and negatively loaded one sided take on Glenn Hughes, from a couple of punters comments that we may see here once in a while. Glenn gets a little flak at times and that is no different to any other DP or ex DP member. You constantly and deliberately never mention the comments that other people say in the positive. But then again, your career or ex career has a little to do with those sort of bad habits, doesn’t it. Now that we have all mopped up the tears, and we then remove the bias in certain comments we may now be able to get a grip on things here again. Cheers.
June 1st, 2026 at 23:36@ 23- “Am I soon to be forgiven?” NO! We all go out on a limb here Karin with our comments. Sometimes we just have to ‘suck it up’ as that rather crass saying goes. The ‘alleged’ halo above your head has now been removed. NEVER to return to where it once was. Although we do have to wonder how in the name of HELL did it ever get there in the first place? Perhaps we could ask Anton? Cheers.
June 1st, 2026 at 23:45Some of these comments remind me of those Teen Idol magazines from the 1970’s. Remember them, David Essex, David Cassidy, Donny Osmond etc etc. Who is the ‘cutest’ or the ‘best’ etc. They were always on the stands in newsagents. Then Leif Garrett turned up, whoa, look out girlies, a new heartthrob on the scene. And on and on we go, well some go……………..As Paul Simon did sing, ‘every generation has another hero to put up the pop charts’, something like that. Talking music from these artists, I always enjoyed David Essex, still do and he is a crafty individual and not too bad an actor either. Gonna Make You A Star, yeah yeah yeah yeah…..Rock On! Cheers.
June 2nd, 2026 at 02:07Proud ownwer of the Trapeze albums since the late 70s here. Especially You Are The Music is an all time fave and gets a spin ever once in a while. Same for Play Me Out.
I never got that Glenn bashing either but I guess he is too little leaden and too funky for some folks.
Have to admit though that his go at Georgia in Smoke does not go down well with me either. But that’s about it in the bashing department. Hairdos and exaggerations are not part of the music after all. And the music’s good.
June 2nd, 2026 at 05:51Guilty as charged: When I first got my hands on a Long Beach bootleg in the 80s I was so elated about Glenn’s falsetto performance on Georgia, I would listen to it again and again!
https://youtu.be/BKRd9zXbzsE
June 2nd, 2026 at 13:17You are, Karin, you are.
https://youtu.be/o4mhnwIt3pQ
PS: How do you like Rumer, not rocky enough for you I presume?
https://youtu.be/ERzNIzrEnLg
Rob Halford fan Uwe melts for her voice.
June 2nd, 2026 at 15:41@42
😊
She reminds me of this songbird:
https://youtu.be/bfkFO9gBMBs?is=em_YDctYVgH0LtWN
Soft, kind and very feminine voice ☺️
June 3rd, 2026 at 00:34With all his recorded ruthlessness, authorities, and dominance, it’s still mystery to me how Blackmore’s ego could be defeated by Glenn Hughes’ ego in terms of music, esp. for Stormbringer album
The MVP of Stormbringer is clearly Glenn Hughes. That’s ”his” album, he’s everywhere. Surprised Blackmore didn’t put much ‘fights’ other than Stormbringer, The Gypsy, and Lady Double Dealer which retain the blues/hard-rock roots with his dominant guitar sounds.
Blackmore didn’t play bad there, in fact he was great. Like we ever discussed, his solo in “Hold On” is delicious, funky guitar chops in “You Can’t Do it Right”, so are other songs. But how easily he got ‘defeated’ by Glenn? Even Dio can’t fight Blackmore’s ego and quitted Rainbow. And it took 4 persons to ”ousted” Ritchie from Purple in 1993.
Then later, Glenn met his match, in the name of Tommy Bolin. I think we all can agree Come Taste the Band is more cohesive, a band’s album, where everybody shines compared to Stormbringer. Glenn’s domination wasn’t there anymore, every vocalist and instrument in CTTB sounded great.
June 3rd, 2026 at 07:39@ 44 Andre, while Stormbringer no doubt is a lot more mllow and funky than other offerings of DP I would not call it a GH album. GH and DC made their influences more easy to be seen and I guess JL and IP didn’t mind as they were never as strict as RB when it came to funky sounds (see PAL et al). Plus: Not only the title track and Lady Double Dealer and The Gypsy … Highball Shooter and Soldier of Fortune have Ritchie written all over them. That leaves us with 4 more soulful, funky, whatever tracks and even there the guitar leaves traces that makes those songs as brillant as they are. Hold on already mentioned but each of them has a tasty guitar to it. It may be not hard and heavy enough for RB or he was tired of it all anyway… but he sure is at least 1/5 of the proceedings here. I’d say JL got a bit more in the background. DC is pretty prominent.
June 3rd, 2026 at 10:22Andre S, I think Glenn and the others were filling a void on Stormbringer that Blackmore had created by a gradual process of withdrawal. Ritchie was going through a divorce (his second and his first as a wealthy man without a prenup …) and he had moved to America (California to be exact) for tax reasons and initially didn’t really like it there. Dissatisfaction with Glenn’s and DC’s preferences for Black Music played a role too, but Blackmore probably shunned a confrontation with Jon and Ian as well as the powerful DP management on that point? Not wanting to hear: “You first drove out Gillan and Glover to get these guys in and now you’re telling us that was a mistake?” I think Blackmore had a feeling that this might be a battle he cannot win – and you know how he likes to avoid conflicts he is not sure of winning! 🤗 I see parallels with his behavior in 1993: When he realized that he could no longer have it his way and keep Ian out of the band, he relinquished control and split.
There was probably little conflict ahead of or during the recording of Stormbringer? Ritchie’s diminishing role was more of an osmosis process.
But as always, Blackmore’s motivations remain enigmatic: Love Don’t Mean A Thing (whose lyrics probably struck a chord with Blackers due to his divorce situation) is one of the funkiest tracks ever by DP, yet it was Blackmore who heard the Black street busker in Chicago play it and arranged for a lump sum payment via management to buy the rights off him and present the song as a group composition on Stormbringer. How that song fits in with what Ritchie would do with Rainbow a few months later is beyond me. 🙄
June 3rd, 2026 at 11:17Didn’t Jon Lord often say in later years that he didn’t really get into Purple after the MKII era of the early 70’s. Something along those lines, hindsight again. Ritchie was always looking for another angle musically as many others did and some still do in their aging years. It is the nature of the artists beast, so to speak. Ian Paice was keeping on keeping on as he always has. It was more Coverdale and Hughes and of course management and the record company needing it at that point in time. Ian Gillan wasn’t happy in DP in 1973 as he has often stated. It wasn’t all down to Ritchie. Roger Glover was treated appallingly as we know, but then again so was Nick Simper. That scenario is all too familiar in that game it seems. Ritchie still played exceptionally on the Stormbringer album and it still has its wonderful moments from all the DP members. Long live rock ‘n roll. Cheers.
June 3rd, 2026 at 23:53Yes, I might simplify the situation of Ritchie. Because if I listen to “You Can’t Do It Right” and “Highball Shooter” there’s no way Ritchie played guitar like that if he hated the songs and album.
Maybe him saying demeaning things about Stormbringer, including “shoeshine” music, was only motives in surface to excuse him from being unfocused, bored, frustrated with life, and need to go away from that place (the band). Which unfortunately rubbed Glenn and David the wrong way, but Ritchie won’t care
This sort of “unpredictable moves” made Ritchie Blackmore as he is. A genius but mysterious man, whose continuous surprising moves only made people esp. his die-hard fans loved him more. It becomes more apparent to me that the only person in this planet earth who could understand him in-and-out and get along well is the lovely blondie-girl beside him, Candice Night.
@45 Max
As beautiful as it is, I never think “Soldier of Fortune” as the real part of Stormbringer album musically. It’s too different with the rest, an exception yet fantastic exception. Like the song “Johnny’s Band” in Infinity. A straight, Southern-Rock track (riff reminds me of BTO “You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet”) in an album full of progressive-rock, epics, and trademark Purple-jams
So, I did not mention “Soldier of Fortune” it in my comment above
“Highball Shooter”, yes Ritchie’s guitar was there, more rock than funky. But Lord’s unstoppable driving organ riff and fills were prominent (the song has no guitar solo, only keyboards solo), with Coverdale-Hughes trading vocals sitting on top of that. Perhaps the most cohesive track in the album with all instruments and vocalist shine.
June 4th, 2026 at 02:55In hindsight, Stormbringer is musically the most versatile album Purple ever did since the Mk I days. That is part of its charm.
In Rock and Stormbringer (together with Shades of & Taliesyn) were the first DP albums I kind of indiscriminately bought in the summer of 1975. And as a then 14-year-old I was always torn between In Rock’s dogged commitment (= appealing to a teenager) to one style and Stormbringer’s flourishing (and slightly decadent: bands inevitably spread out musically as they become more saturated with success) variety. I kinda liked both (and this was long before I became aware of the different line-ups).
Name me another album where heavy/hard rock tracks (Stormbringer, Lady Double Dealer, High Ball Shooter) sit side by side with soul pop (Holy Man, Hold On), outright funk (Love Don’t Mean A Thing, You Can’t Do It Right) and mystic ballads (Gypsy, Soldier of Fortune)? In fact, if you want to stop someone dead in his tracks that misunderstands DP as just “samey arena hard rock”, then playing the Stormbringer album to them is the perfect antidote. I have yet to find someone unaccustomed to the album who would have recognized Love Don’t Mean A Thing, Holy Man + Hold On (that is basically all of side one) as Deep Purple numbers, people are genuinely surprised about that.
If Stormbringer had become the double album it was initially slated as, it might have become Mk III’s Physical Graffiti. Just imagine how it would have sounded with some musical ideas added that would latter crop up on Rainbow’s debut, DC’s first solo outing, PAL’s Malice in Wonderland and Glenn’s Play Me Out.
June 4th, 2026 at 15:29Ritchie committing to a ‘double album’? At ANY time? Matter of fact any of the Deep Purple composers apart from Jon Lord and that wouldn’t be a ‘rock’ album per se, would it? Not many artists are capable of a strong double album, and even if they are, how popular will it be. Tommy springs to mind as probably the most popular and definitely the most impressive, to me at least. A single album is usually enough for most artists at any time. Most double albums have some filler on them. Not all, but most of them. It also depends on whether it is a ‘concept’ album too. Led Zeppelin sort of got away with it without PG being a concept album, but even that has some filler and as we often see or hear, it is usually on side four when most people by that time have had enough. Pink Floyd’s The Wall also fit into that category. Mind you, Karin had had enough of that well before side four me thinks, he he he. Sorry Karin, I really have to let that one go, once and for all. Cheers.
June 4th, 2026 at 23:28More RAINBOW Live 1976 LP’s .A first time ever vinyl release for a live concert from Rainbow’s debut world tour (documenting one of the band’s first ever shows in Europe, at Düsseldorf Philipshalle on 27th September 1976 with the Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James, Cozy Powell, Jimmy Bain and Tony Carey line-up).
Triple vinyl edition, mastered by Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham.
Ps – on my shopping list – cheers PJ
June 5th, 2026 at 07:34UPDATE – HMV exclusive orange vinyl!!
https://hmv.com/store/music/vinyl/live-in-dusseldorf-dusseldorf-philipshalle-27-9-19 Cheers – PJ
June 5th, 2026 at 08:22What about the White Album by The Beatles, that didn’t sell too shabbily?
I’m pretty sure that the double album idea for Stormbringer was killed by Blackmore as it would have required him to use some of the material he was saving for Rainbow’s debut.
On the other hand, in an alternative universe, an expanded Stormbringer could have contained both Black Sheep Of The Family and You Keep On Moving (which had been laying on ice since the Burn sessions), both songs not exactly fillers I would say. Ritchie might have stayed on then and we could have all escaped Rising!!! 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈 🤣
June 5th, 2026 at 14:31Anything with The Beatles name on it will sell enormously Uwe. The White Album is a perfect example of too many throwaway songs as there ever has been. That album and Jimi Hendrix with Electric Ladyland. Talk about unbelievable time wasting. It sold well too, why, simply because of the hype of the Hendrix ‘phenomenon’. Not to worry, both albums have some stellar tracks on them, just not that many to warrant a double. George Martin attempted to stop the Beatles one becoming just that. Cheers.
June 5th, 2026 at 23:31I love the White Album for all its redundancies, self-gratification and whimsical excess!
https://youtu.be/YHlIMmpaHCE
I teaches you a lot about George, John, Paul & Ringo.
June 6th, 2026 at 23:46Watching The Analogues performing tracks from White Album made me appreciated the album even more
I love it, when I purchased it, keep spinning it at least once a day for a month or two. But up to the point, The White Album to me was like Beatles having fun and it’s good, so I didn’t really pay attention to the quality of the songs. Then I listened to this Dutch tribute band, watch their video, and realized how wonderful The White Album is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_Kh_L26604&list=RDg_Kh_L26604&start_radio=1
June 8th, 2026 at 02:20