![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/glover7.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/glover.jpg)
This collection of little ditties is presented to your by our semi-irregular Weird Covers column.
It is available through Apple Music and probably some other digital vendors.
The evil demon sitting on my shoulder is whispering that this is just a bunch of midi files plunked off them old interwebs and rendered in appropriate style. Shush, little devil, shush!
Thanks to Matman for the heads up.
After a brief hiatus, here’s the third and the final part of Blackmore’s Night interview promoting their latest album Nature’s Light. Continue Reading »
A couple of new books by Laura Shenton are due to be published by Wymer in September. These follow the “in-depth” album-by-album format pioneered in March with Stormbringer. Caveat emptor: previous output from this author drew, ahem, mixed reviews from our audience.
What: Deep Purple Fireball In-depth by Laura Shenton
When: September 24, 2021
Where: Wymer Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-912782-82-6
Price: £14.99
Marketing blurb reads:
In 1970, In Rock marked the studio arrival of Deep Purple Mk2. When it came to making a follow-up, times were turbulent and divisive, so much so that there were doubts as to whether Deep Purple would even last!
Sandwiched between In Rock and Machine Head, it is hardly surprising that Deep Purple’s 1971 album, Fireball, is so often overlooked in comparison. It wasn’t an easy time for the band; with demand for more concerts following the success of In Rock, the making of Fireball took over a year and yet, it is an essential album – both in terms of how it documents Deep Purple’s progression as a band and in terms of what it offers overall musically.
In this book, author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL offers an indepth perspective on Fireball from a range of angles including how it came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Deep Purple’s legacy today.
Preorder from the publisher.
What: Deep Purple Slaves And Masters In-depth by Laura Shenton
When: September 24, 2021
Where: Wymer Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-912782-83-3
Price: £14.99
Marketing blurb reads:
Slaves And Masters is arguably one of the most divisive albums in Deep Purple’s history. A product of Ian Gillan’s sacking from the band and the recruitment of former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, in 1990, Slaves And Masters divided the fanbase enormously. But with four fifths of the classic Mk2 lineup at the helm and a desire to recapture the live feeling in the studio that had been a hallmark of their seventies albums, was it really the worst Deep Purple album as some fans claim?
In this book, author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL offers an indepth perspective on Deep Purple’s thirteenth studio album from a range of angles including how the album came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Deep Purple’s legacy today.
Preorder from the publisher.
The hairspray version of Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again re-entered the charts in the week of May 13, 2021. It went straight to #1 on Billboard Hot Hard Rock Songs chart with 2.5 million US streams (up 22%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 178%). The renewed interest in the track is attributed to the death of Julie ‘Tawny’ Kitaen. The indomitable miss Kitaen was the star of the video, along with two Jaguars, and a some carefully coiffured dudes. She passed away at her home in Newport Beach, California, on May 7 at the age of 59.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info; original source is in the Billboard (link behind the paywall).
Just a quick update on the touring schedule. As expected, Deep Purple’s 2021 dates are being rescheduled to 2022. All dates in Italy and most of the French ones have already been rescheduled and confirmed. Of a particular interest is that not only the old dates are being moved, but a new one has been added — Rome on July 2, 2022. This little thingy could indicate the level of confidence that the band will indeed resume touring in 2022.
Austrian band Restless Bones is about to release their second album Captured By The Roots, which includes nine original compositions, plus a cover of Sail Away with none other but Don Airey blessing it with a Hammond solo. The track will also be featured as a single and is available for pre-order. Continue Reading »
Something that you don’t hear every day — a recording of Ritchie Blackmore guesting on Jackie Lynton’s gig in Fulham, London, on March 10, 1987. The description says it’s a full concert, it is not. But it has all the important (for us) bits, the ones where Ritchie is playing. Nothing really new here as this gig has been circulating on bootlegs for years.
Did anyone actually got the amp?
Thanks to RockRadio Two for posting this and to Yvonne for bringing it to your attention.
Here’s a blast from the past: Ian Paice and Roger Glover promoting the soon to be released House of Blue Light on British TV. Continue Reading »
Break on Through is the title of a short film about rock climbing for which Tommy Bolin together with his early band Energy wrote and recorded quite a Mahavishnuesque soundtrack. One can clearly see here why just a year later Billy Cobham tapped Bolin to step into John McLaughlin’s shoes, so to speak. Continue Reading »
Music History for Those Who Are Able to Read has a new addition — a reprint of a contemporary review of the original Concerto performance that appeared in October 4, 1969, issue of the New Musical Express.
“The gulf remains wide and unabridged.”
“Pop and classics just don’t mix… so the pop group had its fire steadily dampened.”BUT I ENJOYED DEEP PURPLE’S EXPERIMENT
By Gordon Coxhill
THE above are just two quotes from reviews in our national Press which appeared the morning after the Deep Purple’s appearance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall last Wednesday evening.
Now I don’t suppose there is much doubt that the two critics concerned have a far wider experience and understanding of classical than myself, but I do feel that they have somewhat missed the whole point of the exercise.
Music isn’t meant to work: it is to be listened to and enjoyed, to arouse emotion and to borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, soothe the savage breast.
Perhaps it is my own musical naivety, but Lord’s “Concerto For Group And Orchestra” was a resounding success, not only in my book, but also for the large crowds of youngsters and older folk present.
Continue reading in Music History for Those Who Are Able to Read.
Thanks to Geir Myklebust for bringing this to your attention.
PS. According to the Phrase Finder “to soothe the savage breast” expression was not actually coined by Shakespeare, but by another English poet — William Congreve. His poem The Mourning Bride (1697) reads:
Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing