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A new album, an old label, and a Xmas EP

Blackmore's Night in Tarrytown, NY, Oct 25, 2012; photo © Nick Soveiko CC-BY-NC-SA

Blackmore’s Night will release their new album called Nature’s Light some time in the spring of 2021. To that extent they’ve signed up with their old label — Edel/earMUSIC — which back in the day had released their first two albums. Yep, they are on the same record label as Deep Purple now. The new album will be followed by a reissue of the band’s entire catalog later in the year.

To put something on the market in the meanwhile, there will be a 4-track EP of Christmas carols called Here We Come A-Caroling due out on December 4. It will be released on a digipack CD, a limited edition 10″ translucent green vinyl (US vinyl is expected a week later — December 11), and as download/streaming.

Here We Come A-Caroling track listing:

  1. Here We Come A-Caroling (Vinyl Side A)
  2. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (Vinyl Side A)
  3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Vinyl Side B)
  4. Silent Night (Vinyl Side B)

blackmore's night xmas EP 2020

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-24
12 Comments

They daren’t become complacent

My Things – Music history for those who are able to read is a music blog dedicated to reprinting articles from old music magazines and papers from the past 50 years or so. And there are quite a few Purple related ones. Take, for example, this report in Sounds, dated March 13, 1976 — from the time in the history of the band that can be simply characterized as a bumpy ride.

Is the new Purple as good as the old?
Geoff Barton joins the band`s 24th tour of America to find out.

“This is my twenty-fourth American tour,” remarks Jon Lord, staring abstractly into his steadily diminishing glass of Cognac, “my twenty-fourth.”
Have they all been with Deep Purple?
He nods affirmatively, his empty gaze changing to one of mock despair, and finishes off his drink in one large gulp.
“But, you know,” he continues, “life on the road isn`t that bad any more. In the band`s early days, it was a trifle hectic. Now, eight years on, we can afford to relax a little.”
Indeed. A Deep Purple US tour is, today, a smoothly-organised, well put together affair – lots of long, black limousines which, even in the midst of a queue of similarly tank-like American cars, cause heads to turn.
No soundchecks, the roadies are veterans too, it`s a case of on the stage, off the stage, with a one-and-a-half hour set in between.
There`s even a customised plane, with the name `Deep Purple` emblazoned on its side, to fly you the 200 mile-upwards distances from gig to gig.
Yes, they can afford to relax a little – but they daren`t become complacent.

Continue reading in My Things – Music history for those who are able to read.

Glenn Hughes and Tommy Bolin at a record store signing event, Dallas, TX, 1976.
(above) Glenn Hughes and Tommy Bolin at a record store signing event in Dallas in February 1976, mentioned in the article.

And remember, there’s more where this came from.

Thanks to Yvonne for the heads up.

Posted in Blog by Nick on 2020-10-20
6 Comments

Holy Ground release details

dead daisies holy ground cover artwork

The new Dead Daisies’ (now with more Glenn Hughes™) album Holy Ground is due out on January 22, 2021. It will be available at least in some territories as a digipack CD and transparent violet vinyl 2LP, in addition to the now usual MP3s and streaming.

The album will contain 11 tracks:

  1. Holy Ground (Shake The Memory)
  2. Like No Other (Bassline)
  3. Come Alive
  4. Bustle And Flow
  5. My Fate
  6. Chosen And Justified
  7. Saving Grace
  8. Unspoken
  9. 30 Days In The Hole
  10. Righteous Days
  11. Far Away

Thanks to Yvonne for the heads up.

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-20
4 Comments

He was a mighty guitarist

Craig from the venerable Everyone Loves Guitar podcast has put together a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. 16 prominent guitar players speak about EVH. That includes our own Steve Morse starting at 51:16 mark. Continue Reading »

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-19
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History of rock in 15 minutes

The title says it all. Nothing particularly on-topic, just to make the rest of your weekend a little bit brighter, hopefully. Best watched full screen, at least the second time around. Continue Reading »

Posted in Blog by Nick on 2020-10-18
2 Comments

Third Stage is out

Flying Colors’ record company has posted a couple more tracks from the latest live release Third Stage: Live In London. Continue Reading »

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-15
2 Comments

The story of Frankenstein

Some time during the Whoosh promotional blitz Steve Morse spoke to the Rockin’ Metal Revival show. The interview is now available for listening online. Steve explains how his writing process differs with Deep Purple from his other bands, how he came up with a guitar with four pickups, talks about his influences, how he got the Purple gig, and what tracks from Whoosh are likely to be played live whenever the opportunity arises.

Do they still make the Music Man signature model of your guitar with four pickups? Where did you come up with that?

Yeah, four pickups! I don’t normally give short answers to questions, but I’m trying to. Originally, I had a Tele – or originally I had a Strat, and you couldn’t get a fat sound.

Yeah, I had a Tele which had a humbucker just put in it. And I said, ‘I like this bad sound that’s the Gibson, but I also like what the Stratocaster can do.’

So I took the neck off the Strat, put it on the Tele, and then I had a bunch of room to work with because I took the pickup off the Tele and put it in the middle and then bought a Fender humbucker, put a new bridge on it and just basically carved up the guitar starting over.

That became my Frankenstein, that I played for so many years with the [Dixie] Dregs, you know? And the Steve Morse [signature guitar] thing, even in the early days then, Ernie Ball had bought Music Man and I was already was using Ernie Ball strings when he came to me.

Listen to the full interview (approx. 20 minutes) below or on Spreaker.

Thanks to Gary Poronovich for the info and to the Ultimate Guitar for the transcription.

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-15
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I reckon you’re in

On the strength of the recent interview with Ian Paice, we started digging in the Everyone Loves Guitar back catalogue and discovered a Steve Morse interview originally published in December 2018. This one is over 2 hours long — someone had been doing those long form interviews even before the pandemic! Set some time aside and dig in. Continue Reading »

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-14
1 Comment

Soul crushing in Milan

A new episode of Paicey’s Tales from the Bar. “This episode contains a stripper!” Continue Reading »

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-14
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Big band rock’n’roll

If you liked the latest installment of Tales from the Bar, you gonna love this one. Nearly an hour of Paicey telling stories from his illustrious career for the Everyone Loves Guitar podcast:
Continue Reading »

Posted in News by Nick on 2020-10-12
8 Comments

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