Paicey spoke to Italian Radio Freccia, and boy, did they dig deep! Pondering existential cosmology and infinity. And occasionally speaking about music.
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Ian Gillan was interviewed by German newspaper Lübecker Nachrichten, and some tidbits appeared in reverse translation in an unusual corner of the web: a chess site. And here’s why:

Ian Gillan: I would also suggest that children should be taught to play chess. It’s valuable, for life. You learn to think a step or two ahead, you learn to become more rational, more detached. That’s a huge benefit in any argument.

LN: Are you a good chess player?

Ian Gillan: In school I was a member of the chess club, but I am only averagely gifted. I love the game, it’s great for your mind. I don’t think anyone should run for political office until they’ve proven they’re a member of a chess club. Some of these idiots who are currently in power can’t anticipate anything at all, and that’s why they keep failing.

Translation from German: Johannes Fischer

Thanks to chessbase.com for the tidbit and to Jim Collins for bringing it to your attention.

Michael Schenker will release a new album under the MSG moniker in January 2021 via Nuclear Blast records. It will be called Immortal and feature several members of the extended Purple family.

Ronnie Romero will be the principal vocalist on the album, along with Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Voss (Mad Max), and Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) singing on two tracks each. Other notable guests include Simon Philipps and Brian Tichy on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, and Doogie White on additional vocals.

Immortal will feature ten tracks, including the magnum opus “In Search Of The Peace Of Mind”. “I wrote this song when I was 15 years old, it was my first ever written piece of music which I recorded with Scorpions on our first studio album Lonesome Crow in 1970, getting released in 1972 – when I had already left Scorpions to join the British rock band UFO in June of 1972 – when I was 17. We re-recorded this song for my 50th anniversary as a celebration and it turned out to be an epic; with an extra extension at the end of the song, which turned out absolutely fantastic with Simon Phillips on drums, doing his usual amazing stuff.”

The result is a true highlight and features even more surprises: “Gary Barden sings the first verse, continued by Ronnie Romero – and in the end we have Ronnie, Doogie White, and Robin McAuley screaming their heads off, as a tribute to my 50th anniversary. Absolute amazing. Thanks to the guys for doing this!”

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

The August 2020 issue of the Japanese Burrn! magazine (the one that has an extensive feature on Deep Purple’s new album) actually has David Coverdale as the cover story. The 10-page interview inside promotes Whitesnake’s latest release — The Rock Album compilation. Our Japanese correspondent Akemi Ono translated the more interesting tidbits from the article back into English and offered them here for your attention (for which we are extremely grateful).

Burrn! August 2020 Edition

David Coverdale exclusive interview

(10 pages including photographs)
Interviewer: Kaz Hirose, editor

Whitesnake have released The Rock Album, the first part of the Red, White and Blues trilogy. The Rock Album includes songs from Whitesnake and solo studio albums released between 1984 and 2011, as well as one previously unreleased song. All previously released tracks are remixed and remastered.

Burrn!: How did you come up with the idea of the trilogy?

David Coverdale: I have always felt that past releases lacked consistency, except for my vocals. I wanted to find someone like George Martin for the Beatles. Then I met Chris Collier. Chris worked on Flesh & Blood, and we hit it off immediately. I told him about my ambition, and he agreed to take it on. He remixed everything in the catalog that I had ownership to, from Slide it In onwards. With his skills, the past songs all sound like a band with one identity. With the Rock Album, you get a taste of future Whitesnake box sets.

B: Why are you only doing albums after 1984?

DC: I do not have the right to do anything for albums before 1984, as the previous managers have ownership. The contract was terrible. Just last year, I was able to buy my rights for the first 2 solo albums, Whitesnake (1977) and Northwinds (1978). It took many years to do this.

B: The previously unreleased song, Always the Same is wonderful. When did you write it, and with who?

DC: With Joel Hoekstra. I had the basic idea even before Slip of the Tongue (1989). I played it on the piano while recording Flesh and Blood. Joel liked it and worked on it, but it didn’t make it into Flesh and Blood, because the record company did not evaluate it fairly. I am glad that I was able to put in one song from our current band.

B: Tell us about how you remixed, rearranged the songs. How about Still of the Night? The original is from 1987, and it was remastered in 2017.

DC: This completely different from the 2017 remastering. There were many guitar tracks that Keith Olsen (producer) did not use, so Chris and I resurrected them and created a new ending as well. I love it. It’s like the original with a new paint. Looking for Love, Crying in the Rain will go into the next album in the trilogy, The Blues Album.

B: How about Give me All Your Love?

DC: This is a super song that everyone loves during live shows. Keith Olsen (unfortunately deceased) mixed it to suit FM radios, for bands like Foreigner, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, but the flashy keyboard really did not work well with me. If it were up to Jon Lord and me, we would have not done it like Keith. It was very 80’s with a lot of echo on the keyboards and snare drums and the guitars as well. In the new album, you can hear Jon Sykes’ guitar very clearly.

B: I think Here I Go Again is wonderful, with the vocals more in the foreground.

DC: Christopher Collier is a Whitesnake fan, and he can hear all the layered sounds, what is in the foreground, and what is in the back. He also works very quickly. For the vocals, the original take was used. This song includes Jon playing the grand piano beautifully, although you could barely hear it in the original.

B: What is the thought behind starting from Still of the Night and ending with Forevermore in this album?

DC: I always keep the same setup as live shows, like starting with 2 hard rock songs, then take a breather with Love Ain’t No Stranger, then then go back to work…. This is The Rock Album, after all. The most moving parts of the album are the Here I Go Again, Judgment Day, Always the Same, Forevermore. But each song, not only these, has a sudden explosion into epic rock.

B: Please give us a message to our readers.

DC: 2023 would be 50 years since Burn was recorded. I am praying that vaccines are created and people can live without fear. I am praying that I can keep healthy and do a farewell tour. Thank you for caring for us for the past 40, 50 years!!

The article also includes a special survey:

Tell us your 5 top David Coverdale songs

Kaz Hirose (Burrn! editor)

1. Don’t Fade Away
2. We Wish You Well
3. Soldier of Fortune
4. Take Me for a Little While
5. Slow An’ Easy

Danny Vaughn, Tyketto

1. Whisper a Prayer for the Dying
2. Crying in the Rain
3. Slow an’ Easy
4. Judgment Day
5. Sweet Talker

Leo Leoni, Gotthard

1. Soldier of Fortune
2. Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
3. Don’t Break My Heart Again
4. Crying in the Rain
5. Take Me for a Little While

Michael Erlandsson, Autumn’s Child

1. Burn
2. Give Me All Your Love
3. Still of the Night
4. Love Ain’t No Stranger
5. Give Me More Time

Ronnie Romero, Rainbow

1. Sailing Ships
2. Stormbringer
3. Burn
4. Ready An’ Willing
5. Soldier of Fortune

Dino Jelusick, Dirty Shirley

1. Mistreated
2. Sailing Ships
3. Slip of the Tongue
4. Does Anybody Know What Time it is?
5. Peace Lovin’ Man

Toby Hitchcock, Pride of Lions

1. Fool for Your Loving
2. Here I Go Again
3. Is This Love
4. The Last Note of Freedom
5. Still of the Night

The Dead Daisies have announced their 2021 headlining tour of Europe. It is billed as Get Out Of The House Tour and scheduled for February/March next year. Many of the dates are the ones that have been moved from summer 2020 (the club dates, where Daisies were supposed to be headlining). Some more dates have been added. Support on all gigs except Scandinavian ones will be Those Damn Crows. There will be another European tour in the summer, with rescheduled dates from the Judas Priest and Foreigner tours, where Daisies do the support slots. Press blurb hints of more dates to come, in the US, Canada, Australia and South America.

Full details in our calendar.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

David Coverdale has just tweeted the sad news:

It is with a very heavy heart I’ve just had verified my very dear friend & producer Martin Birch has passed away…Martin was a huge part of my life…helping me from the first time we met through until Slide It In…Mt thoughts & prayers to his family, friends & fans…💔💔 pic.twitter.com/J4UyDiG9zR

— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) August 9, 2020

Roger Glover spoke to the Den of Geek, which resulted in a rather interesting album overview and interview about band democracy, extinctions, the evils of producing Barbie Benton, the virtues of singing in the rain, and many other things.

Whoosh! is a timeless timepiece. It doesn’t carry the quantized perfection of 2020 music. The songs are as long as they need to be, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band gives in to what their late, great keyboardist Jon Lord called Deep Purple’s “musical restlessness.”

It’s been 48 years since “Smoke on the Water” was recorded by the Mark II, classic lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover, and Ian Paice. And the current Mark VIII lineup is still pushing musical boundaries.

On the song “What the What,” Ian sings you’re “celebrating the fact that you’re still alive.” Was that the vibe of the band when you got together for this album?

Well, in a way. When we arrived in Nashville to start working on the record, we had a sort of rehearsal studio there and Bob Ezrin came to see us. It was a Saturday, and he said, “Welcome to Nashville, great to be back, I’d like to invite you all for dinner on Monday night.”

“What’s this for?” we said.

He said, “Well, just to celebrate the fact that we’re together again, and we’re still alive.”

And I said, “Well you better make it Sunday then.”

​But I suppose in a way there’s an element of time in the album because it’s 50 years it’s been going. And who knows how long it will go on? So time is definitely an element in the album, and always has been in most albums, actually.

Continue reading on Den of Geek.

Thanks to Jim Collins for the info.

Not many of even the die hard fans know that Roger Glover actually has a beautiful singing voice (quite understandably, because he uses it in public so rarely). Here is an example from all the way back in 1966. It is an unreleased demo acetate of him singing his own song called Afterwards.
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Here’s another of Roger Glover’s interviews with classic rock radio stations, and this time it’s actually quite interesting. Roger gives status update on his memoir, talks about jamming in the pandemic, his domestic habits, shoving something up somebody’s arse, icing on the cake, and of course, the new album.
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There’s much to like about the new record from Deep Purple: their familiar brand of mid-tempo rock; prominent keyboards throughout, flurries of guitar scattered here and there, a solid under-pinning of bass and drums, all hallmarks of Bob Ezrin’s competent production. The lyrics are typical of latter-era DP, a mixture of social commentary and sly wordplay. The booklet layout is artistic and not just an afterthought, and there’s even a grateful acknowledgment to their long-time management as the torch is passed to another.

And yet, one can’t help but wish for something more. The song structures are the same as we have come to expect from the last few albums. The guitar solos from Steve Morse are safe and familiar, some keyboard breaks are steals (but at least Don Airey takes from the best, when he does), and unlike with previous releases, there doesn’t seem to be any standout song that stays with you once the CD is put away. All the songs are listenable and enjoyable, but there are no spine-tingling guitar solos, nor moments of heart-breaking beauty.

Make no mistake, Deep Purple is as good now as it has ever been — just compare their remake of And The Address to the original: confident, polished, and powerful. The new record shows that they know exactly who they are, and are content to produce work that is firmly rooted in familiar patterns rather than attempt to push the envelope and risk alienating listeners. In doing so, they are unlikely to expand their audience, but they are also certainly going to keep the current MkMorse fans happy.

View the Man Alive video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojHRoKzQwfE

CD Track list:

• Throw My Bones
• Drop The Weapon
• We’re All The Same In The Dark
• Nothing At All
• No Need To Shout
• Step By Step
• What The What
• The Long Way Around
• The Power Of The Moon
• Remission Possible
• Man Alive
• And The Address
• Dancing In My Sleep

Vinyl Side Split:

• Side A: Throw My Bones / Drop The Weapon / We’re All The Same In The Dark / Nothing At All
• Side B: No Need To Shout / Step By Step / What The What
• Side C: The Long Way Round / The Power Of The Moon / Remission Possible / Man Alive
• Side D: And The Address / Dancing In My Sleep

All photos by Ben Wolf
Thanks to Carol Kaye at Kayos Productions