Deep Purple opened their 2018 North American tour with Judas Priest on August 21st at Riverbend in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Temperance Movement opened the night with a solid set and then gave way to the mighty Judas Priest. Priest played a combination of a few new songs along with their classics. Overall it was a great set and a great performance.

The crowd generally seemed to be there to see Judas Priest and I overheard more than a few guys stating that they were going to leave after Priest played. Even I wondered how the crowd would react to Deep Purple before they took the stage and I’ll admit that the combination of Priest and Purple seemed an odd one.

Purple hit the stage with Highway Star and never looked back however as they ripped through their set for roughly one hour and 20 minutes. The band itself was tight and Ian’s voice was in fine form. They were energetic and of course the crowd was sending out some “great vibes.”

From my perspective, the crowd really was sending out some great vibes. This was my 9th Purple show and I don’t recall ever seeing a crowd react the way this one did. The crowd really got into the show and I was amazed to hear everyone singing along to Perfect Strangers and Knocking at Your Back Door at the midway point of the set.

While I’m sure that some of the fans left after Priest, it didn’t appear that many did and it seemed that the crowd really enjoyed both bands. I still think it’s an odd pairing, but that night, the combination worked really well.

My only disappointment of the night was the stagnate set list. Perhaps because the band was touring with Priest, the set list, other than the inclusion of Uncommon Man, was more or less a greatest hits evening. In no order other than beginning and end, they played Highway Star, Space Truckin’, Perfect Strangers, Knocking at Your Back Door, Uncommon Man, Strange Kind of Woman, Hard Lovin’ Man, Smoke and Hush.

I would have liked to hear a few deeper cuts or something off of Infinite, but I understand the shorter set due to co-headlining or perhaps feeling that they needed to play a greatest hits set list due to the pairing. Either way, it was a great show and I was thankful that I got to see them play again before they call it a day. If this was it, I walked away happy (thanks for the pick Roger!) and I think they might have earned a few new fans as well that night.

Thanks,

Scott McNay

There is a new book on Glenn Hughes out in Japan from the Young Guitar magazine, The life and music of the best funky R&R player Glenn Hughes. It features the “Glenn Hughes Story” and discography of his 163 pieces of work (including guest appearances), with song titles, performing artists for his major works, and a review (long and short) for all of them, as well as a detailed analysis of his equipment from his Trapeze and Deep Purple days. The book is 271 pages long, and is, naturally, in Japanese. Albeit we’re being told that there are a lot of nice pictures in there too.

Thanks to Akemi Ono for the info.

Glenn Hughes did an interview with Icon vs Icon blog promoting his Classic Deep Purple Live tour in the US:

You’re about to launch a U.S. tour playing the music of Deep Purple. What made now the time to bring this tour to the masses?

I didn’t want to bring this to the stage with uncaring musicians. I asked myself, “Are these dudes going to give my audience what I would consider to be a great show?” Do I still have the Glenn Hughes Band playing Deep Purple songs? The answer is no! I’m changing it up and bringing people in that I think are more suitable to Deep Purple sounding songs. Look, do I like letting people go? No! I’ve been a guy who keeps a band together for at least five to six years. This thing is a two-year tour that basically takes us around the world twice. I wanted, if I may be so bold, to bring a band that sounds as close to Deep Purple Mark III and IV as possible. I’m being a little facetious here but why would I want to bring the band that didn’t sound as close to the original band? I just want people to maybe close their eyes a little bit and go, “Wait a minute! This is damn close here!” That’s the way it should be! This isn’t just something that came off the top of my head. When we talk about these kids Greta Van Fleet, forget about the way they look, when you hear that sound you go, “Dammit, that’s as close as you’re going to get!”

I’m bringing in an incredible guitar player named Jeff Kollman. He was with me 10 or 15 years ago and is an aficionado of the Stratocaster. I’m also bringing in a Hammond organ specialist from my band Kings of Chaos with Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Joe Elliott. His name is Mike Mangan and he is a Hammond organ specialist as Jon Lord was. I have Ian Paice-style drummer, Eduardo Rivadavia from São Paulo, Brazil. They are all coming to bring that vibe into my band. I want to bring a band onto the stage that’s going to make people fuckin’ sit up and take notice! I don’t want everything to be tied up into a pink little bow where it’s all pretty and it sounds just like the album. No, no, no, no! It ain’t going to be like that! It’s can be blustery, organic, soft, loud, celebratory and in the raw!

For me, I’m not trying to have people look like Blackmore, Paice and Lord, but I would like people to say, “Dammit that sounds fucking close!” Wouldn’t they want that, and wouldn’t they want me to sound exactly like I did in 1974? Because that’s what’s going to happen! Bro, that’s what I’m bringing! I’ve never been in this fine a shape. I don’t think I’ve been in this kind of shape for a very long, long time. It’s a good time for me to expand, travel, take care of myself, get a lot of sleep, a lot of water and do what I have to do to bring my show across the planet!

Read more in Icon vs Icon.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

Burrn! in Japan has published a special issue of Metallion magazine commemorating the 40th anniversary of Whitesnake. The issue (vol. 64) includes exclusive interviews of past and present members of the band: David Coverdale, Micky Moody, Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, Ian Paice, John Sykes, Adrian Vandenberg, Vivian Campbell, Rudy Sarzo, Tommy Aldridge, Steve Vai, Doug Aldrich, Reb Beach, Joel Hoekstra, Michael Devin, and Michele Luppi.

Here are some of the more interesting tidbits as sent in by our Japanese correspondent:

David Coverdale

On the new album:

I made music with Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra for the first time in the new album “Flesh & Blood”. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, there was that terrible computer mishap and all the mixing was lost. We need to remix after the US tour.

On Cozy Powell:

Cozy and I were close friends. When I dissolved Whitesnake after the 1981 album “Come An’ Get It”, Cozy asked me if I’d be interested in joining the Michael Schenker Group, but I passed. I drank all night with Cozy when he came over to my house outside of London. He was interesting to talk to, and very professional.

On upcoming projects:

“Unzipped” will be released in the end of October. Early next year, there will be a special edition for the 34th anniversary of “Slide it In”. Also probably a special package of “Slip of the Tongue” in a few years. We are currently planning for a greatest hits album to be released in 2020.

Bernie Marsden

On PAL:

I was introduced to Jon and Ian through Cozy Powell. They were looking for a guitar player, but could not find anyone. I think they hired me because I did not know Deep Purple tunes, and they wanted to do something different. I really enjoyed working with such world-class players, but the project was not a financial success, and Jon told me they could not fund it any further. I thought I would never play with them again, but my next project was Whitesnake.

Ian Paice

On success at an early age:

I think people deal with success differently depending on
their personality. Some handle it well, and some don’t. I think drummers, in general, handle it well. There’s something in the drummer’s spirit and ego that says “I don’t mind sitting back and doing this all my life.” So we are tough and persevere.

On David Coverdale at the DP audition:

David was such a mess! He was extremely tense, on the heavy side, with an outdated hairstyle and weird-looking clothes. But within his 40 minute demo tape, there were 3 seconds of mid to upper range vocals, and I saw the blues singer in him. I told everyone this is the guy. In a way, he was lucky, since he had the wonderful vocal support of Glenn Hughes from the beginning.

On playing on stage with Whitesnake:

I think I was focusing on making sure things were under control. I made sure Neil and I were in sync, and that Bernie and Micky Moody knew what was going on. I think I looked at David most of the time, in case he changed something. In a rock’n roll band, the conductor sits at the back of the stage.

On leaving Whitesnake:

I left because David fired me, but not for musical reasons. David was seriously working on marketing the band, making sure he was seen by the media, etc. I could not do the same. David was friendly with Cozy, and Cozy was a better fit for the band at the emotional level. I didn’t like it that I was fired, but I accepted it. In retrospect, I had a really good time with Whitesnake. I don’t think I laughed as much as I did throughout my career than during my days with Whitesnake. More than making good records, I remember laughing a lot!

Many thanks to Akemi Ono for the info.

Glenn Hughes spoke to the Talking Metal podcast, promoting his Classic Deep Purple Live tour and paying tribute to Aretha Franklin. In a bit of historical anecdotage, he revealed that You Keep on Moving was originally written in 1973 during Burn sessions, but never made it to that album, nor the next one.

The interview starts at about 2 minutes into the show and continues for almost 20 minutes:

In other Glenn news, VIP upgrade packages are available for his UK tour that starts in October.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

One of the most dedicated fans of the band — Axel Dauer — has passed away this Sunday morning, August 19, at a hospital in Saarland, Germany. He was 56. He suffered from a multitude of health problems, each of them alone can kill a man, and when they decided to attack all at once, he barely stood a chance.

I first met Axel after the show at the hotel bar in Bad Mergentheim in 1999. Over the years we became close friends. I stayed at his place near Wiesbaden every time I was in Germany. His hospitality and generosity were truly legendary, even at the times when his financial affairs were far from being perfect. I’ll miss that hearty laugh, that no nonsense approach, his endearing stubbornness, his equally legendary cooking skills.

According to his wish, his ashes will be spread in Montreux, on the Lake Geneva shoreline.

Rest in peace dear friend. You will be remembered.

Glenn Hughes will release live recordings of his shows from the upcoming US tour. The tour starts on August 25 in Westbury, NY, and he will be performing his Classic Deep Purple Live Mk3/4 set. The recording will be made available as digital downloads only and can now be pre-ordered at $11.95 each, $29.95 for 3-show, or $74.95 for 9-show packages.

Wymer Publishing in the UK is preparing another Deep Purple book by Jerry Bloom. The book is titled Time to Kill and is dedicated to the last year in the life of Mark 2 lineup — The Battle Rages On album and subsequent tour.

2018 is not only the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s inception but it is also the 25th anniversary of the last time the classic MKII line-up performed together. Ritchie Blackmore famously called it a day during the Battle Rages On… Tour with his last show being in Helsinki on 17th November 1993.

To commemorate this brief but extraordinary tour we are pleased to announce that on the 17th November this year we will be publishing TIME TO KILL – a comprehensive timeline of the last year in the life of Deep Purple MKII, written by Jerry Bloom.

The book includes a detailed look at the album as well as a day by day account of the tour. With planned dates in America cancelled and Blackmore quitting before the Japanese tour, there was in all just 37 shows. Author Jerry Bloom attended 10 of them, and was backstage at most of those, helping to give a personal account of the shenanigans that went on as the tour progressed.

As Jon Lord said at the time, “the shows were done at an energy level and ability level I’ve rarely seen attained before. I think we played as well as we’ve ever played.” Each show is covered in detail and the book is also crammed full of previously unpublished photos. Both dramatic on stage shots and candid off stage photos that show the band relaxing in between shows, in hotels and on planes. This is a truly unique insight into one of the most over-looked but dramatic times in Purple’s entire history.

Housed in a purple buckram presentation box with silver block foiling, it includes a set of 6 prints, suitable for framing.

STRICTLY LIMITED TO 500 COPIES WORLDWIDE.

Publication date is set for November 17, 2018. Customers who pre-order by 31st September will have their name printed in the book on a dedicated Fan Page.

Thanks to Wymer for the info.

If you prefer the non-screaming, soulful side of Coverdale’s voice, this one might be for you.

Rhino Records is releasing a compilation of Whitesnake’s acoustic (or almost acoustic) tracks, titled Unzipped. The 5CD+DVD deluxe set will include a collection of live performances and studio outtakes. It will also be available in stripped down 1CD, 2CD and 2LP editions. Release date is October 19.

Disc 1 will be available on all editions, disc 2 on 2CD, 2LP and deluxe, while the rest is only on the deluxe edition.

We are not sure if the video disc will be in DVD or blu-ray format. Anyway, the 1997 recording was done only in SD as the HD technology was not available back then.

Track listing

* denotes previously unreleased tracks (or so the press blurb claims — we haven’t double checked)

Disc One: Unzipped… In The Studio: The Love Songs (available on all editions)

1. Love Is Blind
2. One of These Days *
3. All The Time In The World *
4. Wherever You May Go
5. Easier Said than Done *
6. Fare Thee Well *
7. Summer Rain
8. Forevermore
9. ‘Till The End Of Time
10. Wherever You May Go (Instrumental) Strings only *
11. Love Is Blind (Instrumental) Strings only *

Disc Two: Starkers In Tokyo (2CD, 2LP, and deluxe editions)

1. Sailing Ships
2. Too Many Tears
3. The Deeper The Love
4. Love Ain’t No Stranger
5. Can’t Go On
6. Give Me All Your Love
7. Don’t Fade Away
8. Is This Love
9. Here I Go Again
10. Soldier Of Fortune
11. Only My Soul (Acapella) *
12. Fool For Your Loving (Excerpt) *

Disc Three: Snakeskin Boots: Starkers In Europe

Starkers In Warsaw (Poland, April 18, 1997):

1. Intro
2. Sailing Ships
3. Too Many Tears
4. Here I Go Again

Starkers In Stockholm (Sweden, December 2, 2006):

5. Intro
6. Give Me All Your Love
7. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
8. Only My Soul (Acapella)
9. All I Want Is You
10. Dog
11. Here I Go Again

Starkers In Cologne (Germany, November 24, 2006):

12. Intro
13. Give Me All Your Love
14. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
15. All I Want Is You
16. Slow & Easy
17. Dog

Starkers In Paris (France, November 30, 2006):

18. Give Me All Your Love
19. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
20. Northwinds (Acapella)
21. All I Want Is You
22. Dog
23. Blindman (Acapella)
24. Here I Go Again

Disc Four:

Starkers Promo Tour Rehearsals (2005):

1. If You Want Me *
2. Give Me All Your Love *
3. Slow & Easy *
4. All I Want Is You *
5. Judgement Day *
6. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More *
7. Dog *

Starkers In New York (New York City, April 10, 2008):

8. Give Me All Of Your Love
9. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
10. All I Want All I Need
11. Lay Down Your Love
12. Fool For Your Loving
13. The Deeper The Love
14. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City
15. Here I Go Again

WSTV Jams Excerpts (2012):

16. Easier Said Than Done
17. Fare Thee Well
18. Love Will Set You Free
19. Mistreated
20. Slide It In
21. ‘Till The End Of Time
22. Shake My Tree

Made In Japan Soundcheck Versions (2011)

23. Good To Be Bad
24. Tell Me How

Disc Five: Up Close & Personal

1. Wherever You May Go (Demo Version) *
2. Surrender *
3. Ain’t No Doubt About My Girl *
4. Scat Man Blues *
5. Love’s A Crazy Game *
6. I Will Love You *
7. Oh Baby You’re The One *
8. So Long (Acapella) *
9. So Long *
10. It Would Be Nice *
11. Slide Thingy Blues *
12. Down To The River *
13. Feel Your Love Grow Stronger *
14. Blues Jam Riff *
15. Fun Lick Blues *
16. Don’t Wanna Change The World *
17. It’s So Hard *
18. River Song (Early Version) *
19. Let’s Have A Drink Before I Go *
20. Can You Ever Forgive Me *
21. So Much To Live For *
22. Another Lick While The Missus Is Busy In The Kitchen *
23. Just The Two Of Us (Together You And I) *
24. Oh S___ Blues (featuring Jessica) *
25. Seasons *

DVD

Starkers In Tokyo (1997):

1. Sailing Ships
2. Too Many Tears
3. The Deeper The Love
4. Can’t Go On
5. Is This Love
6. Give Me All Your Love
7. Here I Go Again
8. Soldier Of Fortune
9. Love Ain’t No Stranger
10. Don’t Fade Away
11. Only My Soul (Acapella)
12. Fool For Your Loving (excerpt)

Starkers In New York (2008):

1. Give Me All Of Your Love
2. Can You Hear The Wind Blow
3. All I Want All I Need
4. Lay Down Your Love
5. Fool For Your Loving
6. The Deeper The Love
7. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City
8. Here I Go Again

Starkers In Warsaw (Poland, April 18, 1997):

9. Intro
10. Sailing Ships
11. Too Many Tears
12. Here I Go Again

Starkers In Stockholm (Sweden, December 2, 2006):

13. Intro
14. Give Me All Your Love
15. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
16. Only My Soul (Acapella)
17. All I Want Is You
18. Dog
19. Here I Go Again

Starkers In Cologne (Germany, November 24, 2006):

20. Give Me All Your Love
21. Ain’t Gonna Cry No More
22. All I Want Is You
23. Dog

Starkers In Sofia (Bulgaria, November 24, 2015):

24. Soldier Of Fortune

Starkers In Paris 2 (France, June 4, 2009):

25. Blindman

Starkers In Wolverhampton (England, June 16, 2011):

26. Fare Thee Well

Starkers In Glasgow (Scotland, June 15, 2011)*

27. One Of These Days

Bonus Features:

• One-on-One with David Coverdale and Adrian Vandenberg discussing Starkers
• Poor Albert’s Last: Photographic Slideshow (featuring audio from Sailing Ships)
• Purplesnake’s Forevermore Video
• Love Is Blind Music Video

Preoder here.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Steve Morse and Sterling Ball (CEO of Ernie Ball Music Man) discuss the future of electric guitar and why it is not going away any time soon. This discussion with Australian Musician magazine ahead of the Melbourne Guitar Show was prompted by recent financial troubles of Gibson and some media being quick to declare “end of the guitar“.

Read the associated article in the Australian Musician.