According to siol.net, Deep Purple show in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on July 16 has been cancelled due to “technical difficulties”. Tickets can be refunded at the point of purchase. Alternatively, the promoter offers to exchange each Ljubljana ticket for two tickets for the show in Zadar the day before, on July 15. This ticket exchange will only be available on the day of the concert in Zadar at Jazine Park box office.

Thanks to Matjaz for the heads up.

In contrast to some other labels, Edel appears to be doing something productive and is preparing for release a show from the Bundeseisstadion Liebenau in Graz, Austria, from April 3, 1975. This concert, together with Saarbrücken and Paris, was one of the shows that have proven to be the last for Mark 3 before the departure of Ritchie Blackmore and parts of it formed the backbone of the Made in Europe LP and more recent Mark III: The Final Concerts 2CD. The release is now scheduled for September 12 in Germany and 15th in the UK.

Track listing

1. Burn
2. Stormbringer
3. The Gypsy
4. Lady Double Dealer
5. Mistreated
6. Smoke On The Water
7. You Fool No One
8. Space Truckin’

Thanks to Chris Hewlett for the info.

Errata: this release is indeed does not contain a complete show as encores are still missing.

The part of Deep Purple’s back catalogue that ended up in Warner’s hands appears to be being repackaged and re-released once again.

Hard Road: The Mark 1 Studio Recordings box set will be released on July 25 in Gemany and 28th in the UK. It contains 5 CDs: the three Mk1 albums in original stereo, plus Shades Of Deep Purple and Book Of Taliesyn in mono. The stereo mixes are accompanied by a sprinkling of bonus tracks, all of which have been avalable elsewhere. Darker Than Blue details it, concluding with

In all 58 tracks of which none seem to be new outside the mono versions.

In Concert ’72, released back in June, is the second part of the veritable In Concert 1970/72 set. It is the 2012 remix of the show, which was previously released as part of Machine Head 40th anniversary box set. The only addition is the soundcheck version of Maybe I’m A Leo previously available only on vinyl.

JonLord.org has announced that Jon’s memorial show at the Royal Albert Hall in April will be released by Edel/earMusic on September 26, 2014 — the day month of the 45th anniversary of the performance of Jon’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the same venue.

The set, titled Celebrating Jon Lord, will be released as 2DVD, Blu-Ray, 1CD The Composer, 2CD The Rocker and a box set (presumably comprising of both video and audio).

The Composer set includes Jon’s orchestral works performed that night before the intermission, while The Rocker includes Deep Purple’s performance on the second disk and everybody else on the first one.

Thanks to JonLord.org and Blabbermouth for the info.

Paul Mann shares his experience on assisting The Sunflower Jam to create and unforgettable evening:

– One of the things that always impressed the orchestras we toured with then was the band’s skill as improvisers. Mia Sfura, my fiancée, who as you know played in the Romanian orchestra on the Concerto tour, and who was in the second violins of the Orion orchestra for the concert this year, always says how impressed she was that after thirty performances then [Deep Purple] were still finding something different to play every night.

– Multiply that by the thousands of performances they’ve done of most of their repertoire and you get an idea how exceptional that aspect of what they do really is. Of course it was one of the most important aspects of Jon’s genius, and Don carries that mantle in his own brilliant and unique way.

– This is something which used to be part of every classical musician’s training. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven were all extraordinary improvisers, and every performer of their music was expected to be able to improvise, for example, the concerto cadenzas. But the skill of the creative and re-creative have become largely separated from one another in modern classical musicians, much to their detriment, I think. Another thing we can learn about from rock musicians!

Read about the endless meetings to get the concert off the ground, the agonizing over the setlist, the hectic rehearsals, and much more on JonLord.org.

Errata: originally the article stated that September 26 is the Concerto anniversary. In fact, it is September 24th.

The record company has been kind enough to send us a freebie, so here’s a quick review of the Purpendicular reissue.

The new edition comes in a fold out digipak with redesigned booklet. Gone are the lyrics, gone is the foldout. The new booklet is a traditional format, with new liner notes written with the benefit of a hindsight by Malcolm Dome.

Despite the slightly confusing notice “Digital remasters © 1996 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited”, it appears to this pair of ears to be identical to the original master. Not that the original needed any improvement.

Bonus tracks are Don’t Hold Your Breath, originally appearing on the Japanese and US editions of the album, and a single 4:35 edit of Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming.

Verdict: the 2014 edition serves single purpose of keeping the album in print. It’s probably not worth a purchase if you have the original. Otherwise it’s a must have as it is a truly seminal album in Purple history.

Artist: Deep Purple
Album: Purpendicular
Published: 2014
Label: HNE Recordings Ltd. / Cherry Red Records
Catalogue number: HNECD041

The official Youtube channel has posted a video produced by Swiss TV in 1971 looking at how people “consumed” music and if it’s any different from consumption of, say, Coca-Cola. The event they chose to investigate was April 1971 Deep Purple concert in Montreux.

Deep Purple were inducted into Kerrang! Hall of Fame this year at the award ceremony held on June 12 in London. There they join previous years inductees of the (mostly) metal oriented publication: Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, Slayer and Machine Head (the latter claim their band’s name has no relation to the Purple classic album). The award was presented to Ian & Ian by Taylor Momsen of the Pretty Reckless, who herself picked up the Hottest Female award (apparently, there is one — you always learn something!)

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

Deep Purple have played at the Hellfest in Clisson this past weekend, and at the press conference before the show Roger Glover confirmed that the band is indeed working on a new album for tentative release in 2015:

…Some time next year there will be another album…

Thanks to Michael Foucault (check out his pictures from the press conference and the show) and Andrey Gusenkov for the info.

Back in April Classic Rock Magazine has republished online a profile of Ian Gillan, concentrating on his everyday life outside of the band. The article originally appeared in the print edition of Classic Rock, issue 59, quite a few years ago. If you’ve missed it in dead tree form, it’s quite an entertaining read (registration required to view content):

My wife allows me two days to transfer from being a rock singer to a husband and father. On the third day there’s the list of chores! I do a lot of building and repair work. I like messing around with things. I fell off the roof of my studio because I didn’t secure the ladder. It slid away and I fell through the greenhouse. I managed to break my fall but it was pretty terrifying, and I went straight down the pub. My wife had a real go at me. The very next day I was back up the ladder, trying to finish the roof off, and I’m coming down and I miss the step and fall through the ladder. I’m hanging upside down, I’ve fallen through the bay tree opposite and I’ve done my other leg. I managed to get free and get down the pub again. I didn’t tell her for three weeks, because she would have hurt me more!

Read more in Classic Rock.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

Jon Lord has won the Greatest Keyboard Player poll held by Real XS radio in Manchester, UK. The final top 10 is as follows:

1. Jon Lord
2. Rick Wakeman
3. Rick Wright
4. Keith Emerson
5. Ray Manzarek
6. Matt Bellamy
7. Jordan Rudess
8. Tony Banks
9. Dave Greenfield
10. John Paul Jones

Thanks to Alan Heron for the info.