Joe Lynn Turner gave an interview to Metal Forces promoting the freshly releasedRated X debut album. He said that guitar player Karl Cochran suffered a stroke while recording the album and Nikolo Kotzev had to finish it in his stead. He will stay with the band until Cochran recovers. He also mentioned that the band is hoping to book some summer festivals and is already working on a second album. Towards the end, conversation shifted to the rumoured lately Rainbow reunion:
I’m really concentrating on Rated X, and I hope it does very well. So far so good, and of course there’s always the Rainbow reunion (laughs). Always. The completely rumoured, long-awaited Rainbow reunion. You never know with Ritchie (Blackmore, guitarist and Rainbow founder), so we’ll see if that happens.
In my opinion, for Rainbow it would be one last shot and then going out in a blaze of glory so to speak. I think the fans deserve it, and to honour all of the members of Rainbow, past and present. I always feel that in my sets, I play Rainbow, Purple, and things like that because no-one else is doing it. I play Ronnie’s songs and all that stuff, Graham’s (Graham Bonnet, Rainbow vocalist from 1979 until 1980) whatever – I have no compunction about doing that material. I think it’s all a part of the legacy, and that we should do it willingly as singers of the same band. I know Graham’s still out there doing it as well, and Doogie (White, Rainbow vocalist from 1994 until 1997) in his own way. It’s a big family.
There’s a new Whitesnake live album out — Live In ‘84 – Back To The Bone. It features the band in transition from the good old boogie band to the hair metal one.
The album comes in two editions: DVD+CD and standalone DVD. The bulk of the DVD was recorded at a festival in Seibu Stadium in Tokyo with John Sykes on guitar, while bonus tracks are coming from Jon Lord’s final appearance with the band in Sweden.
CD features live performances recorded throughout the 1984 tour. Caveat: the sound quality of these is very bootleg-ish.
Track listing
DVD:
Gambler
Guilty of Love
Love Ain’t No Stranger
Ready an’ Willing
Slow an’ Easy
Crying in the Rain
Guitar Solo
Soldier of Fortune
Drum Solo
Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City
Don’t Break My Heart Again
Gambler (featuring Jon Lord)
Guilty of Love (featuring Jon Lord)
Love Ain’t No Stranger (featuring Jon Lord)
Ready an’ Willing (featuring Jon Lord)
CD (only available as a DVD+CD combo):
Gambler
Guilty Of Love
Love Ain’t No Stranger
Slow An’ Easy
Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
Ready An’ Willing
Guitar Solo
Crying In The Rain
Soldier Of Fortune
Love Ain’t No Stranger
Ready An’ Willing
Slow An’ Easy
Whitesnake medley featuring Jon Lord: Gambler / Guilty of Love / Love Ain’t No Stranger / Ready an’ Willing
The album came out on November 10, with Japanese release arriving October 29. It has already landed at #1 spot in Japanese charts.
Bernie Torme is touring UK, promoting his latest solo album Flowers & Dirt. Metal Express Radio talked to him, and it’s an interesting interview. He spoke about how he joined Gillan band, how he left, and quite a few things inbetween.
I’ll see your Highway Star hotel and raise you a Purple street, says Rudie Rutjes. In the town of Lent, which is just north of Nijmegen in The Netherlands, there is a new neigbourhood with streets named after rock bands. And there it is — tucked neatly between Pink Floydstraat and Queenstraat — the venerable Deep Purplestraat.
Other places of interest discovered after some idle googling:
Don ‘played with everybody and his dog’ Airey teamed up with his Gary Moore’s band mate Neil Murray, along with Vinny Appice, contributing to a cover of Gary’s track The Loner. The track will appear on Will Wallner and Vivien Vain new album The Battle Of Clyst Heath. Press blurb also mentions that the album “draws heavily from British hard rock influences such as Rainbow, Thin Lizzy and Deep Purple”.
You can preview another track from the album, The Wars Of The Roses, and judge said influences for yourself:
It’s a slow news days and the weather in my heck of the woods is miserable, so every little bit of even mild amusement helps. Jeroen van Aken sent us this photo of a hotel sign where he stayed in Thailand:
There have been quite a few venue changes since the California Breed European tour was first announced back in August.
Munich show has been moved to Theaterfabrik, Nuremberg show will now take place in Wiesbaden, Berlin — at the Postbahnhof, and Cologne — at the Gloria Theater. Another show has been added to the UK leg: Planet Rockstock festival on December 5.
Ian Gillan was featured on this week’s edition of a Brazilian podcast Wikimetal. His interview starts at around 11 minute mark into the show and lasts for about 10 minutes.