Guitar World posts Steve Morse’s tutorial on wide intervals.

Steve has kindly agreed to this unique tutorial on big intervals, a core component of his trademark style. He defines big intervals as anything larger than using adjacent notes, such as playing a linear scale (eg root, second, third). Typically, big intervals involve skipping strings, and he does this in both his compositions and general playing to outline chords.

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads-up.

Another batch of historic Deep Purple bootlegs have been digitally released through official channels. This one includes two Mark 3 performances from Copenhagen (March 20) and Gothenburg (March 21), and three from Mark 4: Auckland (November 13), Melbourne (November 25), and Nagoya (December 8). That’s 77 tracks in total. They are available on streaming platforms and for purchase as digital download on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Qobuz, etc.

Here is the YouTube playlist for your perusal:

Our contributor David Black offers his review:

Recently released on official Deep Purple YouTube channel and various streaming platforms like such as Amazon Music and Spotify is the Live Archive 1975 comprising 77 songs totally nearly 9 hours of music.

The releases are two MK3 audience recordings from Copenhagen, Gothenburg, and three MK4 sets from Auckland, Melbourne, and Nagoya.

The MK3 sets are the usual for 1975; Burn, Stormbringer, The Gypsy, Lady Double Dealer, Mistreated, Smoke, You Fool No One, Space Truckin’ with Going Down & Highway Star as the encores. Both have been around as bootlegs for years.

Copenhagen is a pretty decent sound for 1975 (and considering how loud they were back then) but it’s not without its flaws. There is an edit in Stormbringer so it starts at the first chorus. Gypsy was often a mixed bag from Ritchie and that’s certainly the case here as his solo is less than inspired. Mistreated clocks in at 13+ minutes and is powerful even if Glenn goes off-piste in the stacked vocals at the end. Smoke is ok, but it’s got the usual Glenn vocal indulgence — here it lasts for the thick end of four minutes and though the track list says there’s a nearly four minute version of With a Little Help From My Friends it’s actually only about thirty seconds in the middles of Glenn’s spot. You Fool No One with Jon’s Keys solo intro, Little Ian’s drum solo and ending with the Mule clocks in at over 20 minutes albeit spread over three tracks. No solo from Ritchie in Space Truckin’ which is listed as only ten minutes long, but Going Down (which is listed as being over fourteen minutes) is actually the last part of Space and the sixteen plus Highway Star is actually that plus Going Down.

Gothenburg is exactly the same set, but to my ears worse sounding yet still listenable. The sound deteriorates for the encores (I expect they turned the volume up) and god knows what torture Ritchie is putting his guitar through, but it sounds dreadful.

The set for the MK4 gigs is Burn, Lady Luck, Love Child, Getting Tighter, Smoke, Wild Dogs (not Nagoya), I Need Love, Lazy, This Time Around, Owed To G, Drifter, You Keep on Moving, Stormbringer and Highway Star as the encore.

Auckland (MK4’s second gig) is ok quality if a little thin and favours the guitar. Decent if not exceptional performance. Once again the splitting of the tracks isn’t that accurate, what at first glance looks like an eleven minute Wild Dogs starts with Glenn’s vocal self-indulgence at the end of Smoke and is a decent version even if the solo isn’t the most together. The guitar showcase after Owed To G is some seven minutes long but doesn’t amount to much then straight into Drifter which barrels along in fine fashion. Coverdale’s in between chat rarely rise above the banal, and he sounds a little inebriated come You Keep On Moving which is a decent version, and it’s a shame that Jon’s keys lose out to Glenn’s bass in the mix because he’s really going for it. The encores follow the usual MK4 pattern in that they are somewhat shambolic, but the sound stands up.

The Melbourne set has been around for ages as Taste It Down Under. Fuller sounding than Auckland it’s the pick of the three though the vocals are a little back in the mix. Some of the rough edges from the Auckland performance have been knocked off. Burn guitar solo has an edit in it. Wild Dogs is a highlight with a much better solo. Very nice funky intro to Lazy so it’s a shame that DC’s vocals get lost as it sounded promising.

Nagoya is of course the first of the Japan tour gigs and immediately after the Jakarta debacle. Again reasonable sound, but you wonder why they didn’t use Springfield instead. It’s a tough listen but then again so was Last Concert and Bolin is not quite as useless as I’d imagined he might be.

So, all in all something of a mixed bag. I don’t think there has been much thought put into any of these bootleg archives for any of the years, which is a shame. And it’s not very visible on the YouTube site — Love Child from Nagoya only has 155 views since going live on December 17th.

I’ve not much MK3 & 4 boots, so I don’t know if there are better sounding or better played gigs out there (Springfield notwithstanding) but I’m sure a properly curated compilation of the best MK3 & 4 performances would have been more interesting.

Many thanks to David Black for his insight. Additional thanks to Gary Carr for the heads-up.

Rainbow The Temple of The King 1975 – 1976 box set is about to be released on March 6, 2026, and Youtube channel Classic Album Review offers an unboxing video. You won’t learn much new from it that we have not covered before, but if you’d like a peek inside the box, here it is. Continue Reading »

Jon Lord promoting his then new album Beyond the Notes on a German TV morning show. This happened on September 23, 2004. Continue Reading »

Card carrying Paicey aficionado Chad Smith offers his take on Burn Continue Reading »

Ritchie Blackmore has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the organization called National GUITAR Museum. Executive director of the museum (and former Guitar magazine editor-in-chief) HP Newquist says:

Most people know Ritchie from being the driving creative force behind two of the defining hard rock bands of all time—Deep Purple and Rainbow. But before starting those bands, he had a long career as a London session musician, performing on records by numerous artists, including The Outlaws. And then—after helping to define hard rock guitar in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s—he formed Blackmore’s Night, incorporating medieval and Renaissance acoustic music into his immense repertoire.

Blackmore responded to the award in his usual terse form:

I’m rather thrown by the magnitude of this honorable award. I am grateful to accept this award and this recognition.

The National GUITAR Museum was established in 2008. It does not have a permanent home, but offers touring exhibitions hosted by other museums across the United States. The Lifetime Achievement award has been presented since 2010, and past recipients include Alex Lifeson, Tommy Emmanuel, Jeff Beck, Al di Meola, Eddie Van Halen, Liona Boyd, Tony Iommi, Buddy Guy, and B.B. King, among others.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the heads-up. Photo courtesy of The National GUITAR Museum.

The latest album from William Shatner has been announced, and it is promised to be “a heavy metal extravaganza powered a veritable army of metal stars – each one personally selected and hand-picked by Shatner”. Said stars include Ritchie Blackmore, Zakk Wylde, Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream), Wayne Kramer (MC5), and Henry Rollins (Black Flag, The Rollins Band). The album is due some time later this year, and the information released so far is rich on marketing fluff, but short on details that are promised to be revealed “soon”.

Shatner says:

Metal has always been a place where imagination gets loud. This album is a gathering of forces – each artist bringing their fire, their precision, their chaos. I chose them because they have something to say, and because metal demands honesty.

I’ve spent a lifetime exploring in both reality and fiction. Now I am stepping out into the unknown once again with my new project in heavy metal. I am covering Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden as well as a number of new songs written by my team. The whole project is destined for this year. I hope you will join me in the exploration.

This is not the first collaboration of Shatner with Blackmore — the two crossed paths on Shatner’s 2020 album The Blues, recording a cover of The Thrill Is Gone.

[Update Feb 20]: Different sources disagree on the degree of Blackmore’s actual participation in the new project. Compare the quote from Metal Hammer:

As well as Wylde – who’s known for his longtime membership of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band and as the frontman of Black Label Society – and former Black Flag man Rollins, the album will feature Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow, ex-Deep Purple), Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream) and Wayne Kramer (MC5).

With one from BraveWords, that implies those collaborations were well in the past:

Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne), Ritchie Blackmore, Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream), Wayne Kramer (MC5), Henry Rollins (Black Flag, The Rollins Band) have all recorded with the legend. Indeed, Shatner’s history of defying expectations is well documented, and his music has long lived in the space where spoken-word intensity meets cinematic atmosphere. This new album raises the stakes even higher: more artists, more distortion, more drama – and a heavier impact.

We’ll know when further details are released.

Thanks to BraveWords and Georgius Novicianus for the heads-up.

Check out Steve Morse, John Petrucci, Dave LaRue, and Mike Portnoy jamming on a cover of Focus classic Hocus Pocus. This was recorded during the last John Petrucci’s Guitar Universe event, that took place in Las Vegas on August 7-10, 2025. Continue Reading »

Steve Morse, his band, and his son Kevin have recorded a composition Taken By An Angel, dedicated to his late wife Janine.

After losing my wife and Kevin losing his stepmother, this is the piece we put together as a tribute.

The part at the end was actually something I had written as a chapter two for “Contact Lost,” and had even tried out with Deep Purple. I knew it was something I’d want to use in the future.

The sad and lonely part at the very beginning was written the night she died, after going home. But I did not include that when we played at her funeral.

The second section – where Kevin comes in with the chords – is what we started the memorial service piece with. After hearing Kevin’s beautiful voicings, I just played a simple melody straight from the heart.

The next section picks up energy with Kevin’s rhythm, as it represents the beginning of hope and faith for a better place that our loved ones will rest in.

At the end of the first time through, Kevin’s rhythmic suspended chord drives us into a new key, and Van supplied some tubular bell sounds that give it that heavenly but triumphant feeling that closes on a major chord.

It’s a very personal piece for me, but I think it applies to all of us going through the stages of grief: the sadness, the introspection, the prayers, and the hope and belief of a better place.

Thanks to Steve Morse fan site for the heads-up and the quote.

Steve Morse made a guest appearance on the single by a band called Dead Groove. They recorded a cover of a Jimi Hendrix classic Voodoo Child (Slight Return).

LA’s heavy blues powerhouse return with a stunning cover of Hendrix’s classic for this highly collectible 7″ vinyl!

Features guest appearances from Deep Purple/Dixie Dregs guitar legend Steve Morse as well as southern blues guru Lance Lopez!

Backed with a rare mix of another stone cold classic from guitar giant, Tommy Bolin!

Holly West — Bass/Vocals
Fred Aching — Drums
Steve Morse — Guitar
Lance Lopez — Guitar

The track is now available for streaming, and in physical form as a 7″ vinyl single, backed by Tommy Bolin’s Post Toastee 2024 remix.

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads-up, and to Uwe for pointing out the full video.