Here’s a complete Glenn Hughes’ show in Dallas, TX, from September 6. Continue Reading »

Metal-Rules.com has a review of the Purple gig in Montreal from August 27. It’s well written and may put a smile on your face, even if the author doesn’t quite get all the facts straight.

But to the Purple at hand! And don’t come at me with the “Deep Purple was better when they extended Space Truckin’ to a 25 minute jam that included a feedback-laden Ritchie Blackmore hissyfit, exploding amps, velvet bell bottoms, a damaged TV camera, destroyed guitars, and several lives lost in the process” rhetoric, either. They’re not that band anymore. They’re septuagenarians. And also, they’re in their 70s. Let ‘em play 15 five-minute songs instead of four half-hour wankfests. We want to hear Ian Gillan sing, not watch him play his damn congas all night. And honestly, they haven’t put out a bad record in at least 20 years. Their newest, the abysmally titled =1, is a very fun, energetic slice of heavy blues rock, and it’s clear the boys are mighty proud of the record, because they would wind up playing five tracks from it. Which I thoroughly enjoyed. New guitarist Simon Ferguson has brought a lot of energy to the band, a much different dynamic than when Steve Morse was a member. There’s more bite to Deep Purple now, and a lot less jam-band smoothness.

Read more in Metal-Rules.com.

Meanwhile, MetalTalk.net reviews the gig in Bridgeport, CT, from September 3, with better pictures, but significantly less insight:

I was highly anticipating this show, as the last time I saw Deep Purple was at Giants Stadium in New Jersey in 1988, where Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith were playing when I was 17 years old. Having been formed in 1968 and still performing is an amazing feat.

They kicked off the night with the powerful, make-you-drive-fast song Highway Star. This song brings back memories of cruising the strip at night with my high school friends.

Read more and check out the photo gallery at MetalTalk.net.

Louder Sound presents a lengthy and very well put together feature on the current Deep Purple lineup, arrival of Simon McBride, the new album, and tour. With input from Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, and Simon McBride. The article also sheds some new light on the circumstances of Steve Morse’s departure from the band.

Except Morse himself is no longer a member of Deep Purple. The reason is complicated and emotive, and while his former bandmates are respectful and sensitive about the circumstances, they’re honest too. According to Glover, Morse had never been happy with Purple’s touring schedule.

“Steve really wanted to end the band around the Infinity album: ‘We’re back on top, we’re doing something great, let’s end now with a bang,’” says the bassist. “That didn’t go down too well with me or anybody else, really. First of all, I don’t want to stop. Second of all, going out with a bang is not the way this band does things. [Adopts hokey showman’s voice] ‘The last, final gig of Deep Purple – where’s it gonna be?’”

On July 31, 2022, it was announced that Steve Morse was leaving Deep Purple to concentrate on caring for his wife, who was suffering from stage four cancer. Today, Glover admits that it was the band’s decision to part ways with him.

“It was really tough,” he says. “We talked about it, we discussed it back and forth: ‘What are we going to do?’ We couldn’t take no action, something had to happen. He got [the news that he was being let go] from the management, but I called him and we talked. He was not happy, either. It was hard and it was sad, and after twenty-eight years of making some great music with Steve, it was… for me it was a tough decision. But that’s life sometimes.”

Glover says he’s talked to Morse since he left the band. “I’ve spoken to Steve several times. He was my choice in the band in the first place. There’s a connection between us that the others don’t have. So yeah, it’s difficult. But we talk, and we laugh. He’s a survivor.”

Has [McBride] spoken to Morse about it?

“Only over email. He was lovely at the start – whatever I needed, gear-wise, he said to use his. I spoke to him recently over email when his wife passed away [Janine Morse died in February 2024]. I get on fine with Steve. There’s no sour grapes there. It just is what it is.”

Has he had any grief from the more dug-in factions of Purple’s fan base?

“Steve got grief, Satriani got grief, Tommy Bolin got grief,” he says. “But strangely, when I joined it was more positive than anything. I could see people slagging me off, but the management were going: ‘It’s very minimal – it’s ninety-nine per cent positive.’ You’re always going to get the hard-core Ritchie fans who stopped listening to Deep Purple after he left. But Ritchie hasn’t been in the band for thirty-odd years. Times move on.”

Go read the whole thing. Seriously. There’s a lot more to dig in.

Deep Purple at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, September 4, 2024; photo: Claude Sawyer.

The Aquarian reviews the September 1 show at the Jones Beach Theater in New York City:

The set included five songs from Deep Purple’s 23rd and most recent studio album, =1. The collection, released just six weeks earlier on July 19, is the first to feature the current cast. Perhaps because these five songs originated from the present team, they sounded as rich and forceful as the four vintage songs from 1972’s Machine Head and the three classic songs from 1970’s Deep Purple in Rock.

Ironically, “Smoke on the Water” was one of the least impressive songs of the set. Some 50 years later, Deep Purple is so much more than that very familiar riff. Now in its seventh decade, Deep Purple is far from over the hill.

Radio station Q105.7 from upstate New York has a short review of the Saratoga Springs show on September 4, dedicating just a paragraph to each of the artists:

Two absolutely legendary Rock and Roll bands shared the stage on Wednesday night in Saratoga. Deep Purple and Yes were both formed in 1968. Both have had considerable personnel changes throughout the past 56 years. The Deep Purple that headlined on Wednesday night was a variation of the “Mark II” version of the band. This version was the most commercially successful incarnation of the band. Original drummer Ian Paice was joined by longtime bass player Roger Glover as the rhythm section. Singer Ian Gillan’s voice hasn’t aged a day. Keyboard player Don Airey impressed with not one, but two keyboard solos. The most recent addition to the Deep Purple family is Irish guitarist Simon McBride. Following after the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, Joe Satriani and Steve Morse might seem like a daunting task, but McBride more than fills the shoes of those who came before him. His blistering solos were the highlight of the night.

Our reader David Black has collected some of the best on-stage Gillanisms from over the years, and here we present them to you with a little judicious editing from everyone involved. Oh, we’d love to be the flies on the wall of the train of Gillan’s thought.

Knockin’ at Your Back Door — Knebworth 1985

This one-I’d like to tell you about this song, I really would, but unfortunately the whole content of the song is illegal-as well as every single word in it, every comma, whatever. There’s not, there is not a single, single word or note in the song which is obeying any law at all. It goes like this…

Strange Kind of Woman — Long Beach 1971

About six months ago we started recording a new album and the second track we finished on it was something we’re going to do now. It was released as a single in Europe, and it’s on the album over here. It’s a story about a prostitute and a friend of ours – it’s a relationship which was so extraordinary and turned out to be such a drag that we wrote a song about it. It’s called Strange Kind Of Women.

Strange Kind of Woman — BBC 1972

This was actually a true story and we thought very profound. It was about a friend of ours who got mixed up with an evil woman, and it’s a sad story. They got married in the end and a few days after they got married the lady died.

Strange Kind of Woman — Knebworth 1985

We’re going to do some of the older songs here tonight as well as some of the new ones. We’ve all been doing different things over the last 10 years. Personally, I’ve been studying languages and have become something of a cunning linguist, in fact I’m known as a master of many tongues. So tonight, I’d like to introduce each song in a different language — this one in French. This is the story of somebody we met outside the Turkish embassy some years ago, and she had terrible problems with her arthritis. In French this is called e-hoh-e-hohn strange kind of woman.

Speed King — Knebworth 1985

This is the saddest, most miserable, depressing, agonising song we ever wrote. In fact, we only ever played this song once because we were so depressed after we played it, we all went out and decided not to do it again. This song is about a seed. It fell into a stony path. And, in fact, it grew in the rocks and the filth and everything else. It’s certainly the most depressing song I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s very slow, it’s a ballad designed to bring you to your knees.

Perfect Strangers — Knebworth 1985

The way this song was inspired, there’s a weird story behind this. A story about a football team who got thrown out of their league for playing and drinking and all that sort of thing. So they sat down in a little stadium in a small town, and they used to play games away, and they were known as the Rangers, and in fact the street where they had this little stadium was called Perfect Street. So that’s the story behind this song. It’s about a football team called the Perfect Street Rangers.

Perfect Strangers – Budokan 16th May 1985

I’d like to give you the alternative introduction to Perfect Strangers. I knew you’d been gasping for it. The side street from Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse is called Perfect Strasse and there’s a place down there which is perfectly horrid, and it makes everyone furious. In fact, in angers people. So, it’s called Perfect Strasse Angers.

Blues — Budokan 16th May 1985

What we need to know is a huge mass of pink just to sort of flop down over our heads. But in the absence of that — here’s a great wodge of Blues for you.

Smoke on the Water — Made in Japan

Here’s a song, that’s also from the last album. It tells the story of how we recorded it and what went wrong when we did it. Happened in Switzerland, and it’s a song called Smoke on the Water, this one.

Demon’s Eye – Rockford 2005

This next song is… well, how can I describe it… It’s the result of a vindaloo curry and the complete lack of sphincter tincture after a sixteen-hour ride on a bus. It’s called Demon’s Eye.

Mary Long – Hong Kong 2001

Long time ago we were bedevilled by injustices and intolerance. There were two people in England particularly who used to get right up our collective noses, Mary Whitehouse and Lord Longford, who didn’t like above anything else nudity and coarse humour. Well, fuck ‘em. So, we got pissed off and wrote this song – it’s a little collage of their intentions and ours called Mary Long

The Mule – Tokyo 2014

And now this is not what you think at all, it’s not about little furry creatures with sharp little nails, blind, underground connections. It’s none of those, it’s actually… [Little Ian crashes in to stop Big Ian talking about moles]

Mandrake Root — Aachen 1970

If you don’t feel too cold, we want you to get all your gear off. Take all your clothes off and let it all hang down to your knees and everything like that. I mean, there’s no one around and the fuzz are all out the back. So, get it all off and be very rude. Here’s a filthy rude song. It’s diabolically rude, so if you feel like getting your diabolicallies out, let’s do it. It’s a thing called Mandrake Root.

Woman From Tokyo – Budokan 1985

I have to explain that Woman From Tokyo is a love song. It’s not about one woman, it’s a love song about Japan.

Lazy – BBC 1972

Bit of silence please for a bit of authentic rhythm and blues.

Anyone’s Daughter – Stockholm 1993

This song was written one of the dark evenings when my trousers weren’t heavy enough and my belt loops were jangling.

Twist in the Tale – Stockholm 1993

This one’s is about the one little pig. Just the one…

Talk About Love – Stockhlom 1993

This song is from the new record [in mock French accent] ze Battle Rages On, and the song is all about the itch with no name. You can find it in your trousers.

The Well Dressed Guitar – Rotterdam 2000

What we’d like to do now is, something as I’m making this announcement, Steve is actually writing this song which we’re going to do tonight with the strings and orchestra. Just a moment to distribute the music by arrgghh… osmosis. There you go. It’s a thing called the Well Dressed Guitar.

Bananas – Berlin 2003

There was one day when our producer Michael Bradford had to go to the East coast, and we were left alone in the studio, and the band went insane, and we ended up with this. It’s in 7/4 and 5/4 which is an interesting combination. It’s called ba-ba-ba-bananas.

Almost Human – Melbourne 1999

This is a song dedicated entirely to, in the first part, that familiar thing that happens when you get on a sticky part in the pub – there’s a bit of beer on the floor, and you get stuck to the floor – which is the basic inspiration for the song and the second part is about the next day, round about midday when you have your first one and feel almost human. And that’s what it’s called – Almost Human.

Lazy – Stockholm 1985

There once was a very much bent pair,
a tea-leaf and one who just went there,
He’d take out his badge,
Say I’m licensed to snadge,
All the bikes outside Tesco’s in Edgeware.

House of Pain – Berlin 03

Here’s one and there’s another one up there. This is all about our manager. It’s dedicated to the management company in Connecticut and its brilliant skills of middle management communication, and it’s called the House of Pain.

Into the Fire – Stockholm 1970

This next thing is like rock and roll as well but rock and roll with its trousers down. Rock and roll back to front, inside out, whatever you like. Changed it around a little bit, it’s a little slower. If you can count eight, you can just about keep up. It’s called Into the Fire.

Special Mention – Jon Lord & Roger Glover – The Highlander — South African Radio 1995

JL: “You got to imagine that one with Ian Paice thundering away in the background and…”
RG: “Ian Gillan thundering away in the background.”

Post scriptum

Some of your humble editor’s favourite Gillanisms form the Caramba Wordography section.

Dislocated

Sometimes the strength of a word in a rock song is not so much it’s meaning as it’s sound; the percussive value for example, or it’s syllabic sympathy in terms of meter and melody etc. Overall, of course, the lyrics have a story to tell, a message to convey or a meaningless stream of drivel to offer. I would like to start with the last category as it is the most fun.

No Laughing in Heaven

My perception of Heaven has always been a bit jaundiced. When I consider the likely incumbents, the prospect is just horrific. Everywhere I look people are murdering each other in the name of some god or other.

Uhm, we were going to offer more examples, but Caramba — in its infinite wisdom — after asking me thrice to prove I’m not a robot finally decided that I failed in doing so. How twistfully ironic…

David Coverdale posted a video for the 2024 remix of Wherever You May Go off his revamped solo album Into the Light, slated for re-release on October 25, along with WhiteSnake and Northwinds. Continue Reading »

Goldmine magazine reviews =1, and does it in most glowing terms:

The music encompassed in this 23rd full-length studio album, by one of the most revered and accoladed rock bands in the history of ever, will make you think “WOW!” and at the same time spur-on the thought of, “I wouldn’t have expected anything less.” Deep Purple, literally from the inception of the band until now, has existed as a ‘staple’ within the realm of classic and modern rock fandom. The band, though in 2024 obviously not comprised of 100-percent the original line-up, still includes original and extremely early members—Ian Paice, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. The album, anticipated with massive expectation—even before its 2024 summer release—did not fail the media’s or the consumer’s hopes in any way, shape or form, all thanks to the current DP line-up of Ian Gillan (vocals), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Paice (drums), Simon McBride (guitar) and Don Airey (keyboards). Goldmine has chosen a select few of the album’s tracks to expose and review, hoping to give the Deep Purple fandom a broad yet concise overview of this 2024 masterpiece.

Continue reading in the Goldmine.

Deep Purple live at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater (Bridgeport, USA 2024-09-03)

AMAZING SHOW IN BRIDGEPORT, CT

Deep Purple Live at Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, September 3, 2024

Having seen the guys two days prior at Jones Beach, NY, where they delivered an excellent, high-energy show, I went to the Bridgeport, CT, show on September 3 hoping they would maintain the same standard. Not only did they maintain it; they exceeded it. It was the best show that I can remember, at least in the last 10 years. The band was tight and they sounded great, especially Big Ian.

The day off between the September 1 show at Jones Beach, NY, and the September 3 show in Bridgeport, CT, served the band well. The guys seemed rested and full of energy. Gillan sounded outstanding; perhaps the best I have heard him sound live in a long time. Has Gillan succeeded where Ponce de Leon failed, and found the Fountain of Youth? Kidding aside, he was on fire.

The Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, CT, used to be a Minor League Baseball stadium and was converted to its present format in 2022. It is a state-of-the-art facility with a capacity of roughly 7,000 seats. The venue attracts nice acts. It was pretty much sold out on September 3 and the crowd was enthusiastic, giving Purple a wonderful reception. The band seemed to enjoy playing there and seemed appreciative of the warm reception.

Having seen Purple just a couple of days prior, I was curious if they would play slightly different, especially Don and Simon. And, to my enjoyment, it felt like they improvised and played with some variation compared to two days prior. The September 3 setlist (see below) was pretty much the same from September 1, except for one change. At the end of the September 1 show at Jones Beach, NY, my friend stated that he wished they would have played a ballad, like When a Blind Cries, for instance. Well, he got his wish on September 3. WABMC was played instead of Show Me. Gillan shone.

Getting to see my all-time favorite band twice in three days was a special treat. I hope they go on for a while longer, but if September 3 turns out to be the last gig, in my book they would have ridden into the sunset on a huge high and in style. After the show, while the five of us were waiting for Uber to arrive, one of my friends looked up the rest of the DP tour schedule on his phone and asked: The O2 Arena, London, November 6? My response: Man, don’t tempt me!

Thank you, Deep Purple, for yet another memorable experience. We love you!

SETLIST (Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, CT, September 3, 2024)
Highway Star
A Bit on the Side
Hard Lovin’ Man
Into the Fire
Guitar Solo
Uncommon Man
Lazy Sod
Keyboard Solo
Lazy
When A Blind Man Cries
Portable Door
Anya
Bleeding Obvious
Space Truckin’
Smoke on the Water

Encore:
Green Onions
Hush
Black Night

review by Albania

One of our most prolific commenters Uwe Hornung writes:

I know, I know, we’re not a guitar player forum, but this here is real interesting.

It shows how Blackmore created THAT otherworldly studio sound of the Highway Star solo by harmonizing it (and breaking traditional harmony rules in places as he did not properly discern between major and minor intervals, so some notes sound dissonant, but that is the beauty of it!). It’s really instructive with the split screen and especially with the half-speed version which starts at 01:30.

And of course something that could never be replicated live in sound by any DP guitarist, you need a second guitar player to do that.

=1 reviewed by The Highway Star reader Mike Whiteley.

After listening through my laptop speakers for a week, the CD/DVD arrived three days ago, now two full listens thru my stereo.

Show Me – Pretty poor opener. The descending, repeated riff is almost as irksome as the one in Throw My Bones. Moog synth solo shows up in the early going. That sound grows more and more irritating as the album goes on.

A Bit On The Side – “Goin’ to Rosa’s Cantina”. Best song on the album. Paicey rules.

Sharp Shooter – A good riff wasted on a fairly tepid tune.

Portable Door – Two months later,I still like it.

Old Fangled Thing – Interesting bridge, not much else. Likely to be skipped more often than not.

If I Were You – Akin to Clearly Quite Absurd. IG’s bkgd/vox at the end should’ve been a Hammond solo instead.

Pictures of You – A pleasant song. Very singalong chorus. It’s too bad the lovely atmospheric coda went absolutely nowhere. A chance for a proper segue ignored.

I’m Saying Nothin’ – Cold Intro. Pretty lacklustre.

Lazy Sod – Rockin’ and fun. DP does ZZ.

Now You’re Talkin’ – The tune should have built to a crescendo a la A Day In The Life. Another missed opportunity.

No Money To Burn – Don’s solo sounds strangled and like someone’s chuckin’ razor blades at my ears! A certain skip.

I’ll Catch You – Owes a nod to Wasted Sunsets. Did the album need a second ballad? Pick one or the other, por favor.

Bleeding Obvious – An attempt at an epic closer. It sticks out like a sore thumb from the other 12 tracks. One of these tunes is not like the others! Before Time Began + The Surprising + YYZ + Tom Sawyer.
Why did Bob Ezrin choose to wedge in the sleepy “… all adds up to 1” interlude?
A forced fit, to my ears.

As for the overall record, far too much synth from Don. Thankfully, no barroom honky-tonk piano! Yeay!

Simon’s riffs are generally very good. The only one that’s likely to stick in my head is A Bit On The Side. His solos are good as well, until he gets too “widdly-widdly”.

Gillan’s not pushing his voice too much. He sounds comfortable throughout.

Glover’s got a bit of a growl in his bass tone.

Paicey seems laid back and swingin’ as has been the case on all the Bob Ezrin-produced albums.

How does =1 add up? 7/10 on a good day. The advance singles were well chosen. Far better than inFinite. Won’t get as many repeat spins as either Now What?! or Whoosh. Not sure how memorable it will be in three-four months. It may grow on me a bit more. Even if it doesn’t, I’m thankful to have a new, proper DP album in 2024.

The DVD – I like behind the scenes stuff. A 7/10 for that too.