During his recent “Rock Meets Classic” orchestra tour Ian Gillan gave an interview to More Metal which was recorded in Berlin on January 23. He also gets a gold record for “The Definite Smoke On The Water Show” CD. This CD was released in 2007 for the Guitar World Record (which we have announced).
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Whitesnake have confirmed a number of new live dates. Two dates have been announced for the US, including headlining the M3 festival in Maryland on May 14. In June they’re off to Europe, traversing Russia, Scandinavia (including appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival), UK, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. On some dates they will be supporting Judas Priest.

Black Country Communion have confirmed a UK tour in July. After appearance at the High Voltage Festival in London on July 24th, they will play the Academy circuit in Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow and Manchester. A special ticket pre-sale will be available to O₂ Academy Priority subscribers from Wednesday, February 2nd at 9:00AM GMT. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 4th at 9:00AM GMT.

Full details in our calendar.

Steve Morse talked to the Guitar Techniques in an interview that deals with technical aspects of guitar playing. If you ever wanted to know what his favourite picks are, without what pedals he can’t live and which guitar he would save from a fire, here is your chance: What strings do you use, Steve Morse?

Ritchie Blackmore spoke to the Guitar International magazine about his last album, Autumn Sky:

Matt: Besides playing guitar on the record, you also play the mandola and mandolin. Both are stringed instruments, but are tuned and strung different to the guitar. Is it tricky to change your mind set when going from one instrument to the other, because of the different tunings, and do you prefer to record each one separately when you get into the studio, recording all the Mandola parts consecutively before moving onto the guitar parts for example?

Ritchie: I have to readjust whenever I pick up the mandola and the mandolin as they are tuned in 5ths, and I have to feel my way around the instrument. When I’m playing a mandolin and the mandola, I don’t know sometimes what chord I’m playing or what key I’m in, but I find that refreshing because it’s a sense of adventure not knowing exactly what I’m playing. I tend to go to different places that are not familiar. Also, when I used to play the cello, play the same way, and that’s how I got the riff for “Gates of Babylon,” which I wouldn’t have gotten to by writing on the guitar.

Read Above the Autumn Sky on guitarinternational.com.

Once you’re at it, check out a couple of historic Blackmore interviews on their site. The infamous one from 1996:

Here’s the double-edged sword: What do you think of Steve Morse?

Ahh, the big question [Laughs]. I was a big fan of his when he was in the Dixie Dregs. I heard a thing he played around 1981, and I couldn’t believe how good it was. I thought, who is this guy? Very fast country player, brilliant stuff. So I went to my room and brooded for half an hour and got drunk, because I realized that there’s always other players out there that can blow you away. I was really impressed.

I hear from a lot of people that he may be a jack of too many trades, but I’m still a big fan of his. He’s always got the guitar, so that’s his ticket to life. I can relate to that. I took up the guitar because I felt so inadequate. Maybe I could play the guitar, and be somebody and do something, and mean something. I have the feeling he did the same thing and I can relate to a man like that. Of course, I don’t know about the band he’s with [Laughs]. He’ll figure it out.

And a long one from circa 1975:

You didn’t want to simply leave Deep Purple for say, six months, do a solo album, and then return?

RB: No. Originally I was, but then I thought, well, this is silly because there is such a difference between when I was back with Purple than when I’m working with this lot. There’s a community thing. We understand each other’s humor, each other’s jokes. And basically the guys are quiet. I’m quiet, maybe moody.

With Purple, they had a different sense of humor than what I liked. I was more into the practical jokes, a very dry sense of humor. They were more into verbal, witty jokes, and you’d be surprised how that can destroy a relationship in a way because I never laughed when they did and vice versa…

The Greek Reporter announces four Greek dates for Deep Purple in May:

• May 20 – Athens
• May 21 – Patra
• May 23 – Thessaloniki
• May 25 – Ioannina

The tickets are supposed to go on sale on January 26. Athens, Patra and Thessaloniki shows will be opened by Vasilis Papakonstantinou, while George Gakis and the Troublemakers will open in Ioannina. Venue info for the last three shows is still to be figured out (and that’s where we are asking for your help as the referenced ticket vendor looks, well, all Greek to us).

Thanks to George Kikonishvili for the info.

The Classic Rock fan pack for the upcoming new Whitesnake album Forevermore will be released in UK on March 25. The fan pack will include the album on CD, a 132-page magazine, a pin badge and a “giant-size” poster. Classic Rock has been given exclusive UK distribution of the album for the first 3 weeks after the release, after which it will hit regular record stores. The fan pack CD will feature different artwork and 2 bonus live tracks from Donington Monsters Of Rock festival in 1990.

The magazine is being edited by Geoff Barton and will include a brand new interview with Coverdale conducted at his home in Lake Tahoe, plus interviews with Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, bassist Michael Devin and drummer Brian Tichy. Travis Shinn contributed photographs from the album recording sessions at David’s house. The magazine is rounded up with interviews from people who knew Coverdale back in pre-Purple days, an article on the megaselling 1987 album, review of Whitesnake’s entire back catalogue and list of, ahem, Coverdale’s Top 20 Friskiest Lyrics.

The fan pack can be preordered through myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

Thanks to Classic Rock for the info.

The Mexican tour dates in February have been confirmed by Purple management. The Zapopan show has been moved from February 22 to the 27th to accomodate a second Mexico City date due to the first one being apparently already sold out (at a 10,000 capacity arena, no less). Tickets for the new date are expected to go on sale soon, check your local outlets. Full details in our calendar.
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Joe Lynn Turner has contributed vocals to debut album of the Jan Holberg Project which is due out on March 28 on Nordic Records. Jan Holberg is a Trondheim, Norway, based bass player who wrote ten original songs for the project. The album is called Sense of Time and was recorded in Reykjavik, Iceland, with participation of “some of Europes finest musicians”.

Jan says:

The idea behind the album is that music should be free, there are no musical borders, on this album. You can hear ballads, pop-songs, instrumentals and funk. This is what I am all about as a musician.

Turner adds:

I had a great time stretching out the vocal style on Jan’s songs. I’m always interested in something different with quality. Looking forward to the concert dates!

The album release will be supported by three live dates in Norway: April 27 in Trondheim, April 28 in Oslo, and April 30 in Hemne.

Nordic Records has some preview tracks which you can listen on their website.

Thanks to Lisa Walker for the info.

The Quietus has a lengthy interview with Roger Glover that covers his illustrious career as a songwriter, producer and bass player. It is a joyful read (despite the fact that they’ve managed to misspell ‘Paice’ in two differently atrocious ways).

You played in what is now regarded as the classic Deep Purple line-up. In how far were the additions of you on bass and Ian Gillan on vocals responsible for the sound that was created in those years?

RG: I didn’t really know of Deep Purple before I joined the group. If they were known for anything it was for the virtuosity within the band – Richie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paiste were masters of their instruments. Gillan and I however came from completely different background. We were basically naïve songwriters. So I think there was a great combination there, with their musical ability and our very much street value simplicity. And it was a combination that worked, right from the get-go, I mean the first song we wrote was ‘Speed King’. All that playing they could do and yet we just took rock & roll and turned it into a song.

Were you not intimidated at first by that advanced musicianship?

RG: I was, yeah. But I don’t know, it didn’t stop us, it was a very natural thing. All the songs came out of jams, everything was made up as we went along. And as much as I couldn’t play my instrument and couldn’t play solos the way they could, it wouldn’t have resulted in the way it did without us. So right from the start we said, ‘Let’s all share the publishing.’ So all those early songs were written by the five of us. Keeping that in mind, on that first album, Deep Purple In Rock, despite the fact that Richie was a far better player than I was, I could still come up with riffs that he’d play. He was interested in simple riffs, he was wise enough to know that you can’t be too musical because people won’t understand it. So it’s that combination of high musical values and yet simple, strong ideas. I started ‘Speed King’, for example and ‘Maybe I’m A Leo’ is one of mine.

Read the rest on thequietus.com.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

A press release from the Whitesnake camp says that the new album Forevermore will be released on March 25 in Europe and March 29 in North America via Frontier Records. The album’s release will be anticipated by the digital only release of the first single/videoclip Love Will Set You Free on February 21. In the meanwhile you can listen to the preview track courtesy of Frontier Records.

The limited edition of Forevermore will be released on a “Snake Pack” edition for the first three weeks in England only. This special release — arranged in conjunction with Future Publishing and Classic Rock magazine — will come with a collector’s edition 132-page magazine plus A1 poster and metal pin badge and will feature an exclusive cover art and two bonus live tracks, Slide It In and Cheap An’ Nasty, which will serve as an appetizer for the forthcoming Live At Donington 1990, to be released in the summer 2011.

The album will be also be released on a double gatefold vinyl format, with deluxe special editions to be announced shortly.

Track list:

1. Steal Your Heart Away
2. All Out Of Luck
3. Love Will Set You Free
4. Easier Said Than Done
5. Tell Me How
6. I Need You (Shine A Light)
7. One Of These Days
8. Love And Treat Me Right
9. Dogs In The Street
10. Fare Thee Well
11. Whipping Boy Blues
12. My Evil Ways
13. Forevermore

David Coverdale – vocals
Doug Aldrich – guitar
Reb Beach – guitars
Michael Devin – bass
Brian Tichy – drums

Produced by Los Bros Brutalos (David Coverdale, Doug Aldrich, Michael McIntyre).

Recorded at Snakebyte Studios and Grumblenott Studios & Villas in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, with additional work at Casa Dala, Sherman Oaks, California.

After a glorious Pau show (see review), I decided to take a last-minute trip to Tours, for the next-to-last show of this fall tour. The Bordeaux and Pau experiences had been too overwhelming, just incredible, and so I decided to do a third gig.

The setlist didn’t contain any surprises; by the way – for those who don’t listen at the rear of the classroom, let me remind you of the now well-established fall 2010 setlist (since Highway Star, an occasional encore in early november, became the opener in Paris, early november; «Things I never said» was then dropped, whereas they still played it in Bordeaux when I first saw them this year, on nov 7th):

Highway Star
Hard Lovin Man
Maybe I’m a Leo
Strange Kind of Woman
Rapture of the Deep
Fireball
Silver Tongue
Contact Lost/Guitar solo/When a blind Man cries/Well dressed Guitar
Almost Human
Lazy
No one came
Keyboard solo/Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin
Smoke on the Water

Hush
Black Night

So, nothing new under the sun ? Bien sûr que si ! The gig of course wasn’t completely different, but quite unique: First of all, the band was in a great mood, cracking seemingly endless series of little jokes: Gillan messed around with the big gong introducing HLMan, changed words into some hilarious nonsense on the third verse, sang « Free to be MOI » on Black Night, Roger did an Angus-Young-style duckwalk, Steve was smiling and laughing most of the time, Paicey did his I-can-play-faster-than-anyone-with-a-beer-in-my-hand-trick, etcaetera, etcaetera.

But be sure this wasn’t a clown’s meeting ! The music was oh, oh, so good (to quote « Rapture … »). The sound was just incredible, Gillan unbelievable, even better than three days ago, the four no-transition opening numbers launched off the set into some legendary purple galaxy; this 2010 rendition of When a blind man cries is perhaps the best they ever done …

Lazy and No one came are numbers that turn the quietest spectators into applauding fans … Perfect Strangers, Space Truckin, Smoke … Among the best versions I’ve heard live (although Gillan got a bit tired at the end of Strangers, but nothing really bad).

The encores, usually « only » very nice, were just overwhelming, as the band launched into an orgy of jamming and soloing, making the simple pop tunes of Hush and Black Night sound like the climax of a complex progressive 15-minute-piece.

Even the not-so-impressive Silver Tongue and Almost Human were very good on that night !

So let me end with a short overview:
Bordeaux – I was in a sort of trance, overwhelmed by happiness. 5 stars.
Pau – Extatic. Great fun. 5 stars.
Tours – Emotional, funny, brilliant, a pure moment of perfect appreciation. 5 stars.
No doubt these three shows are among my all-time top 5 or 6 rock shows.

Merci, Deep Purple. Merci beaucoup.