Ian Gillan will appear on the Classic Metal Show as a call-in guest tonight, May 23, at 9:40 pm EDT. He will talk about One Eye To Morocco as well as his history with Purple and Sabbath. Other call-in guests will include Mr. Big members Paul Gilbert (guitars) and Billy Sheehan (bass).

The Classic Metal Show airs live on Saturdays between 9:00 pm and 3:00 am EST via www.cmsradio.net.

We apologize for the short notice. Hope this time the phones will work.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Steve Morse is doing a series of guitar clinics at the Gutar Center stores in the US. The clinics are sponsored by Ernie Ball / Music Man and are dedicated to their 25th anniversary. The first clinic is on May 25 in Orlando, where Steve will be joined by Dave LaRue. The rest of the mini-tour will be Morse and Lukather. Full details in our Purple Calendar.

Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

EMI is releasing a 20th Anniversary Edition of Whitesnake’s Slip of the Tongue album with audio and video bonuses. There’s no word yet on whether anything is remastered. The release dates are set for:
June 5th — Germany
June 8th — UK
June 8th — France (CD only, no DVD)
We have no information on release dates in other territories.

• CD / DVD edition features deluxe packaging with 24 page booklet with rare and unpublished photos, and archive memorabilia
• includes six bonus tracks including rare b-sides and alternative mixes, plus two previously unreleased live tracks from Castle Donington 1990
• 2,500 word liner note written by frontman David Coverdale
• brand new artwork designed in conjunction with Coverdale
• seven of the eight video clips are available on DVD for the first time, including two previously unreleased tracks from the band’s headline appearance at Castle Donington

Disc One (CD Audio):

1. Slip Of The Tongue
2. Judgement Day
3. Fool For Your Loving
4. Now You’re Gone
5. Kitten’s Got Claws
6. Cheap & Nasty
7. The Deeper The Love
8. Slow Poke Music
9. Wings Of The Storm
10. Sailing Ships

Bonus Tracks:

11. Sweet Lady Luck (B side)
12. Now You’re Gone (US Single Remix)
13. Fool For Your Loving (Vai Voltage Mix)
14. Judgement Day (Live…In The Shadow of The Blues)
15. Slip Of The Tongue (Live at The Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington 1990 — previously unreleased)
16. Kitten’s Got Claws (Live at The Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington 1990 — previously unreleased)

Disc Two (DVD Video):

1. Fool For Your Loving ’89 (promo video)
2. Now You’re Gone (promo video)
3. The Deeper The Love (promo video)
4. The Deeper The Love (live acoustic in Japan, from Starkers In Tokyo)
5. Sailing Ships (live acoustic in Japan, from Starkers In Tokyo)
6. Judgement Day (Live…In The Still Of The Night)
7. Slip Of the Tongue (Live at The Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington 1990 — previously unreleased)
8. Kitten’s Got Claws (Live at The Monsters Of Rock, Castle Donington 1990 — previously (unreleased)

These details above are from the official press release, so take them with a grain of salt.

This release has the potential of propelling Whitesnake once again into the charts. At the time of this writing (May 21), based on preorders only, it is listed at #53 in Music / Hard Rock & Metal category at the Amazon UK.

Buy it from Amazon:

This Wednesday morning Jon Lord will talk to TotalRock radio in London in an interview with Malcolm Dome. You can listen online from anywhere.

Jon Lord will appear on Malcolm Dome’s Phantasmagoria between 10am and 12am, chatting about his music and his appearance on ChildLine Rocks.

You can listen live online via Total Rock’s website (top banner).

Once again this wonderful band made me act like the teenager I was back in the early seventies watching rock concerts. This time we happened to be in Prague to see them (last time was in Frankfurt seven months ago). Accompanied by my daughter, 18 years, who is as much a rock freak as I am. I’ ll see a few more concerts with them this summer.

The set list was a bit changed since we saw them I Frankfurt in October, they played The Battle Rages On and Things I never said. They started with Highway Star, which was as surprise to us, as it usually comes at the end of the show. They’re such good musicians, the heavy stuff’s there – Perfect Strangers blows your head away – and also the soft pieces like Contact Lost which is a wonderful piece of music.

This rock band, they give so much on stage, standing on the front row it seems to me they’re really close to their audience. And they’re such skilled musicians, there’s always room for a little improvisation which makes it exciting and makes you want to see them next time as well.

It’s also quite heartwarming to see the affection between the band members, Gillan putting his arm around Steve’s shoulders saying: “Steve and I… We may not have been together from the beginning, but we will be together to the end”, and the expression on Steve’s face showed that he was really moved.

Being a total rock music addict I’ve seen a couple of AC/DC-concerts this year too. AC/DC is a fantastic rock’n’roll machine and I love them so much, but their show is exactly the same every time and even if you stand in the front row, they seem more distant to their audience.

Deep Purple – I could see them a hundred times and I will fall in love with them every time, with no exception.

We received an email from one of the teeming millions (an apt term, borrowed from Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope), and it deserved a guest editorial spot:

Although I didn’t know it at the time I’ve been a Deep Purple fan since 1968. That’s when, at nine years of age, I heard this amazing song on my transistor radio. I was completely taken by the organ player, with his rhythmic playing sounding like nothing I’d heard before. The song was “Hush”. Five years later, an older friend played this exceptional live album on his homemade stereo. The sound was crystal clear, the volume extraordinary and the music fast, furious and frenzied. The guitarist, keyboard player and singer were constantly dueling – none giving ground to the other – while the bassist and drummer provided the underpinnings needed to keep the chaos from tearing things apart. The musicians ripped sounds from their instruments that were all at once exceptional, extraordinary and often impossible. Except they did it anyway. “Made In Japan” became my acid test for all bands – I expected bands to be far er than their studio offerings. Not surprisingly I was often disappointed.

Now, some forty years later, Deep Purple continues to play with a high level of quality and – quite possibly – integrity. There are no explicit signs of a ‘paying the mortgage’ tour. But all indications are this version of Purple wouldn’t pass my “Made In Japan” test, however unfair this test may be. What’s reproduced live isn’t really any more interesting than what I hear from the studio.

I must admit I’m conflicted. I see Ian Gillan interviews where he is clearly passionate, though seemingly despondent, about many subjects. But this passion doesn’t spill over into the playing. And Steve and Don, although very gifted, don’t appear emotionally invested in most of the music the band plays. In 1996 the Globe and Mail (a Toronto paper) described Purple as venerable. In my mind this wasn’t a slag, but an astute observation. The band was playing great music, and had earned the right to do so. But the reviewer was also saying don’t expect anything new. In my mind the root of the problem is the play list. Its dominated by old standards. Yes, I love these standards – they are as familiar as an old pair of slippers. And yes, I read the arguments that people want to hear these standards. But these standards belong to another line-up, a line-up that was passionate about these songs three decades ago. Now I’d love to hear this version of Purple play a set dominated by music penned by this line-up.

So here’s my dilemma. Initially I loved this band for their potent mix of passion, energy and musicianship. Now, as the band plays sets dominated by old standards (perhaps to satisfy an audience that hasn’t being paying attention) musicianship dominates. Well, honestly, that’s disappointing. Unless the band is desperate for money (after all we all need to make a living), then I hope this version of Purple can find the strength to play their music and leave the standards for encores. This lineup is talented enough to play whatever they want, however they want. But they have also inherited a tradition based on compelling, risky interpretations that constantly redefine their music. I would love for this band known as Deep Purple to put the current lineup’s music up front, played loud, furiously with no holds barred. I’m sure they would pass my “Made in Japan” test.

So the question is, who will be the first to break from the past? Myself or this band?

Sterling

Being from Australia, I happened to be in Prague the night DP were playing at Telsa Arena. Deep Purple still have what it takes. They were amazing and again showed why they are still one of the best live bands. This was only my second DP concert, the last was in Sydney in 1999.

I went with brother-in-law and his two teenage sons including one who did not rate Deep Purple (modern heavy metal freak). After the concert we could not control him and now DP have another follower to the extent he purchased the only two live DP DVD’s in the Prague music shop.

Steve Morse seemed a bit frightened when he looked at the Wroclaw Square full of guitarists. It was a shock to both him and to me: more than 6.000 guitars in the town square! I expected 3.000 only.

They had all come to break the Guinness World Record of guitarists pæaying simulateneously. Many thanks, Steve! You helped us to break the guitar record!

The gig was very interesting, too, although the band didn’t seem to be in the best form. But the musicians did their best. It was nice to hear “The battle rages on” or “Sometimes I feel like screaming”.

Before the show I read they would play “Kentucky woman”, but the journalist must have been wrong. The band gave us “Wring that neck” that is often (always?) played lately. I only missed Ian Paice’s solo in “Space truckin'”. Also Do Airey’s solo was too short. By the way, I’d like him to play Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude”…

I was glad to hear Ian Gillan sing “Perfect strangers” without any mistake. Bravo, Ian! 🙂

The stadium, very large, was full of fans- not only 40-60 years old. There were lots of teenagers there! And all seemed to be happy to hear Deep Purple live again.

By the way, I don’t know why the band visits us so seldom lately. The audience reactions were enthusiastic and I hope the musicians saw it, too. If they did, I think they will come back to Poland soon. We still like them so much.

Many thanks for the gig!

Big Ian teamed up with Steve Morris some time ago and they have recorded an unplugged session for UK’s Absolute Radio:
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Before the Purple gig on May 1 in Wroclaw, Steve Morse joined the croud of six thousand other guitar players to set the new world record at the Thanks Jimi Festival. The official tally was 6,346 people playing together Hey Joe, more than tripling the standing record for the “Largest Guitar Ensemble” of 2,052 set last year in Concord, California.

The event took place in the historic center of Wroclaw, Poland — a city which has taken on the title of “Wroclaw Guitar City”. In fact mayor Rafa Dutkiewicz was among those playing, as was Steve Morse and festival founder and director, Leszek Cichoński. Cichoński is a well-known musician and music educator in Poland and the festival was an outgrowth of one of his educational programs and has taken place annually since 2003.

Steve commented about the event:

I played onstage at a town square, for the Guiness Book Of World Records. The most guitar players playing ‘Smoke On the Water’. For sure, if they don’t get the world’s record, something is seriously wrong, because there were 6,000 people in front of us, with guitars, playing it! At the end of the song, they all held up their guitars, mostly acoustic, and it looked like we were in a forest. Nothing but guitars for as far as you could see. We also played ‘Hey Joe’, which Stan sang, and everybody played along with that one. Last year, they had 1,800 plus people playing along with that song. In the middle of the song today, they brought the volume way down, and you could only hear the background singers and the thousands of acoustics playing C, G, D, A, E… After that, I don’t know how the gig could be any more intense. But, it was. The crowd was totally into everything, and when they sang along on ‘Smoke’, it was the loudest ever. A lot of them were at the town square earlier, and they knew it for sure! Fantastic crowd.

The next attempt on the record will be held this weekend in Mainz, Germany, and once again Smoke On The Water will be the tune of choice.

Thanks to Blabbermouth and Ultimate-Guitar.com for the info.