Glenn Hughes has decided he wants to spend the last third of his career playing rock music. The kind of music that earned him his fame in the early 70s, first with Trapeze and later Deep Purple. The vehicle that is intended to start this new phase of his career is Black Country Communion, the brainchild of producer Kevin Shirley.

Shirley had seen Hughes guesting at a Joe Bonamassa show in LA and thought there could be a band in the making. Rounding up the line-up with Jason Bonham on drums and Derek Sherinian on keyboards, they set out making their debut record in Malibu in January of 2010.

With Hughes amping up excitement for the project on Twitter during the last few months and recently stating in an interview that BCC sits comfortably alongside Led Zeppelin’s IV, Black Sabbath’s debut, Burn and Made in Japan in terms of sound, expectations are naturally high.

Can the album live up to those expectations? Probably not, but what it does offer is an excellent dose of old school classic rock spread out over 70+ minutes, with ”side one” being the strongest.

BCC is a band that has several things going for them. Very tasteful guitar playing, energetic drumming that never gets in the way of the songs and a strong live feel that is very refreshing to hear in these days of overdistorted rock albums and excessive overdubs.

Their music is not necessarily breaking any new ground, but it’s competently performed and Bonamassa in particular gets to shine. Indeed, in many ways it feels like a more rock based Bonamassa record with a heavier backing. He takes the lead vocal on two songs, and is given plenty of room to do his thing. Bonamassa’s playing comes from a time when the vibe was key, and this album is all the richer for it. There are melodic guitar solos a plenty and most of them feature his signature ”cascade of notes”. Overall, his playing does have the feel of being very much first take, which lends a nerve to the solos.

This leaves us with the second mainman of BCC, Glenn Hughes. Arguably one of the finest and most versatile singers there is, but also prone to excess sometimes. His work on this album is no exception, but he sounds excellent for the most part. As if to prove he’s really back in rock mode, there’s quite a lot of screaming from Glenn on here and although difficult to fault from a technical standpoint, some of it could have been trimmed back a bit. He has just as much presence when he restrains himself just a little bit. Some of the screaming takes away from the feel he still has in spades.

The album kicks off with a strong trio of songs, part of the appeal being the way they flow into each other. They pack a good punch and things are not dragged out for too long.

Black Country first, with its persistent guitar rhythm, edgy bass work and busy drumming. Glenn sounds forceful in a good way here: ”I am a messenger, this is my prophecy. I’m going back to the Black Country”, signalling the start of the album and project. There’s a short guitar solo at the end and without much further ado, it’s onto the next one.

One Last Soul, the natural choice for a single, has Glenn taking the front seat again. The catchy chorus, with its pumping bass line, would not sound out of place on American classic rock radio if given the chance. Nice guitar parts too.

The Great Divide is really strong too, for the most part. The somber feel of the verses is appealing, a laid back bass line driving them forward. Great phrasing and feel in the vocals. A neat build-up goes into the chorus, which is more powerful and dramatic: ”I’m on the great divide, I’m sanctified, be by your side…” The screaming outstays its welcome just a little bit towards the end of the song and some more variation here would have given it a full score. The guitar solo at the end is superb though: the tasteful choice of notes and the warm tone.

Down Again has the foundation of a pretty standard blues rock riff, but Glenn’s vocals manage to elevate the song into something a bit more special. The chorus sticks with you upon repeated listenings. A few of the phrasings is reminiscent of old Glenn – Phenomena? Some short guitar improvisation towards the end and that’s it. It sounds like a first take.

Beggarman is faster in tempo, has busier drums and a Hendrix styled main riff that repeats itself. A pretty basic chorus, ”I won’t be no beggar man…”, that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Hughes’ ”Songs in the Key of Rock” (2003). Think of this song as a slightly more refined ”Gasoline”. In fact, a lot of the vocal delivery on BCC is reminiscent of ”SITKOR” and ”Building the Machine” (2001), in the way that there’s a lot of belting it out. Yet somehow I think Glenn sounds more inspired here as part of a group. There’s a short but sweet wah wah solo at the end of the song, with Glenn grooving in the background, before another run through of the chorus rounds out the song.

Song of Yesterday opens with a gentle Bonamassa guitar melody, which repeats itself to good effect. Bonamassa starts singing a few soft lines, and we’re getting close to the blues feel of his solo albums. They take their time with the intro, letting it build up, even adding some strings. Then an old school Free-ish blues riff breaks it off, and the song starts proper. Bonamassa sings lead on this one, with Glenn providing backing vocals and general embellishment. It’s tastefully done the way the song switches between soft middle passages and back to the main riff. Bonamassa can hold his own vocally, and the duet works well as a result. The guitar solo of the album comes at the end of the song, and is once again a display in feel and melodic sensibility. It’s very good. A building ”humming” section follows, with Bonham bashing it out in the background, before a repeat of the gentle guitar melody brings the song to an end.

No Time follows and is the first song on the album that has a slight filler feel to it. Its foundation is Bonamassa and Hughes (great bass sound here) simultaneously playing a riff that that has traces of Zeppelin’s ”Misty Mountain Hop” in it. Unfortunately, the verses are not that memorable, and the chorus is pretty ”standard fare” as well, hence the filler feel. It’s got a short middle section (with Kashmir-like strings), a nice build-up to the chorus and then it’s back to the main riff one last time. Not a poor song by any means, but not a stand out either.

Medusa is a remake of the Hughes penned Trapeze song from 1970. Glenn sings it beautifully with lots of feel. The version stays quite true to the original, but sounds surprisingly at home on the album. A testament to how the BCC sound is firmly planted in that early 70s era of British rock.

The Revolution In Me is the second song Bonamassa gets to take the lead vocal on. With a start and stop guitar riff, supported by Sherinian on the Hammond (he mostly stays in the background on this album), the song has Joe singing verses that are slightly too basic. A capable but fairly directionless instrumental mid section, and then back to the main riff again. Standard blues rock, but it’s kept fairly short.

The album is somewhat back on track with Stand (at the Burning Tree), a song that offers a little bit of everything: a lingering Bonamassa riff to start off with. Glenn sounds cool and funky in the verses and in the lush 70s melodic lead-up up to the chorus, which is sadly a bit too ordinary. A short Hammond and guitar solo in the middle is followed by another run through of the chorus, with Glenn adlibbing parts. More guitar and Hammond at the end.

Sista Jane has Glenn and Joe trading vocal lines in a song that somehow lacks the drive and special ingredients to make it stick out. It doesn’t really grab your attention. They go into a little jam towards the end, with Bonamassa leading the proceedings. Ends with Who-like synthesizers.

Too Late for the Sun is the long and mostly slow paced jam that closes the album. Circling around a start and stop bass line it has Joe and Glenn doing more vocal swapping. This is old school with an ”as we go along” feel. Some richly layered vocal harmonies in the chorus, with lots of mildly spaced out improvisational sections in between. It’s not the showstopper one could have hoped for, meandering along rather than knocking you off your feet. On the other hand, it never gets boring and then it still clocks in at 11+ minutes.

So how to summarise BCC’s debut? The briefness of the recording sessions, the whole album being cut in roughly 7 days, is definitely one of its biggest strengths. Yet at the same time, a few of the songs could have used some more work. Still, it appears to be somewhat of a grower and 2-3 listenings are needed before the songs start coming to life. The band’s rich and warm organic sound has a distinct appeal and it will be interesting to see where they go from here, with a tour planned to start in 2011 and Hughes already talking about making a second album.

Daniel Bengtsson

Black Country Communion is being released in the UK on September 20 and in the US on September 21.
You can pre-order the limited edition of the album (including a DVD) at Play.com.

This is a combined review of 3 concerts.

It’s my 40th Anniversary … of following Deep Purple’s music. This came to mind during the 3 concerts I attended recently – 28th May at The Dome, Johannesburg; 30th May at the ICC Arena, Durban; & 1st June at the Grand West Arena, Cape Town. Bernie Shaw, the lead vocalist of Uriah Heep, mentioned at each of the concerts that it’s their 40th Anniversary, triggering my realisation.

It was late 1970, the last term of Standard 4 at Bulawayo’s Hillside Junior School (then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe – 2nd generation Anglo-African, descended from 1820 Settlers stock), when a change of class led to making a new best friend. He & his younger brother, plus their folks, were artistic, musical types – I was like a country cousin, having grown up in a ranching community in southern Zambia.

They quickly & simultaneously introduced me to The Goon Shows, Monty Python, The Beatles, & Deep Purple (the rest we discovered together). The first album I owned was “A Hard Day’s Night”; The second was Deep Purple’s “In Rock”. Suffice it to say that my life was irreversibly changed! Of course, we also formed the obligatory 70s garage band (I played drums – very badly at first, until taking tuition & gaining experience in different genres).

It took 25 YEARS before experiencing a live, in-the-flesh, Deep Purple show (one of Steve Morse’s earliest) – their last 2 concerts during their first ever visit to South Africa (Johannesburg, 1st & 2nd April 1995, having performed a show each in Pretoria & Durban, plus several in Cape Town in March). This makes the dvd of “Bombay Calling” very special to me, as it was their very next concert – 6 days after the final Joburg show.

My youngest daughter attended that concert still in her mother’s womb (3 months before her birth) – she’s still a fan! Both of my teen daughters (17 & 14) were with me at the recent Joburg show. They’re still talking about it – I think they found it almost a life-changing experience, & have been gloating ever since to their school friends who couldn’t get tickets.

Late last December, as I clicked onto the website of the Deep Purple Appreciation Society (www.deep-purple.net), I was thinking about the 2010 Soccer World Cup & fantasising about how amazing it would be if Deep Purple returned to South Africa after a 15-year break. Can you imagine my surprise & delight to read the Masters of Rock SA announcement?! That’s when I knew 2010 was going to be a memorable year.

At each venue I sat in much the same area – stage left in the lower part of the grandstand with an unrestricted view, except for a speaker column at the Joburg show blocking out Paicey … this gave a disconnected feeling, as did looking at the 2 huge video screens on either side of the stage; it felt like watching a dvd, which is not what you’d paid for (SABC 3, one of the main sponsors, filmed the Joburg & Cape Town concerts).

The Durban venue was the most intimate experience of the 3 – a narrower configuration with the seating closer to the stage, & no giant video screens.
In my opinion, the best concert overall – sound, mix, balance, performances, and crowd response – was in Cape Town. Coming into the venue from the outside parking, the Grand Hotel was prominent (I wondered whether any of the Deep Purple entourage noticed, given the lyric in “Smoke on the Water”).

The crowds were fantastic at each venue, it’s just that the Cape Town bunch topped the lot – my gauge was looking over the golden circle standing areas below my vantage point & checking the level of applause, whistling, cheering, singing, clapping to the rhythm of some of the riffs. 19’000 fans filled The Dome (verified by a contact within the venue management), with an estimated 6 – 7’000 each at the other two venues.

Two things commented on by both Bernie Shaw & Mick Box of Uriah Heep at each show: their surprise at how many young people were there, & the amazing audience response (this seemed genuinely sincere on their part). At the first show, Mick even said during their performance, “We want to come back already!” He added that they would love to return to do a full two-hour concert.

In Durban he said that he was “gobsmacked” at the response level. It may have a lot to do with South Africa’s starved live rock scene – unlike so many of the overseas fans, we don’t get the opportunity to see DP on our home ground every year (twice in 42 years … that’s all, folks!).

Wishbone Ash arguably gained the most mileage from this memorable short tour – I heard so many favourable comments from audience members after each of their performances ( Most punters were not familiar with their catalogue – kudos to Chris Venter of Universal Music South Africa for compiling “Best Of” 3 cd sets for both WA & UH).

Not having keyboards as part of their sound, & faced with the typical lower volume of an opening act, they played their hearts out, delivering competent, solid, entertaining performances. Of the 3 acts, they experienced the least sound problems (I guess that multiple keyboards add extra complexity to the mix).

Uriah Heep’s performances were also very consistent, with the Durban show probably their best (Although Joburg was a close second, & Cape Town still good). Each concert took a leap up when UH hit the stage – volume, tempo, energy, lighting … the sound seemed to expand in every direction to engulf you. Where WA’s sound was in front of you, UH surrounded you (something sustained & enhanced by DP). Both WA & UH had great vocal harmonies in many of their songs.

Each band came across as really enjoying themselves on stage – DP’s front three move around a lot on stage … coming together, changing sides, roaming around the full width available, & trying to connect with each part of the audience ( Roger & Steve display the most consistent upbeat, involved energies, & remain on stage the longest after the encores, interacting with the fans).

It was Deep Purple who improved noticeably over the tour’s duration – not surprising, given the massive long haul travel they’d endured to get from Malaysia to Russia & then from Armenia to Johannesburg, South Africa … by Cape Town they had lifted the bar considerably, & Ian Gillan in particular was really on top of his game (from the first screams of “Highway Star” to a short refrain of “I’ll See You in My Dreams” at the end of the encores).

Just as an aside, at the end of the Joburg encores, IG’s parting comment was, “Enjoy your summer …” After an audible gasp from the audience , he hastily corrected, “I mean winter”.

It was an unexpected pleasure after my arrival at Cape Town Int’l Airport, on my way to the exit area, to bump into the DP entourage. In fact, it felt so surreal & dream-like. However, I managed to overcome any hesitation & introduced myself to Roger & Paicey, who were standing chatting together next to their luggage.

They were very pleasant & friendly – Roger has an easy, quick wit. After congratulating them on the Durban performance the night before, I said how much better the sound was than in Joburg. Paicey immediately agreed, noting that although The Dome is a great sized arena, it was like playing in a big barn (adding that some things as a performer you don’t have control over).

All the guys looked very relaxed & content – much had been made by IG during the Durban concert of spending time on the beach before the show (Steve was introduced for his solo spot as something like, “And now fresh from the beach … the well manicured Steve Morse”. And Don’s intro was “the man who spent the day on the beach”). Bernie Shaw of UH also referenced time spent with surfers during their day off.

IG was most chipper & chirpy during the Cape Town show (in Joburg he & Paicey seemed to be suffering from jetlag. Paicey’s snare drum sound was not right until Cape Town – it sounded choked or flat & too thin at the first 2 shows).

The Deep Purple setlists (the first 3 numbers were played without intro or any chat in between – each segued into the next, led by Paicey thrashing the intro beats on his hi-hats or crash cymbal):-

1. Pre-recorded Prokofiev into Highway Star (according to Brian Currin on his Masters of Rock SA blog, it is from “Romeo & Juliet”, which ELP recorded on their “Black Moon” album) ;
2. Things I Never Said;
3. Strange Kind of Woman (duelling between IG & SM);
4. Maybe I’m a Leo (IG puts on Ray Charles like shades during the solo whilst handling tambourine);
5. Rapture of the Deep (introduced by IG as being off “our new record … or our most recent lp”. In Cape Town, he made a quick comment about probably recording a new album soon);
6. Fireball, incl. The lnto The Fire outro (IG turns to Roger, asking “shall we play a slow, quiet one, Rog?” before Paicey unleashes the familiar drum riff);
7. Steve Morse – Contact Lost/Solo (morphing into);
8. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (& straight into);
9. Well Dressed Guitar;
10. Mary Long (IG returns after a shirt change – gives a brief history of the song afterwards);
11. Lazy (this was prefaced by a brief Don solo & a tease from the opening riff of “Perfect Strangers”);
12. No One Came;
13. Don Airey Solo – dramatic classical into boogie woogie, some referencing of Afrikaner Boere Musiek, & a few bars from the first section of the South African National Anthem. In between all of that was an amazing demonstration of the varied & different sounds & styles he can get out of his set-up. He really looked in control & as though he was thoroughly enjoying the gigs;
14. Perfect Strangers (no teasing this time);
15. Space Truckin’;
16. Smoke on the Water (in Joburg & Durban, SM referenced several well-known rock riffs before the immortal one … in Cape Town he only played “Owner of a Lonely Heart”, joined by Roger & Paicey. It seemed as though he intended to play more, but changed his mind at the last second, as the SOTW intro was slightly fluffed);
Encores:-
1. Going Down* (just the first instrumental section before Paicey cymbal thrashes into);
2. Hush (with the briefest drum solo at the end … perhaps 30 seconds or so);
3. Roger’s Solo Spot, after which Paicey thrashes into;
4. Black Night.
*In Durban, Booker T & the MGs, “Time is Tight” was used instead of “Going Down”.

Each concert started around 7 pm, finishing around mid-night. WA & UH each performed for 50 minutes to an hour, with DP doing 1 hour 45.

The Meet & Greet/VIP Package offerings were sadly lacking, which was really disappointing – something the promoters, the band & their management could have done better, given the lack of frequency of touring Africa as a whole, as well as the incredible audience support & response.

In Joburg, through a contact of a contact, I thought I had arranged for my daughters & I to meet them – at the last minute, we were advised that they would not be meeting anyone, not even the venue management or the promoter’s people.

In Cape Town, however, I discovered after the show that there was in fact a backstage meet & greet. Despite my valiant efforts & waiting for an hour, I couldn’t gain admittance (this makes my casual encounter at the airport the afternoon before all the more cherished).

As South African fans, we can only hope that the promoters & sponsors will be encouraged enough by the results of this tour to make it happen again in the near future – bliss would be an annual Masters of Rock SA Tour ( a.k.a. Deep Purple & Friends). . . how is it that our SANZAR rivals Down Under get it right?! If the interval of 15 years is used as a benchmark, then I have serious concerns about any future visits to South Africa in this lifetime.

See great photos from the Cape Town concert taken by Brian Currin’s son, Michael. And for some stunning photos from the Joburg show of each of the bands, go to Shayne Robinson’s blog, (Some of his shots were published in the CitiVibe supplement of The Citizen newspaper on Saturday 5th June, 2010).

“Fungus Gil” has been chosen as my nom-de-plume as a tribute to my best mate ever, who was responsible in 1970 for changing my worldview permanently. This was his high school nickname, largely prompted by teenage facial hair & skin condition. Our junior school trio, known as “The Rock ‘n Roll Conspiracy”, at high school evolved into “The Fungus Gil Fiver” when his brother & cousin, plus another mutual friend joined the band (& one of the original guys left).

A couple of days ago both Deep Purple official sites have posted denial of unspecified rumours “from an unknown source” that the current European tour will be the band’s last:

This is not the end.

We frequently receive emails from fans saying that they hear in the news that the fall/winter tour is the last tour Deep Purple will do. This is simply a rumor and should not be taken as a fact.

Deep Purple and the management, Thames Talent Ltd, would like you to know that this is NOT the last tour of any market place.

Frankly, that’s the first we have heard of such a rumour, although many a promoter is too eager to stretch the truth somewhat in order to boost ticket sales. If you came across an unscrupulous advertising, please post your experiences below.

Blackmore’s Night will release its new album called Autumn Sky on September 3 via Spinefarm/Universal throughout the world, and on Sony for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Additional cover art will be used for different territories. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include All The Fun of the Faire, Journeyman, Vagabond (Make A Princess of Me) and Strawberry Girl.

This CD is inspired and dedicated to Ritchie and Candice’s first child, Autumn Esmerelda, who was born on May 27, 2010. She weighed in at seven pounds, four ounces (3.9 kg).

Thanks to Blabbermouth.net for the info.

The Deep Purple Mark 4 documentary has been completed for release in December 2010. The exciting news are that the footage of the infamous visit to Indonesia in December 1975 has been located and will be included in the documentary. Titled Gettin’ Tighter, the 70 minute video will be a part of Mark 4 package also including a 30-minute HD presentation from Tokyo’75, previously available on VHS and laserdisk as Rises Over Japan. The package will be released in both blue ray and regular DVD formats.

Four years in the making, a new all star tribute album to Tommy Bolin is getting closer to release. This weekend’s Tommy Bolin Music Fest is, in addition to live music, a pre-release for for the album, called “Mr. Bolin’s Lake Night Revival.”

The album is a collection of artists doing creative renditions of Bolin’s rare acoustic demos. The disc’s US release comes this fall, and will be promoted through an addiction awareness campaign.

The 17-track release includes jazz and soul elements in addition to hard rock and power ballads.

Contributing to the recording are members of Boston, Dokken, Rainbow, Alcatraz, Mr. Big, The R. Kelly Band and The Ted Nugent Band, and others.

According to Sioux City Journal, proceeds from the new album will to go Jackson Recovery Center, a drug and alcohol recovery center in Sioux City. The “new” material comes from a reel of acoustic demos stashed in the back of an amplifier.

“The idea is to rehab Tommy’s image and legacy,” said Bill Schenk to Sioux City Journal. Schenk is a Chicago producer, Bolin family friend and producer of the album.

Black Country Communion, the new group featuring Glenn Hughes will release their forthcoming self-titled debut album in the following 3 formats; Limited Edition 2-Disc CD/DVD, CD, and vinyl. The album will be released in the UK on September 20th by Mascot Records.

Format #1 – Limited Edition 2-Disc CD/DVD Features 12 album tracks on CD, plus a bonus DVD that features interviews with the band, exclusive studio and live images, Kevin Shirley’s (Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin) album production notes, “The Great Divide” music video, ‘Behind The Scenes’ in-studio footage, plus live tracks as performed by BCC at Riverside, California.

Format #2 – Single Disc CD
Single Disc CD edition

Format #3 – Vinyl
Double-sided 12” inch vinyl album

The Limited Edition 2-Disc CD/DVD edition is available for pre-order now at Play.com, while all 3 of the above formats are available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk and HMV.com.

This is a concert report from Heaven And Hell’s tribute to Ronnie James Dio this weekend at London’s High Voltage Festival.

A big cheer goes up from the crowd. We’re at London’s High Voltage Festival waiting for Heaven And Hell to do their tribute show to Ronnie James Dio, and we’re kinda ready to get started. The big cheer greets a photo of Ronnie James Dio on the screens by the stage. The photo turns into a short gallery with images of Ronnie from the Elf days onwards. Then “E5150” comes over the speakers.

Vinnie Appice appears behind his somewhat scaled down drumkit. He greets the crowd and positions himself to start throwing his thunder. Then Iommi and Butler appear. This is Heaven And Hell. Any second now, a smiling Ronnie James Dio will bounce out from the side of the stage…

No! We are all here because Ronnie isn’t with us anymore. And we’ve come from all over. There’s the Japanese girl who travelled here by herself only for this show. She only heard of Ronnie James Dio a few years ago and bought her High Voltage ticket in January before Ronnie’s condition took a turn for the worse and H&H cancelled all their summer shows. Now they’re back on the bill for one last time, and the Japanese girl is here to pay her respect.

So are thousands of other Dio fans. All kinds of languages are spoken throughout the incredibly well planned festival site. The amount of Dio t-shirts is unreal; from recent ones honouring his memory, loads of Cancer Fund shirts, and a wealth of well worn shirts from past Dio tours.

Heaven And Hell’s rescheduled show at High Voltage comes with equal amounts of anticipation and apprehension. How will it feel seeing Jorn Lande and Glenn Hughes sing with the band instead of Ronnie? Will it bring closure to the sadness and anger over his much too early and unjust death?

The band launches into “Mob Rules”, and Jorn Lande storms onto the stage, wild eyed and eager. The lump in the throat swells up. This is Ronnie James Dio’s band and he is sadly missed. But Jorn Lande does a splendid job. He sings the song unselfishly. He is focused and very well rehearsed – even if he is reading the words off a cue sheet, but that’s allowed.

Vocally Lande is on the ball. He knows the piece and captures the energy beautifully. In front of the stage all kinds of emotions are raging. It’s so wrong that Ronnie is not there, but Jorn is doing a great job and there’s no reason not to enjoy the full roar of Heaven And Hell one last time.

This must be difficult for them. Geezer pretty much sticks to his spot, plucking away incessantly at his bass, hair flying. Iommi remains the grand old riff master, resplendent in blue tinted glasses and long black coat. Stylish, calm and collected. The big screens reveal in close up Appice’s contorted face as he hammers home every stroke with brutal force and that dramatic dragging groove that is unmistably his own.

But who knows how they feel? And who knows what Lande is feeling. He doesn’t say much, quickly asks how we are doing and introduces the next song. “I” off “Dehumanizer”. Gorgeous. Again he pretty much nails it RJD-style with excellent timing and phrasing. In front of him, the full festival crowd has shifted from an ecstatic welcome to (almost) quietly observing the band and trying to suss out exactly how to handle this special situation.

After “I”, Jorn Lande respectfully announces “Ladies and gentlemen, mr. Glenn Hughes.” For the rest of the show, the singers trade place every two songs.

Curiously enough, Glenn Hughes’ first song is “Country Girl”. He prances about the stage, strutting his weird designer haircut and makes gestures and faces at the crowd that are taken straigh out of chapter one of The Heavy Metal Frontman textbook. It’s sort of embarrassing, but perhaps he’ll settle down once the nerves are calm.

It’s not fair to be too critical of Glenn Hughes at this gig. Apparently he was one of Ronnie’s favourite singers, and he sang at Ronnie’s funeral, so his efforts deserve respect. But as it turns out, Glenn Hughes has finally found his match – or insurmountable mountain if you will. His voice, splendidly powerful and refined as it is, simply doesn’t fit this band. He delivers Ronnie’s rich and melodic tunes with a strangely staccato feel that sounds strained and unnatural.

On the other hand, Jorn Lande is a rock solid no nonsense frontman. Without too much fuss and bother he sings everything just right. You might argue Glenn is doing a tribute to Ronnie, interpreting the songs in a different way while Jorn is copying Dio’s way of doing them. Suffice to say, should the band decide to carry on after this, it will be difficult to imagine a singer better suited to their sound than Lande. Simply add some new songs and a new name, and this band would once again be equipped wth a great vocalist and a promising future.

But even combined, tonight’s two magnificient singers – Glenn Hughes and Jorn Lande – can’t match Ronnie James Dio in terms of his masterful and inspirational singing and an inimitable frontman skills. He would capture your attention and hold it effortlessly as he lead you through his shows with infectious enthusiasm.

For the eerie and spellbinding opening to “Falling Off the Edge of the World” Glenn Hughes comes close to the spirit of Ronnie’s singing. It is a touching piece as it is, but the circumstances tonight reinforce the power in the opening lines; “I think about closing the door, and lately I think of it more…” Shivers run hot and cold down the spine, and the eyes mist over. I can’t be the only one fighting with the feelings and the memories. All around me people are watching in silent awe.

The same thing happens during Tony Iommi’s guitarspot and during other instrumental bits. Close your eyes and it’s almost as if Ronnie is there getting ready to sing the next verse…

After “Die Young”, Wendy Dio is invited onstage. Terribly nervous and overcome with emotion, she reads out a short speech praising Ronnie and urging everyone to support the Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. Indeed, judging by the number of complimentary donator t-shirts seen around, many in the audience already have.

The band has chosen to a set of songs that loosely reflects the show they’ve been doing the past couple of years. Songs from their first two albums together, “Heaven And Hell” and “Mob Rules”, one from “Dehumanzier” and even one from Ronnie James Dio’s last album, “The Devil You Know.” Glenn Hughes does a competent version of “Bible Black” but seems uncomfortable with the darker aspects of the lyrics.

One ‘new’ old addition to the set is “Turn Up the Night”, sung by Jorn Lande. A refreshing reacquaintance. The last two songs are shared between the two singers – and suddenly during “Neon Knights” an intruder appears; Phil Anselmo of Down has decided he’ll sing with the guys onstage – who obviously haven’t approved the idea.

Heaven And Hell’s final show at High Voltage is a chance for the fans to get together and celebrate and revel in the music that was a big part of Ronnie James Dio’s life. For such an occassion, it is important to allow room for feelings and expression. Sadly, the sensitive atmosphere between the band and the thousands of devoted Dio fans is mauled by Glenn Hughes’ shameless prancing and his abrasive attitude. He allows nothing to breathe on its own.

The song “Heaven and Hell” has long been a crowd favourite and highpoint of any Heaven And Hell concert. The crowd would take over the riff and sing it back to the band – often with breathtaking power. Tonight this moment of united band-crowd magic is spoiled. “I want you to sing this riff,” instructs Glenn Hughes before the song has even started. He has no right. How much grander had it felt, and how much more release had it offered, if Glenn had stood back and let it evolve spontaneously?

And this is where the show falls short. It brings no closure. It does not allow the crowd to unite with the band. Jorn Lande knows when to hold back and be respectful, but Glenn Hughes is a poor but dominant custodian of the honour bestowed upon him tonight.

The band wisely skips that section of “Heaven and Hell” about the big black shape looking down at us. Routinely, all the stage lights would go out and Ronnie would lean over a red spotlight nested between his monitors, so he was lit up from below like the devil himself – to great theatrical and dramatic effect. Fortunately this piece of Dio magic is left alone in everybody’s memories.

By the end of the show the crowd is left emotionally drained and confused. It wouldn’t have been right to let Jorn Lande handle all the vocals, but you wish the band had invited a couple more singers along to help spread the burdon.

What High Voltage did offer was one final, triumphant dose of the Black Sabbath that Ronnie James Dio helped revive in 1980. This was a splendid celebration of Sabbath’s most musical and most skilled singer and frontman. And it was exhilarating to experience again the blasting power of Appice, Butler and Iommi at full whack. Even without Ronnie they’re a giant force, and hopefully we have not seen the last of them together.

– Rasmus Heide

Setlist and singers:
E5150
Mob Rules (Jorn)
I (Jorn)
Country Girl (Glenn)
Children of the Sea (Glenn)
Turn Up the Night (Jorn)
Voodoo (Jorn)
Bible Black (Glenn)
Falling Off the Edge of the World (Glenn)
Die Young (Jorn)
Wendy Dio’s speech
Heaven and Hell (both)
Neon Knights (both)

Vocals: Jorn Lande / Glenn Hughes
Guitar: Tony Iommi
Bass: Geezer Butler
Drums: Vinnie Appice
Keyboards: Scott Warren

Gibson.com has an interview they recently did with Claude Nobs. The inevitable question, of course, came up:

Tell me what you remember about the “Smoke on the Water” incident on December 4, 1971.

This was one of the concerts I was doing besides the festival in the summer. I had Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, and one time I had Frank Zappa. And at the end of the concert someone threw a flare gun at the ceiling and everything started to be on fire.

You helped get people out of the burning building. There’s even a lyric about it in “Smoke On The Water.”

It was actually not that difficult because we had big bow windows in the concert hall overlooking the swimming pool. Frank Zappa took his guitar – a Gibson, a very strong one – and he smashed the big window down with his guitar. Then a lot of people could go out through there. The people went out through that exit, and within about five minutes, the 2,000 kids were out. And the people were watching the fire thinking, “Oh, you know, Frank Zappa is just doing an incredible ending to his show.”

How did the Deep Purple song evolve out of the ashes?

Deep Purple were watching the whole fire from their hotel window, and they said, “Oh my God, look what happened. Poor Claude and there’s no casino anymore!” They were supposed to do a live gig [at the casino] and record the new album there. Finally I found a place in a little abandoned hotel next to my house and we made a temporary studio for them. One day they were coming up for dinner at my house and they said, “Claude we did a little surprise for you, but it’s not going to be on the album. It’s a tune called ‘Smoke On The Water.’” So I listened to it. I said, “You’re crazy. It’s going to be a huge thing.” Now there’s no guitar player in the world who doesn’t know [he hums the riff]. They said, “Oh if you believe so we’ll put it on the album.” It’s actually the very precise description of the fire in the casino, of Frank Zappa getting the kids out of the casino, and every detail in the song is true. It’s what really happened. In the middle of the song, it says “Funky Claude was getting people out of the building,” and actually when I meet a lot of rock musicians, they still say, “Oh here comes Funky Claude.”

Read the interview at Gibson.com. Bear in mind that the article managed to get a couple of things wrong. It makes you believe that the band was at the Hotel Eden au Lac when the fire started, while they were actually in the Casino itself and retreated to the hotel across the bay later; and Eden au lac is not the Grand Hotel which was empty, cold and bare. That building is further down the road and has been converted into a condominium since then.

Thanks to Bryan Wawzenek for the info.

Steve Morse recently has done a quite entertaining interview for GuitarPlanet.com.au. Ever wanted to know why is that SOTW is banned from the music stores or why the Y2D guitar comes only in 3 colours, watch it. And if you didn’t, watch it as well.

If you are more technically inclined into guitar gear, check out his second interview about the Music Man signature guitar and the photo gallery documenting Steve’s implements of trade on the recent Australian tour.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.