“We Wish You a Metal Xmas…and a Headbanging New Year” is the title of a Christmas album released by Eagle Rock Records back in October. Continue Reading »

I think, I am not the only one when I say: Yes, Deep Purple is really the best band ever! 😉

Well, I am 16 and I was with my friends and my dad in Basel at the Deep Purple concert. It was the second gig this year for me.

But before the show started, we are gone on a clinic from Steve Morse! It was very good, OK I don’t understand more then a half but I could look to Steve and Mike! ;D At the end from the clinic gaves Morse us autographs and we made pictures.

The gig was very very good! (Like every gig) ;D

My absolutly favorite songs were Strange kind Of Women, The Battle Rages On and Perfect Strangers…

I look forward to the next gig and hope we meet Gillan, Roger, Don, Paicy, Morse and…….Mike again! ;D

To start with the positiv things… I had the best view you can imagine for a concert. first row just in front of steve. good venue and a good setlist and the company of a wonderfull woman. everything perfect for a great concert………..

but it wasnt. it was much toooooo loud and my ears are still not ok. the mixing was catastrophic, in parts i have seen ian gillan singing but nothing was to hear only his lips moving, ´cause steves guitar has dominated all, even the drums were not clear to hear. maybe it was ´cause of the place we were standing, i dont know how it was in the back, but anyway there are professionals at the mixing table, they make soundchecks and everything so i dont understand why things like that happen.

steve morse is an excellent player, outstanding for sure. it was great to see him so close, but deep purple is not only him and i would prefer to hear a bit more of the rest of the band. i used to go to many live concerts but this one was really one of the worst in mixing. even during the support of gotthard it was better than for DP.

maybe the band should tour less. ian looked really `kaputt` and so skinny. most active part was steve. more or less i am a bit disappointed about the evening. for 50€ i expect something more than a lot of great songs that came out like mud sometimes.

great musicians with soundmixers that dont understand their job. maybe sometime a bit less could be more in the case of power and to be loud doesnt mean to be good. i have seen purple 1973 for the first time, last time 2006 at arrow rock holland… that was far much better than yesterday. give these boys a rest get and better people behind the mixing desk or what ever was the reason for that sound.

would have prefered to write something more positiv, but i am honest and that only my opinion.

nice day

Thomas

As usual I wasn’t disappointed. The show was cool, although I was standing in a poor place where too many basses were heard. [What? Roger’s and whose else’s? /Rasmus] I’ll choose a sitting place next time:).

It was so nice to hear “Contact lost” and “Perfect strangers” again. But the biggest surprise was “Wring that neck”- wow! When did Deep Purple play it for the last time? With Mr Blackmore??!

Another surprise was a new arrangement of “Hush”. Rod Evans used to sing it quite calmly, now Ian Gillan made it sound like a dynamite! The best performance I’ve ever heard live.

The band was in great form, although Ian seemed to be very tired. But his voice wasn’t. He was singing and screaming as ever. Steve, Don and Ian Paice (whom I could see on a screen only) were cool as well, but Roger was the most vigorous that night. He was literally here, there and everywhere!

Thus I had a great time. I was singing and dancing all the time. By the way, these billboards above the stage were a great idea. Who couldn’t be near the scene, saw the band on them.

Many thanks for “Perfect strangers” with an excellent original solo. For “The battle rages on”. For “Sometimes I feel like screaming”- it was the first time I heard it live. For an unbelievable version of “Hush”. For three songs from “Rapture”. And for “Wring that neck”- what a good idea!

A great show. I like Berlin, I like Max-Schmeling-Halle, and I like Deep Purple so much. I think I’ll go to Berlin again. See you next time!

– J.O.

New episode on CarambaTV:

In these cash strapped times it is heartening to know that the full value of the road crew is appreciated and taken into account when dealing with the band’s budget.

Continue Reading »

Speaking of Argentina… Ladies and gentlemen, we present you (pre)teen sensation — Los Gauchos De Acero (The Steel Gauchos). The Gauchos are brothers Jorge: Victor Emilio (age 15) on guitar and vocals, Martín Gustavo (age 12) on bass, and Agustin (age 11) on drums. Here’s their take on Child In Time, no less:

The brothers got into the spotlight back in 2006, when they recorded a video of several classic rock and heavy metal covers for audition at a local TV talent show. When it was rejected, their dad put the clips on Youtube and the boys turned into an overnight Internet sensation. Personally, I simply couldn’t wipe a stupid grin off my face while watching their clips. The sheer enthusiasm, ferocity, and, even without discounting for their age, skill of these kids are second to none.

The term boy band definitely takes a whole new meaning in the pampas…

Joe Satriani reflects on his Purple stint in a recent interview for Living Legends Music:

It was the easiest thing in the world to step into it. Because it’s just like sitting on top of a perfect wave that keeps carrying you along and giving you a great ride…

Here is the relevant part:

Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

The proverbial Purple touring juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. We have received two festival appearances for 2009. Neither of them have been confirmed by the band’s management yet. Proceed at your own risk. 😉

Valentine’s Day will be spent in Argentina, where the band will be headlinining Cosquin Rock festival held annually in a resort town of Cosquin in Cordoba province. Oh yeah, February is the midst of the summer festival season down there and apparently Cosquin Rock is a big and well known in South America one, with more than 120,000 people attending each year.

Another Deep Purple appearance is announced for another “end of the world” — a place above the polar circle — the Midnattsrocken festival in Lakselv, Norway. This year’s festival will be held on July 9-12. Exact date of the Purple performance not known yet, but last year headliners Europe seem to have played as the last band on the last day, so we took a wild guess there and have it listed as July 12 in our tour dates list. The festival will be celebrating it’s 25th anniversary in 2009, so on November 22 they are releasing 500 tickets at the special “1984 price” of 750 NOK (about $100). The rest of the tickets will go on sale later at undisclosed price.

Update (Nov 21): Deep Purple will play Midnattsrocken on Saturday, July 11.

Thanks to Pollstar.com and Rune Olsen for the info.

Gillan’s brief foray into producing other bands in the early 70-s is getting new attention. Jerusalem was an early 1970s British heavy rock five piece outfit. The band released one self-titled album worldwide in 1972 on Deram (UK catalogue number: SLD 6), which was produced by Gillan. Jerusalem’s only other release was a 45 rpm 7 inch single, the non-album ‘Kamikaze Moth’ backed with ‘Frustration’ from the LP. The album was reissued on CD in 2005 in Japan.

Back then, this is what Gillan had to say about this band:

This is the first album by Jerusalem, a band which excites me very much; they are rough, raw and doomy with their own strong identity. As they are young and a bit green, they don’t follow many rules, so their material is almost crude – but still immensely powerful in content.

I believe that, whenever possible, the work of writers and players in their formative stages should be recorded; before inhibition and self-consciousness set in, before fire and aggression die down, and while they are still absorbing influences and doing things which others might consider ‘uncool’. Most important though, before they might develop that self-imposed rigidity which afflicts so many. I hope none of these things happen to Jerusalem, we’ll have to wait and see, this album is just in case. I hope you like it as much as I do.

The album is about to being re-released in late 2008 on the Rockadrome label remastered from the multitrack tapes.

Track list will include:

1. Frustration
2. Hooded Eagle
3. I See the Light
4. Murderer’s Lament
5. When the Wolf Sits
6. Midnight Steamer
7. Primitive Man
8. Beyond the Grave
9. She Came Like a Bat From Hell
10. Kamikaze Moth (single – non-LP track)*
11. Primitive Man (non-LP demo version)*
12. Beyond the Grave (non-LP demo version)*
13. Hooded Eagle (non-LP single version)*
14. I See the Light (non-LP mono version)*
* Bonus tracks

Thanks to Paul Dean, Blabbermouth.net, Rockadrome and Wikipedia for the info.

It looks like the hotly debated Purple Rainbow story is getting an unexpected twist. A press release from Russian promoters Prestige Concert states that the new band will be called Over The Rainbow and will consist of:

Joe Lynn Turner — vocals
Bobby Rondinelli — drums
Tony Carey — keyboards
Greg Smith — bass
Jürgen Blackmore — guitar (yes, Ritchie’s son)

The band is said to start its world tour in February in Russia.

Thanks to Dima Zykov (deep-purple.ru) for the info.

Update (Nov 28):
Tickets for the first show in Moscow on February 18 just went on sale. We should mention that on the venue’s website the band is advertise as simply “Rainbow featuring Jurgen Richard Blackmore”, not “Over The Rainbow”.

Update (Nov 29):
Prestige Concerts issued a statement that the project is called “Over The Rainbow” and above appears to be a case of unscrupulous advertizing on the part of Moscow club’s management. It will be corrected shortly.