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No sound files
We will not be able to post any sound clips from “Rapture of the Deep”. Sorry.
Someone is going to be disappointed
A RotD promo is being offered on eBay Germany. Whoever pays 40+ Euro for this item will be disappointed when they realise it is the version with, not only just eight tracks, but only a minute or so of each track… And the seller is probably sitting on the full promo now and can make some good money on something he don’t need.
It’s also interesting to look at the bidding history. Someone called “edel_records_ag” has put in a bid for 40 Euro for the record. If this is the record company and not just some guy who thought they chose a smart nickname, it’s pretty smart. 40 Euro is pretty much for a CD if you are a regular fan. 40 Euro is nothing for a big record company though if they want to prevent a promo from coming out on the market. And they can give it to someone else, who won’t sell it. Also, 40 Euro is nothing to get hold of the guy who put it up for sale. He will never receive another promo again.
Reviewing Rapture of the Deep
Rob asked in a comment on this blog if I could post my track-by-track impressions of “Rapture of the Deep”. I was about to post it here in the blog when it got too long and I decided to include it in our ROTD special instead. Not my first impressions though but my impressions after hearing the album six times or so. Sorry it took so long.
It’s wierd for me to review Deep Purple albums. First, I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly good reviewer. Second, it’s hard to write something that makes sense when you’re a fan. It’s easy to fall into “whoa! Amazing” and that really isn’t helpful to anyone.
It’s a bit confusing when I put on a new Deep Purple album. I am one of those people who are lucky enough to so far always have enjoyed what Deep Purple has recorded, no matter who was in the band. Over the years, I’ve been accused of being part, or even head of, a “Deep Purple can do no wrong mafia” but that’s simply not true. I think most people who know me know that I can be very critical of the band, especially when it comes to what they are playing live. But when I listen to the album and think about what I should write about it, I can’t really think of anything else than “whoa!”, “great!” and “yeah!”
I’ve always had this problem but it got worse since I started working as a journalist. But then I have to realise that this site is not a regular paper for lots of “normal” people with perhaps, at most, a casual interest in the fact that one of the classic bands in the history of rock has released a new album, this is a site for Deep Purple fans. If I had reviewed a CD for a paper, it would certainly have looked different.
So, even though I’m not a big fan of track by track reviews, that is what it became this time. You can read the thing here.
G3 Smokes
The upcoming double CD and DVD from G3 (Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci) will include a cover of Deep Purple’s “Smoke On The Water”. The CD/DVD is called Live in Tokyo and the CD can be found here.
The new album
Scoot asked in my “MTV” post yesterday if I had heard the album. Yes, I have heard the new CD one and a half times. One time by my computer on very low volume last night, and one half time this morning while I was having breakfast. The first impression is pretty much as when I heard two minute excerpts from eight of the songs earlier in the week. It’s a good album straight through with no fillers. But I think it’s a bit too early for a review. I’m just about to go out on a walk through town with the album in my iPod. We’ll see what that does to impressions of the new masterpiece.
MTV
“Mr. Grover, Mr. Gillian oh you must have made a million on the night that Frank Zappa caught on fire”
– “MTV” from “Rapture of the Deep“, Deep Purple 2005
Hell or not
Tonight Steve Morse Band will jam with Jon Lord in Hell. That would be great to see. I also wanted to see Nightwish which playing there tomorrow. Hell Blues Festival is a great place, I was there 2 years ago when Jon Lord was jamming one night and the second night he had a solo concert in Nidarosdomen in Trondheim (Norway). Anyway, I didn’t made it to Hell this year. But I saw Nightwish yesterday in Stockholm (Sweden). It seems like some Deep Purple fans like them. Their last album, Once, is a masterpiece. A few years ago they did a cover of Rainbow’s “Snowman”, which can be found on the album “Bent Out Of Shape“. Nightwish version is called “Walking In The Air“.
Take care
Benny Holmstrom
Welcome to the THS blog
This is the THS blog. This will be our chance to comment on stuff, mostly purple related but maybe other things too.
You are welcome to comment on our blog posts but if you want a normal forum where you can start your own threads about anything, we recommend other forums.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
