Ultimate Classic Rock spoke to David Coverdale and from the looks of it, the future of Whitesnake is up in the air. The band had to cancel their ‘Farewell’ tour halfway through the European leg in July 2022. Subsequent North American dates were cancelled as well.
Last year, I was so incredibly compromised by, without any doubt, the worst sinus infection I’ve ever had in my life. And as a singer, I know them like fucking relatives of mine. This was one of the ugliest illnesses I think I’ve [ever] had. For seven months, I was taking ever-increasingly strong antibiotics and horrifying Prednisone steroids.
He continues that the doctors got his infection under control only by January, but by that point he had already advised his musicians to make other plans for 2023, telling them “I don’t know what kind of condition I’m going to be in for 2023”. Further touring plans have not been completely ruled out, though, but he’ll spend the year addressing other health issues, such as his torn rotator cuff.
I really don’t know [when we’ll be back onstage]. I’ll be 72 this year. But, you know, my passion is that of a much younger man, particularly with the new creative team that I have, working on these legacy projects and also new things at the same time.
Metal Edge magazine has reprinted online a Ritchie Blackmore interview from February 1997. It goes from the heat of the moment to some timeless advice.
What do you love most about the guitar?
Blackmore: Its shape. The guitar for me, when I was about 11, I was very introverted and I wanted something to relate to. I found I could express myself through it.
Did it bring you out of your shell?
Blackmore: Yes and no, I just went more into my shell with my guitar. Then I’d go onstage and be an extrovert.
Was that scary, the first time onstage?
Blackmore: Yeah, that’s when I’d start drinking. I still get nervous, as to whether I can pull out the sounds I want to hear and I get aggravated sometimes if we’re playing places where the acoustics aren’t right or the band isn’t playing well. It’s very hard for me to say, “another dollar, another day,” unlike some people I know. You can only just cross your fingers and hope for the best. You never get a perfect show. You can come close, but there are too many variables. The electricity can go off or a string will break. But the audience is a lot more tolerant than I would think.
This is from the recent brief tour of Steve Morse Band in February 2023. Good to see Steve in great spirits and in great form. This was recorded on February 27 at The Vogel in Red Bank, NJ. There’s more where this came from. Continue Reading »
Paul Gilbert has an RJD tribute album coming out on April 7 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. It is called simply The Dio Album and contains purely instrumental covers of tracks spanning Dio’s career in Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and solo.
An instrumental tribute album dedicated to a vocalist is definitely an interesting concept. Here’s a taste:
Blackmore’s Night record company is running a ruffle. Two copies of the black vinyl set of the Shadow Of The Moon25th anniversary edition will include golden tickets that can be redeemed for Ritchie Blackmore signature Fender Stratocaster signed by the man himself. As attested by the video. Continue Reading »
A 1969 Jaguar E-Type once owned by Jon Lord (in which he drove himself down to Montreux, no less) is up for sale at the Evoke Classics auction site. The starting price is ÂŁ20,000, and as a carefully restored low mileage classic car it is expected to fetch well into the six digits even without the ‘nobody gonna take my car’ connection.
Deep Purple performing on February 16, 2023, out at sea, on the deck of Rock Legends Cruise. Pretty good quality audience recording. Check out the ‘all hands on deck’ moment during LazyContinue Reading »
Ultimate Classic Rock has a story of the making of Woman From Tokyo:
One of Deep Purple’s best songs came out of one of their worst times.
The band was in disarray while recording “Woman From Tokyo,” which arrived in March 1973 as the lead single from Deep Purple’s seventh studio album, Who Do We Think We Are. “We had burned out,” keyboardist Jon Lord told this writer during the Mk II reunion tour in 1984. “We were working non-stop — recording, touring, recording, touring – no down time, no rest. It was just a treadmill, and it was wearing us down.
“We should have taken time off,” Lord added, “but management told us we couldn’t.” Instead, they gathered to start work on Who Do We Think We Are in July 1972 in Italy just seven months after recording the landmark Machine Head – and less than four months after its release.
There was no official announcement, but judging by the social media posts (here and here), Deep Purple had a writing session in Nashville, slotted between the short US tour and the upcoming visit to the Far East. They are once again working with Bob Ezrin at the helm.
Special thanks to Tobias Janaschke for reporting from behind the Instagram paywall.
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