This review by Peter Creascenti of Deep Purple Mark 4 gigs at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City in January 1976 has originally appeared in Sounds on February 14, 1976.
DEEP PURPLE is a band beset by severe internal problems, problems that are now affecting their live performances and may ultimately destroy the group forever. When Purple’s five musicians should be thoroughly obsessed with convincing their audience that the band’s experimentation with the Deep Purple formula, sparked by the addition of Tommy Bolin, is both vital and valid, they’re instead allowing themselves to be consumed by frustration and divided by personal ambitions.
You’ll detect no bitterness among them when you come taste the band, but there just isn’t enough room in the champagne glass for these five fish to swim around anymore. Maybe there never really was.
Guitar.com has published a profile of Ritchie Blackmore as a part in their ‘essential guides‘ series. There’s probably not much new in there for our regulars, but it’s a reasonably nice writeup for the uninitiated, with a few quotes from the man himself.
A figure who wielded his Fender Strats like Excalibur? The forefather of neo-classical shred? A believer in the mystical, wearing tights and playing old madrigals? It can only be great Ritchie Blackmore.
Every player has likely heard of Ritchie Blackmore. But it is plausible that he’s actually overlooked somewhat in the guitar pantheon, given the yards of coverage and acclaim given to, say, Jimmy Page? Yes, it is.
These two behemoths of classic British rock are broadly the same age, and have both influenced myriad players. If anything, Blackmore has trodden a more diverse path – crunching hard rock in Deep Purple, wizardly metal to pop-AOR in Rainbow and unique acoustic reveries in Blackmore’s Night. The latter will never have the cachet of Led Zeppelin III though, so – to perhaps too many – Ritchie Blackmore is someone who used to be famous. But for sheer skill, ambition and – let’s cut to the core – simply bamboozling guitar mastery, Blackmore is very much Page’s peer.
The firecracking antics at the California Jam were to the great amusement of a great many people, and to not-so-great amusement of the local authorities. Here is a reproduction of a letter sent by the City of Ontario Fire Chief to the ABC Entertainment in the aftermath of the event Continue Reading »
This is the Blackmore’s interview that he gave in September 1993 to a Swedish show called Metal Magazinet. You may have heard bits and pieces from it over the years, but here it looks like it is in its entirety and unedited. That’s the one from which the sensationalist clip of Ritchie going to beat up Big Ian was taken. And when put into the context it is plainly obvious that it was just Blackmore taking the piss out of his audience (or as they call it these days, trolling). Switching back to serious mode, he actually has quite a few kind things to say about Ian Gillan.
Thanks to Blackwood Richmore for the heads up and to Alexander Pronyakin for posting it.
Many a fan who got the chance to meet members of our favourite band made a remark to the extent of how nice and down to earth gentlemen they turned out to be. Here is a story of a lad from Edinburgh who through his work connections to Gillan’s manager Phil Banfield ended up in the studio when the band were working on Purpendicular.
I sat in for about two hours and all that was being recorded was Ian Paice’s 10 second drum break between two of the verses.
‘He’s a real perfectionist’ whispered Roger Glover to me after about 12 takes, and only then did I realise how important a 10 second drum break could be (think of In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins with its iconic drum break which was immortalised by the Cadbury’s gorilla and you’ll get the gist.)
After two hours Paicey still wasn’t happy and left the studios frowning.
‘He’ll worry about that all night’ remarked Roger.
Afterwards I adjourned with Mr Gillan to a nearby bar along with some of the band members and road crew in the expectation of hearing lurid tour-related stories concerning naked groupies, outrageous imbibing of alcohol, excessive intake of Class A drugs and the old rock’n’roll favourite, destruction of hotel rooms.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. All were respectable married men in their 50s with kids and grandkids and as such the bar room banter circled around families, schools, gardens, finances, football and the other staple conversation topics of middle aged men sharing a beer after work.
Ian Paice was recently interviewed by an outfit called Raised On Radio. Oblivious to a hit, the steamy Knebworth, a comedy act that made no money, getting caught by the labour of love, and importance of brand names — it’s all here. Continue Reading »
As part of the press surrounding the release of their new album, Nature’s Light, Blackmore’s Night did a short interview segment for CNN. Among other things, we learn about their fascination with Renaissance fairs and couture, and how they approach writing songs for the group. He even has kind words for Ian Gillan.
Remember that first time when you’ve heard Child in Time and it left you speechless? Here is one of ’em reaction videos, and while the girls are about as coherent as could be expected from giggling teenagers, their sheer youthful exuberance is kind of endearing. Continue Reading »
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Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing