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Flying in the sky with a bunch of high fidelity
A recent post on Something Else blog makes the case that the often overlooked Who Do We Think We Are? deserves at least another listen. The train of thought departs from:
It’s often accepted without reservation that Deep Purple’s Machine Head is one of the essential entries in the hard-rock canon of the early 1970s. From the tightly arranged opener “Highway Star” to the mutant blues of “Lazy” and the intergalactic jam-out finale of “Space Truckin’,” the album’s seven tracks were well recorded, well played, and fit the profile promoted on album-oriented rock music stations that seemed to be multiplying exponentially along the FM radio dial.
And arrives to the conclusion
In the end, this LP is of a piece with the other three by the Deep Purple Mark II configuration: not as perfect as In Rock and not as successful as Machine Head, but more focused than Fireball. If for no other reason, Who Do We Think We Are? has to be respected for its own particular version of grace under pressure.
Take a look at the path travelled in between on Something Else.
By the by, the album itself is celebrating 50 years these days. Happy birthday!
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I always listen to WDWTWA from start to finish…..and more often than Machine Head.
January 13th, 2023 at 23:28I believe it is a fine record that hasn’t been given it’s due.
Not as heavy as In Rock, but,all these years later, it stands up to Machine Head & Fireball.
Nice to see an article on this classic MK2 album, which to my ears still sounds as fresh to this day. Those 4 early 1970’s MK2 albums each hold up so well in their own respective ways. Fireball & WDWTWA are the two ‘forgotten’ gems cut from the same stone. Cheers.
January 14th, 2023 at 00:34You’re right, this is a seriously underrated album. When it first came out I thought it was a little lame, but it didn’t take long to grow on me. There’s really not a single weak cut on this album. Besides, everything looks lame when compared to In Rock. Woman from Tokyo reminds me of my ex, so I skip over that one, but the rest of the album is GREAT!
January 14th, 2023 at 01:41Rat Bat Blue is my favorite under the rader DP song.
January 14th, 2023 at 03:07I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for “WDWTWA.” No, it doesn’t have the raw, primeval energy of “In Rock” or the songwriting genius of “Machine Head.” But I agree with the blogger that it’s more focused than “Fireball.” I also think the blogger has an intriguing point that “Made in Japan” took several of the MH songs and considerably juiced them up, thereby adding to MH’s luster and esteem. “Woman from Tokyo” has grown in stature as a result of Purple’s trademark live performances. Other WDWTHA numbers may have as well if the guys would have toured live with them shortly after they were recorded.
But if the WDWTWA songs aren’t quite up to MH’s standard, the musicianship still is, and that’s a big part of it’s appeal to me. Paicey is in top form, Glover and Gillan are stellar, Ritchie (if a bit distracted and discontented) is still Ritchie. And to my ears, Jon Lord is the star of the album. He lays down solos that are among his best – Rat Bat Blue, Smooth Dancer, Place in Line are all top rate. And his customary “rhythm organ” is once again a critical part of what differentiated Purple from other hard rock groups.
I listened to WDWTWA almost as much when it was released as I did any other DP albums. “In Rock,” “Machine Head,” and “Made in Japan:” are certainly the best of the MK II output. But “Who Do We Think We Are” deserves a lot more love and acclaim than it sometimes receives, at least in my book. Most other groups would kill to put out an album of that standard.
January 14th, 2023 at 03:17I agree. I always liked wdwtwa..its a good album..not a super album.. but a good album with, to my mind, som good songs on it,
January 14th, 2023 at 10:19Woman from Tokyo, Smoothdancer (that gets even better when you know who Gillan is singing about) Rat bat blue (what a good riff) and in my world one of the most beautiful melodies they ever written “Our Lady”.
it did well in the charts and sold very well world wide. I think the “putting down” thing started with the Purple chaps themself in interviews years later..and then the mob of fans followed..it became the album you as a purple fan should not like cos the MkII
boys told you so!
Im not a shame to say I like it and these days I play it more often than “In Rock.” Now I said my piece. 🙂
Love this album. One of the most under rated DP albums (along with the last MKI album). Not a bad track on it. Our Lady has always been one of my favorite DP songs. I agree with one of the other posts that Lord is the star of this album.
January 14th, 2023 at 11:34I would love to hear just once Smooth Dancer played live. To me it’s in my top 5 Purple songs and always will be. Just a great, great song.
January 14th, 2023 at 14:11I always though WDWTWA is their best sounding record of the 70’s. I agree, that it is more focused than Fireball. As far as the songs are concerned, the only song I never enjoyed was Mary Long. I never understood why they choose to play that song live over the others, as there are strong songs on this album. Also, lets not Painted Horse, recorded during WDWTWA, but not included on the record.
January 14th, 2023 at 16:14Well it’s DP in form, style and sound of Made in Japan, which is way above the somewhat dry and contained MH record, only with other songs….
January 14th, 2023 at 23:08Hi everyone! In the 90’s I used to burn some CDs for my favourite pub in germany who played mostly blues & bluesrock. For one CD I used the track “Place in Line”, which became a favourite for most of my beer-drinking guys. Together with songs from Rory Gallagher, Snowy White, Eric Clapton etc. we had some great evenings…
Have a nice Day!
January 15th, 2023 at 01:25“Super Trouper” is one of my all-time favorite DP songs, hands down. How it’s not considered a classic, I dunno. “Painted Horse” is also great.
January 15th, 2023 at 02:47I listen to WDWTWA a lot start to finish, nothing ground breaking just a good rock album. It sounds cleaner than In Rock and MH but not nearly as powerful. Rat Bat Blue, WFT, Smooth Dancer are really good rockers but every song is. I can’t rank this LP with MK II studio releases cause they are all different and all gems to me.
January 15th, 2023 at 13:43As far as I know, this is a favorite Album of Don Airy or Steve Wai. There are no bad tracks on it, it’s just another – the most gloomy and it is not surprising, the brightest song on it is Woman from Tokyo, and the most fun, if you can say – place in line, the rest of the songs are impregnated with some kind of inexitment and sadness, which does not quite fit with positive Deep Purple in the eyes of some fans. It is especially difficult to perceive the lyrics and they consider it stupid, and I, first of all, love the Lyrics.
January 15th, 2023 at 17:18The problem is it wasn’t a happy time for DP when writing this album, just like the house of blue light.
January 15th, 2023 at 21:52When you don’t have band members talking to each other then the spark is gone.
All Credit to Martin Birch from putting it all together to finish the album just like it’s all credit to Roger Glover for putting the house of blue light all together.
Peace ✌️
Always has been one of my favourites.
January 15th, 2023 at 22:05I m still very pissed that in the 90’s, when they started but not completed the Anniversary serie they managed to neglect this stellar album.
I’ve always liked WDWTWA (and Fireball) Every single song. The Woman from Tokyo single version is slightly different from the album and it’s flipside the “Japan Version” of Black night delivers the most aggresive Hammond B3 work I’ve ever experienced in my born days. Long live his Lordship.
January 15th, 2023 at 22:12So interesting. I’m an old fan, though I rarely post having taken some flack for my comments over 10 years ago (give or take). Perhaps this makes me a Purple cicada. Anyway, there was a lot to like about Who Do We Think We Are, even with its pop leanings. The keyboard and guitar interplay of Super Trooper, Lord’s impeccable playing on Rat Bat Blue and Smooth Dancer, and the Lord Blackmore interplay on Place In Line. All excellent. What I find most fascinating is the commentary above claiming TDWTWA is more focused than Fireball. Honestly, one of the joys of Mark II was the lack of focus. They seemed to do whatever they wanted to do, and the hell with the rest of us.
I find the partitions based on albums somewhat artificial. Certainly there’s a temporal relationship, a progression, from In Rock to Who Do We Think We Are. Still, I see the Mark II albums as a collection of great songs, almost independent of the order in which they were delivered. Regardless, I expect most of us would have enjoyed a performance based on any of these albums. And all this despite thesub rosa angst and centripetal forces that tear Mark II apart. Still, I find Fireball a remarkable album, a necessary album, a bridge without which Machine Head and WDWTWA would not have happened. Some might see it as unfocused (Anyone’s Daughter being an outlier), but there’s so much to enjoy. Fireball shows up on my turntable just as frequently as the other Mark II albums.
I find the need to rank albums trying, and unproductive. Rather, the collection of songs produced by Mk II is exceptional across all its albums. Fireball, like the other Mark II albums, has some exceptional songs, though they were regrettably neglected by the band in live performance.
Sign me off as a Purple fan, come hell or high water.
January 16th, 2023 at 07:00I think the run of albums from In Rock through to Burn are peerless, each with their charms. Always loved WDWTWA from the get go…. In fact if pushed I’d take it as my Purple desert island disc. The production sounds thicker ( denser?) than the others, and I loved the fact Lord was all over the album at the expense of a distracted Blackmore.
January 16th, 2023 at 09:32Sure I’m in the minority here but I rate this just as highly as anything that mark 11 produced! , and I still play it more than the others
#18 – totally agree!
For me MH sounds “flat”. In terms of sound, real value of its tracks come from MiJ and BBC In Concert (numbers not played on MiJ).
Painted Horse and Super Trouper are my favourites from excellent WDWTWA, never understood why this album is so underrated, the same for Fireball.
Cheers for all!
January 16th, 2023 at 10:32In my opinion, WDWTWA has aged very well. I’m 59 years old and I’ve been listening to this album since 1976. Even today it’s a very pleasant listening experience. “Mary Long” is one of my favorite tracks from the band’s entire repertoire. Happy 2023 everyone!!!
January 16th, 2023 at 12:10Same here, WDWTWA was always a favorite of mine, I’d rank it before In Rock and Fireball and just a bit behind Machine Head. I like those two exactly for their ‘pop leanings’ as Sterling so perceptively observed. WDWTWA is even Beatl(es)’ish in places, it is sort of DP’s Abbey Road.
I think the album got drowned out at the time by Machine Head and MiJ still being high in the charts, yet the end of Mk II already being imminent – the Purple management wanted to squeeze the last drop out of the ailing Mk II before their race horse collapsed. Also, the much more gung-ho and rejuvenated Burn came out only a year later and in the months before the new line-up (and how it would measure up to Mk II) was the main media topic rather than appraising the qualities of disbanded Mk II’s worthy last album which was old news. Given the circumstances, it also wasn’t really promoted through tours anymore – with only Mary Long limping into the set.
I see WDWTWA, Stormbringer and THOBL all as albums reorded in less than happy circumstances with the writing already on the wall, but musically versatile and interesting. Whenever Ritchie relinquished his iron grip on the band for whatever reasons, all kinds of flowers began to bloom in the Purple garden.
January 16th, 2023 at 15:35By his own admission, the riff for Sail Away took inspiration from Stevie Wonder’s Superstition which Blackmore had first heard in the Beck, Bogert & Appice version.
January 16th, 2023 at 20:36I have loved every song on WDWTWA since 1973 when I first heard the album. I think Ian Gillan & Jon Lord really shine on this record , my 2 favorite tracks are “Super Trooper” and “Place In Line”. I think the critics who bash the album do so because they are always comparing it to “In Rock “ and “ Machine Head” which is not really fair, well, that’s their loss then ! Fans of Deep Purple Mach II appreciate this underrated gem !
January 17th, 2023 at 00:19In the first time, the weakest link of “Mark II”, with time and the appearance of “The House of Blue Light” and The Battle Rages On…it became better and better :). It’s not a bad album, but it wasn’t up to the standards we were used to from Deep Purple. Respect for classic” My Woman from Tokyo”, also big moments instrumental parts in Rat Bat Blue (a great solo by Jon Lord and a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach) also great solos by Jon and Ritchie “Place in the Line” (5″-25 – 5″34 ..sound similar to a guitar riff from song ” Tush” ZZ TOP -1975 )
January 17th, 2023 at 06:23WDWTWA was as experimental as Fireball, but the tunes were better and of course the production. Super Trouper and Our Lady are songs in a vein Mk II had never tried before (or after). They were also Mk II at its most beatlish.
The middle-eight on Lady Double Dealer (“I gave love to you …”) was also almost a Beatles pastiche – I love that harmony-drenched part in an otherwise rather nondescript and a bit formulaic belter of a song.
January 17th, 2023 at 17:31Mary Long and Place in Line are fantastic songs, the rest ok. It suffers in comparison to Machine Head but that doesn’t make it a bad album. Then again I really like The House of Blue Light so what do I know.
January 17th, 2023 at 20:09I always liked this album. Even a “lesser” offering by Deep Purple, was is better, than most of the other music out there. Their sound was superb on this record, and though not as good as the previous 3 studio recordings, still a great record. My older brother brought this home along with “Made in Japan” and his kid brother was hooked on Purple. Been so ever since. Shame that Mark 2 didn’t take that 6-12 month sabbatical that the various members talked of, years later. Love all Purple incarnations, but Mark 2 had something really special. But with greedy management, its just a what if. It was a special time there in the early to mid seventies. Rock ruled the world and Deep Purple were a big part of that. I so miss Jon Lord being with us. My all time favorite musician.
January 17th, 2023 at 20:27Come on guys. Wdwtwa may be a decent album, but it’s not a patch on either In Rock or Machine Head.
January 17th, 2023 at 21:17There’s a good reason these two albums are held in such high esteem. It’s because they are two of the best rock albums of all time.
From start to finish there’s not a duff moment, never mind song, on either of them.
The only other rock album with a Purple connection that stands comparison with them, is the magnificent Rainbow Rising.
Yo, some really interesting comments to read folks ! Always funny to note how people bring-up Fireball & WDWTWA together in discussion, & Uwe’s remark qt. “Whenever Ritchie relinquished his iron grip on the band for whatever reasons, all kinds of flowers began to bloom in the Purple garden” speaks volumes I think.
Fireball is a great album, & though perhaps RB’s efforts aren’t remembered as being forcefully delivered or refined as in other Mk-II works, allowed Roger to really shine brightly imo. The tune “Fireball” received a notable bass-solo, but his effort & dynamic playing through “No,no,no” would be one of RG’s finest moments imo. – (He was doubling-up the really cool riff with RB & then playing the tune like a funky-solo for the remainder). There was also a lot of really good experimentation going on too in a production sense, with back-ward guitars & keyboard parts here & there, & they stepped into the prog-world with “The mule”. The album is diverse.
WDWTWA is a rock-steady-diamond all the way through. Probably my personal fave, as it gets far more play-time here at my place than all the others, likely because it’s so easy to get along with from start to finish. “In Rock” however is a musical freak-of-nature, & will endure the times like its cover displays imo !
Peace !
January 18th, 2023 at 07:13Michael, granted In Rock and Machine Head are much more immediate albums than Fireball and “the soap bubbles one”. But that doesn’t make the latter two automatically discardable.
But attesting Rainbow’s Rising the same caliber as In Rock and Machine Head? I dunno, but an admittedly iconic sleeve does not a lasting rock album classic make (though it plays a part). Hardly anything of that album was ever performed live by Rainbow, the production is rushed and wacky, the musical vision – in comparison to Deep Purple’s especially – extremely narrow and one-dimensional. Saying Rising is as good or important as In Rock or Machine Head is like saying 300 (the ‘Spartans on Steroids & in Sandals’ graphic novel retold spectacle) stands alongside Citizen Kane as a movie. Ouch.
There, I’ve said it (once again). Time standing still and you can now spill my blood on the sand! ; – )
January 18th, 2023 at 14:16Agreed, Uwe. Rising has its moments but cannot be compared to any album of DP Mark II or III. Narrow is the word.
And as we’re talking about WDWTWA … I always found it sounding a lot better than Machine Head. Souper Trouper and Our Lady are …well … a bit fillers for me, the other song are formidable and I wish they had done more of them live, maybe with Steve Morse. And dare I say that Machine Head is the DP album I listend to the least. I mean, we have Made in Japan and I had heard that before I got my hands on Machine Head – which was a disappointment by then. The better tunes are on the live album and the versions are so much better – and the rest are fillers anyway (well, maybe with the exception of Pictures of Home).
January 19th, 2023 at 16:29Repeating myself again. It is perplexing that some here ‘compare’ Rainbow Rising to DP. Blackmore DID NOT set out to recreate another version of DP. Rainbow were meant to be completely different. There isn’t a comparison at all, it is ridiculous to even contemplate that. Michael @29 rates RR highly as a memorable album with a few of his favourite DP albums., so do I. It does stand on it’s own & those albums were meant to be different, that is what evolving & searching for other ideas does, it creates different scenarios. Blackmore, Dio & Powell moved in a wonderful circle there, A great effort indeed with all other musicians involved at that time. Tarot Woman, Stargazer, A Light in The Black, epics indeed. The LLR&R album has 4 gems also, wonderful songs & playing. It was all about forging a new Iron, for want of a better description. Blackmore is the only ex DP member that continued to set the bar high, in regards to rock music. In regards to Machine Head & the Made in Japan versions of those classics. I still play the other songs off MH a lot. They are wonderful songs, Pictures of Home, Maybe I’m A Leo, Never Before. I still play Lazy as well, there is something special about the studio version of that song. Cheers.
January 19th, 2023 at 22:07Max @ 32, I agree wholeheartedly. If I want to hear the prime Machine Head songs (Highway Star, Lazy, Smoke, Space Truckin’), 99% of the time I play Made in Japan. Completely superior versions, and Purple’s strength has always been playing live as opposed to the studio. Why not listen to the best?
January 19th, 2023 at 22:52Horses for courses: I like the very direct and controlled sound of MH, possibly because I heard that BEFORE I heard the MiJ versions which to me are also a bit on the frantic side (but enjoyably different for just that). I also think the songwriting absolutely consistent, there are no fillers for me on MH.
I fail to see what was so starkly different about the Dio era of Rainbow in comparison to Mk III – it wasn’t so much more or heading into a new direction as it was Deep Purple with all the non-Blackmore influences taken out, yet I always felt that DP’s music was superior to Rainbow for exactly those non-Blackmore elements!
I actually LIKED Gillan’s wry lyrical wit and vocal melodies, I thought Glenn’s funk influence both vocally and on bass great, Glover’s melodic bass playing and songwriting contributions pleasing to the ear and Coverdale’s bluesy voice and tongue (or whatever other organ he chose to project) in cheek machismo appealing. Little Ian’s swing defines and differentiates for me DP through the ages and let’s face it: Most Rainbow keyboardsmiths should have felt lucky getting a job as Jon Lord’s deputy stage technician. (Even Don Airey did not in 1979 yet have the fluidity, grace and natural groove of Jon.)
Rainbow was Deep Purple MINUS all those good things, Ritchie Blackmore as a highly concentrated potion – with Dio’s voice and escapist fantasy lyrics added (which even as a teenager had no appeal for me: I don’t know about you, but I had little social contact to maidens locked in towers or to wizards with an undeniable architectural ambition, yet only a very limited grasp of the more crucial aspects of modern aeronautics) plus Cozy’s excruciatingly heavy-handed clobbering of the music to death while habitually rushing tempos too much live. It was a music made to sound grandiose (and somewhat pretentious), but with very restricted foundations and a dearth of influences/ideas outside of Blackmore and Dio as the main protagonists. (Even Blackmore grew tired of it after just three albums, Dio continued to make a living out of it.)
But I get it, in a heavy metal bubble perhaps, early Rainbow has had some lasting impact, but in the grander universe of rock? A footnote at best. That doesn’t mean that Rainbow lacked moments of magic, even a Ritchie confined by his reluctance to hear, endure and develop other people’s musical ideas can still entertain some of the time.
January 20th, 2023 at 17:38I have always understood that Rainbow was a little rougher & abrasive sounding than DP amongst other things. For me they were a breathe of fresh air though after what had become of DP. That & the fact Dio was definitely a breathe of fresh air in more ways than one. I really enjoy his vocal & melodies, more than Coverdale & Hughes. I don’t mind Coverdale & Hughes at times with DP, there are some fine songs there indeed & Gypsy & Soldier of Fortune along with Stormbringer the song were leading that ‘Rainbow’ way to my ears. Something different for Blackmore & his short fuse perhaps, how long does it take before he becomes annoyed or bored etc. That could also be one reason for the ‘unfinished’ sound to RR & LLR&R. Anyway yes it is horses for courses & I do like that fantasy sort of lyric if only with quality melodies & songs, ala Ken Hensley with that classic era Uriah Heep. I am a sucker for that in that sense, however it does have it’s limitations after a while. I still remember vividly the radio station 3XY from Melbourne which I could just pick up all the way north of there out in rural NSW. The announcer mentioning a new song from Rainbow, RB new band. The anticipation was exciting. When I heard it, yes it is vastly different to RR of course, however the magic of it & that first song & the album was wonderful, Dio was a grand fit with Blackmore. Sure the album was a little softer for what I wanted to hear. RR was harder & as a youngster enjoying that aspect to rock music, more suited for what we craved. I can forgive the production of sorts, it is what it is. Big regret missing them in Sydney in late 1976, the did play Stargazer then apparently. I still wonder why Blackmore always insisted on playing Mistreated though, I have never liked that song performed by Rainbow, no disrespect to Dio. I bet he loathed singing that, it just wasn’t his style & lyric etc. His little sneer at it on the Munich concert dvd says it all & good on him for saying that. Cheers.
January 20th, 2023 at 21:16Just quickly I forgot to mention the lack of keyboards in Rainbow. I find that pleasing in many aspects. Don’t get me wrong the quintessential DP for me is Blackmore, Lord & Paice. However it was nice to get away from that duelling keyboard Hammond thing for a while & the keyboard players in Rainbow did the job well & no doubt contributed wonderful musical ideas etc, although they may have been a little frustrated at times. Agree re Machine Head, no fillers there, a wonderful album indeed. Also Ian Gillan’s lyrics & melodies with DP. Cheers.
January 20th, 2023 at 21:46Yo, The “thing” that DP had, was a groove. People that followed RB onto Rainbow were guitar oriented ( my exact reason for following-on ), & in general, a groove based beat was replaced by a march, especially as time progressed. eg You could “shake-yo-ass” if you wanted with DP, less so with Rainbow.
And with WDWTWA, the “groove” is present on every tune eventually in some way, ever more so than previous albums. It’s the groove in the music that makes DP appreciated, & differentiated to this day, even when people compare them against other “heavy” artists. Great rhythm section indeed !
Peace !
January 20th, 2023 at 22:26@ 38 – “eg You could “shake-yo-ass” if you wanted with DP, less so with Rainbow.”
January 21st, 2023 at 06:08My oh my Gregster, where is this leading to, he he he. If I wanted to shake my booty I would be listening to ‘play that funky music white boy’ or ‘Macho macho man’, ha ha ha! Seriously though for me it is song quality first, then musicianship & sound etc but musicians don’t have to be ‘virtuoso’s’ to make a great song. I think most people that followed Blackmore into Rainbow would have been rather annoyed with what DP had turned into. Not all though, but many no doubt. However yes indeed, guitar did rule back in those days & Blackmore amongst others was rolling the dice big time. Cheers.
Wow, Gregster, you put that succinctly,
“in general, a groove based beat was replaced by a march”
that just sums the change/deterioration from Purple to Rainbow for me up!
Maybe we’re attracted to what’s more exotic to us? I’m a Kraut and we of course co-invented marching music, and I don’t just mean military marches, Can, Kraftwerk, Scorpions, Tangerine Dream (slow funeral-type marches anyone?), Rammstein, German Electro, Scooter, Modern Talking, all have a marching rhythm feel in their music. And then you hear something like Chasing Shadows, Lazy, You Fool No One or I Need Love and it’s just different.
I’ve never seen a “shake-yo-ass”-content as something negative in music. I never even disliked Disco, you’ll find a lot of Kool & The Gang in my CD collection, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, everything from Mothers Finest and Osibisa plus a lot of Prince. My ultimate feel-good song along with, of course, YMCA, is this here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiYjQr22meY
Maxine Nightingale, Village People, digigng Robert Halford … I have now cast our resident MacMarsupial into deep doubt … : – )
Keine Marschmusik – with a Hammond solo + shakin’ that ass:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfHsF6FKgb4
January 21st, 2023 at 22:06@ 40 – no doubt here Uwe as I was going to mention that you more than likely would possess in your vast music collection plenty of that booty’ shaking music. Although I thought I would wait & play it safe, he he he. Maxine Nightingale, gee it has been a long time since I have heard that song. The 1970’s had plenty for all to enjoy. Seriously though a good song is a good song, irrelevant of whether it’s grooves or marches, for me & a lot of other people no doubt. Now what was the name of that Village People song, ‘Can’t Stop The Music’. Cheers.
January 21st, 2023 at 23:40@ 39 & 40…Well…I’m actually using Glen Hughes’ expressions to be quite honest to state my POVs…( I’m pretty sure he says something along those lines through the gig in Paris lol, along with something about having “a lovely bunch of coconuts”, but that may be Graz )…
Yes he said these things, & he’s quite funny at times ! Besides, it makes-up a little for “Georgia” & a few of the “whoops” that we all love lol !
There’s no doubt however that 1973 & WDWTWA produced & sat among some magnum-opus albums from a number of bands…Quadrophenia, Queen, Dark side of the Moon, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, The Houses of the Holy, Rush, Whatever turns you on, Dixie Chicken, Billion Dollar Babies etc etc etc. A truly great year for music in general.
Peace !
January 22nd, 2023 at 13:07@ 42 -it is interesting that you mention Glenn Hughes as there was another Glenn Hughes in The Village People band back then. I looked them up yesterday. That is Uwe’s persuasive influence kicking in there, he he he. I do remember TVP had quite a few hits back in the mid to late 70’s. Hence the shakin’ the booty comment & there are so many songs that fit into that genre. Now will the real Glenn Hughes please stand up. I wonder which Hughes is more funky etc? TVP Glenn Hughes passed away from lung cancer 22 years ago. Did Glenn Hughes inspire Glenn Hughes? I had better get out of here. Cheers.
January 22nd, 2023 at 20:33MacSupial, the two Glenn Hughes’es actually once met, “our” Glenn Hughes mentioned as much in an interview some years back (or in his biography?) and said that the other “biker” Glenn Hughes was a wonderful, gentle guy to be around with.
Now move your butts, darn it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9tigaLR4lY
“Our” Glenn was certainly no stranger to music that would have also gone down well – NO PUN INTENDED !!! – in gay discos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGOLi8QK8XA
It’s all music, free your mind and the rest will follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7iQbBbMAFE
January 23rd, 2023 at 16:06MacGregor #43….I remember attending a Glenn Hughes show in Oz back in 2013 in which he told a story about the mix-up between his name and the Village People guy’s name. Apparently it took a few years to sort out all the royalty cheque confusion, etc.
January 23rd, 2023 at 17:37DeeperPurps @ 45- I can only think of the same record company or an affiliate or the same manager or something along those lines would be an explanation for that. I wonder which one was receiving cheques for something they never did? It has probably happened to others over time. Cheers.
January 23rd, 2023 at 20:15It happens. For instance: For decades (!) the royalties from Be-Bop Deluxe albums recorded by the one line-up went to the musicians of an earlier line-up that had never even recorded those records. Bill Nelson was not amused and it took ages for EMI to finally make the payments to the right people (they paid twice in fact and did not demand anything back – too much hassle).
January 24th, 2023 at 01:54@ 47…With so many different DP line-ups over the years, its a wonder the same mistake hasn’t happened again as with Be-Bop-Deluxe !
That said, the error can’t be too great with BBD, since the only real big line-up change occurred after the debut Axe Victim, where the new line-up as a trio was formed to record Futurama, though Andy Clarke (keyboards) did play on the album, only to become an official member for Sunburst Finish, where they were a 4-piece…That said, they did tour with an additional guitarist for Modern Music…
It does get confusing lol ! And these guys are likely more popular now than then ! Apparently there was an effort made by Bill in the mid 1990’s to get things rolling again, but then Charlie passed-away, & that was that. *Quite a talented singer / bassist Charlie Tumahai was too.
Peace !
January 25th, 2023 at 00:12Gregster, IIRC, it wasn’t even the guys from the Axe Victim line-up that got the post-Axe Victim royalties, but the ex-Cockney Rebel guys that joined in between and never recorded. (EMI probably had their addresses because Cockney Rebel were an EMI act too in the 70ies.) Not even Bill Nelson received royalties from CD sales (granted, perhaps he should have asked why this is so already earlier and not do nothing for decades; the first Be-Bop Deluxe CDs came out in the early 90ies, the royalty recipients glitch was only noticed in 2011 or so).
Bill Nelson was no doubt BBD’s brain, but Charlie Tumahai was their heart and soul and made the music relatable. Mind you, he was also the only guy with them who – to coin a phrase – moved his butt on stage! Lovely bassist and singer.
No such royalties cock-up is on record for DP indeed though I always wonder where do the resumed royalties for Rod Evans for the Mk I releases go? Nick Simper waived his royalty claims in lieu of a settlement payment in the early 70ies after taking the band to court (in hindsight: not a wise financial move), so he’s out of the picture. But Rod did not lose his royalty claims in the aftermath of the “Bogus Purple” scandal forever, only for a few decades (as damage compensation). They have been resumed post-Millennium, but where does the money actually go? Rod probably doesn’t pick it up in person ; – ), so there must be an account or is it paid into escrow and just stays there until someone with valid legal title eventually picks the money up one day?
Rod’s vanishing from the face of the earth is DP’s strange little secret. Mesmerization Eclipse indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV3kb-c8XV8
January 26th, 2023 at 19:20That Captain Beyond song Mesmerization Eclipse is quite progressive. I cannot believe that is Rod Evans singing, I know it is of course, however he could sing harder than he ever did in Purple it seems. No doubt a different environment & musicians helped. I like it & I have to admit I have only ever listened to a few tracks from CB online here & there over the years. I should suss them out a little more when in the mood for that old school classic rock. Cheers.
January 26th, 2023 at 20:44@49 Captain Beyond had a promising line-up imo, & Rod did co-write several songs with Bobby Cadwell too, though that was 50-years ago now…And the “New Deep Purple” featuring Rod Evans was circa 1980 from memory. A long time to be missing !
Yes, I too remember the Bill Nelson / BBD royalty fiasco, though I’m not sure where I read it, possibly in the liner-notes of “Futurist Manifesto”, though I do have the “Music in Dreamland, Bill Nelson & Be Bop Deluxe” book, as written by Paul Sutton Reeves circa 2008, but this seems too early. Admittedly, I haven’t read it yet either, as I grabbed it for historical purposes, to be read one day in the distant future. ( A quick flick-through / speed-read of the first few chapters finds it quite informative, & very well researched, so it’s a good thing ). And since it may well be the only book available on BBD, here’s the
ISBN 978-1-905139-29-3, for those interested.
Peace !
January 26th, 2023 at 23:13I have just watched Captain Beyond live at Montreux online & Rod Evans just doesn’t seem to be into it. His vocals are a tad flat in a way & the songs are not very good, the instrumental playing from the musicians is good though, just the lack of decent melodies & hooks etc. He obviously didn’t fit into the rock ‘n roll scene very well. Not to worry as we will always have him singing wonderfully with Deep Purple. Cheers.
January 27th, 2023 at 04:15People tend to rave about the Captain Beyond debut, but I like the follow-up Sufficiently Breathless better, more refined songwriting, with Starglow Energy being the standout track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrR4cRTbPvU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ExCwpi59c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MOcIpPHea4
While the first album was progish-angular, the second had a decidedly West Coast rock influence to it.
The Captain Beyond guys always claim, even in more recent interviews, that Rod is alive and well, just lives a very private life. Too private to show up at the RRHoF and impress his grandchildren?
Incidentally, his shaky pitch when the music got harder, was one of the reasons Purple mentioned for letting him go in 1969. His crooner voice was better employed on ballads and more melodic stuff.
January 27th, 2023 at 17:57