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Unbelievable!
Couple of letters from the trainspotting desk of our Department of Silly Little Things.
Deep Purple got a mention on BBC Radio 4 show The Unbelievable Truth. The premise of the show is guest comedians trying to smuggle truths past their opponents. The opponents have to spot the truth among the lies. In series 31 episode 4 the ruse presented was that Deep Purple were sued for the riff of Smoke (which, as we all know, has a grain of plausibility in it). The episode in question was aired on May 5, 2025, and is available for replay for 28 days after that.
Meanwhile, earlier this month in Nashville, Tennessee, Metallica was having fun (it lasts only for a few bars):
Thanks to Mad Hatter and Gary Poronovich for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I have seen local cover bands do it with more feel and finesse.
May 14th, 2025 at 19:40True, but then again, anything Hetfield & Co get their hands on sounds like Hetfield & Co – immediately and forever. I still haven’t made up my mind whether that is brilliant or just dumb one-trick-pony’sh. 😁
May 14th, 2025 at 21:34I really don’t appreciate this!
René likes Metallica a lot, and he finds James Hetfield to be just like Ian 😳😳😳
😤 I find myself soon to be in need of a decent divorce lawyer, should this continue. I’m appalled, in shock and on the edge of a mental, emotional and physical breakdown
May 15th, 2025 at 04:55A friend of mine – a jazz guitar player – would put it this way: Die haben einen Swing wie ein Sack Zement! 😁
May 15th, 2025 at 05:14@ 3 – Karin, hasn’t Uwe just swung over to divorce etc in his work. At the very least he may be able to offer some marriage guidance or counselling, Give him a try at first, you never know your luck, he he he. At least he is NOT a Metallica fan, so there shouldn’t be any possible bias there. Good luck. Cheers.
May 15th, 2025 at 06:19@4
And JH sounds NOTHING like Ian!
May 15th, 2025 at 06:29Right?
Right!
@5
😄
Thanks MacGregor!
Well I don’t think I can afford the astronomical amount of money he is demanding!
May 15th, 2025 at 09:26But if he could lower the fee I would indeed be interested ☺️
I always feel mean spirited when criticising Metallica as there are many worse bands. However, I find them leaden and uninspiring. There’s no finesse and no light and shade.
May 15th, 2025 at 10:38I‘m not gonna bash Metallica because I respect their longevity and devotion to DP (not just Lars, but Kirk and James too). But yes, they don‘t swing, they’re leaden and heavy-handed (all of this by design, not sheer inability, Lars‘ weird drumming and James‘ primal Godzilla rhythm guitar pretty much define the band sound) and Hetfield is indeed a very limited singer (though better than in their early days), he reminds me most of Eric Bloom‘s (of BÖC) voice, minus the agility, range and musicality.
https://youtu.be/bs-yzJeZoRg
Obviously, this was just an impromptu spoof jam as Metallica are sometimes inclined to do live, but even spoof jams can massacre a song less than they do here. For someone who worships Ian Paice, Lars‘ hi-hat work to the SOTW riff should see him committed to a high security detention facility in his home Kingdom of Denmark – without any access to drums.
I dunno, there must be something in the Metallica sound that appeals to the masses, I don‘t think they became so famous because of pretty-boy-looks. It must be the brutality, single-mindedness and heft of their angular riffing. Just like KISS, Metallica will never sound either elegant or groovy, something most other US bands don’t have issues with, maybe they simply sound different because of that to American ears.
No, IG sounds nothing like JH, in fact the latter isn‘t much of a singer at all, but he has perfected that ‘Metallica bellow’. But don’t do anything rash, Karin, in a good marriage one has to forgive and forget – and even if it means Metallica fandom. It’s a philosophical thing, as long as René takes out the real trash without too much prompting, leave him his juvenile affection for the thrash metal & acne kings.
May 15th, 2025 at 12:24@8
And!……
May 15th, 2025 at 13:02JH does not AT ALL sounds like Ian, right??…?😉
Ich plädiere für dumb, Euer Ehrenuwe!
And no, dear Karin, JH does not sound like IG at all. At least not to these ears. I’d even say while noone really sounds like IG – JH doesn’t even gets close to sounding like Big Ian.
The only connection between DP and Metallica I can see is that Lars Ulrich always said he’s a big fan of little Ian. Sadly to know audible effect …
But what do I know? I come to the Purple universe from the swinging and grooving side of things – not from the leaden one. I am well aware of the fact though, that many people see DP as the respected but soft forefathers of the real things to come – like Maiden or Metallica. But hey, not me! DP or say Dio is as hard as it gets here at old Maxens. The rest may be left to those who know better – while I am off listening to some Americana, Blues, Soul or even Jazz. And don’t forget that Teleman guy – just to mention his name once more. Oh – and Moondog of course. Does anyone here share my passion for his music?
May 15th, 2025 at 13:04I just appreciate the fact they show homage to our heroes!
May 15th, 2025 at 13:29Don’t love them.
Some members of DP and crew were at this Metallica show in Nashville.
May 15th, 2025 at 14:14Then it’s all good and at least well-intentioned.
I thought Metallica’s Dio era Rainbow covers and WABMC not bad, it sounded like what it was: (essentially) Blackmore compositions played by Metallica. They did it with respect if not exactly frothing ingenuity.
What I do respect about them is that they are the only 80s metal band that has broken through into mainstream entertainment (and that with a comparatively radical, even unwieldy music). People that don’t really listen to heavy metal at home go to their gigs because they have event character like, say, a Rolling Stones or Taylor Swift gig would have. What U2 are to 80s guitar rock, Depeche Mode to synth pop and Bon Jovi to hair metal-pop-AOR with a twinge of Springsteen Americana, Metallica is to heavy metal. They’ve transcended the limits of the genre with their global following. No other band of their ilk did, that has to count for something.
May 15th, 2025 at 15:23@11
“And no, dear Karin, JH does not sound like IG at all.”
Hope it’s ok Max, but I intend to quote you on this ☺️
“I am well aware of the fact though, that many people see DP as the respected but soft forefathers of the real things to come – like Maiden or Metallica. But hey, not me!”
Well, not me either! Actually I will like to quote Roger Glover, because in an interview he was asked if Purple was heavy metal-material, and I guess you already know the answer, but I find it so endearing, because he answered: “Actually I see us more as a country &western band”, which of course demands some stretch of the imagination 😄 but I do like his approach.
Regarding Moondog: ok I’ve really tried…. Is it this:
https://youtu.be/p7Bq_MvkUtU?si=w3gGXSm2kf4q5GcO
It will take some getting used to 😄
May 15th, 2025 at 19:52“For someone who worships Ian Paice, Lars‘ hi-hat work to the SOTW riff should see him committed to a high security detention facility in his home Kingdom of Denmark – without any access to drums.” I don’t think Karin would want him over there Uwe, imagine if her hubby René found out. Karin goes for a walk with her doglet one day and arrives home to the sound of crashing drums etc and here they are setup in the lounge room and they are both having a ball and completely inebriated. Oh dear, I cannot imagine what the consequences for poor René would be. Cheers.
May 15th, 2025 at 22:11@11: Moondog, yes!
May 16th, 2025 at 06:12Ah, Svante, a man of taste!
Yes Karin, that’s the Moondog I am talking about – if not is most fascinating piece of music. What a man, what a life. A really interesting story.
I seem to remember Jon Lord once said something to the effect of: I don’t like heavy metal. I can’t see myself jumping around in chains and leather and throw raw meat to the audience… In fact noone of the guys in DP really seems to like metal. IP listened to jazz and swing a lot – thank god for that, RG is into singer-songwriter stuff, IG into R’N’R and so on. You can tell by their music.
May 16th, 2025 at 09:03Presumably this was because most of DP was at the show?
May 16th, 2025 at 09:40You mean all Danish men are like Lars?
I never thought of it that way. 😑
May 16th, 2025 at 19:06I’m baffled that as a German I’ve never heard of Moondog, given that he made it his spiritual and physical home in the last 25 years of his life. I’ve made amends and ordered a CD. I’m sure it’s gonna be interesting.
May 16th, 2025 at 19:25It is indeed embarrassing that a band like Deep Purple are considered metal or anything to do with it. Same with Led Zeppelin. Black Sabbath only ventured down that road visually when Ronnie joined and then they started wearing the leather (S&M) gear. Sometimes that is even cringeworthy. I am not sure why they (the metal heads including band members) all go on about metal being the greatest thing. They obviously need all the legions to join forces and garner as much popularity as they can get. It is a rebellion thing, anarchy even. I don’t hear that in the big three British ‘so called metal’ bands I mentioned above at all. Does any other genre go on and on about their little thing. No they don’t. Rock ‘n roll eh? Cheers.
May 16th, 2025 at 22:24I had never heard of old Moondog, an interesting character. He definitely looked like he was from Valhalla or was heading to Valhalla. And why not? I watched that live clip with him and the orchestra. Cheers.
May 16th, 2025 at 22:38Gentlemen! That’ll say: Max, MacGregor, Svante, Uwe –
I’ve been listening to this:
https://youtu.be/vi4fcXxTNkw?si=4BaDdirrSEaFMLtH
Maybe he was an inhabitant of Valhalla, that’s not for me to say.
And maybe I could get used to that kind of music, but do you know when you’re dining at a nice restaurant, after a course you get to clean your palate, and I do believe it’s time for this now!
So, without no further ado, let me present, in these halls of sanity and all that is pure, warm, nice and lovely:
https://youtu.be/01-2-7_IRFA?si=Q6T7Sj9cQt94ICpR
From a time when women were women, and men were, well – men, and everything somehow made more sense 😍
May 17th, 2025 at 06:26Sorry, I forgot completely to include this:
https://youtu.be/F8iUmC9kKf4?si=2FmgaGZCTXm2iGok
A little less neat, a little more dirty (and I’m not thinking of Ian’s clothing, which btw is indeed nice (sigh..) (and how come Uwe you’re not commenting on his sleeveless leather-top?, you’re always so hasty to comment on Steve Morse’s ditto shirts 😉)
No, I’m thinking of Jon’s handling of the Hammond, Roger’s bass-playing, Ritchie’s more aggressive banjo-playing, and of course Ian P’s not-so-soft drumming.
Not to forget Ian’s crystal clear voice 🤩
Man I would have loved to have been at that concert…
May 17th, 2025 at 06:53@ 24- yes Karin, Deep Purple were much more dangerous back in the early 70’s. That all changes as we grow older though, they like everyone else are not the same anymore. The adrenalin of youth eh? In regards to the call and response duel with Ritchie and big Ian, that blew my mind as a teenager. And I still have not heard anything like it since those glory days, not between a vocalist and guitarist that is. The 1984 concert from Melbourne and that version of the song Perfect Strangers I haven’t heard before. Blackmore is a lot less interested in that video. Not to worry, that is who he is. It is still good though and no one else playing that song comes anywhere near him and I still enjoyed watching that. Thanks for the links. Cheers.
May 17th, 2025 at 10:17“Not to forget Ian’s crystal clear voice 🤩”
Are you being ironic without prior permission from me, woman? 😂
If not:
Karin, I implore you, go see your hearing doctor real quick before your condition worsens even more! Ian’s voice is shot in that vid, he sounds rough because he has a cold (he visibly coughs). And it wasn’t the only date on the perhaps a bit crammed reunion tour where he struggled, Paris was another one, he had a knack for choosing the televised ones.
For the record: Ian’s neo-Jim Morrison black leather outfit is fine.
May 17th, 2025 at 15:01@27
“Are you being ironic without prior permission from me, woman? 😂”
😄😂😄 well maybe a little bit ironic.
Of course I can see he is coughing, and yes he has less than a crystal clear voice (just wanted to check if you actually read my posts in here…)
BUT – for that tune, I do like his rather coarse voice.
“For the record: Ian’s neo-Jim Morrison black leather outfit is fine.“ –
May 17th, 2025 at 21:55Ohh really!
Well, speaking on behalf of most women breathing, he is mighty fine…
Oh, the MIJ effect then: Some people (not me) like Ian’s vocals on MIJ better than on Machine Head because he sounds grittier – he had suffered from bronchitis only shortly before the tour and you could still hear it. That is why he initially disliked MIJ so much (he changed his mind over the decades recognizing it as the historic recording it is).
Personally, I’m not too great a fan of Ian’s hoarseness on MIJ. He gave his best, but you could hear that something wasn’t quite right and some of the distortion in his voice sounds painful at times.
By nature, Ian really doesn’t have a gritty, gravelly or husky voice, he has a relatively clean tone and not that “inbuilt distortion” Robert Plant or Rober Halford flaunt when they are in helium registers. Of course, these days he has gained some timbre.
May 18th, 2025 at 00:39Talking about big Ians attire, check out his footwear at 2:28. It seems like all that glitters is gold. Ha ha ha, oh dear, his sneakers or running shoes look a little odd in old tinsel town. He was pretty broke at that stage wasn’t he, so we will cut him some slack. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8iUmC9kKf4
May 18th, 2025 at 05:56Re BBC Radio 4.
May 18th, 2025 at 09:57The trailer for the new series of Add To Playlist which starts on the 23rd featured Smoke on the Water. The premise is, apparently, that they take an ‘in depth’ look at a song and link it to four others but I’ve never listened before and have no real idea of how it works, which episode is the one you might want to catch, nor whether Smoke is the subject or just one of the offshoots, though I’d guess that it is.
@29
“He gave his best, but you could hear that something wasn’t quite right and some of the distortion in his voice sounds painful at times.”
Been taking classes in homeopathy have ya!? 😜
Well, of course I agree with you, but even though his voice (and wasn’t it after the fun year with BS?) was coarse, man he did it beautifully anyway!
May 18th, 2025 at 10:26(And that’s my meaning and you cannot change it!☺️😉)
@30
“check out his footwear at 2:28.”
YES – exactly!
Golden sneakers, gotta love that 😃😄
I guess Ritchie said something like this to Ian:
Ritchie: “Ahem, well Ian, I have some idea, please have an open mind, ok?”
Ian: “ok, bring it on bestie” (too late for that endearment?)
Ritchie: “well me and the…, well only I actually, have thought about some new stage clothes! What do you think about dressing all up in black leather? In return I’ll drop my very nice black hat!”
Ian: “Black leather you say….? Well why?”
Ritchie: “Because those sad outfits you normally present yourself in is a burden for me, cos all the ladies run after me! You could help me out here!”
Ian: “Ohh ok, well if that’s your big problem then keep on the pilgrims hat, and problem solved” (laughs sardonic)
Ritchie: “well that’s not the only problem, but I really do believe we need to look sharper and more, well hardcore.” (Ritchie start to frowns)
Ian: “ok ok, Ritchie, keep your shirt on and hold your horses! I’ll do – AGAIN – as you say! “(Ian sighs loudly)
Ritchie: “I heard that! And just because you’re always so annoying, you better put on the very nice boots I got ya, made out of snakeskin.”
Ian: “ohhh but of course Ritchie, my main man.”
And then we jump to the concert in the evening, Ian comes on the stage, dressed in black leather, and on his feet very nice golden sneakers:
Ritchie: (runs to Jon) “Jon, have you seen him? He did not put on the very nice boots I bought for him! Can we please reject him yet another time?”
Jon: (throws his mane dramatically back, looks at Ritchie and shake his head)
Ritchie goes back, start planning to throw a lot of water on Ian, but that, gentlemen, is a whole other concert, some years later 😊
What do you think MacGregor, could that scenery have taken place 😄
May 18th, 2025 at 10:49That should be 3:28 on the 1984 Melbourne concert video for a sneek at Gillan’s classy foot wear. Cheers.
May 18th, 2025 at 11:46Though Uncle Ted always says it was inspired by the Stones’ Honky Tonk Women, I found that this here had SOTW as a blueprint in the way that “the riff is the song” and also in tempo, riff style and arrangement.
https://youtu.be/q_i1YSa9xww
(The Nuge stops waffling at 01:30 in case you wondered.🤣)
And then Priest speeded that style of riff up, yet retained much of the Purple backing ingredients and you can actually hear how a track like SOTW spawned heavy metal.
https://youtu.be/YXJtz1TgmIM
May 18th, 2025 at 12:27The coolest IG ever looked was in 1969 when they presented him as a mock-Jim Morrison on that one photoshoot.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/RUwAAOSwF~Bk5IR-/s-l400.jpg
https://www.mediastorehouse.com.au/p/767/ian-gillan-lead-singer-deep-purple-rock-group-21680283.jpg.webp
Ritchie had found that IG looked a lot like the Doors front man and I guess they wanted to reinforce that image, Morrison was a ladies’ man.
https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTA2NlgxNjAw/z/FloAAOSwWbBjJtFT/$_57.JPG?set_id=8800005007
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/06/74/c3/0674c3ce5cc23ba0371817e8df5d40d9.jpg
May 18th, 2025 at 20:36@ 33- you have been hanging around THS too long Karin, he he he. Well done, I like it. We both should put our heads together and write a rockumentary/movie on all the dramas of Deep Purple. We would have to maintain complete control over proceedings though, the streaming giants wouldn’t like that but tough luck. We also would need a sort of quasi director slash legal instructor and representative. That individual would have to be able to have the gift of the gab, speak a few different languages, not take a backward step and listen to what we say, no matter what. I cannot think of anyone though, do you have any ideas as to who this individual could be (more than likely lurking here at THS) and would he or she be professional in their undertaking of all our instructions. I am about to retire for the evening and I hope I don’t lie awake all night wondering who could fill this rather important position. In the morning armed with a cup of fresh coffee, I will check in and hopefully this totally devoted DP aficionado will be at our beck and call. Cheers.
May 19th, 2025 at 12:28@37
“you have been hanging around THS too long Karin, he he he”
– how can you tell?😄
“We both should put our heads together and write a rockumentary/movie on all the dramas of Deep Purple.”
– but would Ian need to see it first? 👀
“We also would need a sort of quasi director slash legal instructor and representative.”
– Uwe!?
“and would he or she be professional in their undertaking of all our instructions.”
– well, Uwe might be a bit of a handful 🤭 but he is so much fun, and I do believe he also can bring us coffee…😄
But there are other mighty fine people in here who could help along in the process:
– Svante and Nick, they are pretty strict and can help us not to overstep our boundaries!
– Max has two sons, so they might help us keeping it fresh for the youth!
– AndreA seems to be quite the traveler, so he can provide the photo material, you know from all the places Purple have been..
– Russ might provide the food..
And there are all the rest of the very interesting people in here, who certainly will help out I’m sure 😃
May 20th, 2025 at 04:00I’d go for that Tasmanian handheld camera, blurry and murky “found footage” look for your mockumentary. I have a title already: “The Karin Verndal Project”!
Quite telling to see Karin use the term “hardcore”, after all Danish hardcore is legendary, those uninhibited Viking descendants!
German phrase of the day: “In der Regel hatten die Wikinger rote Bärte.” which translates loosely as “During the period, Vikings sported red beards.”
May 20th, 2025 at 14:16@39
“mockumentary” – hey! Don’t take your bad sleeping habits out on me! Or is the main reason insufficient amounts of coffee?
What’s wrong with red beards?
And what in all that is sensible (Uwe please ask Edith what that word means ☺️) and noble has this to do with the very interesting project MacGregor and I are planning?
If you wanna be a part of this award winning rockumentary (I hear Nobel-committee and Oscar-ditto have agents out already to honour us the way we ought to be honoured and praised!) then you better behave!
May 20th, 2025 at 17:36I am pretty sure there are plenty of people ready to take over the representative position 😁😄
I am a ‘ranga’ with eyes wide open, steam pouring out of my ears, charging forward into no mans land. Acting first then thinking about it much later, what is wrong with that? Regarding the Deep Purple ‘mockumentary’ yes it looks like it has come to a stand still already. Not to worry, thanks Karin for all your help and suggestions. It was with all good intentions, but we do really need a director slash legal representative who knows just a little bit about Deep Purple. Not someone who just rips a few lines and videos from someone else at twitter or tik tok. Cheers.
May 20th, 2025 at 23:55