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In this bonus episode we recap our album rankings for Coverdale • Page and dive into the video for “Take Me For a Little While” as well as Page live with Plant.
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This week we’re joined by Scott Begin of the band Badfish and the podcast Intermission!
Badfish is a Sublime tribute band which has been playing and touring internationally since 2001. Welcome to Intermission. Scott Begin – drummer and founding member of Sublime tribute band Badfish – spends time speaking with fellow musicians and entertainment industry folk to discuss their lives, history in the business, and how the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting them. Here are this episode’s hosts celebrating Nate’s birthday in 1994. Who is that mysterious man in the Jesus Christ Superstar Shirt?
A lot of information out there is incorrect about the getting together of the two. See Jörg’s timeline below.
In interviews at the time, Plant expressed some derision at the guitarist’s collaboration with Coverdale, referring to the project as “David Cover-version”.
“David was really good to work with,” Page noted. “It was very short-lived, but I enjoyed working with him, believe it or not.”
Timeline (by Jörg Planer):
It was Rod McSween and not John Kalodner (as Wikipedia suggests) who brought them together.
March 1991: first meeting of DC and Jimmy in New York
Late March/April 1991: Sessions Incline Village/Lake Tahoe
First day of collaboration…two-track demos…’Absolution Blues’ written the first day
Second day of collaboration…’Feeling Hot’ written the second day; both considered it a great opener for their live show
Collaboration continues…typically from 10am-3pm daily…eight additional songs written and later recorded…Jimmy suggested they continue writing and recording together in Barbados
14 May 1991: Jimmy jam with Poison in Reno, Nevada
Summer 1991: Bass player Ricky Phillips (Bad English) and drummer Danny Carmassi (Heart, Montrose) join David and Jimmy
The collaboration continued while vacationing in Barbados…’Pride And Joy’ written…it’s working title was ‘Barbados Boogie’
Summer 1991: It seems that Adrian Vandenberg around this time still had the impression, that Jimmy Page would be the replacement for Steve Vai in Whitesnake
October 1991: David and Jimmy start the recordings for the new album at Little Mountain Studio in Vancouver
October/December 1991: The working conditions there in Vancouver were not the best for DC and Jimmy, the studio was sold a number of times and both got ill…
Spring 1992: David and Jimmy move to Criteria Studios in Miami, FL. Duiring that session Jorge Casas (Miami Sound Machine) replaces most of the bass tracks recorded by Phillips.
Spring 1992: Around that time the projects also gets a name – LEGENDS
October / November 1992: Final recordings and mastering of the album at Abbey Road Studios in London, UK
February 1993: Pride & Joy (Radio promo only single) went straight to No. 1 in the Billboard Album Rock Tracks in the week ending February 27th 1993 and stayed there 6 weeks in a row…
March 11 1993: World premiere broadcast of the album at the Album Network
March 15 1993: The Coverdale / Page album is released in Europe. The North American release date is March 16, the Japanese one March 18.
In the UK the album reached No. 4 in the charts on March 27
In the United States it entered the Billboard 200 on April 3rd at No. 5…
The album sold less copies than expected. It needed 2 years in the US to get a Platinum certification for 1 Million sold units.
In Canada it reached Platinum (100.000 units) within two weeks.
“Shake My Tree” was the second promo from the Coverdale / Page album. The intro of “Shake My Tree” is based on a riff from Led Zeppelin days…
According to DC Coverdale / Page recorded 5 or 6 songs that didn’t make it on the album. Some were mentioned in the press, three were shared by DC on his website and North C Radio more than 15 years ago (Saccharin, Good Love Bad Love, Southern Comfort)
Played keyboard on a number of Rush studio tracks.
Also did many covers for Rush albums as well as Toronto, Sammy Hagar, and Whitesnake (the 1987 album).
According to Coverdale, the traffic sign shown on the cover of the album signified “two roads joining to one road. Try to express unification or joining together.”
April 1993: A 45 dates US Summer tour with Extreme as support is announced
April 1993: Some of these tourdates made it into the press, the earliest one was Milwaukee July 2nd, the last one Denver Aug 17th. All were re-scheduled.
June 1993: The tour is now announced for an October start.
June 1993: UK single “Take Me For A Little While” (Japan July 29 and slightly different on December 2)
July 1993: Jimmy and David start rehearsals in London, UK
August 1993: The first October dates were announced, among them 3 in Florida. All of them were cancelled a month later.
August 1993: UK single “Take A Look At Yourself”
Late September 1993: The first shows of the Japanese tour are announced
In November they returned to Nomis Studio and began rehearsals for their upcoming 7-date Japanese tour the following month. Final rehearsals were held in L.A. in late Nov ’93 and on into early Dec ’93.
1993-12-14 Tokyo – First show of the tour
1993-12-15 Tokyo – The second Tokyo show
1993-12-17 Tokyo
1993-12-18 Tokyo – During the last Tokyo show they play “Rock’n’Roll” twice
1993-12-20 Osaka
1993-12-21 Osaka – The second show in Osaka
1993-12-22 Nagoya – The last show. A bit of “Whole Lotta Love” is included in “Shake My Tree”.
Reception and Review
Sales were respectable, especially in the UK and US, where the album went top 5. Critical reviews were also favourable, with Rolling Stone stating that “it may not be the second coming of Led Zeppelin, but it’s close enough that only the most curmudgeonly would deny the band its due… Coverdale’s bluesy howl has never been put to better use than against Page’s guitar.” Q magazine went further saying, “Excellent… this album screams classic from start to finish.”[13]
The following review from RIP magazine, “Robert Plant is going to be seriously pissed when he hears this [album]”,[14] and the poor reception and sales of Plant’s album Fate of Nations; released around the same time, was apparently the catalyst for Page and Plant reuniting for an MTV Special, two albums and a tour.
In a March 2018 interview (which happens to be the 25th anniversary release of the album), on Eddie Trunk‘s SiriusXM radio show, Coverdale revealed plans to release a remastered box set version, with the possible inclusion of four or five previously unreleased tracks, that were written and recorded for the album, but didn’t make the final cut.
Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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From “Modern Keyboard” Jan ’89 by Joe Lalaina. Transcribed by David Yea
There’s been so many. I played with Kinks several times. I even played the piano on “You Really Got Me.” I was paid five pounds for it. The guitar solo was played by Jimmy Page, but the Kinks have denied it.
The Artwoods
Big City or Walk on the Wild Side – solo @ 2:40 with time change
A statement on his website said he had passed “from Darkness to Light”, and that he was “surrounded by his loving family” when he died. Last year, Lord told fans he was “fighting cancer and will therefore be taking a break from performing while getting the treatment and cure”.Jul 16, 2012
It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Jon Lord, who suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism today, Monday 16th July at the London Clinic, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Jon was surrounded by his loving family.
Jon Lord, the legendary keyboard player with Deep Purple co-wrote many of the bands legendary songs including Smoke On The Water and played with many bands and musicians throughout his career.
Best known for his Orchestral work Concerto for Group & Orchestra first performed at Royal Albert Hall with Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969 and conducted by the renowned Malcolm Arnold, a feat repeated in 1999 when it was again performed at the Royal Albert Hall by the London Symphony Orchestra and Deep Purple.
Jon’s solo work was universally acclaimed when he eventually retired from Deep Purple in 2002.
Jon passes from Darkness to Light.
Jon Lord 9 June 1941 – 16 July 2012.
Official Band Statement
Our beloved Jon passed away on this day Monday 16th July 2012.
We have lost a dear friend, a brother and a wonderful musician.
His dignity and graciousness touched us all. His music was an inspiration and took us to places beyond our imagination…A truly great man.
We humbly express our eternal love and great respect.
It’s unthinkable that Jon is gone. My thoughts are for his wife Vicky and all his children and family at this sad moment in their lives. I wish them all strength.
A great sadness and sense of loss hangs over me. Not only has the music world lost a fantastic musician but a gentleman of the finest order. He was a giant in my life, a great friend, a fellow traveler, a teacher, not only of music, but of life. I am devastated at his passing.
“We’ve lose a brother really, a dear friend, and someone we all looked up to. Jon was our hero really.”
Tells a story of a fan who was so exasperated upon meeting Jon and ran up to him at an airport and said, “Jon, I’m your hero.” Jon responded: “Oh, so you’re King Arthur!”
“The Godfather of Deep Purple.”
“I don’t think we’ll ever be separated from Jon because he’s touched us all and we shall carry his memory forward, and his music of course.”
Former Deep Purple guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore has issued the following statement: “Jon was not only a great musician, he was my favorite dinner companion. We are all deeply saddened. We knew he was sick but the word was that he was recovering and doing much better. This news came as a complete shock. Without Jon there would be no Deep Purple. He lives on in our hearts and memories.”
Jon just died. I’m shocked and don’t know what to do, so I’m going to try to tell you a little about Jon.
Jon was the powerhouse keyboard player that brought rock and classical directly together many times. The first was his timeless organ solo on “Highway Star”. The next was his “Concerto for Band and Orchestra”. I was able to perform with the whole band as it was played at Albert Hall before we toured extensively with it. Just weeks ago, I was able to play on a studio recording of Jon’s concerto and share some heartfelt thoughts and words with him.
Jon was the guy that would stop us from giving up on an idea in songwriting because it wasn’t immediately obvious. I remember him encouraging me in the studio to keep doing what I was doing as I played around with an idea that I was intrigued with. After writing something as amazing as his concerto, he still had the imagination to hear ideas on top of anything I suggested. He always had a regal, gentlemanly manner. Like any of us, he could get annoyed, but he would only show it with his wry and dry wit.
Mostly, he was upbeat and a pleasure for anybody to be around. His humor was right up my alley, with us exchanging ridiculous thoughts like,”If Brenda Lee married Tommy Lee, her new name would be Brenda Lee……” Or having him finish the tune when an announcement at an airport would start with several musical notes to get your attention. It’s hard to give anecdotes that convey an ease that somebody could give you, but he sure had that ability. We all love people that will pay attention to our kids, and years ago he charmed my (then) 5 year old son, Kevin with a Donald Duck imitation even while he was being hurried to get out of the dressing room and go to the green room for after show greetings.
Jon retired from the endless DP tour schedule, but continued to do appearances with original material and performances of his concerto. I knew he missed the band he helped start, but at the same time couldn’t stand the relentless travel. From time to time, we would see him on tour, and he would sit in with us. The last time we played, less than a year ago, at the Sunflower Jam at Royal Albert Hall, he had just come offstage from performing with Rick Wakeman. Later I talked with him and his wife about how strange it felt to look around at the keyboards and not see him there at Albert Hall. We promised to do something together. Soon thereafter, we all learned of his battle with Pancreatic cancer. I kept hearing hopeful, positive reports that they might be making progress, but this sudden death caught me totally unaware. I thought we would meet and do a recording project in the future when he recovered from the chemotherapy. Well, we sort of did, but I had to record it and send it to him, as we were in different countries.
If you have friends, family, especially kids, don’t ever miss a chance to do or say something special….or simply appreciate the fact that they are there. One day, they won’t be.
I am deeply saddened about the passing of Jon Lord…I am proud and humbled to have known him both personally and professionally …and blessed to share a special time with him. He was a true and gifted original…a Gentleman of the industry …and he shall be greatly missed!
My sincerest sympathies to his family and relations…and to all of us who have lost one of the great musicians of our time!…R.I.P. Jon…may God hold you in his hands.
“June and July have been very busy, but all has been brought back to base with the loss of my great friend and colleague Jon Lord on Monday 16th July. Jon Lord was to many millions of people THE keyboard player in the great days of Deep Purple, and so he was. But he was so much more than a musician.
I first met the great man in 1976; I was auditioning for a gig with his new band PAICE, ASHTON AND LORD. I had seen the demise of Purple, attending gigs with both Ritchie and Tommy Bolin, and so when I received a call from Cozy Powell regarding the new band I went for it. I went to an old cinema in West London, owned by ELP, Manticore. There I was ushered into a waiting room with about a dozen other guitar players, that story is not for this time, but is of interest.
I entered the heady world of DPO, Jon was waiting in the room, smiling, strong handshake and a grin when he said, ‘You do exist then,’ I had been rather slow in following Cozy’s instructions, ouch! Ian Paice was a few feet away, raised his hand to say hello, Tony Ashton was opposite Jon, two keyboards set up, and one was Jon Lord, now I knew this was going to be different.
I had been listening to the guitar players going in before me, all pretty much trying to be Ritchie Blackmore, and failing! I thought I was on the right track when we played “How Long” by Ace, Ian knew the groove, I sang it and Jon said to begin, after a couple of verses Jon stopped the proceedings. He came over to me and asked me to show him the changes in the bridge of the song, the great Jon Lord asking me to show him. I state this to show what a man he was, he could have worked out, probably had already, knew the changes backwards, but by asking me he instilled huge confidence in me.
I played a lot of rhythm guitar, waiting for a nod from Jon to solo, took my time and tried to be as cool as I could. Bear in mind I am playing with Jon, and Ian Paice, this was quite a definitive moment for me. We played another couple of grooves, Ian came over and introduced himself, and Ashton kissed me on the forehead!
Jon just smiled, said thank you for coming down and that I would be hearing from them. He asked me if I knew any DP songs, I thought I was about to lose the gig, I said, ‘Not really, I know a bit of ‘Dance On The Water’.’ He looked me in the eye, ”Smoke On The Water’,’ he said, ‘Sorry’ I said. They did call the next day.
Jon Lord, great musician, raconteur, writer, funny, intelligent, gifted, family man, friend for life.
Sorry its taken us so long to put this up but all my time has been spent with family following the sad passing of Jon Lord.
Jon was the husband of my twin sister Vicky. He was a father, Husband, Uncle, Brother, Brother in Law and Friend to many.
We are astounded with the incredible worldwide support and love, honouring Jon’s life and music, Thank you all so much.
In 2011, Jon’s last live performance took place at The Sunflower Jam; he was also a trustee of the charity and held this event very close to his heart.
As a tribute to Jon, we would like to share some footage of him performing with Rick Wakeman at The 2011 Sunflower Jam, the piece written by both of them, for The Sunflower Jam, titled, its not as big as it was!
We have been asked if the 2012 Sunflower Jam Event will be taking place due to our loss, to which we would like to confirm, not only will it go ahead; we are working on a tribute to Jon, in true Sunflower Style.
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It’s funny. There’s two types of guitarists. Like Blackmore, I used to hate, because I met him once at the Rainbow with John Bonham when we were just playing clubs. You know, I grew up on him too, and I ran over and said hello, and they both just looked at me and said, “Who are you? Fuck off.” And it pissed me off. And to this day I remember that. And then just recently Rainbow played at Long Beach Arena. This is right after I won Best Guitarist [in the Guitar Player Reader’s Poll], which I’m real honoured – makes me feel good. I went down there, in a way, with a vengeance, you know. I just felt like saying, “Hey, motherfucker, remember me? About three years ago, when you treated me like shit?” But I didn’t. I just said hello, and he knew me just through records and radio, and he complimented me.
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What do Larry Hagman from ”Dallas,” Isabel Sanford from ”The Jeffersons” and Joe Lynn Turner from the rock group Deep Purple have in common?
They are all dogs. At least, they help play dogs in television commercials for the Lucky Dog Phone Company, the first brand AT&T has created in its 113-year history that does not actually mention AT&T.
There is a good reason for that. Since 1885, AT&T, the nation’s largest communications company, has built an image based on trust, reliability, convenience and a sense of community (as in ”Reach out and touch someone”).
But the Lucky Dog campaign, which supports a new calling service called 10-10-345, is based on, well, good old greed.
Every day, AT&T will give away 345 prizes to people who use the service, plus a $1 million grand prize in January. Its market research found that people who like to save money with flat-rate services like Lucky Dog (a dime a minute, a dime to connect) also like sweepstakes.
The research may also have discovered something else: that a phone call is a basic consumer product rather than a high-tech way to improve someone’s life. Maybe that is why the AT&T executive who invented Lucky Dog used to market Diet Pepsi.
For the record, Mr. Hagman is the voice of a bull mastiff, Ms. Sanford a basset hound and Mr. Turner a mutt. SETH SCHIESEL
Lead up to the Album:
This was their last album with the lineup of Hughes, Galley, Holland.
First album not produced by John Lodge of the Moody Blues who had produced the first two
Songs split evenly between Hughes solo compositions and Mel/Tom Galley compositions.
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