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John Mottola, from the Deep Purple podcast, asked me to give this album a listen. I did, for the first time. Let’s see what I think and what John taught me about the band and their second studio album. This is the fourth part of a 4 part series because that’s just what happens when John comes to visit.
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The band was only about seven months old at the time of recording.
They had already had a huge chart hit with “Hush” and were preparing to go on tour for “The Book of Taliesyn.”
Tetragrammaton worked hard to get them a US tour even though they were barely getting gigs in the UK at this point.
Tetragrammaton was looking for a British band along the lines of Hendrix or Cream to push in America and that’s why they latched on to Deep Purple.
They had headlining dates as well as this gig opening for Cream who were in the midst of a farewell tour and not getting along very well.
The tour was a nineteen city farewell tour starting on October 4th, 1968.
An article in Disc reveals Deep Purple will receive £80,000 pounds to perform with Cream on their upcoming farewell tour in the US for the twenty shows
Plans were then changed so that Deep Purple could finish their album The Book of Taliesyn. Most of it had been completed but ther was at least one song that wasn’t recorded until the beginning of October.
They arrived in Los Angeles on October 15, 1968. Jon Lord, in an interview with Chris Charlesworth: “It was a warm evening and there were palm trees everywhere. It seemed like paradise to us coming from our bedsits in cold England.”
Prior to the gig, on the 17th, The band had a famous performance on The Dating Game where Jon Lord was later a contestant.
Recorded at The Forum or The “Fabulous” Forum in front of 16,000.
Performance was on October 18, 1968. Opening for Cream as part of their farewell tour.
Someone at the Tetragrammaton decided to try out this new recording device during the show to record Deep Purple.
The show was set to be recorded by Deep Purple’s US record label, Tetragrammaton Records. They recorded a video from the audience with a Sony ½ inch reel-to-reel video and audio recorder with an open aire microphone. The video quality ended up being very low but the audio sounded very good. When Warner Bros. Records took over Tetragrammaton the original video was thrown away. Many years later it was recovered and The Deep Purple Appreciation Society transferred the audio portion for a CD release.
This video technology was cutting edge and was not really done properly.
There is so little live recording of Mark 1 that this is a rare glimpse into their live act. The only other real known recordings are are some of the BBC sessions and only one other full show from 1969.
This is likely the be the earliest recorded show by Mark 1 and likely the only video of a full show.
At this point Deep Purple had performed fewer than 30 live shows. If my calculations are correct this would have been their 27th live performance.
Simon Robinson points out in the liner notes that at this point Ritchie didn’t have a lot of experience being in a band being mostly a studio guy and playing some shows with other acts. It can be noted that Jon Lord tends to take more solos than Blackmore at this point.
Japenese tour poster sent in by Jeff Breis.
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Setlist:
Hush
River Deep, Mountain High
Mandrake Root
Hey Joe
Wring That Neck
Kentucky Woman
Rod announces that Kentucky woman was released on “Saturday” which would have been October 12th.
Help
Reviews:
Reviewers seemed to be surprised by the band though the referred to “gimmicky reworking of known songs” and deemed them not quite ready to be superstars.
The rumor is that Deep Purple was kicked off the bill after these first few shows because someone in Cream’s management was afraid of being upstaged.
Derek Lawson, being interviewed again by Chris Charlesworth, stated: “Ritchie was the first guitarist to play some light novelty thing in the middle of a hard rock number just for a laugh. Cream didn’t think it was funny but the audience loved it and what with ‘Hush’ being a hit single they wend down very well, probably too well.”
Rumor is that Cream may also have been upset by Hendrix coming to an after show party with Deep Purple and not with Cream.
Cream went on to finish the tour without Deep Purple and ended at The Royal Albert Hall on November 26th at The Royal Albert Hall.
Deep Purple would perform there less than ten months later when they performed Jon Lord’s Concerto For Group and Orchestra for the first time.
A cassette version of this show made it out on bootleg in Japan but the official CD issue didn’t come out until 2002.
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Hall of Famer Norman Weischlebaum writes in to shed some light on a new Blackmore side project.
…changed his business?
(Found at Bangkok airport)
Best
Norman
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Listener Email
Not sure if this is random or on purpose but it dawned on me recently that the Battle Rages On album has two song titles that are the same exact names of two of the most iconic Bond girls during Roger Moore’s reign, Solitaire (Live and Let Die) and Anya (The Spy Who Loved Me).
Take care
Ron
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DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “”This is definitely written for a live set and it is a song about the lady who is featured in the video. The same lady who appears in the ‘Is This Love’ video.”
Is This Love
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “The concept of that was originally for Tina Turner, but the lyric got pretty personal so I kept it. I didn’t write it especially for her, the actual structure of the song was based loosely around a song called ‘Time And Again’ from Northwinds and when I started getting more into the lyric of it it became a very personal statement and | decided not to present it to the lady. Maybe one day, but it seems to be kicking substantial arse, as they say. It’s at number two at the moment and another reason that I’m all over the place, apart from trying to give up smoking, is that I’m waiting too on the news to find out whether we’ve got the number one spot. If we can plant the flag on the top of the mountain after climbing so high, it would be a double treat. The people I work with are confident that this album will be in the top five for the next four or five months… It’s doing incredibly well.”
Children of the Night
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “This is another anthem job. Some of these are arranged purely and simply for live per-formance, but the sentiments are strong. Over here I’II be opening the show with ‘Bad Boys’ going into ‘Children Of The Night’ and reprising with ‘Bad Boys’ again. So that there are fireworks right at the start. If you listen to the album it is arranged purely and simply as a kind of studio-concert record. It’s got all the ball breakers and then the pause for. breath and then the ball breakers again.”
Straight for the Heart
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article improperly titled “Straight To The Heart”: “”This is another related song, it s a cousin of ‘Guilty Of Love’ and this is one track that I was a little disappointed with, but I’m hearing more and more positive reports about it. I felt it was the weakest, but a lot of the press said that ‘Children Of The Night’ was the weakest, but I don’t think so. It could have been better. It has come out well though.
Don’t Turn Away
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “”It’s to do with the separation between my beautiful ex and me. It’s double edged, it’s like her talking to me and me talking to her.”
Some great finds from the collection of Jeff Breis!
Reviews:
Darker Than Blue
“Like Gary Moore’s band, or Blizzard Of Oz, Whitesnake are now a replaceable backing band, but this album was written while they were still a proper group. While I think It’s probably my favourite by them to date, it still contains too many fillers. “Still Of The Night” is the best track, even If it does rip off Zeppelin’s Rock’n Roll. It’s a new direction for them and a much more adventurous effort than many. I was it surprised it did so well as a single too as it’s so long, and unlike normal fodder. “Bad Boys” is a rabble rouser. “Give Me All Your Love” is a real filler, it could be off any of their albums. “Looking For Love” is great. Slow, with mournful lyrics, it’s got a great vocal. On side two we get the redone “Crying In The Rain”. I prefer the original on Saints ‘n Sinners, this lacks atmosphere. “Is This Love”strikes me as being soppy rather than emotional. The remainder of the album is rarely above average, “Straight From The Heart” sounds recycled, only “Don’t Turn Away” comes out of it well.
On the singles, “Here I Go Again : 87” is very like the original, I don’t really see why they bothered. “Your Gonna Break My Heart Again” on the 12″ is rather better than some of the album tracks in my opinion. In all, some tracks are among the best that he’s done, but too many are substandard. I would appreciate some variation in subject matter, most of it being to do with horizontal pursuits as ever. However it has prompted me to get back into the albums again, though the chance of him ever doing that definitive LP seen to disappearing.” Michael Kearns
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.
John Mottola, from the Deep Purple podcast, asked me to give this album a listen. I did, for the first time. Let’s see what I think and what John taught me about the band and their second studio album. This is the first of a 4 part series because that’s just what happens when John comes to visit.
Disclaimer: The video used on YouTube is a byproduct of producing our audio podcast. We post it merely as a convenience to those who prefer the YouTube format. Please subscribe using one of the links below if you’d prefer a superior audio experience.
Their last show prior to “Whitesnake” being released was Rock in Rio on January 19, 1985 which they played with the stripped down lineup of Coverdale, Sykes, Murray, and Powell, Powell’s last show with the band. People were calling them “the European answer to Van Halen.”
The Whitesnake album was released in March in the US.
They didn’t play live again until June 20, 1987.
Year-by-Year:
1977- White Snake
1978 – Northwinds
1978 – Trouble
1979 – Lovehunter
1980 – Ready an’ Willing
1981 – Come an’ Get It
1982 – Saints & Sinners (November)
1984 – Slide It In (January)
There were numerous issues including David having sinus surgery with a long recovery.
About the time between live shows and albums David Coverdale told UCR in a 2017 interview: “I thought I was done. I thought it was over. I thought it was “Stick a fork in me, I’m done.” I was very substantially in debt due to not working for two or three years, and there had been terrible advantages taken while I was recovering from [sinus] surgery and unable really to function in a professional environment. And people who I trusted, I found out I couldn’t trust. So the album became extraordinarily expensive — the most expensive Whitesnake album ever. And it was minimal to do with me. [Laughs] So that was the primary reason — for me, in a relationship, if you can’t trust your partner or partners — it’s time to move on. I had flown home from a very sad Christmas holiday with my daughter in Munich and she was kind of punishing me, understandably, because I’d left her mom. So I flew home from Munich to L.A., pretty depressed about it and very sad.”
In Metal Hammer UK in 1987 Coverdale says: “There was illness in the studio and it took ages. There were problems with attitudes and mentalities, and some wonderful egos. It stopped being fun. I wanted to throw it down the toilet, not because of the music but because of the problems that went with it.”
“During the recording, I developed a sinus infection, which was absolutely not drug related. I had a deviated septum which caused me a great deal of intense pain and made me sing off-key. I went to a specialist who checked me over and told me he was surprised he could even talk in my condition. He said I’d need surgery, but we were already months overdue so I asked if there was anything I could do that would enable me to finish the album first. He gave me a course of anti-biotics and told me to take three weeks off. However, when I went back into the studio and started singing again it had all started once more, I chucked it in.”
After the surgery he had to have six months of silence which added to the delays in the album.
John Sykes also had an issue with his tonsils so they broke before Christmas of 1985 with the intention of starting back up in January.
It was then that Phil Lynott died and Sykes had to return to England to attend the funeral.
This was all being done in Vancouver. Sykes then wento to Toronto and all his amps were broken. Coverdale said it was “like a world tour of recording studios!”
After finishing the album Coverdale said it was “only nine months recording time. A true pregnancy! Fortunately the baby’s been born with no defects, and the feedback I’ve been getting is quite exceptional.”
On the departure of Mel Galley. Coverdale says the band pressured him into letting Galley go and referred to the remaining members as the “glamour boys.” Coverdale: “I love Mel’s voice and songwriting, but the only way I could keep him involved was to offer a situation where we could writ together and he was still a member of Whitesnake but it was peripheral. Unfortunately I broke his heart. I know he blames me but it wasn’t my fault. I tried to get him the gig with Bad C. but I don’t think he was fat enough.”
Jon Sutherland asked DC how he was protecting his voice while touring after all the trouble he had DC responded: “Lots of smoking and alcohol. I keep it coated with some type of film.”
In an interview with Metal Rendezvous when asked about the surgery Coverdale again stated that it was not drug related: “Not drug related! I am not doing spoon fulls of the devil’s dandruff!”
It’s further stated in the Metal Rendezvous article that he couldn’t hold a note and had no power. IT ended up taking eight months off his career and he didn’t know if he’d even be able to sing again.
Other than his first two Glover-produced solo albums this was his first time not working with Martin Birch.
In Metal Rendezvous he is asked about the “touchy” subject of sex in his writing. Coverdale responded: “It’s disgusting. I wanted to call the album ‘No Muff Too Tough!’ But to make such a ridiculous small statement just to stick it up these people’s noses, you’re only gonna gain bullshit.”
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “’Crying In The Rain’ is very important to me. It was very important to get the statement across as it should have been in the first place. A lot of my colleagues had their heads securely up their arses, but a percentage of that was my fault and I’ve always wanted a better recorded statement than that and I think we’ve achieved it on this. It features a stunning solo from John Sykes.”
Bad Boys
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “It’s a rock ‘n roller, it’s a rebel song. Whitesnake albums are always structured in a, similar way. Musically, tempos or whatever the songs are always related. ‘Bad Boys, is in the ‘Would I Lie To You’ vein and there’s still a bit of a rebel there. even at thirty-five!”
Still of the Night
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “It’s a ‘Lovehunter’ song, it’s a predator song. It’s a relative of ‘Slow ‘N Easy, ‘Victim Of Love’ and ‘Lovehunter’. It’s a kind of nightime’s-the-right-time kind of song, you can get away with much more in the dark! I think this is definitive Coverdale. It’s already proven to be excellent live and the band are playing it f***ing great. It was in essence arranged to walk straight of the disc into the concert hall and just expand a little on the atmospherics piece. I’m very pleased with it, it’s certainly gained more mileage than I could ever have wished for.”
Here I Go Again
DC in Metal Hammer UK, “In His Own Words” article: “
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This week Nate and John from The Deep Purple Podcast joins us as we check out Nuno Bettencourt’s solo from the new Extreme single “Rise”! Then, naturally in keeping with the Gary/Extreme theme of the past week, the wheel gave us a track from VHIII…”Fire In The Hole”!
