Posted on by Nathan Beaudry

Episode #287 – Glenn Hughes – Feel (Part 1)

Link to video episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGBO4bpDKIU

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.

Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, or search in your favorite podcatcher! 

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:

  • The “In Memorium” Tier
    • Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
  • The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
    • Ovais Naqvi
  • The £15 “”Fifteen Squid” Tier
    • Alan “Ain’t Too Proud To” Begg
  • The £10 “Good Doctor” Tier
    • Dr. Mike Kattan
  • The Turn it up to $11 Tier
    • Clay Wombacher
    • Frank Theilgaard-Mortensen
    • Mikkel Steen
    • Will Porter, PhDPP
    • Michael Bagford
  • $10 “Some One Came” Tier
    • Ryan M
    • Jeff Breis
    • Victor Campos
    • “Better Call” Saul Evans
    • Peter from Illinois
  • The “Hughes-O-Ween by 2033” Tier
    • Fielding Fowler

Upcoming Shows & Listener Meet Ups:

Upcoming Rankings Show:

  • Deep Purple In Rock
    • Patron rankings needed by October 27th
    • Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

Lead up to the Album:

  • In Hughes’s autobiography he talks about breaking up with his girlfriend, packing up, and moving to a hotel in Hermosa Beach that would become his home for a year.
  • It was during this time in the early spring of 1995 that he would make the album “Feel” at Gary Ferguson’s studio.
  • This is almost all Glenn says about this album in the book.  He follows up with a detailed account of a lapse in his sobriety.
  • From: https://www.glennhughes.com/makingoffeel.html
    • all text and pictures (copyright 1995/1996) by Marc Fevre & glennhughes.com
    • Napa, CA, 1996 – It was back in March of 1995 that we went into the studio to begin work on what was to be Glenn’s “follow-up” to the musical groundwork he first laid out in 1977 on his initial solo album, “Play Me Out”.
    • Living For The Minute had been the most recent working title for this, Glenn’s sixth official solo effort but, as with both Against The Grain and Speak Your Mind before it, Living For The Minute was ultimately eschewed in favor of the title that came to best represent the album as a whole; namely, FEEL.
    • It had been Glenn’s intention for some time now to record an album that went back to his roots and which fused together the myriad of his own musical interests in a fresh, new, and exciting way. Jazz, soul, rhythm and blues, (and yes, rock, too), were all to be represented on this record, and shortly before Glenn finished writing the material that would comprise his new album, he decided that this time around he’d be doing things a little differently.
    • As opposed to writing and recording this album with a band in place, Glenn had decided that he’d work with a series of guest musicians instead, players who would come and go throughout the process, lending their talents to the songs for which they were best suited along the way.
    • “I’m going to be fitting the musicians to the songs this time out,” Glenn told me before we went into the studio, “and not the other way around. I think the songs will be the better for it. You know? Not compromising anything to fit solely within the abilities of a fixed band.”
    • And so it was in this way that friends and musicians like Matt Sorum, Richie Kotzen, Pat Thrall, Bruce Gowdy, and Gary Ferguson – to name but a few – would all come to be involved in the making of FEEL, and it would be their job to help Glenn fully realize his vision along the way. It would be my job to capture all of this on film.
    • Glenn and I had known each other for almost two years at this point, having first met one another back in 1993 to begin collaborating on an, as yet, ongoing project of mine; specifically, Glenn’s biography. It was in this capacity, as Glenn’s would-be biographer, that I myself came to be involved with the making of FEEL.
    • It had originally been my intention to cover some of the sessions for my book but, over the course of talking with Glenn about this, I was ultimately afforded the opportunity to do something more; that is, to photograph the better part of the project for inclusion in the album’s booklet art itself!
    • Glenn had had a definite idea at that time of what he wanted the album to look like, to feel like, and – in part inspired by the interior photography he’d seen included on Richie Kotzen’s own Mother Head’s Family Reunion album – Glenn had decided that what he wanted photographically speaking was to capture the feel, so to speak, of the album’s creation in the studio.
    • And so, over the course of the next seven days or so, I shot roll after roll of film, capturing the images of Glenn and his collaborators on film as they worked. It wasn’t always easy going. The studio was small, the lighting was at best difficult to work with, and the hours were oftentimes very long. Moreover, as with any recording session, there were moments of frustration and/or tedium, and the added pressure of having some guy lurking about with a camera just waiting to jump out and take your picture was bound to add to some of this. Still, it was a lot of fun, and by and large we had a good time, and, in the end, some great moments in and around the studio were captured on film.
    • Ultimately, however, when all was said and done, it was decided – perhaps by the label – that a more “high fashion” look was wanted for the whole of the album, and so my work was out and Burrn! photographer William Hames’ was in. For my part, while I felt ( and still feel) that the album ended up with a great look and sound, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed as well. It would have been nice to have given Glenn’s fans a look behind the scenes at the making of this remarkable album – to say nothing of the self-satisfaction that would have come with seeing my work at home, sandwiched in between the covers of a Glenn Hughes album! – but, alas this time out it simply wasn’t to be.
    • Now, however, courtesy of the editors of Coast To Coast, some of my favorite photography from those sessions has at last found an outlet, and I couldn’t imagine a better home for them than this. I hope that you enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Core Band:

  • Vocals [All], Bass Guitar – Glenn Hughes
  • Drums, Percussion – Gary Ferguson (tracks: 1 to 9, 11)
    • Session drummer who worked with Billy Preston, Eddie Money, Gary Moore.
  • Drums – Matt Sorum (tracks: 10)
  • Guitar – Bruce Gowdy (tracks: 2, 10)
  • Guitar –  George Nastos (tracks: 9)
    • Most credits with Glenn Hughes
  • Guitar – Pat Thrall (tracks: 1, 4 to 7)
  • Keyboards – Bruce Gowdy (tracks: 2, 10)
  • Keyboards – Carmine Rojas (tracks: 6)
    • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmine_Rojas
    • Mostly known as a bass player
    • Carmine has also recorded, toured and played alongside Tina Turner, Keith Richards, Stevie Wonder, Ron Wood, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Johnson, Peter Frampton, Al Green, Carly Simon, Ian Anderson, Paul Rogers, Noel Gallagher, John Waite, Steve Winwood, Billy Joel, Herbie Hancock, Lee Ritenour, Julian Lennon[2] (Musical Director/Bassist), Richie Sambora, Robert Randolph, Joe Don Rooney, Trace Adkins, Nancy Wilson, John Hiatt, Carole King, Beth Hart, Bobby Womack, Sam Moore, Billy Squier, Rob Hyman & Eric Bazilian, Olivia Newton-John, Michael Hutchence, Bernard Fowler, Blondie Chaplin, Billy Gibbons, Leslie West, Joe Lynn Turner, Carlos Santana, Todd Rundgren, Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, Michael Bolton, Ivan Neville, Allen Toussaint, Phil Ramone, Kevin Shirley, Trevor Horn, Charlie Sexton, Jewel, Brandy, Dave Mason, Mike Patton, Glenn Hughes, Nektar, Belouis Some, Tetsuya Komuro, Hitomi, Ziroq, Modern Primitives, Simranking, Sass Jordan, Alphaville and others.
  • Keyboards – Greg Phillinganes
  • Keyboards – Marc Hugenberger (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9)
    • Worked with The Pointer Sisters on Garfield CD
      • https://www.discogs.com/master/41765-Various-Garfield-Am-I-Cool-Or-What
  • Keyboards – Pat Thrall (tracks: 5)
  • Keyboards – Todd Hunter (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 5)
  • Saxophone – Pat Zicari (tracks: 4, 6)
    • Played Sax on the Ringo Starr Christmas Album “I Wanna Be Santa Claus”
    • Also a disco album by an artist named Daddy Dewdrop who appeared to be a pimp with a speaker surgically inserted in his chest
  • Soloist, Guitar – George Nastos (tracks: 8, 11), Pat Thrall (tracks: 11)

Technical:

Album Art & Booklet Review

Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:

  • The $8.99 “What’s Goin’ On Here” Tier
    • Richard Fusey
  • The $7.77 KeepItWarmRat Tier
    • Michael Vader
  • The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
    • Spike the Rock Cat
    • Sugar T
  • The Episode $6.66 Tier
    • Steve Coldwell
    • Arthur Smith
    • Anton Glaving
    • Charles Meadows
  • The $6.65 “Almost Evil” Tier
    • Kenny Wymore
    • Richie Sucksmith
  • $5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier
    • Robert Smith
    • Karl Hellberg
  • The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
    • Knut Morten Johansen – 
  • $5 “Money Lender” Tier
    • John Convery
    • German Heindl
    • Adrian Hernandez
    • Jesper Almén
    • Oleksiy The Perfect Stranger Slyepukhov
    • Kev Roberts
    • Percival Frequency
    • Scott Zerns
    • Cynthia Dube
    • Raff Kaff
    • Coyote Bongwater
    • John Miceli
    • Sarah Sanders
    • Jellybean
    • Evan Robison

Album Tracks:

  1. Big Time (Hughes, Thrall)
  2. Livin’ For The Minute (Hughes, Gowdy)
  3. Does It Mean That Much To You? (Hughes)
    • Favorite ballad – Does It Mean That Much To You?
    • Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Pat Thrall
    • Keyboards – Marc Hugenberger, Todd Hunter
    • Producer – Glenn Hughes
    • (“Todd Hunter recording the keyboard tracks for ‘Does It Mean That Much To You?’.”) Of Todd, I have to say this: like Gary Ferguson, the guy was a real quick study. I mean, Glenn was still composing this number when Todd came into the studio, and in like five minutes Todd had learned all of his parts already and was set to go. In fact, he even came up with a great part or two on the spot, and that just blew Glenn away. He was elated! Shortly thereafter, Gary – who, by the way, often plays with Todd in a local jazz combo – stepped into the recording chamber, worked out and rehearsed the hip-hop sounding drum track for a few minutes, and then “BOOM!”; they were off and running.
    • (“Pat Thrall ripping it up in between takes for ‘Does It Mean That Much To You?’.”) Pat, like Matt Sorum, was also a real pleasure to photograph, and a lot of fun to be around too! With his easygoing manner and everpresent grin, Pat had a way of lighting up any room he walked into. And his rapport with Glenn! Simply amazing. Glenn was never more relaxed during these sessions than when he was hanging out with Pat. It was a real pleasure watching the two of them work together again.
    • Favorite ballad – Does It Mean That Much To You?
  4. Save Me Tonight (I’ll Be Waiting) (Hughes, Kentis, Rojas)
  5. Redline (Hughes, Thrall)
  6. Coffee & Vanilla (Hughes, Rojas)

Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons:

  • £3.50 “Deep Purple NY” Tier
    • Lord Longford
  • The £3 “The Aromatic Feed” Tier
    • Simon Ford
    • Richard Breese
  • The $3.33 Half Way to Evil Tier
    • Stephen Sharpe
    • Duncan Leask
  • $3 “Nobody’s Perfect” Tier
    • Peter Gardow
    • Ian Desrosiers
    • Mark Roback
    • Stuart McCord
    • Flight of the Rat Bat Blue Light
    • Øyvind Fjeldbu –
    • Runar Simonsen –
    • Ruinous Inadequacies
    • Corey Morrissette
    • Ashely { Still I hear, “Burn” } Rose
    • Weston-super-Mare pilgrim
    • Joe “Dopefish” Siegler
  • The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
    • Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
  • The 10 kr “” Tier
    • Carsten Lau
  • $1 Made Up Name Tier
    • The “Does It Mean That Much To Goo?” Leaky Mausoleum
    • Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
    • Hank the Tank
    • Private Eyes
    • Ashen Lionel
    • Blackmore’s Tights
    • Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
    • Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
    • Anders Engstrom
    • I see DC
    • Durple Purple
    • Purple Swede
    • David Hattam
    • Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
    • Eddie Lion

For Further Information:

Listener Mail/Comments

  • 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.

Leave a Reply