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.
Link for Submission for all album rankings episodes
Access to banned episodes via Patreon
New Patron/Patron Upgrades:
25 DKK Tier
Michael Clarup! ($3.79) Nobody’s Perfect Tier
Michael is fine been a purple fan since the early 90’s and seen them live a handful of times, last time 2011, so a concert is way overdue favorite studio album fireball, favorite live album olympia 96. Keep up the good work
Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:
The “In Memorium” Tier
Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
Ovais Naqvi
Purple Maniac
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 “Don’t Call Him Bradford” Bagford
$10 “Some One Came” Tier
Ryan M
Jeff Breis
Victor Campos
“Better Call” Saul Evans
Peter from Illinois
The “Deep Thoughts by John Mottola” Tier
Fielding Fowler
Upcoming Rankings Show:
Deep Purple “Who Do We Think We Are”
Patron rankings needed by August 18th
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!
The mystery of Ralphie from Nashville marches on . . .
Interview with Rory Gallagher (interview with Dennis McNamara) WLIR Broadcast; New York, New York, U.S.A. 11th September 1977
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Link for Submission for all album rankings episodes
Access to banned episodes via Patreon
Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:
The “In Memorium” Tier
Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
Ovais Naqvi
Purple Maniac
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 “Don’t Call Him Bradford” Bagford
$10 “Some One Came” Tier
Ryan M
Jeff Breis
Victor Campos
“Better Call” Saul Evans
Peter from Illinois
The “Deep Thoughts by John Mottola” Tier
Fielding Fowler
Upcoming Rankings Show:
Deep Purple “Who Do We Think We Are”
Patron rankings needed by August 18th
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!
Coming to us from the Scandinavian peninsula of Sister’s Bay, Wisconsin!
An interview with Eberhard Schoener, conducted on April 2, 2025 – conducted and translated by Norman Weichselbaum
Norman Weichselbaum: Yes, hello, Norman Weichselbaum is speaking. Greetings, Mr. Schöner.
Eberhard Schoener: Yes, greetings. I heard from my wife that you are from Vienna or something.
NW: Yes, exactly, from Austria, from Vienna. So it is not very far away. Exactly. Everything good with you?
ES: Everything is fine, yes.
NW: That’s great. Mr. Schöner, why I wanted to chat with you for a moment. I think I already said it. There is this Deep Purple Podcast in America. There are two friends of mine. They have already covered everything from Sarabande and Gemini Suite and Windows and all these projects. And one point that should be covered in one of the coming episodes is this story of the coronation mass in 1974, of which the video still exists. I have also seen it on YouTube. But there is hardly any background to it. Now I wanted to ask you in advance when and how did you come into contact with Jon Lord?
ES: Actually through my wife, who is a classical musician. She said there is an English rock musician who does so with classical music and that would be interesting for me. First i was not interested in that at all. But then I said to myself, well, if he comes to Munich, I’ll meet him. And I talked to my wife again. She said, yes, he is a member of the very famous band Deep Purple.
And then I met Jon between two concerts at the Circus Krone. This must have been 1972. They had these concerts and in between I met him. He was a very polite and very likeable young man.
NW: I read somewhere that the first time you two worked together was already, I think, 1972. I think you conducted a performance of the Gemini Suite. Is that right?
ES: No. That was the work that Jon Lord had written before. Yes, I know, but that is obviously a misinformation. But I have done so much at that time, i don´t know.
NW: The idea of making the coronation mass as a „rock meets classic“-project: I read you wanted to do that first with Procol Harum, already in 1972 when you worked with the. But this never saw the light of day.
ES: I don’t know anymore. I was just interested in pressing things up, to bring classical music into a new form. And on this occasion, I just did it with Jon Lord. We called it „make Mozart“. Jon was very good and very modest. He was a very likeable guy.
NW: This adaptation of the coronation mass was not recorded in front of an audience, but in a film studio near Munich.
ES: That’s right. And that was separate. Orchestra and band.
NW: Did it take place at the same time?
ES: I have to think about it. It’s ages ago. Yes, there was the filming with the orchestra and the filming with the band. These shots were combined then for the TV broadcasting on Bavarian TV.
NW: What was the musical idea behind that adaption of the coronation mass? If I look at it, I can´t see clearly where the band takes motifs from the crowning ceremony. Watching it i have the impression that newly written parts by Jon and the band have nothing to do with Mozart.
ES: I played my ideas to him. And he sat, if I remember correctly, on the keyboard. And then we improvised it more and more. Back then it was all very wild time. And it wasn’t as structured as it was later. We weren’t wild. So it all happened relatively quickly. I think within two or three days.
NW: That was, I think, just after the Windows concert.
ES: A few days later. That may be.
NW: Is it true that the musicians of Deep Purple – Coverdale, Hughes and Lord – lived in the house of german actor Gila von Weithaushausen at that time? About your mediation?
ES: Yes, that’s right. Yes, they stood at Gila´s place. It was a very big theater afterwards, because the house was desolate. But I think Jon was not responsible for that. He was very modest and very calm. A very introverted boy.
We also had troubles during the rehearsals for „Windows“ at the Herkules-Saal. When the rock musicians and their crew came tot he place, they found a door locked and rammed it. And the whole door, an old big four-meter-high door, collapsed. That was terrible. It had to be repaired and in the end i had to pay some thousand German marks for that.
I found this all very exciting. But rock music itself didn’t interest me that much. I was more interested in the time and the figures. I was interested in what kind of musicians were doing something like that at the time. Because I did a lot of avant-garde music and a lot of experimental things.
NW: Any more memories on Jon?
ES: He knew a lot. Very impressing. He was a church musician, right? But when i saw him first with Deep Purple, beating into the keys of his Hammond, i thought „Oh God! What is that? Why should i talk to that guy? But then we meet and it was amazing. A very calm and friendly man.
And he was just shooting his Hammond organ. And I thought, oh my God, what is that? Of course, I can’t even talk to him now. And then he was in the concert afterwards.
NW: Later you did „Sarabande“ with Jon. Did you stay in contact after that?
ES: We were in touch and also had projects in mind. We met in Munich and then again in Wiesbaden. This must have been two years before he passed away. The last time we had a call was four month before Jon died. And to be honest – i did not know that he was so sick. He said, let’s do something like that „Sarabande“ or „Windows“ again. But nothing happened. That’s a shame. There would have been a collaboration after many years.
NW: Do you have any memories of the other Purple musicians you met in the 70ies?
ES: This guitar player, Richmore, was a devil. He didn’t like Jon´s interest in classic. And he didn’t want John to do anything like that. Because he was just very unpleasant. To me, too. I didn’t care. I didn’t have anything against him. He didn’t want John to do such things outside of Purple.
And then i remember David Coverdale. He was very nice. He had a girlfriend that he married later. Julia, i think. And he was in Munich a lot. But I didn’t know anyone else. I knew Pete York. He played with us at the time. He’s still in Munich. You can talk to him. He’s very talkative.
NW: I would like to ask one last question about Windows. What I never understood was that the german actor Klaus Loebitsch was part of the show with some weird text phrases, that made no sense to me at all. How did that come across?
ES: They were rengas. Chain poems are better known as rengas. I found them very exciting. I also invented texts with rengas. The idea was to connect them. Klaus Loebitsch was there and recited the texts. Michael Krüger published them. A poet and writer. He is a literary man from Munich. He said the text is great, so we made them part of the performance.
NW: Mr. Schöner, thanks for sharing some memories. I wish you all the best and many, many more beautiful years. Thank you very much.
This is a project Eberhard Schoener was asked to do as part of “Rock Meets Classic” series for German TV and it was planned to broadcast it around Christmas 1974. The band performance of this project was filmed on June 5 1974 in a TV studio in Munich Unterföhring (Germany), two days after the second “Windows” concert. I don’t know when orchestra and choir were recorded.
As in “Windows” David Coverdale’s part in it is rather small.
By the time of the April US gigs, Lord’s set up featured not one, but two ARP Odysseys stacked one behind the other. The use of the ARP Odyssey is also evident in the “Windows” album opening section, the 18-minute “Continuo on B.A.C.H”, alongside the three-movement “Window” suite, commissioned by German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk, as part of the Prix Jeunesse International at the Herkulessaal in Munich, recorded live on 1 June 1974 for broadcast across 16 European countries, featuring the Orchestra of the Munich Chamber Opera conducted by Eberhard Schoener. Schoener features as a figure in the stories of a number of rock bands in the late-1960s and into the1970s, including those of Tangerine Dream, Procol Harem and the nascent version of The Police.
Born in Stuttgart, Eberhard Schoener studied first at the Nordwestdeutsche Musikakademiein in Detmold and in 1959, was awarded a scholarship to study at the prestigious Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, a centre for advanced musical studies whose alumni include Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Guilini, Guiseppe Sinopoli and Zubin Mehta. His classical credentials as a violinist and conductor were impeccable and he became First Violinist at the Bavarian State Opera, as well as Music supervisor at the Bavarian Opera. He was encouraged by grandmaster Sergiu Celibidache from his time in Siena to experiment musically and on his return to Germany, founded a youth symphony orchestra in 1962 and then in 1965, became a foundational figure at the new Munich Chamber Opera, serving as its conductor and artistic supervisor.
He developed a parallel fascination for electronic music, perhaps influenced by the work of Stockhausen and certainly by Carlos. He was tasked with setting up an experimental lab at the Bavarian Film Studio and decided to travel to Trumansburg in 1969 with 60,000 Deutsche Marks to acquire a Moog Modular System. Bob Moog himself met Schoener and was not able to sell a ready-built unit since he was busy with pre-orders and no doubt with the landmark Minimoog project.
In parallel, The Beatles began to experiment further with electronic sounds and a Moog modular IIIp was shipped to them, according to Moog’s own corporate records, on 15 January 1969. George Harrison in particular, took keen interested and used it on his “Electronic Sounds” solo album of May 1969. He ensured that the Moog was available for the upcoming “Abbey Road” sessions and it was installed by Mike Vickers of Manfred Mann, who in the same period lent his own Moog to Keith Emerson for his first forays with the Modular System. The IIIp features prominently on “Here Comes the Sun”, doubling the guitar line in the second verse and as a counter melody later in the song. The instrument also features on the McCartney composition, “Mr Maxwell’s Hammer”. It appears that with the Beatles heading towards dissolution, John Lennon founded the instrument too complicated for his liking and requested that the IIIp be sent back to Moog. Having receipt of only this complete unit, Moog’s sales records confirm that Bob Moog sold that very Beatles Moog IIIp (Moog Serial Number 1095) to Eberhard Schoener. The unit now sits at the Deutsche Museum in Munich, having been gifted to the institution by Schoener in May 2019.
Schoener became an early architect of the bridge between classical music and rock through his “Rock Meets Classical” vision (including conducting the Munich Chamber Opera Orchestra and choir with Procol Harem on their German tour of October 1972) and in parallel, made a 1971 classical electronic album, “Destruction of Harmony – The Living Sound of the Synthesizer based on Bach & Vivaldi”. Later Schoener albums were the innovative and experimental “Bali-Agúng” (1976), created after an extensive Asian trip in 1970, work that began a fascination with native Javanese Gamelan percussion music and the two-part “Music for Meditation” album, recorded in 1973 and released in 1976 is now regarded as a pioneering work in the world music and meditative music space. Unlike Lord’s arduous musical experiences with the “Concerto…” concert Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1969, the Germans were not the musical snobs in the vein of traditional British orchestras and Lord found an authoritative and accomplished public ally in Eberhard Schoener.
As Schoener recalled in 2025, “[I met Jon] through my wife, who is a classical musician. She said there is an English rock musician who works with classical music and that would be interesting for me. At first, I was not interested in that at all. But then I said to myself, ‘well, if he comes to Munich, I’ll meet him’. And I talked to my wife again. She said, ‘Yes, he is a member of a very famous band – Deep Purple’. Then I met Jon between two concerts at the Circus Krone. But when I saw him first with Deep Purple, beating into the keys of his Hammond, I thought ‘Oh God! What is that? Why should I talk to that guy?’ But then we met and it was amazing. He knew a lot and was very impressive. He had been a church musician. He was very calm and friendly – a very polite and very likeable young man”.
Deep Purple played at the Circus Krone-Bau in Munich on 5 December 1970 and this is likely the date Schoener was introduced to Lord. Lord clearly earmarked Schoener for future collaboration (these classical forays by Lord being to Blackmore’s continuing distaste) and then requested him to conduct the “Gemini Suite” live concert, also in Munich, on 4 January 1972. Schoener subsequently broke his arm in a skiing accident over the Christmas period and the concert was cancelled.
Lord’s collaboration with Schoener finally materialised with “Windows” and he recounted in an interview with broadcaster Eli Lapid in 2010, “I’d been asked to do it by Eberhard Schoener, who had been asked by this German television company. They wanted a piece of music for a gala concert; they wanted to mix rock musicians and an orchestra and they had heard of my experiments in that area, so they asked me and Eberhard to produce something and it had to be done so quickly and it’s very strange music, some of it is a little weird. It was intended to be visual as much as anything else and I never knew that it was going to be recorded and released. I was told that afterwards. Twenty-six million people watched it, live, so it was kind of a very, very high pressure project but, ultimately an incredibly successful evening, I mean, the reviews in the German press the next day were astonishing”.
Two days after the televised “Windows” concert and while still in Munich, Lord and the band featuring David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Ray Fenwick, Pete York and Tony Ashton were asked by Schoener to participate in another experiment: a modern reinterpretation of the Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass) in C Major, composed in 1779 by Mozart. It was originally written in six parts and footage shows the Munich Chamber Opera Orchestra performing the piece within the same structure with The Toelz Boys’ Choir, but interpolated with various light rock sections and improvisional classical (as well as jazz) piano, organ and ARP Odyssey passages played by Lord. Lord is also seen tentatively trying out the Beatles/Schoener Moog IIIp in one scene in the televised film. Footage shows various scenes of somewhat dated post-produced visual montages and even footage of the choirboys travelling on a local train and playing soccer. It is a somewhat dated experiment today and overall, a period Lord later considered exciting, but perhaps relatively inaccessible to his core audience, hence his more mainstream efforts with the “Sarabande” album with Schoener the following year.
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 €3.50 Tier
Weston Super-Mare Pilgrim
The 293 Pence Tier
Blackmore’s Tights
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
Joe “Dopefish” Siegler
Adam Corke
Tim Wood
Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
The 10 DKK “Cold Hard Danish Kroner” Tier
Carsten Lau
$1 Made Up Name Tier
The “Dead Boys Choir” Leaky Mausoleum
Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
Hank the Tank
Private Eyes
Ashen Lionel
Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
Anders Engstrom
I see DC
Durple Purple
David Hattam
Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
Eddie Lion
Sicktone
Reviews
Translated by Norman Weichselbaum
From „Musik Express“ (1974)
This is mainly about WINDOWS, but the ending is interesting:
The band stayed in Munich for a few days after the concert to record another television production with Eberhard Schoener, which is to be broadcast at Christmas.
In the television studio in Munich-Unterföhring, the hustle and bustle is in full swing and after a few hours of waiting, Eberhard Schoener clears himself between stage directions and conducting for an answer as to what is actually being played in these bizarre backdrops between crystal chandeliers, Mozart pictures, antique furniture, porcelain vases, a mock-up bar, the video cameras and spotlights.
“It should be a 45-minute film, based on Mozart’s Coronation Mass, showing a portrait of Jon Lord as a contemporary musician, then going back to the rock band and back to Jon, the main character, to make it clear how close he actually is to the matter and at the same time create a beautiful visual model.”
Pop Magazine (1974), page 3
Roll Over Classic
2 days after the successful performance at Circus Krone, we meet in a television studio in Munich Unterföhring. Between colored spotlights, antique furniture and crystal chandeliers, a team of 2 dozen people waves at state-of-the-art video cameras. Mozart’s Coronation Mass booms out of the loudspeakers while Jon Lord is busy with his synthesizer. Ray Fenwick, Pete York and Tony Ashton pass the time with a jam session and the Deep Purple people Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale, the latter plagued by toothache, hang out listlessly in the studio. Everyone is waiting for their turn. There will be enough time to learn something about his collaboration with Jon Lord from author – composer – director and conductor Eberhard Schoener.
“We exchanged our ideas by mail”
How long have the two known each other? “A few years ago,” says Eberhard, “I met Jon at a Deep Purple concert in Munich. We didn’t see each other again until last year when I got the offer to conduct the orchestra in the performance of Jon Lord’s “Gemini Suite”. The success was great and we still regret today that the concert could not be recorded on television. Now I have been commissioned to repeat the performance for the Prix jeunesse international 74. We were offered to have the concert recorded live. For this festive occasion, Jon and I wrote the collaborative composition “Windows”. For months we exchanged our ideas by mail. A month ago I went to Jon in Reading near London to finalize the work.”
Eberhard continues talking about „Windows“…
Now Jon Lord joins us, he is exhausted, pale and has deep circles under his eyes (…) How do Jon Lord and Eberhard Schröder assess this combination of classical music and rock? “We don’t want to create an immortal work,” explains Eberhard, and Jon adds: “The most important thing is that we enjoy what we do. All participating musicians have the opportunity to play new, different music than they usually do. The whole thing is not supposed to be a synthesis of rock and classical music. It is simply the interplay of two orchestras. People always try to see something specific, something new from it. Some want to see it as rock accompanied by classical music and others think it is classical music peppered with rock. But no one thinks that both are true. The English critics did not understand this either. In contrast to the German audience, which is very open-minded and has noticed the immense work behind it, the English press has not even stated that this is an independent event and that it therefore deserves the same attention as a normal concert.”
Eberhard Schoener “I’m making a film about Jon Lord”
During our conversation, the hustle and bustle in the studio has increased. A technician comes to Eberhard Schoener to remind him of his work. The camera crew needs new stage directions. When asked about his new project, Eberhard Schoener explains: “We are shooting a 45-minute television film with Jon Lord in the leading role. I want to show how close he is as a contemporary musician to the great classical composers. We create a pictorial model here. The film is to be broadcast at Christmas.” The scene is illuminated and the band can now really get started.
Extra Thanks To:
Norman Weichselbaum
Jorg Planer
Ovais Naqvi
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
Thank you to Norman Weischlebaum for his interview and translations of German articles.
Thanks to the archive of Jorg Planer.
Thank you to Ovais Naqvi for his research on the Moog IIIp and associated text.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:
The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
Spike the Rock Cat’s Ghost
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
The 70 NOK Tier
Kai Rune “Yes, I’m Norwegian” Olsen –
$5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier
Robert Smith
Karl Hellberg
The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
Knut Morten Johansen –
The €5.50Tier
Merlijn Rotte
$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
Richard Fusey
Purple Swede
Album Tracks:
Note from CTC Issue 22:
From: Par.Holmgren@svt.se Subject: CTC: The guitar(ist)s on ADDICTION All, Damien asked me to specify about who is playing what on the new album. Well, basically Joakim is playing on *his* three tracks and Bonilla on *his*. But with these exceptions: * I’m Not Your Slave; Joakim is doing the HEAVY riff around the chorus; 1.37-1.52 and at the end from 3.41. * Madeleine; MB plays the guitarsolo and the accoustic guitars. * Blue Jade; Again MB does the accoustics.
I’m Not Your Slave (Bonilla, Hughes)
Cover Me (Bonilla, Hughes)
Blue Jade (Hughes, Marsh)
Justified Man (Bonilla, Hughes)
I Don’t Want To Live That Way Again (Bonilla, Hughes)
Released as a 2CD set by Purple records including US bonus tracks and a 2nd CD of live material performed in Holland on July 14, 1995.
GH: in CTC ISsue #25: “I also need time to think what I need to make myself happy. FEEL it was an album I didn’t want to make. I was convinced into making it. Although I think it is a very good rock album. The only problem with me is it’s not funky. And the real Glenn Hughes – and the real Glenn Hughes fan knows that I am into funky music.”made me happy when I made the album. ADDICTION was a rough album to make because
LH: First he asks, “Are you satisfied with the success of ADDICTION, and, if we’re not too nosy, how successful has it been so far?”
GH: It’s about – it’s not as successful as FEEL, not yet. I tell this to you again that the albums I have been making the last three, four years have just been scratching the surface. I don’t think I am ever going to have a massive album until I am with a label that appreciates what I am doing. I have been making albums to make these labels happy. I’d like to make albums that make Glenn Hughes happy. FEEL was an album that was making me happier. If you look at ADDICTION as a rock album, it’s a great rock album, but I didn’t want to make a rock album. If you look at the members on FEEL, I said I felt it was necessary to make a different kind of album, but I went back to playing rock. But a lot of people liked it. The press loved it. I got great reviews. Some of the press people don’t understand the funky Glenn Hughes or the soulful Glenn Hughes, but it’s too bad; they are going to have to get used to it.
Reviews
Addiction – Album Review
GLENN HUGHES ADDICTION Zero Records XRCN 1280 : Japan : July 10. 1996 CD SPV Records SPV 085 44412 : Europe : 1996 CDGlenn’s latest ten track solo CD. issued ahead of the pack in Japan yet again for obvious reasons (they paid for it!). A lot of people had spoken to me about the CD expressing mixed feelings and I have to say I can see why having played it a few times.As with Feel before it, Addiction still has a kind of made to measure atmosphere about it. Great vocals as always, and especially poignant here given the subject matter. but I’m still left with the impression that Glenn is or has held back a little. Certainly it’s a lot rockier in a kind of modern Sabbath school of riffs way but musically the band isn’t able to put across much of a personality so it comes across as a working by numbers affair for the most part. The sad part is that played live some of these cuts were real blinders. The title track for example, which here is good (with some nice guitar work which pointedly refuses to ape American style whizziness) but succeeds by knocking you into submission – whereas it grabbed one by the throat instantly on stage.Likewise Talk About It came over more strongly live, being a much needed break from the assault on one’s senses. Death Of Me ,opens the CD to good effect. Predictable structure it’s true but it kinda works it’s way under your skin. Strangely enough it’s a song called Justified Man towards the end of the disc that I find myself drawn to. Taking a slightly different direction, more of a bluesy Free style rock. it suggests that this might be a fruitful area for the future and Glenn’s vocals here really suit the style. It’s so much more adult than the very American look at the blues which he had to work with a couple of CDs ago. Glenn puts his heart and soul into the lengthy CD closer I Don’t Want To Live That Way, but musically it’s a curiously shapeless work out which rather means the effort is disipated. So all in all a mixed bag and interestingly one on which very few have commited their thoughts on paper – which is why you’ve had to put up with me rambling on again.
Total Score 90% Production 95% Songs 85% Vibe 85% Attitude 95%
Glenn Hughes has been around the block not only once, but maybe four or five times!! Since this album is now on wide release, I thought it would be good to revisit it, now that it has had time to mature. Now back in his prime, after several visits to Betty Ford, Glenn has had a new lease of life and has been releasing albums with great reliability, a trait I wish other acts would pick up on. His most recent albums Blues, From Now On, Burning Japan Live and Feel, have all been superb. Diverse, yes, but of great quality nevertheless. With Addiction, Glenn has made his first 90’s album. That is, it’s raw, it’s heavy, and it’s very contemporary. What he hasn’t done is sold out to alternative. He has merely taken his God given voice, and let her rip, on the heaviest album I have ever heard Glenn do.
Depending on where you buy the album from, the track listing is shuffled, but the rockers on this album include the anthem ‘Death Of Me’ – killer heavy track!, ‘Down’ and ‘Cover Me’. The ‘not quite flat out’ tracks include the awesome ‘I’m Not Your Slave’, which ends as heavy as anything on the album, and the good fun rock track ‘Justified Man’. For balance there are a couple of slower tracks, but not your usual ballads in any way. ‘I don’t Want To Live That Way Again’ clocks in at over 9 minutes, and smoulders along, until near the finish where it explodes. A great album for Hughes fans to add to their collection, but also a good point for new fans – especially those who don’t know his other albums – to pick up on one of rocks finest talents. They don’t call him The Voice Of Rock for nothing!
STYLE: RockRATINGOUR PRODUCT CODE: 17741-27838LABEL: Steamhammer 0854412FORMAT: CD AlbumITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Alex FiggisFrom the opening crash of cymbals through to the lingering vocals at its end, ‘Addiction’, Hughes’ fourth studio project to date, is dense both musically and lyrically. By fusing the harder edged moments of ‘From Now On’ (’94) with 1995’s ‘Feel’, the whole album is given a moody submetal/hard rock sound, in spite of such ballads as “Blue Jean” and “I Don’t Want To Live That Way Again”. However, behind the heavy concoction created by guitarists Marc Bonilla. Joakim Marsh and drummer Joe Travers, Hughes* bass can still be heard slapping down the old familiar funk rhythms, adding an interesting and compelling element to ‘Addiction’s sound. Lyrically, Hughes communicates with the listener at a deep, thought provoking and emotional level; covering such topics as pain (“Talk About It”), drug addiction (“Addiction”), Divine protection (“Cover Me”), justification (“Justified Man”) and repentance (“I Don’t Want To Live That Way Again”)… all of which Hughes has experienced personally, having become a Christian after years of drug and alcohol addiction. The repetition of the chorus in some songs could impair one’s enjoyment. In spite of this slight niggle, there is enough material here to keep the listener’s attention both lyrically and musically. Not one to be missed.
From CTC #20 – See issue for full details and song-by-song review:
Review of Glenn’s forthcoming album ADDICTION written by Paer Holmgren. I have been listening a lot to this tape. Probably more than any other of Glenn’s album in the 90’s. It’s got an amazing amount of energy and it’s very aggressive. Music for the 90’s this is. Contemporary. Will hopefully attract a lot of new younger fans BUT could also maybe scare some of the older geezers away. If you REALLY like AOR like FROM NOW ON, BRAZEN ABBOT etc I’m NOT sure if you will like this. But it IS a VERY good album, at least 6 great songs and the other 4 are quite good as well. Marc Bonilla has done a very good work when it comes to production and has really taken it to the edge (and occasionally beyond). Glenn’s voice is the best I’ve ever heard him perform when it comes to hard rock (But MY favourite albums are still PLAY ME OUT and YOU ARE THE MUSIC). FEEL felt like a 200% Glenn Hughes solo album, this doesn’t, as it only features one side of Glenn’s music. Still it’s definitely *the right album* to do at this moment (IMO that is…) And very important: most of the songs will work out great live, can’t wait until the autumn… Musicians: Marc Bonilla; guitars and some keyboards, Joakim Marsh; guitars on *his* 3 songs and I’m Not Your Slave, Joe Travers; drums. I’m 0% objective but I prefer Joakim’s guitars and would have liked to hear him play on more of the songs, especially the heavier ones; Death of Me and the title track. Marc has done some very tasteful accoustic guitars though and as mentioned before, a great production. The drums are by far the best I’ve heard on Glenn’s solo album, they were not especially good on FEEL, imo.
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!
Greetings from Dearborne, Michigan
More postcards from “Ralphie” in Nashville!
Lead up to the Album:
From Hughes’s Website: “Back to big rock again. I wanted the edge back. It was a dark period for me – relationship issues, acceptance issues, denial and anger – a perfect time to record this album. Marc, Mike Scott, and Jocke did a fine job. I sang with raw emotion, spitting out lyric after lyric of torment and destruction. ‘I Don’t Want To Live That Way Again.'”
CTC Fanzine, Issue #27, May 1997:
Glenn Hughes is trying to convince RAW journalist Mark Putterford (and probably himself) that his years of drug and alcohol addiction are over and that he can pick his career out of the gutter, dust it down, and try to fulfill his huge potential. Glenn Hughes in RAW 20: “If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a hundred times: ‘Glenn Hughes? Oh, yeah, the Cocaine King. He’s finished, man…’ And I laughed at it because I never thought I had a drug problem. Then last summer I woke up. It took me 16 years – 16 *stupid* years – to realize what an asshole I’d been, and to see my career was going down the toilet. I thought about all the deaths there’s been through cocaine, and I was addicted to that shit! I just thought, ‘I don’t wanna die, I wanna LIVE!'”
From CTC Fanzine, Issue #36 – Jocke Marsh met Glenn Hughes for the first time at the wedding of a mutual friend Paer Holmgren and his wife Eva.
JM: No, we had not met before. Paer had known Glenn a good while at the time, and he had told me about him and so on. So it didn’t feel as such a weird thing when I actually got to meet him. I was sort of prepared from Paer’s stories. And I am also a good friend of Thomas (Larsson) and Bojjan (Eric Anders Bojfelt) who were in Glenn’s band before. I had seen videos of them playing with Glenn, etc. We had just got our cover band together, and we were to play at Paer’s wedding, which was just perfect. And we realized that we had a superb opportunity to play with Glenn, so he was asked if he’d like to join us for a couple of songs just for fun.
LH: If you had not asked him, maybe you would have had regrets afterwards?
JM: Yeah, I don’t even want to think about it! So Paer asked him if he’d like to do it, and to do maybe Gettin’ Tighter and maybe something else. So we got to meet at the wedding, and the rest is history.
LH: As I understand, it wasn’t like you had any time to rehearse with Glenn before the wedding though?
JM: No, we had not rehearsed with him at all. I went through the arrangement of the songs with him during the dinner, and *that* was not a very easy thing. Paer and Eva (Paer’s wife) had placed me across the table of Glenn. And I thought it was sort of almost too much for me. Anyway, he came there and we said hello, and I did not manage to say a word for the first 20 minutes. And then I thought to myself, I have to break the ice, and we started talking. He’s such an easy guy to talk to, so it was no problem from then on. We went through the arrangement then and there, because we had put Way Back To The Bone right in the middle of Gettin’ Tighter, and then we had also the track You Gotta Dance To That Rock ‘N Roll in there. Do you know that song?
LH: I have heard he was practically lying in bed sick and just got up to put down his vocals, and then went back to bed. JM: Yeah, he was in great pain. I was very impressed by the way he handled all that, and that he managed to sing so well considering that he was ill.
From CTC #21: GH: On the album, which is a very confrontational album… you see what I have done on the new album… it’s called Addiction for obvious reasons… it’s an album that… I wanted to be a bit more serious about my lyrics on this album. Wanted to a be bit more in depth and to have someone understanding what I was singing about, rather than singing about boy meets girl. What I did was opening my own wound and for my own rehabilitation, after five years of being clean, I wanted to go back and look to see what I have been doing. And see if it could help me as a person. So some of this stuff is very angry and some of it is very sad, but it’s a very good album. Have you heard it yet?
From Discogs: “American drummer, born August 20, 1968, engineer “vaultmeister”/ archivist & researcher for the Zappa Family Trust, a position he describes as “The person who looks after the tape vaults and knows all the necessary information to document the contents – and preserves the Zappa masters from getting damaged by the passing of time”.”
Played with Z on their two albums Shampoohorn and Music For Pets, worked with Mike Keneally and Beer for Dolphins
From: Par.Holmgren@svt.se Subject: CTC: The guitar(ist)s on ADDICTION All, Damien asked me to specify about who is playing what on the new album. Well, basically Joakim is playing on *his* three tracks and Bonilla on *his*. But with these exceptions: * I’m Not Your Slave; Joakim is doing the HEAVY riff around the chorus; 1.37-1.52 and at the end from 3.41. * Madeleine; MB plays the guitarsolo and the accoustic guitars. * Blue Jade; Again MB does the accoustics.
Death of Me (Bonilla)
In an interview with CTC Marsh says that Bonilla had a lot of his mariarial in advance.
“Well, I’d say that Bonilla is very aware of contemporary modern music and keeps up to date on the alternative scene. And I think the musical mix on Addiction is kind of cool. It’s still based on hard rock, of course, which could appeal to the old Deep Purple fans. Personally, I just would have liked it to have more emphasis on guitar playing on it. Now the guitar playing is kept very strict and basic, because that’s what’s on the agenda today on the alternative scene. I would have liked some more guitar though!”
Down (Axelsson, Bonilla, Hughes, Marsh)
Glenn’s favorite song on this album.
JM: “It was Bonilla’s idea and Mike Scott’s, the other producer, and Bill (Hibbler), the manager, and Glenn who was very interested to see what it would be like. I think they were afraid that if this wasn’t the musical direction then the album wouldn’t stand a chance of airplay if the album was to be released in the US. Wailing guitar solos are totally dead. I mean, it’s Smashing Pumpkins and stuff like that that rules the US radio. Anyway, we wrote some songs that, well, like Madeleine that was more straight compared to Down, that we also wrote, which was more like Soundgarden-ish.”
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
One of the first ads on British TV was for ‘Raelbrook Poplin the shirt you don’t iron’ and the picture was of a row of freshly laundered shirts dancing happily whilst pegged to a washing line. These shirts never saw an iron in their entire lives. They went straight from the chorus line to the husband, and so everybody was very, very happy.
Of course that’s not really anything to do with the song, other than a symbolic trigger for another journey of lyrical wonderment. Very deep this one.
One of the first ads on British TV was for ‘Raelbrook Poplin the shirt you don’t iron’ and the picture was of a row of freshly laundered shirts dancing happily whilst pegged to a washing line. These shirts never saw an iron in their entire lives. They went straight from the chorus line to the husband, and so everybody was very, very happy.
Of course that’s not really anything to do with the song, other than a symbolic trigger for another journey of lyrical wonderment. Very deep this one.
Bed of Nails
Gassed Up
Everything I Need
Dancing Nylon Shirt (Part 2)
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 €3.50 Tier
Weston Super-Mare Pilgrim
The 293 Pence Tier
Blackmore’s Tights
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
Joe “Dopefish” Siegler
Adam Corke
Tim Wood
Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
The 10 DKK “Cold Hard Danish Kroner” Tier
Carsten Lau
$1 Made Up Name Tier
The “Dancing Nylon Gravestone” Leaky Mausoleum
Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
Hank the Tank
Private Eyes
Ashen Lionel
Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
Anders Engstrom
I see DC
Durple Purple
David Hattam
Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
Eddie Lion
Sicktone
Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet
Reception and Charts:
The album was released only in Europe, Brazil, and Japan on the German label EastWest.
After the album’s release on October 14, 1991, Ian Gillan embarked on a 10 month tour to promote the album.
Reviews
GILLAN. TOOLBOX. East West- : October 14th 1991 : UK LP/CD
Eagerly awaited or at least looked forward to with curiosity by many of you, IAN GILLAN’s new album hit the stores just as we were finishing the magazine. I shall be interested to see how people take to it. NAKED THUNDER got a better reaction within the DPAS than I’d expected, and I wonder if I’ll be the only one feeling a little unsure about this new one. The unease stems from the feeling that they’ve concentrated too much on one aspect of Ian’s style and in so doing sacrificed much of what it is most of us love about his work; the humour and unpredictability.
Not that they’ve done a bad job you understand, but it lacks (to my ears) something to lift it or mark it out as more than just another competent rock album. And rock album it certainly is; forget the often commercial edges with which Naked Thunder abounded (and made its lack of success even more disappointing), here Ian and the band just go straight down the line from start to finish. That’s not to say he doesn’t hit you in places; most of TOOLBOX is great fun (life is indeed a box of rocks!) but few of the tracks keep it up all the way through. For me the opening track CANDY HORIZON is the best of the “straightforward” rock numbers. The tingle factor is supplied by the start of DON’T HOLD ME BACK, you can forgive him anything for the first few moments of this number. It’s down to the Beastie Boy/Aerosmith influenced DANCING NYLON SHIRT to provide what is still for me the albums real highlight though. Part 1 is good and when Ian launches into his “come here boy”, we’re back on real Gillan form. But it’s the reprise at the end of the album which takes me off – Ian seems to shrug off any restraints and just lays in to the lyrics. It’s imaginative, you can feel the spark and hear the enjoyment. Brilliant.
Ian Gillan’s final solo outing before his second comeback with Deep Purple is possibly the singer’s most rocking solo collection. Originally a European release, Toolbox finally appeared in North American record stores in 1997. The disc is hampered by its ’80s production (complete with faux-Van Halen guitar licks and big reverb drum sounds) but Gillan’s personality and dynamic performances preserve Toolbox’s sharp rock & roll edge. Tracks like “Candy Horizon” and “Don’t Hold Me Back” have more than their share of questionable lyrics, but Gillan’s trademark screams easily overshadow any poetic shortcomings. Nothing can compare to the classic recordings Gillan was involved with in the early ’70s, but among his second-tier offerings, Toolbox is definitely one of the best.
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
“As far as flying anywhere right now, Ritchie has actually been told by his cardiologist not to get in a plane. He had a heart attack about a year and a half ago. He’s got six stents.”
“And I can’t believe he’s gonna be 80 on April 14th, which is crazy, but he doesn’t look it, still doesn’t act it, but eventually medical things wind up catching up with you. So we’ve gotta make sure we keep him happy and healthy.”
Night continued:
“And he’s dealing with gout and some arthritic things. And, of course, his back has always been an issue for years. So it’s getting harder for him – it’s tricky – but, hey, I’ve seen people younger than him in wheelchairs on stage doing what they do. So I think he probably doesn’t want people to see him that way.”
“I see the other perspective – from a fan’s perspective, I would think people would just be happy to be under the same roof with him and listen to him play whatever he comes up with. So, we kind of have this discussion, or argument – I’ll say discussion – all the time.”
“But he was just recently at his cardiologist and they said, ‘Let’s put traveling by plane on hold.’ So, hopefully, we’ll get that all straightened out and that’ll change. But I’ll let you guys know if it does.”
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 €3.50 Tier
Weston Super-Mare Pilgrim – PATRON UPGRADE!!
The 293 Pence Tier
Blackmore’s Tights
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
Joe “Dopefish” Siegler
Adam Corke
Tim Wood
Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
The 10 DKK “Cold Hard Danish Kroner” Tier
Carsten Lau
$1 Made Up Name Tier
The “Wring That Dreck” Leaky Mausoleum
Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
Hank the Tank
Private Eyes
Ashen Lionel
Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
Anders Engstrom
I see DC
Durple Purple
David Hattam
Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
Eddie Lion
Sicktone
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!
Two stragglers from months ago!
Lead up to the Album:
Made in Europe was recorded at 3 live shows:
4 April 1975 in Graz, Austria,
5 April 1975 in Saarbrücken, Germany and
7 April 1975 in Paris, France
The album is said to have been made up primarily with material recorded at the show in Saarbrucken, Germany.
The full shows in both Graz and Paris were released in their entirety in an official and unofficial capacity.
There is one potential bootleg of the partial show from Saarbrucken that features Burn, Lady Double Dealer, Mistreated, and Burn. No complete show has ever surfaced. This was released in 1985 in The Netherlands.
The Paris show was later released in 2001 by Deep Purple Overseas as well as the Graz show and many others.
In 2012 expanded 2 CD versions of these shows were released.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Become a patron if you want to be invited to the live stream and submit your rankings!
Lead up to the Album:
Before setting about recording, Ian debuted his new live band in Russia, arriving in Moscow on June 27th. Just a handful of gigs to warm them up, done as a four piece. Ian, Steve Morris, plus new bassist Brett Bloomfield (from Starship), and drummer Leonard Haze from Y&T. In Augist, Gillan, as they now seem to be calling themselves, played a long standing engagement in Denmark; festivals in Odense on the 10th and Skanderborg the next day.
Rasmus Heide was at the shows – “It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining. Ian loved it but Steve wasn’t fond of playing outdoors in the daylight. Out of a set just over an hour long, they only did four old numbers, including ‘Maybe I’m A Leo’. While they were a little rough after just one rehearsal they sounded good. The bass player was a real livewire and Steve has grown immensely since the last tour, without keyboards or rhythm guitar he is working really hard and it sounds much better. At the second show Ian sensed the crowd were largely unresponsive, so they opened with ‘Smoke On The Water’ to get them going. ‘Black Night’ was also added.”
“Toolbox”was recorded in 1991 in Battery Studios in Willesden, with production by Grammy-nominated
I’d always admired the sound Leslie West got from his guitar; witness ‘Mississippi Queen’ by Mountain. So I invited him over to stay with me and do some work. This was the result. Another bout of lyrical introspection; however I feel comfortable with the words, even though I can’t remember exactly what inspired them (and it would be unfair to guess).
We recorded the tracks in London before Leslie had to go home. For some reason (technical if I remember rightly) there was a problem with the solo. Consequently it was replaced by a Steve Morris solo, and everyone was happy with the result. Everybody except Leslie that is, who went bonkers when I next saw him in Sweden and accidentally made my nose bleed when he gave me a friendly hug whilst screaming at the top of his voice….’what happened to my f…..g solo?’
It’s still a cool track in my book.
Toolbox
Dirty Dog
Candy Horizon
Don’t Hold Me Back
Pictures of Hell
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 €3.50 Tier
Weston Super-Mare Pilgrim
The 293 Pence Tier
Blackmore’s Tights
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
Joe “Dopefish” Siegler
Adam Corke
Tim Wood
Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
The 10 DKK “Cold Hard Danish Kroner” Tier
Carsten Lau
$1 Made Up Name Tier
The “Hang Me Out To Dry” Leaky Mausoleum
Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
Hank the Tank
Private Eyes
Ashen Lionel
Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
Anders Engstrom
I see DC
Durple Purple
David Hattam
Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
Eddie Lion
Sicktone
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Jon Lord had been obsessed with performing rock music with an orchestra starting in the mid 60s in his previous band, The Artwoods.
The Artwoods had almost used the New Jazz Orchestra on their 1966 debut album then later planned on working with a German conductor but neither materialized, the latter falling apart as The Artwoods broke up before it could happen.
On “The Book of Taliesyn” Deep Purple brought in a string section for the song “Anthem.”
In 1969 on their self-titled album Jon Lord got as close to his goal as he had yet gotten when they composed “April.” But “April” was broken up into band and string quartet parts, the two were not combined.
In June of 1969 it was decided that they would book The Royal Albert Hall that September and put on a Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic. The only thing needed at that point was for Jon Lord to actually write it.
As discussed on previous episodes the rest of the band were not 100% on board for this project but the performance went over very well.
Lord: “It got us labelled as a group who’d jumped on the classical/rock bandwagon. It drew attention to us at a time when we needed it, but we weren’t expecting to be labelled as a group that plays with an orchestra. It caused a rift in the group. What they were afraid of, and what I hadn’t seen was happening, was that people weren’t sure what we were all about. They got frightened we’d get railroaded into playing hundred of Concertos. They thought I didn’t want to play rock & roll.
At this point Jon Lord was largely seen as the leader of Deep Purple and this caused some resentment.
This almost lead to Lord leaving the band but in the end management smoothed things out and Lord assured the others he was committed to Deep Purple.
After the Concerto they did have to fulfill one last Concerto date in America at The Hollywood Bowl where the score was lost.
Lord was also commissioned to write another rock and orchestral collaboration. The band reluctantly agreed but only if it was downplayed and that it would be the last time they would do any such thing.
Lord got to work writing what would have a piece dedicated to each of the five members of Deep Purple, each focusing on the abilities of the individuals.
The writing process happened very quickly while on tour with The Faces in America.
They performed it once on September 17, 1970 with the Orchestra of the Light Music Society conducted by Malcolm Arnold.
This time they were in a much better position than a year before with “Deep Purple In Rock” gaining traction and “Black Night” having some chart success.
There was no publicity for this performance. The show was reviewed by two music magazines and it aired on British and Danish Radio shortly after the performance.
The feeling by Lord was that this had taken The Concerto to the next level, bridging the gap a little more seamlessly than he’d done the previous year.
The recording was shelved and not released until 1993. We’ll review that on a future episode.
Jon Lord did say in interviews following the concert, that he would like to record it but for now was focused on Deep Purple. Sometime was only six months later.
In Ian Gillan’s Biography “Child in Time” he describes Blackmore as going “berzerk” when he saw promotional posters for the concert. Blackmore said that the Concerto had become a “millstone around their necks.”
“Blackmore’s movement came first. According to people at the show, he turned his volume control down, bowed his head and got on with business. On one of the last live recordings to feature his Gibson [ES-]335, he proceeded to put together guitar passages of stunning beauty, echoed by quiet and sympathetic orchestral backing. With a natural ear for these things, Jon had recalled some of the quieter moments which actually accompanied the ending of “Child In Time” on stage and written these into the movement.”
“Next up was Ian Gillan. Both he and Blackmore had been the most vocal in their opposition to this kind of work, yet like Blackmore, Gillan turned in a breathtaking performance. The story is that he was still writing the words backstage during the preceding performance (the Orchestra did Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue).”
Vincent Budd writes that the first movement appears to pay homage to the opening of “Galliard of the Sons of the Morning” from “Job” by Vaughn Williams.
“Ian Paice’s movement turned into something of a drum battle between the orchestra’s percussion players, and proved popular with the crowd. In contrast, Lord’s own solo lost its way in places, maybe through nerves, though elsewhere he was in fine form. Glover too adopted a rather casual approach for his break, though maybe his idea was to inject a little humour into the proceedings.
Vincent Budd writes that this section brings in bits of “The Miraculous Mandarin” as well as some of the worlds of Virgil Williams. This podcast host is not familiar enough with either to say what they are.
Vincent Budd compares the vocal movement to be reminiscent of Elgar’s “Sospiri for Strings.”
There was no rush to release the recording. Jon Lord, when questioned about it, said that he would like to record it at some point. He would go on to do that with the studio version that was released the following year.
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
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.
Abdul Loughty Lasisi Amao was a founding member of the band and on their first two albums.
Osibisa went on to do the soundtrack to the movie Superfly.
Gus Yeadon was brought into the band but was not happy with the lineup. Producer Ken Burgess had a friend and partner named Tommy Eyre who had returned from the US where he was recording with Mark-Almond. He went to see the band at the Marquee and ended up joining to complete the album.
Nate reached out to John McCoy to ask him about Zzebra and this album in particular. Here’s what he had to say:
Hi Nathan…..ZZEBRA! I loved that band and the musical freedom we had.
Myself and drummer Liam Genockey had been working together for a couple of years in folk rockers Curtiss Maldoon with tours of USA support to Badfinger and an album “Maldoon” on Purple Records, followed by a stint with American folk legend Julie Felix touring UK,far east and after that became popular as bass/drums session players in very varied musical genres. We shared an appreciation of many styles
One such session was for a low budget film score….also booked for the session was Dave Quincy and Terry Smith from a very successful jazz rock band IF and an African percussionist, /sax/ flute player Loughty Amao from the band Osibisa.
When the session work was finished we kept on jamming into the early hours, loving each others playing and we all agreed it was something special and different and soon ZZEBRA was born ,through Daves jazz connections we were soon playing London jazz circuit even securing multiple shows at the prestigious Ronnie Scott’s club. Through Loughty’s success with Osibisa we crossed over into the rock circuit playing The Marquee and touring with Soft Machine and Chick Corea’s “Return to Forever”
To continue…we recorded the first album at a rural residential studio in Kent called Escape studios where we were able to immerse our selves in exploring this unusual mix of musical styles. By this time we had been joined by singer /keyboards player Gus Eden from pop rock group Love Affair. Under the magical production work of Ken Burgess and engineer Tony Taverner.
The band continued on to record two further albums with various changes in personally until like many 70s bands we were hit by the onslaught of Punk! That’s enough for now isn’t it?! Cheers and enjoy listening to the soundtrack of a lost World! Cheers John
Joined the band to finish up the first album. Worked with Ainsley Dunbar and Mark-Almond.
Worked with Alex Harvey, Joe Cocker, Michael Schenker, Gary Moore, B.B. King, John Mayall, Tracy Chapman, Wham, and Greg Lake. Played on and arranged the music for Joe Cocker’s cover of “With a Little Help From My Friends.” Also played on the song “Baker Street.”
Tommy Eyre said that when he went to see them at the Marquee while they were playing this song, “Terry . . . attempted an incredibly speedy rising line that ended up in a mis-fretting. He grunted and tried again. Still missed the last couple of notes. As hot as the Marquee club was, Terry was wearing a thick heavy woolen overcoat. He took a huge slug from it, layed it on the ground and then played the line perfectly and at double the speed! That’s when I knew I wanted to play with that band.!”
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 293 Pence Tier
Blackmore’s Tights
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
Adam Corke
Tim Wood
Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
The 10 DKK “Cold Hard Danish Kroner” Tier
Carsten Lau
$1 Made Up Name Tier
The “Gave of de ” Leaky Mausoleum
Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
Hank the Tank
Private Eyes
Ashen Lionel
Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
Anders Engstrom
I see DC
Durple Purple
David Hattam
Graham Bonnet’s Disco Pants and Haircuts
Eddie Lion
Sicktone
Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet
Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
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 Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, or Threads.
been a purple fan since the early 90’s and seen them live a handful of times, last time 2011, so a concert is way overdue
favorite studio album fireball, favorite live album olympia 96. Keep up the good work
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 17741-27838LABEL: Steamhammer 0854412FORMAT: CD AlbumITEMS: 1
