DEEP PURPLE – Limitless (2017 exclusive CD included with Classic Rock #234, April 2017)
You have to hand it to the folks at Classic Rock. It’s a quality publication that also manages to give out quality free cover-mount CDs. With all the attention on Deep Purple these days due to their newly released album Infinite, Classic Rock have done the band up in style. The CD is not just for beginners either. Limitless (get it?) has a bunch of material from recent vintage and one exclusive track too. That’s right — one track on this CD is exclusive to Classic Rock, so get on it, collectors!
At 43 minutes, Limitless has the ideal run time for a great listen through. If you want to check out some new Deep Purple right off the bat, then just dive in. Tracks 1 and 2 are the first two singles from Infinite: “Time For Bedlam” and “All I Got is You”. Both tracks are excellent, and fine samplings of what the current Deep Purple lineup (est. 2003) sound like. With Steve Morse and Don Airey, the band have gone from strength to strength. The instrumental prowess on these songs will easily demonstrate why Deep Purple are universally lauded.
Going back one album prior, we have two tracks from the Now What?! period. The single version of “All the Time in the World” is a nice ballad for inclusion, though I think “Vincent Price” blows everything else on that album away. Also included is the rock and roll “First Sign of Madness”. The liner notes state this song is taken from the “Above and Beyond” CD single. That doesn’t actually appear to be the case, but ” First Sign of Madness” was included as a bonus track on many editions of the Now What?! album.
The second half of Limitless is dedicated to live material, all classics. “No One Came” from 1971’s Fireball is one of Purple’s most lethal grooves, and is lifted from the deluxe “Gold” reissue of the Now What?! album. Gillan’s voice strains hard on this one. A fun version of “Strange Kind of Woman” comes from the double live 2015 Wacken set. It’s pure delight. Next, “Perfect Strangers” is always welcome aboard, and this live version comes from the parallel double live 2015 Tokyo release.
Finally the set draws to a close with the Classic Rock exclusive track, a live tape of “Black Night” from Milan, July 21 2013. Many of the live tracks on the Now What?! reissue come from that gig, but “Black Night” is previously unreleased. It’s a jamming version, over seven minutes and Morse-heavy. And there are more live tracks from that gig in the Deep Purple Infinite box set version, which looks just fantastic.
And magazine isn’t bad either! The Deep Purple interview reveals some of the lighter side of the legendary Gillan/Blackmore relationship, tempered by the passage of time. Incidentally, the magazine gives Infinite 7/10 stars. That’s not bad for a band about to hit their 50th anniversary in a year’s time. Check it out, and enjoy the 8-track CD Limitless while you read along!
It’sTHE WEEK OF SINGLES!Each day this week I’ll be bringing you reviews and images of a recent CD or vinyl single acquisition. Today’s is fresh hot off the presses! I received this single on Saturday (the 16th).
DEEP PURPLE – “Above and Beyond” (CD and 7″ singles, Edel)
This has been a banner year for Deep Purple singles! We’ve had “All the Time in the World”, “Hell To Pay”, “Vincent Price” and now “Above and Beyond” from the excellent new album NOW What?! There’s a “gold” edition of NOW What?! coming soon, and I believe most of the B-sides from these singles will be on it. Most, but not all…
“Above and Beyond” is one of two songs on the new album dedicated to Jon Lord. It’s probably the most progressive sounding of the new songs. It’s certainly one of the most epic. I think Jon would have loved it. Canadian producer extraordinaire Bob Ezrin adds his shine on “Above and Beyond”, you can really hear it in the arrangement.
The second track on the CD version is “Things I Never Said” from some editions of Rapture of the Deep. It was originally from the Japanese CD, and then the “special edition”. It’s one of the better songs from Rapture, and I’ve always liked Steve Morse’s guitar riff. I just didn’t need to buy it again on a single…
Brand new live recordings are the real bait on this single. The CD has two; I don’t believe either is going to be on the “gold” edition of NOW What?!. “Space Truckin'” (Rome, Italy 07/22/2013) doesn’t seem as peppy as other live versions I’ve heard. I suppose that’s why some versions are destined for B-sides, right? A pair of covers close the CD: Booker T. and the M.G.’s classic Hammond organ instrumental “Green Onions” and Joe South’s “Hush”. “Green Onions” serves as an intro to “Hush” essentially. It’s a great song for a band like Purple to do anyway. These come from Sweden, 08/10/2013. Gillan’s struggling a little bit on “Hush”, but Airey and Morse get playful during the solo section, and it’s very reminiscent of how Blackmore and Lord used to interact.
The exclusive bonus track on the 7″ vinyl single is a different recording of “Space Truckin'”. This one is from Majano, Italy, two days after the other version. I actually prefer this version to the one from Rome. I’m not sure why; maybe it’s just that audio illusion of warm vinyl. Maybe Morse just sounds dirtier. This single is absolutely beautiful, on purple clear vinyl complete with limited numbered stamp. Mine? #1934 of 2000. I’ll consider myself lucky. It’s kind of mind blowing to think that there’s an exclusive Deep Purple live recording out there, only 2000 copies made, and I have one of them.
Disclaimer: I am so happy with this album, Deep Purple’s latest, that I put off and put off writing a review for it. As a fan of both Deep Purple Mk VIII and Bob Ezrin, this album would either colossally astound or disappoint me. I’m happy to say that NOW What?! is my favourite album since Purpendicular back in ’96.
At first I thought NOW What?! was going to be an uncomfortably mellow album. How wrong I was. Sure, “A Simple Song” starts powerfully soft (think Purpendicular‘s “Loosen My Strings”). It then takes off into a modern Purple tangent, with groove, a chorus that kills and absolutely outstanding organ work by Don Airey. If there was ever a man to pay tribute to the legacy of Jon Lord, it is Don Airey. He does so with class, homage, and love.
I love “Weirdistan” both for the title and the song itself. It is however “Out of Hand” that is the first mind-blower for me. The strings and arrangements of Ezrin are on this song like a stamp, yet it is also blatantly no other band than Deep Purple. Even though Purple have been backed by strings many times before, Ezrin’s approach sounds like classic Ezrin. It’s hard to verbalize, but Ezrin uses the strings in a support role, yet often up front and in your face.
If none of the previous songs sounded enough like old Deep Purple to you, “Hell to Pay” is sure to satisfy. The edited version from the CD single has nothing on this. The soloing is better than the song, quite frankly, and too much of it was edited out of the single version. Musically “Hell to Pay” has that hard, slightly funky vibe that a lot of later Deep Purple possesses. As far as the solo sections, you’re hearing things that go all the way back to 1968 and “Mandrake Root”. It’s trippy. The spirit of Jon lives on.
“Body Line” is pretty good, again it’s kind of funky in that Purple-y way. Ian Paice, the only remaining member from the original 1968 Mk I version, is responsible for many of the funk vibes, aided and abetted by Morse and Airey. Actually, it’s really hard to single out any one member as MVP on most of these songs. Deep Purple Mk VIII have gelled so well as a band over the last decade, that everything is in sync. Everybody bounces off the other players in a way that is reminiscent of the classic Deep Purple years.
“Above and Beyond” (to be released as a 7″ and CD single October 25) is one of two songs dedicated to Jon Lord. This is probably the most progressive sounding of the new songs. It’s certainly one of the most epic. I think Jon would have loved it. It’s worth noting at this point that Bob Ezrin, as per his modus operandi, has a writing credit on every song. In the same way you can hear him tightening up the songwriting of artists like Kiss and Alice Cooper, you can hear his shine on “Above and Beyond”.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence since almost all the members are different, but “Blood From A Stone” begins similarly to “You Keep On Moving” from Come Taste the Band. Then it gets slinky, before Morse rips some heavy riffs on the chorus. Don Airey shines as well, classing up the place several notches more. This transitions seamlessly into the second Lord tribute, the beautiful “Uncommon Man”. Morse’s guitars are uplifting and unmistakable. I just love listening to him play because there is truly nobody else in the world who sounds like Steve Morse. (Just as there is nobody, Yngwie included, who sounds like Richie Blackmore.) Back to “Uncommon Man”, it features a similar fanfare to “Above and Beyond”, linking them thematically. It also has my favourite keyboard solo on the whole album.
“Après Vous” sounds like a Rapture of the Deep outtake, but a good outtake. Glover has a great groove going on, and there is once again a long instrumental section. When it’s a band like Deep Purple, these aren’t the sections you want to skip through. These are the highlights of a song!
I reviewed “All the Time in the World” when the single was released. Quoting myself, “I’m really fond of “All the Time in the World”. It reminds me of the laid back Purple from Bananas. The classy keys from Don Airey seal the deal for me, but how about that Steve Morse solo? Fantastic!…It might not sound like the Deep Purple of 1970, but that was a long time ago now. It does sound like a rock band staying classy well into their silver years. I don’t hear any compromise nor contrivances here.”
Uncle Meat’s favourite song on the album was “Vincent Price”, and while the whole album is excellent, “Vincent Price” is also instant. It’s really fun, and Ezrin brings his trademark sound effects back to the table. Morse’s spooky guitar line seals the deal. Gillan’s lyrics about vampires and zombies are amusing enough. (This is the kind of lyric that never would have made it past the tyrannical Blackmore.)
There are a couple bonus tracks to be had. “It’ll Be Me” is an unlikely cover, by country singer Jack Clement. Deep Purple pull it off, thanks to Gillan’s lively vocal. “First Sign of Madness” was a free download track, also later released on the “Vincent Price” CD single. It’s a lively song, but different from the album tracks. It reminds me of “Via Miama” from the Gillan/Glover album Accidentally on Purpose. It took a while to grow on me, but I quite like it now just because it doesn’t sound too much like the rest of the album. But these songs will all be on the forthcoming “tour edition”.
Deep Purple pulled off the damn near impossible and put out one of their best albums 45 years after initially forming. Most bands would dream of being able to do this. Hell, most bands don’t put out albums as good as NOW What?! during their primes. If this is a career capper (and I pray Purple have another album in them) then I couldn’t imagine a better album to finish on. The same goes for Ezrin, the guy who produced such classics as The Wall, Destroyer, and Billion Dollar Babies. If Bob retired tomorrow, he could do so having done a freaking great Deep Purple record.
DEEP PURPLE – Limitless (2017 exclusive CD included with Classic Rock #234, April 2017)
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