DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Live in ’95 (2022 – Edel CD/DVD reissue)
Years ago, I begged for a CD issue of Deep Purple’s live DVD Bombay Calling. You could download the audio on iTunes and burn your own double live, which I did, but that just doesn’t do it for a physical product collector. I’ve made my case for physical product here over the years many, many times. Unfortunately, this physical release was pooched by Edel by excluding one song. Like similar CD bootlegs of this 1995 concert, the new Edel CD is missing the opening track “Fireball”! It’s still there on DVD, and it was always there on the iTunes edition, but it’s missing from CD 1. That’s a real shame since it’s a good version of “Fireball” and it’s the damn opener! (The original DVD of Bombay Calling was issued in 2000. iTunes got it in 2003.)
When originally released on iTunes, this was promoted as an “official bootleg”. Now it seems to be marketed as some kind of deluxe live album, limited and numbered to 10,000 CD/DVD sets. The hype sticker calls it “the best rock show ever staged in India.”
This concert was recorded on April 18 1995, which eagle-eyed fans will realize is well before thePurpendicular album. Bombay Calling was recorded not long after “the banjo player took a hike” and Purple ultimately carried on with Steve Morse for the next few decades. Joe Satriani stepped in for a short while, but it was Dixie Dregs guitar maestro Morse that took the Man in Black’s place permanently. This concert was recorded at the very start of Morse’s tenure, and features a few songs they would drop from the set a year or two later. It also features a brand new tune they were working on called “Perpendicular Waltz”, later spelled “The Purpendicular Waltz” on the album. The lineup was fresh, feeling each other out, but full of energy and the excitement of a band creatively reborn, both in the studio and on stage.
There is one earlier concert available from this period, which is Purple Sunshine in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, exactly two weeks prior. That one is truly is an official bootleg, taken from audience sources and released on the 12 CD box set Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000. The setlists are slightly different. When they hit India for this concert, a new song called “Ken the Mechanic” (retitled “Ted the Mechanic”) was dropped, as was “Anyone’s Daughter”. They were replaced by long time favourites “Maybe I’m a Leo” and “Space Truckin’” from Machine Head.
Special treats for the ears on Bombay Calling include Steve Morse’s incendiary soloing on “Anya” (which would be dropped from the set in 1996). His feature solo leading into “Lazy” is also excellent, and of course very different from what Ritchie used to do. Jon Lord’s keyboard solo is among the best I’ve heard, and even features a segue into “Soldier of Fortune” from Stormbringer. The solo segments that Deep Purple did often allowed them to play snippets from songs from the David Coverdale period of the band, and this one was unexpected and brilliant.
Highlights: “Fireball” (boo for excluding from the CD), “The Battle Rages On”, and “Anya”.
I love a good, raw live performance captured on tape, and Deep Purple don’t muck around. This is special, coming from that transitional period when Steve Morse was just getting his feet wet. Considering how different he is from Ritchie Blackmore, this smooth switcheroo is quite remarkable.
3/5 stars (subtracting half a star from iTunes edition, for losing a song)
As I’ve learned more about my friend Sarge since his passing, I’ve discovered something that comes up over and over again. Sarge just wanted people to be happy. He didn’t have to agree with them. Whatever made them happy, made him happy. He encouraged people to be individuals and find joy in their own skin. I guess that’s one reason why he was such a great body piercer. He was also an artist, as some of these pictures I’ve rediscovered prove.
During the period I knew him, I had a couple different online handles. One was “Purpendicular” or just “Purp”, and I don’t need to explain to you where that came from. After a brief hiatus I used Dewey Finn, a reference to Jack Black’s character in School of Rock, before reverting back to Purp. Sarge made all sorts of art in that period for me, without me asking at all. There were the infamous “Purp Ate My Balls” shirts. There was also the artwork he made below.
My face on a Wheaties box, and why not? The other day someone asked me if I’d ever wanted my face on a Wheaties box, and I said with a wink, “Already been there, man!”
And below, my face on a British tabloid. And again why not?
With Sarge gone I’m so happy to be able to resurrect these bits of art that he did just for a laugh. His laughs, and mine too.
Black Sabbath appeared on my radar before Deep Purple did. Perhaps the first true “heavy metal” album I ever heard was Born Again. Best friend Bob owned it; he raved about a song called “Zero the Hero”. He was on to something. Even though his cassette copy was murky and muddy, the chorus rose above.
What you gonna be what you gonna be brother – Zero the Hero, Don’t you wanna be don’t you wanna be brother – Zero the Hero, When you gonna be when you gonna be brother – Zero the Hero, Impossibility, impissibolity mother – really a hero.
It was the first Black Sabbath I ever heard. I didn’t know they had any other singers until one day I was sitting in the basement, recording videos off next door neighbour George. One that I had selected to record was called “Neon Nights” by Black Sabbath. By then, I knew enough to know that Black Sabbath had a “moustache guy” on guitar. I was surprised to see a doppelganger on bass, but the singer kinda looked familiar.
I casually asked George, “Did Black Sabbath ever have anything to do with Ronnie James Dio?”
“Yeah, he was their singer!” he told me. My world expanded that day. It would be longer still before I had the chance to hear any original Sabbath with Ozzy.
I was picking up so much musical information from the neighbour kids. I was intrigued by bands like Kiss, who had many lineups and sounds to go with it. Clearly, Black Sabbath was one of those bands too. “Neon Nights” didn’t sound much like “Zero the Hero”.
Q:What do Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, and the lead singer from Deep Purple have in common?
A:They were all in Black Sabbath.
There are two things amusing about that. 1) I didn’t even know his name, and 2) “the” lead singer of Deep Purple! Hah! Finding out about David Coverdale? That was a whole other story!
I made sure I learned his name quickly. Ian Gillan was recognisable because of his long black hair often obscuring his face. But I wasn’t ready to delve into Deep Purple yet. The easiest (and cheapest) way for me to discover new music was by watching the Pepsi Power Hour on MuchMusic: two hours a week of all kinds of hard rock. But Purple didn’t get much play. Much didn’t have any clips of them in the 1970s, and in fact only had two Purple videos to run: “Perfect Strangers” and “Knocking at Your Back Door“. They weren’t exactly frequent flyers, so my exposure to Deep Purple took a lot of time to unfold.
Black Sabbath may have been my gateway to Deep Purple, but Purple eventually became an obsession that surpassed them. In fact I used to go by the online name “Purpendicular”, named for one of their best albums. I was known as “Purp” for so long that it became a bit of a phenomenon online in Canada and the UK when “Purp Ate My Balls” T-shirts were actually made for sale. Most were in the UK. This is an actual, true story! A handful of people still call me “Purp”.
“Purp Ate My Balls”
When people know you as “Purpendicular”, you better be a serious fan. And I am. I love Deep Purple. I don’t think anyone can touch them for sheer integrity.
I floated through highschool without hearing a lot of Purple. Much acquired a few more videos: “Bad Attitude” and “Hush”. They did not get played often. I only caught “Bad Attitude” once or twice. There was little interest in the band, it seemed. Magazines announced that Ian Gillan had quit at the time of the Nobody’s Perfect album. About a year later came the news that they hired on former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner.
It took some time, but eventually Purple returned with new music. I happened to have the radio on one afternoon in late 1990 when Q-107 debuted a brand new song called “The Cut Runs Deep”.
“At first it doesn’t sound like Purple,” said the DJ, “but then Jon Lord comes in with that Hammond organ!”
I hit “record” on the tape deck.
The Earth moved. What a song. What power! And speed! Rewind, hit “play” and listen again. It was 5:42 of full-steam rock, with the kind of playing that makes the genre awesome. Purple were heavier than I expected. My ears were beginning to open.
I asked a friend at school named Andy about the new album. Turns out, his brother had it.
“Is it heavy?” I queried.
He chuckled in bemusement. “Heavier than Ian Gillan? No. No.”
I tried not to be crushed.
“It’s still good,” he added.
If it wasn’t for my sudden new interest in Led Zeppelin, that might have been the start of my Purple obsession. Instead, I spent a year or so discovering Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. To make matters even more congested, I soon found Queen, and began buying up old Black Sabbath albums too.
Finally, in the mid 90s, it was time to focus. Once I had Deep Purple properly in the crosshairs, I commenced collecting.
My first doesn’t really count. It was Purple’s latest, Slaves and Masters, their only album with Joe Lynn Turner. It doesn’t count because it was just a taped copy. Back when you could still rent CDs, I borrowed a copy from a video store up in Kincardine Ontario. I put it in my boombox and began recording. I remember my dad listening in on the last track, the epic “Wicked Ways”. He asked who the band was.
“They are more of a musician’s band, aren’t they,” he remarked. Yes! Exactly. My dad wasn’t into rock music, but he could hear that quality musicianship. They were far and above the average rock band.
Slaves and Masters is a brilliant album, and although a full third of it is ballads, it’s hard not to like. There are a lot of good songs on there. So what if they are ballads? “The Cut Runs Deep” and “Wicked Ways” more than made up for the lighter material.
Then: two hits compilations. Knocking At Your Back Door (a new release of 80s material) and Deepest Purple (all 70s). This gave me plenty to absorb in a short period of time. The most important song from this pair was “Child in Time”. It appeared in live form on Knocking At Your Back Door and Ian Gillan was still in good enough vocal shape to do it. I loved both versions. When I played it in my bedroom, my sister could hear it through the door. I played it so often that she gave it a name. She called it the “Ahh Ahh Ahh” song.
Next: Perfect Strangers. A rewarding album in the long term. Took a few spins to get there.
By 1993, Deep Purple got Ian Gillan back for another kick at the can. The classic Mk II lineup was intact: Richie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, and Roger Glover. They did a so-so album called The Battle Rages On…, and it really did rage on. As I learned more about the band, I discovered that even though they were all intelligent, schooled musicians, they fought like children! This reunion was not built to last, though it was my next Deep Purple album.
I certainly didn’t expect Blackmore to quit. And I didn’t even know about it.
The mid 90s were a bit of a black hole for metal information. Few magazines were covering classic rock bands anymore. I didn’t know that Blackmore quit until their live album, Come Hell or High Water, was out. I found out from the liner notes!
The internet was in its infancy, but I did some digging and found out that Purple were playing live with a new guitar player. Could you believe it? Joe Satriani temped with them!, but he was already gone! They were on to a new guy. The review that I read said specifically that the new guy “looked a lot like Steve Morse”.
Well shit!
Steve Morse was a legend in his own time! I knew him by reputation only. And I was really intrigued by this news.
I had to special order the new Deep Purple with Morse from the US. It was 1995 and I was working at the Record Store. You couldn’t even get it in Canada yet. That’s how bad it was for rock bands in the 90s. But I did get it, paying $24.99 for the import. Purpendicular arrived one Tuesday afternoon. T-Rev was working when it came in. “I hope you don’t mind, but I played a little bit of your Deep Purple. It wasn’t sealed when it came. It sounds pretty good.”
He apologised for playing it but there was no need. I thought it was cool that he was interested. Turns out, he liked that album a lot and ended up buying a copy himself!
Indeed, Purpendicular is a special album. There is magic in those grooves. Maybe it was the freedom of working without the yoke of Blackmore. Perhaps it was the rejuvenation of Steve Morse. It was probably both and much more, but what happened with Purpendicular has never been repeated. No matter how many good albums they have done since (and there have been several, including four with Don Airey replacing the late Jon Lord), none have had the…I hate to use this cliche over again, but…none have had the magic that Purpendicular has. It’s impossible to put into words, but easy to hear for yourself.
I mean, I friggin’ named myself after that album! There are T-shirts with my face on them that say “Purp Ate My Balls”. That’s dedication, pal!
DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Bombay Live ’95 (2003 iTunes)
There are very rare circumstances under which I will pay for a download from iTunes. I’ve made my case for physical product here over the years many, many times. When it’s a band that I obsessively collect, like Deep Purple, I make an exception. Bombay Calling is an interesting live release. It says “Official Bootleg” right there on the cover art, but I’m not really sure what constitutes an official bootleg anymore. I look at this as the soundtrack to a DVD that Deep Purple released in 2000, also called Bombay Calling. That’s essentially what this is — the audio to Bombay Calling, the DVD. In contains the entire show.
This concert was recorded on April 18 1995, which eagle-eyed fans will realize is well before thePurpendicular album. Bombay Calling was recorded not long after “the banjo player took a hike” and Purple carried on without Ritchie Blackmore. Joe Satriani stepped in for a short while, but it was Dixie Dregs guitar maestro Steve Morse that took the Man in Black’s place permanently. This concert was recorded at the very start of Morse’s tenure, and features a few songs they would drop from the set a year or two later. It also features a brand new tune they were working on called “Perpendicular Waltz”, later changed to “The Purpendicular Waltz” on the album.
There is one earlier concert available from this period, which is Purple Sunshine in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, exactly two weeks prior. That one is truly is an official bootleg, taken from audience sources and released on the 12 CD box set Collector’s Edition: The Bootleg Series 1984-2000. The setlists are slightly different. When they hit India for this concert, a new song called “Ken the Mechanic” (retitled “Ted the Mechanic”) was dropped, as was “Anyone’s Daughter”. They were replaced by long time favourites “Maybe I’m a Leo” and “Space Truckin'” from Machine Head.
Special treats for the ears on Bombay Calling include Steve Morse’s incendiary soloing on “Anya” (which would be dropped from the set in 1996). His feature solo leading into “Lazy” is also excellent, and of course very different from what Ritchie used to do. Jon Lord’s keyboard solo is among the best I’ve heard, and even features a segue into “Soldier of Fortune” from Stormbringer. The solo segments that Deep Purple did often allowed them to play snippets from songs from the David Coverdale period of the band, and this one was unexpected and brilliant.
I love a good, raw live performance captured on tape, and Deep Purple don’t muck around. This one is kind of special, coming from that transitional period when Steve Morse was just getting his feet wet. Considering how different he is from Ritchie Blackmore, this smooth switcheroo is quite remarkable. The band had changed, but into something just as good. How many other groups can make that claim?
3.5/5 stars
Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical product, here are pictures of the 2 CD set that I burned from the iTunes download!
When Blackmore quit Purple for the second time, I had written the band off. I wasn’t too keen on the previous studio record The Battle Rages On, and what is Purple without the man in black? I didn’t want to hear a hack Deep Purple, struggling on to pay the bills with some sub-Blackmore player. The first time he left, it shattered the band and they were unable to continue past one record with Tommy Bolin. Then I started reading reviews of live shows with Steve Morse on guitar. Steve Morse? What the hell was that going to sound like? Morse and Ritchie Blackmore — it is hard to imagine two electric guitar players who sound less alike. (Joe Satriani was also briefly in the band to help them finish up touring commitments. Bootlegs of shows with Satriani are well worth checking out.)
When Purple finally released their new studio album Purpendicular, I had to buy it on import. It didn’t even have a North American release. When it was released officially in the US, an extra bonus track was added, so I tracked that down and bought it too. That is how much I really love this record. It had a huge impact on me musically in the mid to late 90’s, and when I saw Purple on this tour, they were smoking!
Kicking off with some of that patented Morse shredding, the oddly titled “Vavoom: Ted The Mechanic” kicks you in the teeth and won’t let go. This was, according to Gillan, done on purpose. It was a statement: “Here is our new guitar player, bitches.” Ian’s lyrics, ranging from bizarre to absurd and back again, are at their absolute peak on this album. (Check out “Somebody Stole My Guitar”.) Clearly, when the man had been freed of Blackmore’s shackles, he had been creatively revitalized. That probably followed in turn for each of the members.
The second track is the melancholy, bass-driven “Loosen My Strings”, a song which wouldn’t sound out of place on Slaves and Masters. From there, the album goes from strength to strength: The powerful progressive epic “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” (probably the best track on the album) to the bright and positive “A Touch Away”. Every song is backed by Morse’s unmistakable picking, miles away from Blackmore’s style of riffing, or medieval tendencies. That is not an attack against Blackmore, but sometimes a quality change can be refreshing. Morse utilizes pinch harmonics frequently on this album, which is a new sound for Deep Purple. He also utilizes long sustained notes with wide vibrato, a classic Steve Morse sound.
There are very few weak songs on Purpendicular. The plodding “Soon Forgotten” can be skipped. Not all the songs are immediate. Some of them are complex arrangements designed to take a little effort to penetrate. This album must be played a couple times for it to sink in. But when it does, stand back and prepare to be blown away. I wouldn’t want to miss “The Aviator”, a rare acoustic Purple tune. Morse lends it a celtic feel. For folks who prefer the 70’s jamming Deep Purple, check into “Rosa’s Cantina” and give a shout-out to “Hey Cisco”. And if you like it a little more straightforward and rocking, you may prefer catchy rockers like “Somebody Stole My Guitar” and “I’m Not Your Lover Now”.
I mentioned that I re-bought this album for a US bonus track. “Don’t Hold Your Breath” is a bright upbeat rock song, and worth tracking down. It’s not necessarily an album highlight, but why do without? Jon Lord’s organ sounds on this one are particularly enticing.
There was also one outtake from this album, a silly little jam/band intro called “Dick Pimple”. This was put out on a fanclub-only release, and later reissued on Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi’s compilation CD WhoCares. It’s a 10 minute track, giving the fans a rare chance to hear Purple with Morse jam just for shits & giggles. Because it’s Deep Purple, it is a quality jam, and completely unlike anything on Purpendicular.
Purpendicular was a vital record for Deep Purple. If they had blown it, that would have been it. They couldn’t have continued with any credibility if it didn’t kill. Fortunately it did. I am pleased to report that despite the tragic death of Jon Lord, Deep Purple has managed four more great records since, all with Steve Morse on guitar.
RECORD STORE TALES Part 295: That Damn Phone Again!
Getting phone calls from simpletons is part of every day life when you work in a store. I’m sure you’ve had dozens of your own that you could share for a chuckle, if you’ve ever slaved over a hot cash register for a living. That’s to be expected. Another thing that grinds your gears is the repetition of certain questions. I would say on average, these would have been my five most common questions over the phone:
1. “When do you open/close?”
2. “Do you have (artist), (title)?”
3. “How much?”
4. “How much can you give me for my (artist), (title) CD?” (We couldn’t do quotes over the phone without seeing the product. This will be discussed in further detail in a future Record Store Tale.)
5. “Do you still have that sale on washer/dryer units?”
That last question was because people often called us thinking we were Sears. Maybe the numbers were similar. I never figured that one out, but it happened often enough!
Perhaps the question that irritated me the most due to its frequency was “Is the owner in?” After several years of hard work he no longer worked in a store. He had an office with his own phone number. This question would come many times a day from friends and business associates. I’d just give them his office number and get them to call there. His office was just in the back of the store, but we had separate store and office lines for a reason. (I remember way back in the old original store, we had one line that was for both the phone and the VISA machine. You couldn’t run a credit card if you were on the phone.)
I was most irritated the time I caught hell for one such call. A friend of his had phoned the store, but he was out of his office. I asked if he’d like to leave a message, and he declined. He did however pepper me with questions.
“I’m coming to town in a few days to visit,” he began. “Can you recommend a good hotel that’s close to him?”
I’ve never stayed in a hotel in my home town in my life. What am I a travel agency? I suggested the Waterloo Inn.
“Are there good places to eat around there?”
The questions kept coming! Did I have the number for the Waterloo Inn? Were there good bars in town to hit? Do I have the address?
This being a friend of the boss, I did my best to answer, but I really didn’t have a clue. Finally the guy hung up, once again declining to leave a message. “Nah that’s OK, I’ll try him at home later.”
So, the next day I got in shit.
“Mike,” said the boss. “A friend of mine called here yesterday looking for me. You didn’t give me the message.”
The frustration boiled inside me. Seriously? “He didn’t want to leave a message!” I defended myself. “He asked me a good hotel to stay in that’s close to you so I suggested the Waterloo Inn.”
I got a lecture on writing down messages. The good news is, his friend never called me for hotel recommendations again!
RECORD STORE TALES Part 273:
Purp Ate My Balls Redux: Special Edition
I am thrilled to have discovered all the missing pictures of the infamous “Purp Ate My Balls” gallery. This isn’t everyone who owned the shirt, just the ones who took pictures.
What’s the “Purp Ate My Balls” shirt? Well, to quote the original story, Part 227:
10 years ago my online handle was “Purpendicular.” (Gee, where did I get that name from?) ”Purp” made a good short-form nickname. For whatever reason…and believe me I wish I could remember…Sarge decided to make and give out 40 or 50 “Purp Ate My Balls” shirts! He gave them to all his shop employees (Metal Fatigue in Bournemouth) and I’m pretty sure all the Klopeks ended up with them too.
Here’s a whole lotta pictures of English people wearing me on their shirts!
“Purp Ate My Balls”
I also found the original photo that started it all!
10 years ago my online handle was “Purpendicular.” (Gee, where did I get that name from?) “Purp” made a good short-form nickname. For whatever reason…and believe me I wish I could remember…Sarge decided to make and give out 40 or 50 “Purp Ate My Balls” shirts! He gave them to all his shop employees (Metal Fatigue in Bournemouth) and I’m pretty sure all the Klopeks ended up with them too.
I wish I had the photo gallery, but Sarge used to have pictures of all those people wearing my face on their shirts and doing the “Purp” face. It was a mini-phenomenon at the time, but all I have left is Sarge.
For obvious reasons, I was not allowed to wear this shirt to work. I do still have mine though, packed away in storage. I wonder how many more are still out there? I often wonder if people in Bournemouth, Brighton, Niagara Falls and beyond still wear their “Purp”?
DEEP PURPLE – Shades 1968-1998 (Rhino 1999 box set)
I was really excited about this 1999 box set when it came out, but what it came down to was this: I paid “x” amount of dollars for just two songs that I didn’t have on other recent Deep Purple CDs. One song, “Slow Down Sister” by Deep Purple Mk 5 was only available here. It’s since been reissued on the Slaves and Masters deluxe edition. The other is a very rare and very great 1971 live version of “No No No” from a compilation called Ritchie Blackmore/Rock Profile Vol. 1. So there’s your bait.
Unfortunately, the booklet and discography is loaded with errors. This was disappointing. The packaging is nice, with that sheet metal looking embossed cover. It opens kind of awkwardly though, making it hard to handle. And man, there are so many Deep Purple box sets out there now! I have Listen, Learn, Read On which is six CDs dedicated entirely to just 1968-1976. Obviously you can’t squeeze Deep Purple’s career onto just four discs. This set covers 1968-1998, which is a huge chunk. It’s almost the entire Jon Lord tenure. It skimps in some places and confounds me in others. Usually, Rhino do such a great job, but I felt this one didn’t live up to their other products.
Disc one covers 1968 to 1971 (Shades Of to Fireball). The tracks listed here as demos or rarities are from the Deep Purple remastered CDs, all except for the aforementioned “No No No” which really is awesome. If you have the great Singles A’s & B’s and the Deep Purple remasters, you have all this stuff. Except maybe the edit version of “”River Deep, Mountain High”, I’m not certain about that one. You get a good smattering of favourites on here, like “Kentucky Woman”, “Speed King”, “Child In Time” and so on, but it’s not really sequenced all that well. The slow-ish Deep Purple Mk I material fits awkwardly with the Mk II. Other songs of note include non-album singles and B-sides such as “Hallelujah” (first recording with Ian Gillan) and “The Bird Has Flown”. The version of “Speed King” included is the full UK cut, with the crazy noise intro.
Disc two is 1971 to 1972: more Fireball, and Machine Head. All these tracks can be found on Deep Purple remasters. There are some excellent tracks here, such as the rare “Painted Horse” and “Freedom”. “Painted Horse”, a personal favourite, has been available for decades on an album called Power House. I guess Blackmore didn’t like them at the time, so they languished until the band broke up before the record label released them. “I’m Alone” was rare for a long time, and “Slow Train” was completely undiscovered until the Fireball remaster. I like that “Anyone’s Daughter” is on here, a very underrated song. Of course you will hear all the big hits on this disc: The studio versions of “Smoke on the Water”, “Fireball”, Highway Star” and “Space Truckin'”. This will be many people’s favourite disc.
The third CD continues with Mk II. It starts off with the Made In Japan live version of “Smoke” which is fine, but now you’ve heard it twice. Soon, it’s “Woman From To-kay-yo”, “Mary Long”, and the scathing “Smooth Dancer”. Then Gillan and Glover are out, and in comes Coverdale and Hughes One rarity on this disc is the instrumental “Coronarias Redig”, which dates from the Burn period. It also includes some of Mk III’s most impressive work, including two of the best tunes from Come Taste The Band. Conspicuous by their absence is the epic “You Keep On Moving”, and Blackmore-era fave “Gypsy”. You will, however get “Burn”, and “Stormbringer” from Stormbringer itself.
The fourth CD is the one that ticks me off the most. This covers the reunion era, from 1984 to the then-most recent album Abandon in 1998. The hits are here, “Perfect Strangers” and “Knocking’ On Your Back Door”, as well as some singles from the Joe Lynn Turner era. What ticks me off here is the song selection. “Fire In The Basement”? What? That song kind of sucks, why not “The Cut Runs Deep”? Only one song from The Battle Rages On is included, only one from the excellent Purpendicular, and only one from the recent Abandon? And not even the best songs? That makes no sense.
To short-change the later era of Deep Purple only serves to short-change the listener. The band were revitalized and rejuventated by Steve Morse, and made some really good, well received music. I saw them live with Morse in 1996.
From The House of Blue Light era, a single edit of “Bad Attitude” is included, which is probably rare. What you won’t get is the full, 10 minute + version of the instrumental “Son Of Aleric”. This is one of the best lesser known tunes from the reunion era. Instead, you get the truncated 7″ single version. That makes the 10 minute version frustratingly hard to get. It was originally released on a 12″ single, which you may be able to find. You might have better luck finding it on the European version of Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80’s. It was included there, replacing “Child In Time” from the US version. I managed to get it thanks to my mom & dad who bought it for me at an HMV store in Edinburgh (along with Restless Heart by Whitesnake).
Mick Wall’s liner notes offer the Morse years a mere mention, and end on a nostalgia note of “bring back Blackmore.” Come on. Let’s focus on the present of a band that shows no signs of slowing down, shall we? But this box set short changes the present, and by picking it up you won’t hear such awesome later songs as “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” or “Fingers to the Bone”.
I know many reviews of this set are glowing, and each reviewer has their own reasons for doing so. I can’t. This band is too important, too vital, and dammit, still alive! This box set simply doesn’t do them justice. I was ticked off when I bought it and realized I owned almost all the “rare and unreleased” material. Collectors won’t find much here worth the coin spent, and rock fans who just want a great box set of Deep Purple won’t get to hear enough Morse.
Steve Morse certainly needs no introduction here. What’s incredible is that the dude joined Deep Purple in 1994, released a Steve Morse Band album in ’95 (Structural Damage), and then both Deep Purple and SMB albums in 1996. Even more incredible when you consider that Morse wrote all the material for the SMB albums himself, and co-wrote every track on Purple’s Purpendicular. The man seems to have no shortage of ideas.
StressFest is another reliable Steve Morse Band album. Joined by Dave LaRue and Van Romaine once more, the band created another textured, varied album that skirts multiple genres with jaw-dropping chops. There are traditional sounding electric blues jams like “Live to Ride”, more delicate moments, blazing guitars, funk, jazz, bluegrass, rock…a little bit of everything.
One cool tune is “4 Minutes To Live”, a soft composition with a “piano part” that is actually Steve playing through a guitar synthesizer. But don’t let that scare you. There are plenty of 64th-note thrills and chills, fast picking and deep bends. Backed with the inventive drums of Romaine and the bouncy bass of LaRue, Morse’s songs are a challenging but rewarding listen.
What’s especially cool (and reason enough to check out an album like this) is, even though both Deep Purple and the Steve Morse Band are loosely classified as having some sort of relationship with progressive rock and serious musicianship, the music they create is nothing alike. Morse’s guitar is the foundation of both, but there’s little overlap. StressFest‘s songs wouldn’t work as a Deep Purple album, even though there are elements of them that could. Likewise, Deep Purple’s material in general is quite different from the Steve Morse Band.
I remember my parents brought this CD back home to me from Michigan, because you couldn’t get it in Canada, even though it was distributed by a major label. Sadly, it is still only available on import in Canada. Bad, Canada! Bad, bad Canada.
4/5 stars
I love the cover art; that does look like a stressful day indeed!
DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Live in ’95 (2022 – Edel CD/DVD reissue)
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