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)
We know it as well as anyone: family must come first.
Deep Purple’s Steve Morse is taking a break from touring to care for his wife who is suffering from cancer. In a statement Morse said, “At this point, there are so many possible complications and unknowns, that whatever time we have left in our lives, I simply must be there with her.”
Replacing Morse on tour is Simon McBride who has previously worked with Ian Gillan and Don Airey. Morse notes that if his wife Janine gets a clean bill of health, he will re-join the tour.
It is heartbreaking how cancer can derail plans so suddenly. After two years of not touring, Morse is forced off the road again. We wish the Morse family all the best and Janine a swift recovery. We also wish Simon McBride all the best in what will surely be the biggest tour of his life to date.
DEEP PURPLE – “Throw My Bones”/”Man Alive” (2020 10″ Edel single)
As a general rule, I won’t listen to new Deep Purple until I have a physical product in my hands. These days that usually happens in the form of a new single. Deep Purple will be back with a new album Whoosh! produced by Bob Ezrin in August 2020. Until then, they’ve issued a three track single with one exclusive new song. How nice of them!
A huge thanks to John of 2 Loud 2 Old Music for gifting this vinyl. Certain new releases are difficult to find today (for obvious reasons), at least without spending money on huge markups by secondary sellers. Music friends are the best kind of friends — make one today!
A word about the cover art: love it! Though not identical, the new Deep Purple logo is strongly reminiscent of the original Shades Of Deep Purple logo from 1968. The astronaut is similarly retro. He even recalls the similarly-garbed “archaeologists” in the music video for “Knocking At Your Back Door”. And now, for the first time, the needle drops on the vinyl and we find out what the new Deep Purple sounds like.
“Throw My Bones” has one of those quirky Steve Morse guitar riffs but then it’s backed up by those lush Don Airey keyboards. This is one of the catchier songs that Deep Purple have written in the last few years. Morse’s solo is as breathtaking as usual, but the sparkling keyboards are what makes this song shine.
The second track is the non-album “Power of the Moon” which prompts the question: if this didn’t make the album, just how good is the album? Because this track is excellent. It’s different. Its quiet passages are mesmerising. Once again it’s Morse and Airey who really take it to another level.
Finally we have “Man Alive”, a song adorned with an orchestra. Under the deft guidance of Bob Ezrin, something powerful and dramatic hits the ears even though Deep Purple don’t really do “heavy” anymore. “Man Alive” is the song that detractors call the “environmental agenda song”. Hey, if Deep Purple can say something relevant to today and get you to think, that’s great. We don’t always have to hear about strange kinds of women from Tokyo. The lyrics are assembled intelligently and thoughtfully.
A lot of people bitch and moan about Ian Gillan. For the most part, it’s not the singer delivering the hooks in these new songs. Just as Steve Morse has had to adapt to his damaged right wrist to keep playing, Deep Purple have adapted to Ian Gillan’s age. The songs don’t blast like they used to; they breathe. Ian’s voice is multitracked to give it some thickness. Incidentally the vocals were recorded in Toronto, a city that Gillan has history with.
Longtime Purple fans who enjoyed Now What?! and InFinitewill enjoy these new songs just as much. The cool thing about Purple is that they have distinct eras. We might be in the tail-end of a Bob Ezrin era (and the whole saga in general) and with time, the Purple/Ezrin collaborations will be looked back on fondly. The Ezrin albums don’t sound like the Bradford discs, the Glover productions, or any of the others. They’re more subtle and show a band growing even in their later years. Whoosh! could be a nice capstone to a career. We shall see.
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!
It took some searching, but I finally found a copy! This is the first Christmas mix CD I ever made, back in 2006. I didn’t start making these until I had left the Record Store. Nobody who works retail wants to listen to Christmas music outside of work. Once I had been gone a year, my brain and soul were freed!
As discussed in the previous Christmas Mix article, after a few years I was running short on good songs to use, so I had to repeat a few from prior years. Several tracks from the 2006 disc made a return appearance in 2010.
Repeaters included:
1.Hawksley Workman – “3 Generations”. Truly an incredible, family-oriented song that is a highlight of Hawkley’s excellent Christmas album, Almost a Full Moon. The 2006 CD has lots of Hawksley songs.
2. Extreme – “Christmas Time Again”. My sister always liked this one, which sounds like early Extreme – perhaps first album era.
3.The Beatles – “Christmas Time is Here Again”. I leaned heavily on this one, though not a great song, just because it’s the Beatles and it’s a rarity you may not have heard.
4.Jon Bon Jovi – “Please Come Home for Christmas“. Bon Jovi have done several Christmas songs, but Jon’s solo version of “Please Come Home for Christmas” is by far the best. Let’s face it, this is a great tune!
5.Jim Cuddy – “New Year’s Eve”. Another one I lean on because a song about New Year’s Eve is a nice change of pace. Plus, it’s Jim Cuddy!
6.Ted Nugent – “Deck the Halls”. I think every Christmas mix needs a kick in the nuts to keep things interesting. Here’s the kick!
7. Bob & Doug McKenzie – “Twelve Days of Christmas”. It can get a little tedious, as many joke songs are, but people know it and like it.
That’s not bad for repeat. I’m sure Kiss have repeated more than just seven songs on their greatest hits CDs….
For creative types, the first thing you try something is often the best. Maybe that’s the case with my line of Christmas mixes. This first instalment is a great listen, even if you hate Christmas music and everything to do with it. Check out the amazing songs you would have heard in 2006!
“Linus & Lucy” isn’t a Christmas song at all, but it works because Charlie Brown is associated with Christmas. Wynton and Ellis Marsalis did an entire album dedicated to the music of Charlie Brown (Joe Cool’s Blues), but “Linus & Lucy” is the most instantly memorable. And now, all of a sudden, you’re a kid again watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special.
Hawsley Workman’s first appearance here is “First Snow of the Year”, a song that is much too happy for a song about snow! It’s homey, upbeat and jovial. Keeping things upbeat, I went for the Brian Setzer Orchestra next. “Jingle Bells” mixes the big band style with jaw-dropping guitar as only Setzer can do. I then chose to cool things out with “The First Nowell” by the sublime Eric Johnson. His acoustic/electric instrumental contains just as much original music as it does traditional. It’s wonderful.
There was a time when Queen’s “Thank God It’s Christmas” was a rarity. Now you hear it on the radio. When I first had it, it was on a bonus CD within a Queen Classics/Greatest Hits box set. (The “Green Cover”.) Since just about everybody likes Queen (then and now) including it is a slam dunk. It’s 80s Queen but that’s OK, isn’t it?
I used a lot of instrumental music on these Christmas mixes, which tended to come from Merry Axemas 1 and 2. “Joy to the World” by Steve Morse is a beautiful rendition, much like the Eric Johnson track, though Steve’s is entirely electric. Then it’s Joe Perry’s Hawaiian guitar version of Elvis’ “Blue Christmas”. You may recall that I put Elvis’ version on my 2010 CD. Joe’s version is cool because it’s different, though not as popular around our dinner table.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra is, honestly, a band I don’t get. Look, I’m a huge Savatage fan. Massive Savatage fan. I’ve been a fan since I was 15. Trans-Siberian began as a spinoff of Savatage, and I was absolutely shocked when little old men and ladies would come in to the Record Store asking for them! Trans-Siberian isn’t as “metal” as Savatage, but the bombast is all there. They’re popular though, so I put as much Trans-Siberian on here as I could handle. “A Star to Follow” is a pretty gothic version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. Much better is “A Mad Russian’s Revenge”, an interpretation of Tchaikovsky. I also threw on “The Silent Nutcracker” because it is a simple acoustic guitar instrumental, not at all like the other TSO tracks.
One of Marillion’s very best Christmas tunes is “I Saw Three Ships”, so for my debut Christmas mix, I used nothing but the best Marillion. This is from 2001’s A Very Barry Christmas. There is something special and unique about this band. “I Saw Three Ships” is both true to the song, yet intrinsically Marillion.
Hawksley’s third appearance is a hat trick of perfect celebratory pop. “Claire Fontaine” isn’t particularly seasonal, though it’s from his Christmas CD. It’s about a girl who makes lovely decorative paper. There’s a line about “going home for Christmas” but otherwise there is little connection. Claire could use her paper to wrap gifts, though Hawksley uses it for writing. “Your sheets are very smooth, I like to rub my pen across them.” This was a selfish inclusion. I just love this song.
“Ring Out Solstice Bells” is also a selfish inclusion, because although it is a brilliant track, nobody I knew actually liked Jethro Tull. In fact some, like Mrs. LeBrain, are quite anti-Tull. So who was this song for? Me! And I stand beneath the Christmas tree, doing my best Ian Anderson single-leg stand.
Lo, what is this I hear? More Hawksley? Yes, Hawksley Workman had four tracks on my Christmas CD. That is a full one-half of his original album! I chose “Common Cold” for the last Hawksley. Nobody gets through the holidays without getting sick, not in my family anyway! (Last year I had the flu.) “Nearly OD, on Vitamin C, you’re standing in a lineup with a gift just for me.”
The disc ended with a slew of tracks I’d use again. Cuddy, Nugent, and Bob & Doug closed the CD. A joke song makes a good closer sometimes, so that’s why I re-used Bob & Doug in the exact same position on 2010’s CD!
I like this CD, but I today I would axe the first two Trans-Siberian tracks. I don’t think I’d change anything else. In fact I’m quite thrilled to hear “Linus & Lucy” again for the first time in ages. (I’ll have to give the whole Wynton & Ellis CD a spin again.) Hawksley is always a delight, and I used his very best Christmas songs here. And that Jethro Tull song is brilliant; I don’t care what cynics say.
DEEP PURPLE – The InFinite Live Recordings Vol. 1 (2017 Ear Music)
The all-time kings of the live album have finally released…another live album! It’s boldly titled The InFinite Live Recordings Vol. 1, implying that another live set isn’t far off. The gimmick this time (aside from being 100% live with no overdubs, which is now the Purple norm) is that The InFinite Live Recordings Vol. 1 is only available on vinyl, or by re-buying InFinite in its new “Gold” European edition reissue. If you’d prefer avoiding the double-dip, then the only way to enjoy The InFinite Live Recordings Vol. 1 is by spinning the triple 180 gram LP set.
So let’s do that.
This album is the complete Deep Purple set from Hellfest 2017 (June 16 2017 in Clisson, France). The always fearless band opened with the brand new “Time for Bedlam” single. The intro and outro are dicey (weird vocal sound effects) but then Deep Purple suddenly plows straight into “Fireball”. Somehow Ian Paice transforms into his younger self and there is nothing lost. Going back even further in time, it’s “Bloodsucker” from Deep Purple In Rock.
The oldies, like “Strange Kind of Woman” and “Lazy”, are more or less just filler. Even though they’re always different, you’ve heard them so many times while the newer songs are fresh meat. “Uncommon Man” is long and exploratory, while “The Surprising” and “Birds of Prey” are more than welcome on the live stage. In particular, “Uncommon Man” and “The Surprising” are showcases for Deep Purple’s progressive side, sometimes taken for granted. Both must be considered among the greatest Morse-era Purple songs. Both stun the senses, live.
While there was a live version of “Hell to Pay” (from Sweden) on the fairly recent single “Johnny’s Band”, another one in the context of the set is cool because it naturally introduces Don Airey’s keyboard solo (listen for a hint of “Mr. Crowley”). And that solo segues into “Perfect Strangers” after you place the third LP on the platter.
The usual suspects close out the set: “Space Truckin'”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Hush” (with a detour into the “Peter Gunn” theme) and “Black Night”. The reason Deep Purple get away with playing generous amounts of new material is because, without fail, they always deliver the Machine Head hits.
These live recordings were produced by Bob Ezrin, so you can count on great audio. Why should you choose this over the numerous other Deep Purple live albums from the Morse era? Because it is always a pleasure hearing new songs on the concert stage. Deep Purple have remained consistent over the decades and each live album offers a brief snapshot of a set you might never hear again.
Do you have a favourite Christmas album? Perhaps you need some Merry Axemas in your life. The first one, in particular.
I used to have an annual tradition of making a Christmas mix CD. I dropped it because after a while I ran out of good Christmas tracks. Something from Merry Axemas used to make the list every year. Not only are there great traditional songs, but also the finest guitar slingers in the world. For an album of (mostly) instrumentals, this one really rings the bells.
Louisiana blues rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd gets things started with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Anyone on board with the blues should enjoy the solid jamming going on here! This isn’t for grandma. This is for guitar maniacs! Progressive stylist Eric Johnson has a beautiful “First Nowell”, on a classical and electric guitars with accompaniment. Grandma won’t mind this one at all, in fact she might want a copy for herself. The wizard of the wires, Jeff Beck, then presents his slide guitar version of “Amazing Grace” complete with choir. A different mix of elements, but not too hard to digest.
Not the version from this CD, which is instrumental
The Brian Setzer Orchestra comes out swingin’ with their instrumental “Jingle Bells”. If you ever needed reminding how awesome the former Stray Cat is on six strings, then check this out. Brian keeps it all accessible while simultaneously blowing off your nuts. The big band is icing on the cake. Joe Satriani is next up to the plate with an adventurous “Silent Night/Holy Night Jam”. This one is strictly for guitar-heads and players, as it’s more a Joe showpiece than anything else. Picture Joe circa Flying in a Blue Dream and you’re in the right place, but not very Christmas-y. This is the only song that has never made one of my annual Christmas mix CDs. Steve Morse’s “Joy to the World” is far more successful as far as the Christmas theme goes. Steve does do it his way, but at least you can tell which carol you’re listening to. If anyone can capture angelic Christmas guitar tones, it is Steve Morse.
How big can these names get? Try Steve Vai on for size. You might recall “Christmas Time is Here” from the classic Charlie Brown Christmas special. Vince Guaraldi made it popular for all ages, and Steve does a playful take on it, using his guitar like a voice. And the names keep getting bigger. Heard of Joe Perry before? The Aerosmith guitar hero does Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” as a Hawiian guitar instrumental which suddenly goes surf rock. Rush’s Alex Lifeson then brings “The Little Drummer Boy”, with a low-key and quiet instrumental.
“‘O Holy Night”, performed by Richie Sambora formerly of Bon Jovi, swings and just barely misses. It just doesn’t have that Christmas feel. The Japanese guitarist Hotei has the final track, John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”, which is actually a traditional that Lennon and Yoko Ono wrote lyrics to. He goes a little over the edge partway through, but it mostly maintains the right feel.
Here’s the great thing about Merry Axemas. Even if you don’t care for Christmas music, there is usually a need for it around, once a year. Merry Axemas, with some modest editing, could suit your needs. Don’t celebrate Christmas? No problem — if you’re a fan of these players (particularly Morse, Vai, Perry, and Johnson) then you’ll want to hear what they did with these tracks.
19 years ago, Deep Purple released their final studio album with Jon Lord. We didn’t know that at the time of course. Jon’s departure happened a few years later, when touring wore him down. He capped it off properly with a Purple tour of live performances of the Concerto for Group and Orchestra. However, there is always a certain sense of…incompletion. Lord’s last studio album wasn’t the kind you want to go out on.
Purple had a huge comeback with the masterpiece Purpendicular in 1996. It was a beautiful, quirky and intelligent record. Its followup Abandon was an effort to “get heavy”, but with hindsight even the band admitted it missed the mark. Sure, it was heavier with more riffs, but Steve Morse isn’t particularly a riffy player. Abandon lacked the feeling, and the level of songwriting was not there.
Lead track “Any Fule Kno That” works on a heavy groove, and it’s one of the songs that does click. There are two particularly memorable songs on Abandon: “Any Fule Kno That” and the laid back “Fingers to the Bone”. “Fingers” is based on a celtic Steve Morse guitar lick, with a passionate Ian Gillan vocal on top. Almost up there with them is “Seventh Heaven”, which could be the heaviest Purple song ever. Paicey’s drums are relentless. You can also count “Bludsucker” among the best material, but it’s a re-recording of “Bloodsucker” from In Rock. Unfortunately this serves to underline how many years have passed, in regards to the vocal cords of Mr. Gillan.
All the other tunes have something to them of interest, but just not enough. “Almost Human” for example has a nice shuffle beat. “’69” has cool lyrics and a hell of a tempo. There is a killer slow blues called “Don’t Make Me Happy” that just needs a better chorus. The magic sauce just isn’t there. Few of these songs were played live, and when they were, they tended to have more life than the album.
One must wonder, if the lacklustre Abandon is the reason Deep Purple haven’t self produced an album since. Every record since then was either produced with Michael Bradford or Bob Ezrin. Every record since has been better overall. Something about Abandon just doesn’t hit the bar. Maybe it’s the oddly obtrusive double-tracked vocals. Whatever the cause, it’s hard to recommend Abandon when there are so many awesome Purple albums to enjoy ahead of it.
2017 is the year of Purple. Witness: We have not just their awesome new album InFinite, but also a new live album included with the deluxe box set version. There is a Classic Rock magazine CD called Limitless including an exclusive version of “Black Night”. There have been two CD singles (“Time for Bedlam” and “All I Got is You“) each with their own exclusives. Now, Deep Purple have released their third single from InFinite, called “Johnny’s Band”. More exclusives abound, making this quite a fun year for Deep Purple fans and collectors. Have you been keeping up?
If you bought InFinite (and you should, what are you waiting for?), then you know “Johnny’s Band” is one of the most instantly catchy songs on it. Upbeat and danceable, “Johnny’s Band” is a hoot. Gillan’s lyrics are witty and honest, and did you notice the musical segue into “Louie Louie”? “Johnny’s Band” is a much more obvious single than the first two they released, so let’s be glad that somebody thought Deep Purple needed three singles for InFinite. The lyrics tell the story of a band who hit it big, fell down hard, but keep slogging away in the bars anyway. In the end, Gillan gives it a positive conclusion. It is, after all, all about the music.
But hey, it’s Johnny’s Band, Playing all those wonderful songs, Making the rounds with that old fashioned sound, And here we are singing along.
Perhaps there’s a little slice of life in there.
Track 2 is an unreleased studio jam. “In & Out Jam” focuses on a low key guitar riff as its base, but spreads in other musical directions from there. The bottom line is this: Steve Morse, Don Airey, Roger Glover and Ian Paice jamming together is always going to produce something of value. “In & Out Jam” isn’t a song and probably wasn’t likely to ever become one, but these are ideas from the best brains in rock and enough to make the musician in you weep in sorrowful inadequacy.
Live tracks from Gaelve, Sweden finish off this single. There are now three different live versions of “Strange Kind of Woman” released this year. My Deep Purple folder has 27 different versions of “Strange Kind of Woman”! How much is too much? Who cares. “The Mule” is played far more rarely, but there is still another version of it on the deluxe boxed InFinite set. It’s a thunderous showcase for drummer Ian Paice, who is still one of the greats at age 69. The years take their toll on everyone, but Paicey does not sound 69 years old here!
The last of the live songs is the newest, “Hell to Pay” from 2013’s Now What?! This is only the third live version of the song ever released. It’s a short blast of guitar and keyboard mania, with a chorus on top. Its most interesting feature is the organ solo in the middle, something you don’t hear on many singles (which “Hell to Pay” was).
Purple are currently on tour with Alice Cooper. Both artists have put out remarkably strong albums in 2017. Will wonders never cease?
This is Part 2 of a double-sized Deep Purple deluxe InFinite box set review! For Part 1,click here.
DEEP PURPLE – InFinite(2017 Edel deluxe box set edition)
When we last met, we took a solid look at Deep Purple’s fine new album, InFinite. Because the year is 2017, InFinite is available in multiple editions. The most logical to buy is the deluxe box set. This includes:
InFinite on CD
From Here to InFinite – a full length documentary DVD
InFinite on a 2 LP set in its own double gatefold
The Now What?! Live Tapes, Vol. 2 – an exclusive live album included on three 10″ records
A T-shirt
A poster
Five lovely photo cards
A sticker
That’s a lot of goodies for a reasonable price, and it all comes housed in a sturdy box.
The included DVD is a very intimate look at the creation of InFinite from writing to overdubs. Narrated by Rick Wakeman (you read that correctly), it also looks at the moments that Steve Morse and Don Airey joined the band. Much attention is given to the shocking departure of Ritchie Blackmore in 1993, and the acquisition of Joe Satriani (who is interviewed for the DVD). However, Joe had commitments and couldn’t stay long. Deep Purple couldn’t wait for him, so they had to look for someone else. They had a list, and the first name on it was Steve Morse. Almost instantly they found themselves rediscovering the joy of music. The atmosphere and attitude of the band did a complete 180. When Jon Lord’s passing is discussed, there are a few teary eyes and sincere words. Moving on to InFinite, it is remarkable to watch the band pluck ideas from the air and mold them into songs. Bob Ezrin is a huge part of the process, with his own ideas and preferences. His reputation as a taskmaster is reinforced by the band, but it seems like a very easy collaboration. They have the same goals and desires, and trust each other’s musical instincts. There is also a shockingly frank discussion with Steve Morse, about the osteoarthritis in his picking hand. His technique has, over the years, worn out his wrist to the point that there is bone-on-bone contact. The pain has grown so severe that playing the guitar required him to completely change his picking technique, while wearing a wrist brace. Meanwhile Don Airey gets 20 “Cool Points” for wearing both a Rival Sons T-shirt, and a Winnipeg Jets sweater. Canucks will also be pleased to know that Ian Gillan recorded his vocals at Bob Ezrin’s studio in Toronto.
The DVD can be had in a CD/DVD set, so the real reason for fans to choose this box set is The Now What?! Live Tapes, Vol. 2. Vol. 1 was included on the “gold” reissue of their last album Now What?! Vol. 2 is, as it states on the sleeve, “100% live! 100% unreleased!” There are some obscure tracks on here, making this live album very enticing indeed. You don’t have to sit through more versions of “Smoke on the Water” or “Black Night”. Even better, or perhaps best of all to the vinyl nerds, are the lovely records that comprise The Now What?! Live Tapes, Vol. 2. Three 10″ records, each in their own coloured sleeve, and each on coloured vinyl! White, clear, and clear blue.
“Après Vous” (from London) commences the proceedings. This newby from Now What?! has a lot of life on stage, and the long instrumental section sounds kinda like the old days. Then an oldie: “Into the Fire” (Milan) from 1970’s Deep Purple In Rock. Ian really strains his voice on this one, but somehow pulls it off with style. Back to London for “The Mule”, a song featuring Ian Paice’s busiest drum work. No problems from Paicey. Indeed, on the DVD Paicey says he hasn’t experienced much physical difficulty in continuing to play the way he wants to.
The second record starts with Purple’s recent “Green Onions”/”Hush” medley (Gaevle, Sweden), a cool way to inject new life into one of Purple’s earliest singles. The interplay between the four musicians during the jam section is remarkable. Even though most of the originals are long gone, it sounds sorta like Purple circa 1969. Another medley showcasing Steve Morse (“The captain of the skies, the Aviator”, says Gillan) occupies side two. “Contact Lost” (London) is Morse’s short instrumental tribute to the crew of STS-107, known to most as the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. This merges into Purple’s majestic song for Jon Lord, “Uncommon Man” and finally Steve’s instrumental “The Well-Dressed Guitar”.
One more record to go. The excellent single “All the Time in the World” from Now What?! comes from Aalborg, Denmark. It’s a slick and laid back jazzy rock groove. Purple always seem to find a great groove, and “All the Time in the World” is unlike previous ones. “Highway Star” (London) is like a polar opposite. Though you know they will hold it all together, “Highway Star” still sounds so fast that it could come off the tracks at any time. 1971’s “Strange Kind of Woman” (Aalborg) is a long-time favourite with fun vocal-guitar interplay. Back to London for the last track, “Space Truckin'”. What can you say about “Space Truckin'”? Not much except that Ian Paice still kicks it, and hard!
Purple fanatics who still love what the band is doing today will need this box set. It will be indispensable to them. Wear your T-shirts with pride! For the casual Purple fan who just wants to check out the CD and DVD, that edition will suffice.
To InFinite and beyond!
4/5 stars
Further reading on more Deep Purple InFinite related releases:
DEEP PURPLE – Bombay Calling – Live in ’95 (2022 – Edel CD/DVD reissue)
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